Raw materials sit at the start of every production run. When they’re miscounted, mislabeled, or untracked, the problems cascade: production delays, emergency reorders at premium prices, and customer orders that can’t ship on time. The right software for managing raw materials inventory shows what you have, where it’s stored, and when to reorder. This article compares five platforms: Sortly, Craftybase, Fishbowl Inventory, Katana, and inFlow Inventory.
This guide is designed for inventory managers and operations leads who already know they’ve outgrown spreadsheets and need inventory management software built for the job. You’ll see what each platform does well, where each has limits, and which features matter most when materials move from supplier to warehouse to production floor.
What is raw materials inventory software?
Raw materials inventory software is a system that tracks the materials a business buys to manufacture, assemble, or produce its products, from receipt and storage through consumption and reorder.
Raw materials software tracks inputs, such as lumber, fabric, chemicals, and components, not the finished goods on the shelf waiting to be sold. It also differs from MRP (material requirements planning) systems, which plan production runs around the materials you have.
Without an inventory management system, a single component running out can stall production, and the business often finds out only after the line stops. Stockouts mean emergency orders that cost more. Overbuying to avoid them, or overstocking, ties up cash instead.
How do you track raw materials inventory?
To track raw materials inventory well, log each material when it arrives, store it in a labeled location, and record every use in production. Barcode and QR code scanning, if available, keeps counts accurate, and reorder alerts flag shortages early enough to act.
Teams that track raw materials well repeat these steps the same way every time, from setup to routine counts.
What is the difference between raw materials and finished goods inventory?
Inputs like lumber, fabric, or parts are what a business uses to make its products. Finished goods are completed products ready to sell to customers. Materials get consumed in production, while completed products leave through sales.
Because they move through different parts of the business, each needs its own tracking.
How do you calculate raw materials inventory?
Add the opening balance of materials to what you purchased, then subtract what you used in production. The result is your ending balance for the period. A physical count every so often confirms the number matches what’s on the shelf. The same math applies when you’re calculating raw materials inventory.
The 5 best software for managing raw materials inventory
Each platform below was evaluated for raw material management on five things: receipt and storage tracking, usage logging as materials are consumed, reorder alerts, visibility across locations (warehouse, production floor, and supplier pipeline), and how easily production and inventory teams can use it day to day. Each entry covers an overview, key features, and limitations.
1. Sortly
Sortly is an inventory app built to give field teams a visual, mobile-first way to track materials from receipt to consumption. Its folder-based system mirrors how materials are actually stored, whether by type, by supplier, or by production line. Warehouse staff log receipts and pulls from the floor on the mobile app instead of updating a spreadsheet later.
Key features for tracking materials
- Custom units of measure: Track materials in the unit your business actually uses, such as cases, pallets, rolls, liters, or board feet.
- Low stock alerts: Set a reorder trigger for each material so the team knows before a stockout, not after.
- Built-in barcode and QR scanning: Scan materials at receipt and at consumption to keep counts accurate without manual entry.
- Multi-location tracking: See what’s stored across warehouses, storage areas, and production floors without checking each one separately.
- Purchase orders: Create a PO from the system when stock falls to its reorder level.
Cons and limitations
Sortly is built intentionally for true inventory control rather than complex manufacturing execution like bill-of-materials management, MRP, production scheduling, or work-order routing. By focusing strictly on tracking what materials are on hand, where they are stored, and when to reorder, it keeps day-to-day operations simple and intuitive enough for warehouse and inventory teams to adopt without friction.
2. Craftybase
Craftybase is an inventory and bookkeeping platform built for makers, artisans, and small-batch manufacturers. It tracks material usage for each product, calculates cost of goods sold (COGS) automatically, and connects with Etsy and Shopify so inventory is deducted as ecommerce orders come in.
Selected features
- Material usage tracking per product or recipe: See how much of each material goes into each item you make.
- Automatic COGS calculation: Tie material costs to product costs without a separate calculation.
- Integration with Etsy, Shopify, and Amazon Handmade: Deduct materials as orders arrive from your sales channels.
- Batch tracking and lot numbers: Keep materials traceable by batch or lot.
- Expense tracking tied to materials: Connect what you spend to the materials you buy.
Cons and limitations
Craftybase is designed for makers and small-batch producers, so it’s less suited to larger manufacturing operations or businesses that don’t sell through ecommerce channels. Mobile access is also limited compared to app-first platforms.
3. Fishbowl Inventory
Fishbowl Inventory is a manufacturing and warehouse inventory platform with QuickBooks integration at its core. It covers work orders, bills of materials, ordering, and multi-location warehousing for small and mid-sized manufacturers and distributors.
Selected features
- Bills of materials (BOM) and work order management: Define what goes into each product and track the work that builds it.
