Choosing stock software for a UK small business
Most software listicles skip the thing that actually made you search: the pricing model. Every credible tool meters growth on some axis - items, orders, users or revenue. Match the axis to how your business grows, or you'll be shopping again in a year.
The one question that decides it
What grows fastest in your business: the catalogue, the order count, or the team? Whatever grows fastest is what you don't want your software to charge for. A wholesaler whose SKU count doubles every year should not be on item-based pricing; a high-volume e-commerce operation should look hard at per-order metering; a business hiring quickly should read the per-user small print.
The recognised names, and who each fits
| Tool | Category | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Straptory | Inventory + purchasing, seat-priced | UK wholesalers, distributors and trade suppliers (3-50 people) escaping spreadsheets - free UK private beta |
| Zoho Inventory | Budget suite tool | Teams already inside the Zoho suite |
| Katana | Manufacturing-focused | Light manufacturing with bills of materials |
| inFlow | Mid-market inventory | Established product businesses wanting a mature feature set |
| Cin7 Core | Light ERP | Multichannel operations with ERP-ish needs |
| Unleashed | Inventory-heavy SMB | Stock-intensive businesses with implementation budget |
| Fishbowl | Manufacturing / warehouse | Operations tied closely to QuickBooks |
We don't publish other vendors' prices here: they change often, and a stale number would mislead you. Check each vendor's current pricing page and ask the questions below.
Six questions to ask any stock-software vendor
- What exactly raises my bill as I grow? Items, orders, users, warehouses or revenue - get it in writing.
- What does a read-only seat cost? Warehouse visibility for the whole team is where per-user pricing quietly doubles. (On Straptory, viewers are free.)
- What happens at renewal? Ask for the renewal price, not just the intro price.
- Are there mandatory onboarding or implementation fees?
- Do purchase orders include receiving - partial deliveries too? A PO you can't receive against just moves your spreadsheet problem.
- Can I export everything, any time? Your stock data is your business; leaving should be a CSV, not a negotiation.
Where Straptory honestly fits
Straptory is built for one buyer: the UK wholesaler, distributor or trade supplier (roughly 3-50 people, 100-5,000+ SKUs) who has outgrown a spreadsheet or an item-capped app and needs real purchasing - POs, receiving, reorder points - without an ERP rollout or per-SKU pricing. Single location today; if you need multichannel e-commerce sync or manufacturing, pick from the table above instead.
Free invite-only UK beta, lifetime price lock for early partners. Request early access →