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Choosing the best inventory management software for your shop

There is no single best inventory management software, only the best one for how your shop runs. This checklist gives you eight things to test before you commit, and says plainly where UbiquePOS fits and where it does not.

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Eight things to check

Ask every vendor, including us, to show you each of these working on your own products rather than describing them.

  • Is stock tied to the till? If sales and stock are separate systems, someone has to type everything twice, and the two will drift apart.
  • Does it work when the internet does not? If a dropped connection stops you selling, you will lose sales exactly when you are busiest.
  • Can you see every branch? You want per-branch counts and one view of the whole business, with staff limited to their own branch.
  • Does it record who did what? Every sale, adjustment, refund and write-off should carry a name and a time.
  • Does it handle how you really sell? Selling by weight or in fractions, in cartons and loose, on credit, with discounts.
  • Does it warn you in time? Low stock and expiry alerts only help if they arrive before the problem.
  • Can you get your data in and out? Importing your product list should take minutes, and you should be able to export your data if you leave.
  • What does it really cost? Add the licence or subscription, maintenance, hardware, extra branches and any transaction fees.

How UbiquePOS answers them

Measured against the same eight points:

  • The till and the stock list are one system, so every sale updates stock
  • Sales continue offline and sync later, duplicate-proof
  • Per-branch stock with an owner view across all branches
  • Every change is logged with who made it and when
  • Fractions to four decimals, cartons converted to loose, customer accounts, automatic discounts
  • Low stock and expiry alerts for the branch concerned
  • Excel and CSV import, and data export on request
  • A free 7-day trial, a licence plus yearly maintenance or a monthly price, and no transaction fees. See pricing explained

When UbiquePOS is not the right fit

We would rather you know before you start:

  • Hotels and restaurants that need room booking or kitchen tickets: that is planned, not built yet
  • Manufacturers who need production batches and bills of materials
  • Businesses that need a system to process card payments for them, rather than record them
  • Pharmacies that need prescription or batch-level records: it tracks products and expiry dates, not prescriptions

How to get started

  1. Write down how you really sell: units, cartons, weight, credit.
  2. Try two or three systems on your own product list.
  3. Run a real day of sales on each, including a pretend power cut.
  4. Compare the full cost over three years, not just the first payment.

Frequently asked questions

What should small shops look for in inventory software?

Stock tied to the till, offline selling, per-branch counts, a record of who did what, and an easy way to import products. Cost matters too, so add up licence or subscription, maintenance and any extras.

Is free inventory software good enough?

It can be for a very small shop, but free tools often lack offline selling, multiple branches, staff roles and support, and may cost you more in lost sales and time than a paid system.

Should my inventory software also be my POS?

For a shop, yes. When the till and the stock list are the same system, every sale updates stock automatically and the two cannot drift apart.

Can I try UbiquePOS before paying?

Yes. Every feature is free for seven days, with no card to enter.