Imagine this:
You’re busy processing a sales order from a customer when you suddenly realize the stock levels in your system don’t match what’s actually in the warehouse.
Inventory is missing.
You scramble to find the stock, but after sifting through endless spreadsheets and manual records, you still can’t fix the issue.
The numbers cannot be reconciled.
You now face several challenges, each with its own set of consequences:
- Delay the order and risk frustrating your customer, which will likely erode their trust and lead to lost business.
- Continue searching for the missing inventory, wasting even more time with no guarantee of finding it.
- Order more stock and tie up cash in excess inventory you may not actually need.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) struggle with inventory inconsistencies, such as missing stock, manual errors, and system discrepancies. More often than not, manual processes are the culprit, leading to wasted time, frustrated customers, and lost revenue.
These challenges don’t just slow you down; they dig into your profits and limit your growth.
But it doesn’t have to be this way—you just need the right inventory management solution. Fishbowl provides you with the tools to manage your inventory effectively so you can save time, avoid costly mistakes, and optimize your operations. Here are three reasons to choose Fishbowl to master your inventory.
1. Save time by automating inventory tasks
Many SMBs still rely on spreadsheets and manual processes to manage and track stock, which leads to lost hours each week as they focus on repetitive, time-consuming tasks.
Without automation, every stock movement requires manual input, every reorder requires someone to monitor stock levels, and every report demands hours of manual input aggregation and analysis. It all adds up, costing you time and removing you from those business areas that are truly going to drive growth, such as attracting more customers and making smarter decisions about pricing to maximize profits.
But Fishbowl’s automation features, such as real-time inventory tracking, automated reordering, and instant reporting tools, help you regain those hours.
Instead of wasting time manually checking stock, updating spreadsheets, or searching for missing items, Fishbowl lets you track inventory in real time, giving you access to reliable, up-to-the-minute stock updates.
Automated reorder points also eliminate the need for constant stock monitoring and the need to manually place orders. Simply set a minimum reorder point for each product, and Fishbowl will automatically generate a purchase order to reorder stock when it drops below that level.
Reporting is just as effortless—with access to 100+ reports that pull data in seconds, not hours—for instant insights into inventory trends, sale performance, and stock levels. For example, a retailer can quickly generate a report on top-selling products, stock levels, and regional sales trends to make better decisions around when to restock at each location and where to allocate resources.
Real success story: Cutting hours of manual work with Fishbowl
Here’s how Fishbowl’s automation transformed productivity for one business:
“Fishbowl changed everything! We were able to shave 50 hours a week off order entry and save 30 hours on manufacturing transactions as well.” — Christy Hair, CEO of Mack & Rex
2. Avoid expensive inventory mistakes that hurt your bottom line
Managing inventory and maintaining optimal stock levels can be tricky, particularly if you’re relying on manual processes. Manual methods often lead to inaccurate stock counts, misplaced stock, and frequent order mistakes.
The larger issue is that overstocking products can tie up cash in unused products—money you can use more productively elsewhere—while understocking can lead to lost sales, unhappy customers, and last-minute emergency orders, which usually come at a higher cost.
Again, Fishbowl helps you solve these issues. Real-time inventory tracking eliminates miscounts, misplaced stock, and other errors to ensure you always have an accurate view of your inventory. Automated reorder points, on the other hand, remove the guesswork in stock replenishment to prevent over- or understocking. By setting reorder points based on vendor lead times and historical sales data, you ensure purchase orders are automatically generated when stock gets low. And you also make sure there’s enough time for new shipments to arrive before you run out of products to sell.
Finally, barcode scanning enhances accuracy by reducing manual data entry errors. Simply scan products during receiving, putaway, picking, and shipping, and watch as your inventory database updates with the exact quantities.
Real success story: Preventing costly inventory mistakes with Fishbowl
Here’s how Fishbowl helped one business take control of their inventory:
“We started using Fishbowl, doing complete stock takes and entering everything into the system, and then we started seeing how much stock we had sitting on the shelf. We had about $100,000 worth that wasn’t even moving. Now, with Fishbowl, we avoid this costly kind of mistake!” — Scott Buckley, Co-owner of Boxes R Us
3. Simplify your workflow with seamless accounting integration
Disconnected inventory and accounting systems create inefficiencies, including duplicate data entry, syncing errors, mismatched records, time-consuming reconciliations, and delayed financial record keeping. These inefficiencies make it challenging to manage cash flow and make informed decisions that will drive growth.
However, Fishbowl integrates seamlessly with your favorite accounting systems, such as QuickBooks and Xero, allowing you to synchronize inventory and accounting records on a scheduled basis (daily, weekly, etc.). For instance, when you sell stock, Fishbowl updates the stock counts, and QuickBooks updates the financial records according to the new stock counts.
This connection minimizes errors arising from manual updates, ensures you don’t constantly switch between systems, and optimizes financial reporting because financial records reflect actual inventory costs.
Real success story: Faster data integration & smarter ordering with Fishbowl’s QuickBooks integration
Here’s how Fishbowl’s QuickBooks integration made data migration effortless while improving ordering efficiency:
“It integrated with QuickBooks so well that we could move our information quickly to Fishbowl. It took only a week or two to fine-tune everything by filling in the blanks that were empty.
We also were able to write within Fishbowl a custom ordering report that takes in account our previous sales history, hand quantities, and also ‘what’s on order’ to develop our own ordering process based on our lead teams.” — Tim Balsimo, Founder of Quality Pet Products
Take control of your inventory with Fishbowl’s robust solution
If you’re tired of manual inventory processes, costly errors, and disconnected systems that only lead to more work, it’s time for a smarter solution.
Fishbowl is a robust, SMB-friendly inventory management solution that saves you time, prevents costly mistakes, and integrates seamlessly with popular accounting tools, like QuickBooks, to keep your inventory and accounting in sync.
Ready to see how Fishbowl can simplify your inventory management? Book a demo today.