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Warehouse Management Software For Small Business: Which is best?
Warehouse management software for a small business is just as vital as any large business. But how do you choose from all the options?
Managing inventory and warehouse operations can be daunting for small business owners. With limited resources and staff, tracking inventory levels, managing orders, and ensuring the timely delivery of goods is a challenge. This is where software can help. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at warehouse management software for small business and explore its benefits, types, and features to consider when choosing warehouse management tools.
Table of Contents
What is Warehouse Management Software?
Warehouse Management Software (WMS) is a digital platform designed to help businesses manage their warehouse operations. It provides businesses with real-time visibility into inventory levels, automates inventory tasks, streamlines order fulfillment processes, and optimizes warehouse space utilization.
This software can often integrate with your warehouse control system for improved efficiency. By leveraging warehouse management tools, businesses can achieve greater accuracy, efficiency, and productivity in their warehouse operations.
Benefits of Warehouse Management Software for Small Business
Warehouse management systems offer several benefits to small businesses, including:
- Increased Efficiency: A warehouse management system works as an inventory software for small businesses by automating manual tasks, such as cycle counts, picking, packing, and shipping, saving time and improving efficiency.
- Improved Accuracy: Warehouse management systems use barcoding and RFID technology to ensure accurate inventory tracking and order fulfillment, reducing the risk of errors and minimizing the need for manual intervention.
- Enhanced Productivity: Warehouse management systems optimize warehouse space utilization, reducing the need for manual handling of inventory, and improving overall productivity.
- Streamlined Order Fulfillment: Warehouse management tools provide real-time visibility into inventory levels, allowing businesses to fulfill orders faster and more accurately.
- Cost Savings: WMS helps businesses reduce labor costs, minimize inventory carrying costs, and avoid stockouts, ultimately resulting in cost savings.
Types of Warehouse Management Software
There are three main types of warehouse management system for small business: cloud-based, on-premise, and mobile apps.
Cloud-Based
Cloud-based WMS is hosted on a remote server and accessible via the internet. It is popular among small businesses because it requires no hardware or software installation and offers flexibility and scalability.
On-Premise
On-premise WMS is installed locally on a business’s servers and managed by their IT team. It provides greater control and customization but requires higher upfront costs and ongoing maintenance.
Mobile Apps
Mobile WMS allows businesses to manage warehousing operations from a smartphone or tablet, providing flexibility and real-time access to inventory data.
12 Small Business Warehouse Management Software Providers
There are numerous WMS for small business solutions available on the market, each offering different features, pros, and cons. Here are twelve popular WMS options for small business warehousing:
1. Agiliron
Feature: Agiliron offers inventory software for small businesses, order management, shipping, and customer management tools.
Pros: Agiliron is easy to use, integrates with other business software, and offers multiple pricing options.
Cons: Agiliron’s pricing can be expensive for smaller businesses, and some users report occasional software glitches.
Pricing: Agiliron offers a free trial and pricing starting at $85 per month.
2. Brightpearl
Feature: Brightpearl offers inventory, order management, CRM, and financial management tools.
Pros: Brightpearl provides real-time inventory updates, offers multi-channel sales integration, and has a user-friendly interface.
Cons: Brightpearl can be expensive for small businesses, and some users report slow customer support.
Pricing: Brightpearl offers the ability to receive a free quote based on your business needs.
3. FreshBooks
Features: FreshBooks is a software solution that offers cloud-based accounting and invoicing, with basic inventory features. Its features include invoicing, time tracking, and expense tracking.
Pros: FreshBooks is easy to use and offers a simple and intuitive interface. It also integrates with a wide range of payment processing options.
Cons: FreshBooks’ inventory management software for small businesses has limited features compared to other options, and it may not be suitable for businesses with more complex inventory needs.
Pricing: FreshBooks’ pricing starts at $17 per month, with higher tiers available for additional features and functionality.
4. Cin7
Features: Cin7 offers a cloud-based solution for inventory, order processing, and accounting integration. Its features include inventory tracking, order management, shipping and fulfillment, and reporting.
Pros: Cin7 offers a wide range of features and customization options, making it a comprehensive solution for small businesses. It also integrates with a wide range of ecommerce platforms and marketplaces.
Cons: Cin7 can be overwhelming for some users, and its pricing can be high compared to other options.
Pricing: Cin7’s pricing starts at $325 per month, with a free trial and higher tiers available.
5. EZRentOut
Features: EZRentOut is a warehouse management system for small business that offers a cloud-based solution for rental inventory. Its features include inventory tracking, order management, customer relationship management, and reporting.
Pros: EZRentOut offers a simple and intuitive interface, as well as robust reporting capabilities. It also offers features specific to rental businesses, such as rental scheduling and damage tracking.
Cons: EZRentOut may not be suitable for businesses with more complex inventory needs beyond rental management.
Pricing: EZRentOut’s pricing starts at $79 per month, with higher tiers available for additional features and functionality.
6. Fishbowl
Features: Fishbowl offers a desktop-based solution for inventory management, order processing, and accounting integration. Its features include inventory tracking, order management, shipping and fulfillment, and reporting.
Pros: Fishbowl offers a wide range of features and customization options for small business warehousing, making it a comprehensive solution for small businesses. It also offers robust reporting capabilities and integrates with a wide range of ecommerce platforms and marketplaces.
Cons: Fishbowl can be overwhelming for some users, and its desktop-based platform may not be suitable for businesses with remote or mobile workers.
