Hypothetical situation: let’s say I own a business where I sell toys. I buy straight from a manufacturer and sell straight to the supplier. However, my business is still only in its first year of trading. I do not employ any staff and want to increase my productivity and efficiency. What software can I use to help me keep track of inventory, manage my orders, keep a list of stores (suppliers) to whom I sell, etc.?
I recently read about open-source or free software so does anyone have any ideas about that…..? Something I can get my hands on easily?
THANKS SO MUCH!!!
I am assuming you are not a very technical person (forgive me if that is wrong). If that is the case you may want to go with a low tech solution (like using microsoft excel) or an inexpensive solution (I believe QuickBooks supports inventory management).
For free software I’ve given you a link to some below. WARNING, some times free means a free trial and you have to pay after X days. Sorry, I cannot recommend any of these because it is not my area of expertise.
Thing to keep in mind with free is too often you get what you pay for. Poor, hard too use, or buggy programs.
The other thing is the type of tool you are looking for is used by business which inherintly means someone that wants to make money therefore has money to spend (theoretically). So, the availability of good inventory software could be limited.
Open source means software that is developed and you can get the code that created it. This is targeted to development types that will go into the code and add to it. Yes, the resultant product can be used by others.
Hope this helps.
P.S. Spend a little time trying out as many packages as you can to see what works.
P.P.S. If Quicken does support inventory management I would strongly suggest starting with them. A good financial software company with a great reputation and not into charging a lot of money. I’ve use their home products for years.
I am assuming you are not a very technical person (forgive me if that is wrong). If that is the case you may want to go with a low tech solution (like using microsoft excel) or an inexpensive solution (I believe QuickBooks supports inventory management).
For free software I’ve given you a link to some below. WARNING, some times free means a free trial and you have to pay after X days. Sorry, I cannot recommend any of these because it is not my area of expertise.
Thing to keep in mind with free is too often you get what you pay for. Poor, hard too use, or buggy programs.
The other thing is the type of tool you are looking for is used by business which inherintly means someone that wants to make money therefore has money to spend (theoretically). So, the availability of good inventory software could be limited.
Open source means software that is developed and you can get the code that created it. This is targeted to development types that will go into the code and add to it. Yes, the resultant product can be used by others.
Hope this helps.
P.S. Spend a little time trying out as many packages as you can to see what works.
P.P.S. If Quicken does support inventory management I would strongly suggest starting with them. A good financial software company with a great reputation and not into charging a lot of money. I’ve use their home products for years.
References :
http://www.freedownloadmanager.org/downloads/inventory_control_software_software/