Update: Fishbowl Vs. Quickbooks

April 2, 2019

By David Singletary

Companies using a combination of QuickBooks and Excel are oftentimes looking to find a more robust system alternative, but are not ready for an enterprise-level ERP system. For these types of firms looking for a low-cost option that will not require the replacement of QuickBooks, one application is Fishbowl—a manufacturing and inventory control system that integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks. Fishbowl Manufacturing is designed for small to mid-sized companies looking for a complete inventory management system without replacing QuickBooks for accounting.

Fishbowl Manufacturing is flexible enough to meet the needs of companies that require more streamlined inventory control, material requirements planning (MRP), and job shop floor control/manufacturing execution. It takes an inventory-centric approach, providing features for barcoding, asset management, raw materials management, cycle counting, and customized reporting. The system also automates the quoting, ordering, and purchasing processes.

Fishbowl’s seamless integration with QuickBooks online and desktop makes it easy for users to integrate manufacturing, sales, and distribution processes with back office accounting.

Fishbowl is a desktop or on-premise application. For a complete web based experience, there is SOS Inventory. This solution offers everything a small to medium size company would need to manage their inventory. It offers three different product levels that allow your company to grow without a large outlay of cash. It also integrates seamlessly to QuickBooks online, but not desktop. While not as robust as Fishbowl, its web browser experience leads to a more intuitive and faster learning curve compared to Fishbowl. The software is rich with many features like, assemblies, serial/lot tracking, barcoding, job costing, automated order processing, multi-currency, and rentals.

Since it’s a web-based product, it has been developed to render nicely on any web-enabled device. This is one of the highest ranked apps on the Intuit App Center.

Both products offer a free trial period. This will allow you to test drive each and determine which would be a best fit for your company.

Still not sure which software matches your company’s goals? Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] or 973-577-2927 to discuss.