Pricing: Fishbowl’s pricing starts at $366 per month, and provides you with permanent software ownership.
7. Orderry
Feature: Orderry features order management, inventory, purchasing management, financial management, and reporting and analytics. It also has a mobile app and integration with online marketplaces.
Pros: Some benefits of Orderry for small business warehousing are its affordable pricing plans, user-friendly interface, customizable templates, mobile app for on-the-go access, and integration with online marketplaces. It also has multi-currency support
Cons: Orderry has limited features compared to other WMS options, as well as limited integrations with other software and support options.
Pricing: Orderry offers pricing plans starting at $69 per month, and a free trial is available.
8. Ordoro
Feature: This WMS for small business includes inventory management, order management, and shipping management. It also has the benefit of offering multi-channel selling, analytics and reporting, returns management.
Pros: The pros of using Ordoro include integrations with multiple sales channels, real-time inventory tracking, shipping automation and a user-friendly interface. It also has analytics and reporting features that can be utilized, and affordable pricing plans.
Cons: Some cons to consider are the limited features compared to other WMS options. It has limited customer support options and limited integrations with other software.
Pricing: Ordoro offers a 15-day free trial, with pricing plans starting at $59 per month for up to 500 orders per month. Custom pricing plans are also available for larger businesses.
9. QuickBooks Commerce
Feature: Like many WMS solutions, QuickBooks Commerce includes, inventory, order, and shipping management, multi-channel selling, and analytics and reporting.
Pros: The pros of using this software in your small business warehouse are the integration with QuickBooks accounting software, multi-channel selling options, user-friendly interface, and shipping automation. It also has real-time inventory tracking.
Cons: Cons include limited features compared to other WMS options, limited integrations with other software, and limited customer support options.
Pricing: QuickBooks Commerce has pricing plans that begin at $39 per month for businesses to utilize.
10. SkuVault
Feature: As a warehouse management system for small business, SkuVault includes inventory, order, and shipping management. It also includes multi-channel selling, reporting and analytics, and barcode scanning.
Pros: Real-time inventory tracking, shipping automation, and multi-channel selling options are all benefits to using this warehouse management software for small business. It has a user-friendly interface, advanced reporting and analytics features, and barcode scanning for efficient inventory management.
Cons: The most significant cons of this software in your small business warehouse is that it has a higher pricing compared to some other WMS options and limited integrations with some sales channels.
Pricing: SkuVault offers a free demo that can be scheduled, with pricing plans starting at $329 per month. Higher tiers are available for larger businesses.
11. Sortly
Feature: Sortly features inventory management, barcode scanning, multi-location tracking, reporting and analytics, and a mobile app. It also has a helpful asset-tracking feature.
Pros: Sortly benefits include a user-friendly interface and barcode scanning for efficient management of inventory. It also has multi-location tracking for easy organization, asset tracking features for equipment management, and mobile app for on-the-go access.
Cons: Limited features for your small business warehouse compared to some other WMS options, limited integrations with other software, and limited support options are cons of Sortly as a WMS solution.
Pricing: Sortly offers a free plan for up to 100 entries, with pricing plans starting at $29 per month for up to 2000 entries. For larger businesses, custom pricing plans are available.
12. Veeqo
Feature: Inventory, order, and shipping management, multi-channel selling, reporting and analytics, barcode scanning, and a mobile app are some features you can expect with Veego.
Pros: The pros of this software are multi-channel selling options and shipping automation. It also has advanced reporting and analytics features and barcode scanning for efficiency.
Pricing: Veeqo is another free WMS option available to small businesses.
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Features to Consider when Choosing a WMS Solution
When considering the various options out there, it can be difficult to determine which option is best. So, we put together this list of some features to consider when choosing from among the top warehouse management software options.
Inventory Tracking & Items
One important consideration is the ability to track inventory. Some warehouse management systems for small business offer inventory tracking that can increase business efficiency. The right warehouse management system should be intuitive and easy to navigate, even for those with limited technical expertise. The software should be able to provide clear and concise instructions and easily accessible support resources to help users get up to speed quickly.
Bottom Line
When choosing a WMS solution, it is also important to evaluate the cost. While some software options may be more expensive than others, it is important to choose a solution that provides the necessary features and functionality while still fitting within the budget of your small business. Some software options may offer tiered pricing structures or a free trial period to allow business owners to test the software before committing to a purchase.
Warehouse management software can be a powerful tool for small businesses looking to improve their inventory management, increase efficiency, and reduce costs. When selecting a WMS solution, you should consider the features and functionality that are most important to your business’ specific needs, as well as the user interface, ease of use, and cost. By contacting an expert for help choosing the right WMS solution, small businesses can streamline their operations, gain greater visibility into their inventory, and focus on growing their business!
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Warehouse Management Software FAQ
Some of the key benefits of using warehouse management software include improved inventory accuracy, faster order fulfillment, reduced labor costs, increased productivity, better customer service, and improved decision-making through real-time data and analytics.
When selecting warehouse management software, it’s important to consider your specific business needs, such as the size and complexity of your warehouse operations, the types of products you handle, and the volume of orders you process. You should also evaluate the software’s features and capabilities, such as inventory tracking, order management, and reporting and analytics. Other important factors to consider include ease of use, scalability, and integration with other systems and software applications. It’s a good idea to read reviews, compare pricing and features, and speak with other users and industry experts before making a final decision.
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