Fishbowl Inventory Review 2024

What is Fishbowl Inventory?

Fishbowl has established itself as the leading inventory management solution for small and medium businesses using QuickBooks accounting software. While not a full-featured enterprise WMS comparable to SAP EWM or Manhattan Associates, Fishbowl fills a crucial gap for growing businesses that have outgrown spreadsheet-based inventory tracking but don't require (or can't justify) enterprise-class warehouse management investment.

The platform addresses a common pain point: QuickBooks provides excellent accounting functionality but offers limited inventory management capabilities. Fishbowl extends QuickBooks with advanced inventory tracking, warehouse management, manufacturing support, and barcode-based operations that maintain seamless synchronization with QuickBooks financial records. This integration eliminates duplicate data entry and ensures inventory and financial systems remain aligned.

Fishbowl is available in two primary editions. Fishbowl Warehouse focuses on inventory management and warehouse operations for distribution businesses. Fishbowl Manufacturing adds work order management, bill of materials, and light manufacturing execution capabilities for companies that both make and sell products. Both editions share core inventory and warehouse functionality while addressing different business models.

Core Features and Capabilities

Inventory Management Foundation

Fishbowl provides multi-location inventory tracking that maintains accurate stock positions across warehouses, stockrooms, and storage locations. The system supports item categorization, lot tracking, serial number tracking, and expiration date management. Real-time inventory visibility enables accurate available-to-promise calculations and proactive reorder management.

Automatic reorder point calculations generate purchase orders when inventory levels reach configured thresholds. This automation prevents stockouts while reducing the manual effort required for replenishment planning. Organizations can configure different reorder parameters for different items based on demand patterns and lead times.

Multi-unit of measure support handles items that are purchased, stocked, and sold in different quantities. For example, products purchased by the case, stored by the each, and sold by the dozen are tracked appropriately through procurement, warehousing, and sales cycles. The system handles unit conversions automatically to maintain accurate inventory positions.

Warehouse Operations

Fishbowl's warehouse management capabilities cover the fundamental operations that growing businesses require. Receiving functionality processes incoming inventory against purchase orders with quantity and quality verification. The system supports partial receipts, over-receipts within tolerance, and generates appropriate inventory and accounting transactions.

Picking functionality generates pick lists for sales orders with location-directed retrieval. While lacking the sophisticated wave planning and pick path optimization of enterprise systems, Fishbowl provides adequate picking guidance for operations with moderate complexity. Barcode scanning confirms picks and reduces errors compared to paper-based processes.

Packing and shipping integration supports pack verification, shipping label generation, and multi-carrier shipping through integrations with UPS, FedEx, and USPS. The system generates packing slips and tracks shipment confirmation back to sales orders. Integration with e-commerce platforms enables order import and shipment confirmation export.

Barcode Scanning and Mobile

Barcode integration is central to Fishbowl's warehouse operations, enabling accurate and efficient transaction processing. The Fishbowl GO mobile application provides device-based scanning for receiving, picking, transfers, and cycle counting. Standard smartphone cameras can read barcodes, eliminating dedicated scanner hardware requirements for many operations.

Barcode label printing supports item identification, location labeling, and document generation. The system can generate labels for incoming inventory or print location labels for warehouse organization. This integrated barcode capability provides significant accuracy and efficiency improvements over manual data entry.

Manufacturing Capabilities

Fishbowl Manufacturing extends the warehouse platform with bill of materials management, work order processing, and production tracking. Multi-level bills of materials support complex products with subassembly structures. Work orders drive material consumption, labor tracking, and finished goods receipt.

Build points automate manufacturing scheduling similar to reorder points for purchasing. When finished goods inventory reaches configured levels, the system generates work orders to replenish stock. This automation helps maintain appropriate inventory levels while reducing manual production planning effort.

While not comparable to dedicated manufacturing execution systems (MES), Fishbowl Manufacturing provides adequate capability for small manufacturers with straightforward production requirements. Operations with complex routing, detailed shop floor control, or extensive quality management requirements may need more capable manufacturing software.

QuickBooks Integration

Seamless QuickBooks integration represents Fishbowl's core value proposition. The platform synchronizes bidirectionally with QuickBooks Desktop, QuickBooks Online, and QuickBooks Enterprise. Inventory transactions in Fishbowl automatically generate corresponding QuickBooks transactions, maintaining aligned inventory and financial records without duplicate data entry.

Purchase order creation in Fishbowl flows to QuickBooks as vendor transactions. Sales order fulfillment generates customer invoices. Inventory adjustments create appropriate journal entries. This integration ensures that inventory and accounting remain synchronized while each system focuses on its core capabilities.

Organizations using alternative accounting systems (Xero, NetSuite, others) should note that while Fishbowl offers some additional integrations, QuickBooks integration remains the primary focus and most developed capability.

Additional Integrations

E-Commerce Platforms

Fishbowl integrates with major e-commerce platforms including Amazon, Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. These integrations import orders, synchronize inventory levels, and export shipping confirmations. For e-commerce businesses using QuickBooks, Fishbowl provides inventory management that connects online sales with warehouse operations and accounting.

