Inventory software comes in five kinds, and the examples in each are built for a different job. Spreadsheets, like Excel and Google Sheets, do anything you build by hand. Store systems, like Shopify's and Square's built-in inventory, count what you sell. Accounting software, like QuickBooks Online on its higher plans, values the stock in your books. Manufacturing software, like Katana, plans and tracks production. And maker software, like Stocksmith (formerly Craftybase) and TaroStack, turns ingredients and materials into products for small producers. Which kind fits depends less on size than on what you do with stock: resell it, make it, or make it with lots and dates that matter. Below are the five kinds with examples, what each is built for, where it stops, and how to tell which you need.
The short version
- Spreadsheets: free and flexible, and everything is typed by hand.
- Store systems: count finished products per location; not built to turn ingredients into products.
- Accounting software: values inventory in the books; making and lots are limited at small-business plans.
- Manufacturing software: production orders and planning; check what lots and expiry cost.
- Maker software: recipes, batches and true cost for small producers; check lots, offline counting and channels.
- Resell finished goods? A store system. Make what you sell? Maker or manufacturing software.
- TaroStack is maker software for food, drink, cosmetics, candles and crafts, with lots on every plan. More below.
Five kinds, with examples
| Kind | Examples | Built for | Where it stops for a maker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheets | Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers | Anything you build | Nothing updates anything else; every batch and sale is typed |
| Store systems | Shopify, Square | Counting what you sell, per location | Recipes, ingredients, lots and expiry |
| Accounting software | QuickBooks Online Plus and Advanced | The value of stock in your books | Recipes and lots sit in other editions or add-ons |
| Manufacturing software | Katana | Production orders, routings, planning | Lots and expiry are an add-on |
| Maker software | Stocksmith, TaroStack | Materials, recipes, batches, cost | Differs: lots, offline counting, channels |
Spreadsheets
A spreadsheet is the usual first inventory software, and it's the right first choice: free, flexible and yours. Seven useful layouts, from a stock list to a batch log, are in inventory spreadsheet examples. What spreadsheets can't do is connect: a batch you make doesn't take anything off the stock list, and a sale doesn't change the count. When to move on is in inventory software vs spreadsheet.
Store systems
Shopify tracks quantity per variant and per location, with transfers, adjustments and purchase orders; it doesn't do ingredients, recipes, lot numbers or expiry dates, and Shopify's own advice for those is an app. Square counts stock per item on every plan and adds costs, purchase orders and vendors on its higher plans, with a recipes feature in beta for its restaurant plans. Both are built to sell finished products and count them. The detail is in does Shopify have an inventory system and does Square do inventory.
Accounting software
QuickBooks Online tracks inventory on its Plus and Advanced plans, valued by FIFO or moving average. Manufacturing orders with a bill of materials, and lot numbers with expiry dates, sit in other Intuit editions, so a small maker on QuickBooks Online usually keeps the books there and the stock somewhere else. What each edition covers is in does QuickBooks have inventory management.
Manufacturing software
Manufacturing software, sometimes called MRP, adds production orders, routings, shop-floor tracking and planning on top of inventory. Katana is a well-known example, with a long list of integrations; for a food maker, its lots and expiry are a paid add-on. How it compares on price for a small kitchen is in Katana MRP alternatives.
Maker software
Maker software is built for small producers: materials bought in one unit and used in another, recipes, batches, and the true cost of what you make. Stocksmith, the product formerly called Craftybase, connects to many makers' sales channels, with lot tracking on its higher plans; how it compares for a food maker is in Craftybase alternative. TaroStack is in this group too, built around food and other products with dates, so lots, expiry and recalls are on every plan.
Which kind fits your business
| What you do with stock | The kind that fits |
|---|---|
| Resell finished goods you buy in | A store system, or the one in your POS |
| Make products from ingredients or materials | Maker or manufacturing software |
| Make food, cosmetics or anything with a date | Maker software with lots and expiry in the plan you'd buy |
| Run production lines with routings and many work orders | Manufacturing software |
| Store and pick large volumes in a warehouse | A warehouse management system |
A common setup is three: a store system to sell, accounting software for the books, and maker software in between to make and cost things. That's fine, as long as the one in the middle is the one that knows what's on the shelf. What a small manufacturer needs from it, with a test week for any free trial, is in inventory software for small manufacturers.
Where this stops working
The usual path is a spreadsheet, then the store's inventory, then a second spreadsheet for ingredients because the store can't do recipes. By then the numbers live in three places, and the one that's right depends on who updated it last. A supplier recall, a year-end count or a price rise is when that shows.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack is inventory and production software for small makers: the one in the middle, between your store and your books.
The making. Recipes with versions and sub-recipes, units converted ("Buy by the case, stock by the each, cook by the gram"), batches that take materials off stock from the lots used and note them automatically, and true cost from FIFO layers with landed costs, divided by what came out good.
The stock. Counting on a phone with no signal, lots and expiry with first-expired-first-out by default, one recall report from any lot to every customer, and a reorder list in days of cover against suppliers' real lead times.
And the connections. Connect your Shopify store or Square, and we set it up with you. Import your items, recipes, suppliers, customers and opening stock from spreadsheets or your QuickBooks or Xero lists, with a preview of every row before anything is saved. Every list exports to CSV, and Pro adds an API.
| The job | Store system | Accounting | TaroStack |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sell and count finished goods | Yes | Partly | Yes, with Shopify or Square |
| Recipes and batches | No | Other editions | Every plan |
| Lots, expiry, recalls | No | Other editions | Every plan |
| True cost per batch | No | Partly | Every batch, at what you paid |
No plan limits items. Recipes, batches, lots, expiry and recalls are on every plan, from $49 a month; planning is on Standard at $99. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.