You are a small business owner that has a large catalog of inventory, which you keep on hand, to sell to your customers. You just made the decision that you are going to catalog your entire inventory, on a computer. Now comes the task of deciding which computer application you are going to use to accomplish this.
The first application that comes to mind is the old reliable spreadsheet. Spreadsheet applications have been around since the days of Lotus (circa the 1980’s). The only problem with using a spreadsheet is you have to set it up to track all of the important information about your inventory. You have to design the layout of the spreadsheet as well as enter in your catalog. That could take hours and hours of time, which you already don’t have. The other problem with using a spreadsheet is that in order to access it, you have to have it with you at all times. If you need to share it with any of your employees, you have to email it to them or copy it onto a thumb drive and deliver it to that person. You now have a second copy of your spreadsheet. Any changes you make to your inventory (such as sales or purchases) now have to be entered into both spreadsheets. If your employee makes changes to their spreadsheet and you make changes to yours, you now have to merge and reconcile those changes. This becomes a big problem in a short amount of time.
Enter Stockpile. The free, online inventory management application that was specifically designed with small business owners, in mind. Since the application is online, all you need is an internet connection and a device with a web browser (smart phone, tablet, or computer). You can easily see your inventory catalog in real time, as well as make changes to the catalog without the fear of having to merge transactions from your other employees.
Also, it’s free and who doesn’t like free?
