It is important for businesses to have the right products in the right quantities available for sale at any given time. An inventory management system can help them not only keep track of inventory levels, but also find out what is selling well and what is not. Overall, inventory management is an important part of a company's overall supply chain.
The 5 Best Free Inventory Management Software
What is inventory management?
Inventory management is all about tracking and managing your company's inventory from purchasing to distribution. The process involves various steps from purchasing the raw materials to selling the product to the customers. By following this process, companies can ensure that they have the required amount of products and enough storage space at all times.
How can inventory management software help businesses?
Inventory management software helps companies more easily manage, track, organize and store products to meet their customers' demands. The software helps companies source, store and distribute products so they are available for customers to purchase. It also helps companies ensure that they have sufficient inventory at all times and that there are no disruptions in the supply chain and day-to-day operations.
What processes does inventory management include?
Inventory management includes all the steps necessary to track and manage materials and items as they move through the company, from the supplier to the warehouse to the end customer. In general, the process includes the following steps:
Purchasing: The first step is to purchase either raw materials for production or finished products for sale.
Production: Products are made from the raw materials previously purchased. This step is not necessary, for example, for wholesalers who resell finished products.
Warehousing: The raw materials and finished goods are kept in stock.
Sales: The finished goods are sold to customers and payment is received.
Reporting: The final step is to analyze how many orders have been received so far and what revenue has been generated.
To make it easier for you to choose the right software, we have compiled five top free inventory management tools in this article . The tools were selected based on specific criteria: for example, they have received an average user rating of more than 4 out of 5 stars and more than 40 reviews within the last two years. You can find the full methodology for selecting the tools at the end of the article. The solutions are suitable for small businesses and are listed in alphabetical order. With these tools, nothing stands in the way of your company using an inventory management system for free.
1st monday.com
Overview of monday.com's inventory management system ( Source )
monday.com is a cloud-based software that users can use for project management, CRM, marketing automation, manufacturing, construction, and more in addition to inventory management. Users can manage and optimize their inventory and use features for inventory and delivery tracking, returns management, reporting, order management, and warehouse management. Integration with existing tools such as CRM systems and Excel is also possible.
monday.com
monday.com
4.6
(5,413)
review details
functions
Advantages and disadvantages
product overview
This information comes from verified user reviews for monday.com
5
3,521
4
1,557
3
270
2
45
1
19
user-friendliness
4.5
customer service
4.4
price-performance ratio
4.3
Verified Reviewers
+
"We use Monday within the team to structure onboarding processes. It..."
Read the full review
Patrick
IT Service Desk Manager in Germany
Additionally, monday.com offers a pre-built inventory management template that simplifies the process. Inventory management staff can use the software to automate mundane tasks, reducing the risk of manual errors. It also allows users to collaborate across departments and keep a clear overview of all their work. monday.com offers a free version for up to two team members with more than 200 templates. For more information about the paid versions, visit the tool's official website.
2nd Odoo
Overview of the main features of Odoo ( Source )
Odoo is an open source inventory management and inventory control system that helps users organize their inventory as efficiently as possible by keeping stock levels as low as possible while avoiding shortages. Double entry warehouse management ensures that everything is fully trackable: instead of entries or exits, all transactions are movements between locations. This allows users to track every inventory movement from purchase to storage to customer order.
Odoo
Odoo
4.2
(1,218)
review details
functions
Advantages and disadvantages
product overview
This information comes from verified user reviews for Odoo
5
652
4
374
3
98
2
30
1
64
user-friendliness
4.0
customer service
3.9
price-performance ratio
4.1
Verified Reviewers
+
"Great program. Everything included and more for a small price."
Read the full review
Udo
owner in Germany
It also allows tracking upstream and downstream product batches throughout the supply chain. Odoo also offers kitting (putting complementary products together in one package), inventory management, returns management, reporting, and order management. The software can be integrated with Odoo Accounting to track inventory movements in real time. A free version is available. For more information about the paid versions, visit the official website.
3. Rentle
Overview of various features of Rentle ( source )
Rentle is a free-to-use inventory management software that allows users to track and manage their products in one central location, regardless of location. Companies can import their entire inventory with a single file import and export inventory lists for detailed analysis. You can even rent or offer used products for sale while maintaining end-to-end visibility into warehouse and inventory. Other useful features include returns management, reporting, order management, and kitting.
Twice Commerce
Twice Commerce
4.6
(155)
review details
functions
product overview
This information comes from verified user reviews for Twice Commerce
5
96
4
50
3
9
2
0
1
0
user-friendliness
4.6
customer service
4.8
price-performance ratio
4.4
Verified Reviewers
+
Read the full review
Andreas
rental service in Germany
The software also helps users to divide their inventory between different stores singapore telegram data locations and warehouses so that products are available where they are needed. Additionally, there are statistics and a comprehensive history view with a timeline from the moment products were added to the inventory. Users can optimize inventory by creating variations of their products, such as by color or size, or add specifications, notes and metadata to the items. Rentle is available as a free version. For more information about the different paid versions, visit the official website.
4th Square for Retail
Square for Retail shows how the inventory system works ( Source )
Square for Retail is another free inventory management software that allows users to create sales reports to quickly see how their inventory is changing, how much they're selling, and how much they're making. A counting tool lets you scan and search for items and update, review, and confirm counts on the go using your iPhone or iPad. When certain items are running low in the warehouse, the software automatically creates purchase orders that users can review and send directly to suppliers.