Shipping Carriers

Direct integration with major shipping carriers enables rate comparison, label printing, and tracking within the Fishbowl interface. The system retrieves shipping rates from configured carriers, enabling cost-effective carrier selection for individual shipments. Shipping labels print directly from the packing workflow, streamlining outbound operations.

Third-Party Extensions

The Fishbowl partner ecosystem provides additional integrations and extensions that expand platform capabilities. Payment processing, EDI connectivity, and specialized industry solutions are available through certified partners. Organizations with specific integration requirements should evaluate available extensions before concluding that custom development is needed.

Deployment Options

On-Premise Installation

Traditional Fishbowl deployment installs on local servers or workstations with perpetual licensing. This approach provides complete data control and works well for operations with limited internet connectivity or specific data residency requirements. On-premise deployment requires IT infrastructure management and responsibility for backup, security, and updates.

Cloud Hosting

Fishbowl Online provides cloud-hosted deployment with subscription pricing. Cloud delivery reduces IT infrastructure burden while providing anywhere access. The cloud option is particularly suitable for organizations with distributed teams or limited IT resources. Monthly subscription pricing converts capital expense to operational expense.

Implementation and Getting Started

Fishbowl implementations are significantly faster and simpler than enterprise WMS deployments. Many organizations achieve go-live within 1-4 weeks depending on data migration complexity and integration requirements. The structured implementation process includes system setup, data import, integration configuration, and user training.

Self-implementation is achievable for technically capable organizations, though professional implementation services are available for those preferring expert assistance. Fishbowl provides training resources, documentation, and support to help organizations succeed with implementation.

Pricing Structure

Fishbowl uses a hybrid pricing model with traditional perpetual licensing and newer subscription options. Fishbowl Warehouse perpetual licensing starts at approximately $4,395 with annual maintenance fees of around $1,300. Fishbowl Manufacturing starts at approximately $5,595 perpetual plus maintenance. Additional user licenses increase costs based on concurrent user counts.

Fishbowl Online subscription pricing provides monthly per-user fees that include hosting, maintenance, and updates. Subscription pricing converts the upfront investment to ongoing operational expense and may be more accessible for smaller organizations or those preferring OpEx models.

The total investment is dramatically lower than enterprise WMS solutions, making Fishbowl accessible for small businesses that couldn't justify six-figure software investments. This affordability has contributed to Fishbowl's market leadership in the SMB segment.

Strengths and Advantages

• QuickBooks integration: Industry-leading integration with QuickBooks provides unified inventory and accounting without duplicate data entry
• Accessible pricing: Dramatically lower investment than enterprise WMS makes professional inventory management accessible for small businesses
• Rapid implementation: Days-to-weeks implementation versus months for enterprise systems enables faster time to value
• Manufacturing support: Bill of materials and work order management address light manufacturing requirements uncommon in competing SMB solutions
• Barcode capability: Integrated barcode scanning improves accuracy and efficiency without expensive dedicated hardware
• E-commerce integration: Connections to major e-commerce platforms support omnichannel retail operations

Limitations and Considerations

• Scalability ceiling: Organizations growing beyond mid-market complexity may eventually require more capable enterprise WMS
• Advanced WMS features: Lacks wave planning, slotting optimization, labor management, and other sophisticated capabilities
• QuickBooks dependency: Greatest value is realized with QuickBooks; alternative accounting integration is less developed
• Automation integration: Limited support for warehouse automation and material handling equipment integration
• Multi-warehouse complexity: While multi-location capable, complex multi-warehouse operations may strain platform capabilities

Best Fit Scenarios

Fishbowl is ideally suited for organizations that:

• Use QuickBooks and need inventory management capabilities beyond QuickBooks native functionality
• Operate as small-medium businesses with straightforward warehouse requirements
• Require light manufacturing support with bill of materials and work order management
• Need rapid implementation with limited IT resources
• Cannot justify enterprise WMS investment but require professional inventory management
• Operate e-commerce businesses needing inventory coordination across channels

When to Consider Alternatives

Organizations should evaluate alternative solutions when:

• Operations complexity requires wave planning, slotting optimization, or advanced labor management
• Warehouse automation integration is required for conveyor, sortation, or robotics
• Multi-client 3PL operations need sophisticated client management capabilities
• Very high transaction volumes strain Fishbowl performance
• Non-QuickBooks ERP integration is a primary requirement

For organizations outgrowing Fishbowl, alternatives include cloud WMS solutions, NetSuite WMS, or enterprise platforms like Körber for growing mid-market needs.

Getting Started

Organizations considering Fishbowl should:

1. Evaluate current QuickBooks edition compatibility
2. Define inventory management pain points and requirements
3. Request Fishbowl demonstration focused on your specific workflows
4. Consider implementation services versus self-implementation
5. Calculate ROI based on efficiency improvements and error reduction

Use our RFP template to structure requirements and request quotes from Fishbowl and alternative solutions.