Inventory Software for Small Business: 6 Options for Shops Compared

Most small shops already have some inventory software: the stock counts inside their POS. The real question is what's missing. For some it's counting and barcodes. For others it's ordering from suppliers, checking deliveries, or keeping the books straight.

We make LineNow, so read our entry with that in mind. This guide compares six options a small retail shop or café is likely to consider, with prices taken from each vendor's own site on November 5, 2026, and a worked reorder example you can use to test any of them.

Quick answer

If you already use Square, Lightspeed, or Clover, start with your POS's own inventory plan. Look elsewhere when the work you dread is outside the till. Zoho Inventory and Sortly suit shops that mainly need to track items. QuickBooks Online suits owners who want inventory inside their accounting. LineNow suits shops whose pain is supplier ordering: orders, replies, and short deliveries beside the POS they already have.

Inventory software for small business, compared

Prices are list prices from each vendor's pricing page and change often. Several show lower first-year or annual prices. Check before you buy.

Which one fits your shop

You sell on Square and mostly need stock to be right. Square for Retail Plus adds stock intake, vendors, purchase orders, and cost of goods reports for $49 a month per location. The free plan covers basic item and catalog management, not purchasing.

You want one system for the till and the stockroom. Lightspeed Retail's Basic plan lists inventory management, purchase orders, and a mobile scanner app. Pricing for several locations is quoted on a call.

You sell online and in store and don't want to be tied to one POS. Zoho Inventory's free plan allows 50 orders a month and one location. Barcode generation and stock counting sit on its Premium plan, listed at $79 a month billed annually.

You track things more than you sell them. Sortly is built around item photos, folders, and QR labels. Its free plan covers 100 items. Purchase orders start on the Ultra plan, and paid trials ask for a card.

Your bookkeeper lives in QuickBooks. QuickBooks Online Plus tracks inventory, creates purchase orders when items run low, and turns a received PO into a bill. Inventory isn't on the cheaper plans.

Your POS counts fine, but ordering is a mess. That's the gap LineNow fills. You order in the supplier's case sizes by email or WhatsApp, supplier replies become order updates you approve, and staff receive deliveries on a phone. Received stock updates Square, Clover, Lightspeed, or Shopify for items you map. See retail inventory management software for how it works.

A reorder example to test any of them

Say a gift shop sells about 30 candles a week. The supplier ships in cases of 12 and takes a week to deliver. There are 20 on the shelf and one case already on order.

Expected sales before the next delivery  = 30
Stock on hand + on order                  = 20 + 12 = 32
Buffer for a busy week (about half a week) = 15
Reorder when on hand + on order falls below 30 + 15 = 45
Shortfall now                             = 45 − 32 = 13 → order 2 cases (24)

Then the supplier ships one case and says the second will follow. Receiving should add 12 candles to the shelf and leave 12 open on the order, not mark the whole order complete.

Run that same example in each trial. Watch three things: whether the tool suggests the right quantity in whole cases, whether it counts the case already on order, and whether a short delivery stays open.

What to check in a free trial

1. Connect your real POS, or import your real item list, not the demo data.
2. Order one item you buy by the case and sell by the unit.
3. Receive part of that order and check the shelf count afterward.
4. Have someone other than you do a count on a phone.
5. Ask what changes when you add a second location, and what it costs.

Questions about inventory software for small business

How much does inventory software cost for a small business?

From free to a few hundred dollars a month. Free plans exist from Zoho Inventory and Sortly with item or order limits. Paid plans in this guide start around $29 to $140 a month, and most charge per location.

Do I need inventory software if my POS already tracks stock?

Not always. A POS counts what you sell. If counts drift, ordering takes hours, or deliveries arrive short and nobody notices, you need something that covers counting, ordering, and receiving too.

Can I use a spreadsheet instead?

For one location and a short supplier list, yes. Spreadsheets break down when several people count, orders change after they're sent, or you need yesterday's numbers to match the POS. Our restaurant inventory template and purchase order template are free places to start.

What should a café or small restaurant use?

The same questions apply, plus recipes: sales of a latte should use up milk and beans. See restaurant inventory software for how that works with Toast, Square, or Clover.

Sources checked

Prices and plan details were read from each vendor's own pages on November 5, 2026. Entries describe what vendors publish, not hands-on tests.

• Square: inventory management and Square for Retail pricing
• Lightspeed Retail pricing
• Zoho Inventory pricing
• Sortly pricing
• QuickBooks Online inventory and QuickBooks pricing
• LineNow pricing

Related

• Retail inventory management software
• Reorder point calculator
• Case-to-unit inventory