- Manufacturing module with production scheduling: Plan production runs against the materials you have.
- QuickBooks integration for accounting sync: Keep inventory and accounting records aligned.
- Barcode scanning and multi-location warehousing: Track materials across more than one warehouse.
- PO management: Order materials from the same system that tracks them.
Cons and limitations
Fishbowl is manufacturing inventory software built for manufacturing and warehouse operations. The depth of its BOM and work-order tools is powerful, but it adds complexity that lighter material tracking may not need. Implementation typically involves more setup than mobile-first tools.
4. Katana
Katana is a cloud manufacturing platform that combines material tracking, production planning, and sales order management. It’s built for small and mid-sized manufacturers who need visibility from material receipt through to completed orders.
Selected features
- Real-time material and finished goods tracking: See current stock levels for inputs and outputs in one place.
- Production planning with manufacturing orders: Schedule production against available materials.
- Auto-booking of materials to production orders: Reserve materials for a run as the order is created.
- Integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, and QuickBooks: Connect sales and accounting to production.
- Multi-warehouse inventory management: Track materials across more than one warehouse.
Cons and limitations
Katana is the strongest fit for manufacturers with structured production workflows. Businesses that simply store and use materials without formal production orders may find the manufacturing planning features unnecessary overhead.
5. inFlow Inventory
inFlow Inventory is an inventory and order management platform for small businesses, with stock tracking, ordering tools, and scanning. It handles both materials and products for sale and includes reorder point automation.
Selected features
- PO management with reorder points: Reorder materials when stock reaches the threshold you set.
- Barcode scanning for receiving and consumption: Record materials as they arrive and as they’re used.
- B2B showroom for customer ordering: Let business customers place orders directly.
- Integration with QuickBooks, Shopify, and Xero: Connect inventory to accounting and sales tools.
- Multi-location stock tracking: See stock across locations.
Cons and limitations
inFlow is strongest for product-based businesses with sales and distribution workflows. Material tracking is a capability but not the core focus, since the platform centers on order management and inventory for sale rather than production-input tracking.
What software is best for managing raw materials?
It depends on how your team works and your planning needs. Teams that need simple tracking, reorder alerts, and mobile scanning may prefer a focused tool like Sortly. Sortly can also easily track other types of assets and inventory, like equipment and finished goods.
Makers selling online may lean toward Craftybase, while manufacturers with bills of materials and production scheduling may look at Fishbowl or Katana.
What features matter most in raw materials inventory software?
Materials move from supplier to warehouse to production floor, changing form along the way. Whichever software you choose, the features below determine whether your inventory management software tracks that movement accurately or loses visibility at the handoff points.
Custom units of measure
Materials often arrive in one unit and get used in another, like pallets in and board feet out. Look for software that lets you track each material in the unit your team actually counts, so stock levels match what’s on the floor.
Low stock alerts
Low stock alerts tell your team to reorder raw materials before a stockout stops a run, so replenishment happens on time. They also guard against overstocking, since a clear threshold tells buyers when to order and how much. Usage history supports forecasting, and good reports make demand forecasting easier.
Barcode or QR scanning at receipt and consumption
Scanning item barcodes when materials arrive and when they’re used keeps inventory tracking accurate without retyping. It leaves a record of who moved what, which supports traceability. Mobile barcode scanning means no extra hardware to buy or maintain.
Multi-location tracking
Materials sit in warehouses, storage areas, and on the production floor. Tracking across locations gives you real-time inventory in one place, so nobody checks each location separately or reorders something that’s already on another shelf. Real-time inventory management also lets production see what’s available before a run starts. Dashboards or reports that show stock levels by location make gaps easier to spot.
Purchase order integration
When stock hits the reorder point, creating a purchase order from the same record saves re-entering item details and keeps buying connected to what’s on hand. Check whether orders sync with your accounting software or ERP system. Sortly is also able to send orders directly to QuickBooks Online via integration.
Keep raw materials under control with Sortly
If you’re building a raw materials inventory management process from scratch, start by setting up a material tracker. From there, good supply inventory management habits, a solid grasp of inventory management basics, and a plan to sidestep common inventory mistakes, along with the right inventory management software, will keep it running.
Sortly’s quantity-based alerts, purchase order capability, and mobile app give inventory and production teams that signal from the warehouse floor, not from a spreadsheet someone checks once a week. And that matters, because according to Sortly’s State of Inventory Report 2026, 43% of small businesses still track inventory manually or not at all.
Moving from spreadsheets to dedicated raw material inventory management software is a practical first step for most operations, and it’s the first (and best) defense against stockouts and shortages that bring production to a halt.
Start your two-week free trial of Sortly today.
