Small retail stores need inventory software that does not eat into already thin margins. TrackItWeekly at $19/month is the most affordable option with PAR levels, vendor-ready order emails, and multi-location support. Sortly and Zoho Inventory offer free tiers but lack ordering workflow. Square has basic inventory tied to its POS. The right choice depends on whether you need counting only or counting plus ordering.
Small retail margins are tight. The National Retail Federation reports average shrinkage of 1.4 to 1.6% for small retailers, with extreme cases exceeding 5%. When your margin is 15 to 25%, spending $200/month on inventory software that tracks shrinkage feels like paying the problem to solve the problem.
Most small retailers fall into one of two traps:
The goal is finding software that costs less than the shrinkage it prevents.
| Software | Price | Counting | PAR Levels | Ordering | Multi-Location | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TrackItWeekly | $19/mo | Weekly structured | Yes | Yes (vendor emails) | Yes ($79/mo) | Yes |
| Sortly | $0 to $49/mo | On-demand visual | No | No | Yes (paid) | Limited |
| Zoho Inventory | $0 to $39/mo | Order-based | Yes (reorder alerts) | Limited (PO creation) | Yes (paid) | No |
| Square Inventory | $0 (with POS) | Real-time (sales-based) | Yes (low-stock alerts) | No | Yes (paid) | No |
| Google Sheets | $0 | Manual | No | No | No | No |
At $19/month, TrackItWeekly is the most affordable inventory software that includes both counting and ordering workflow. It is not the cheapest option on this list (free tiers exist), but it is the cheapest option that actually helps you place orders, not just track what you have.
What you get for $19/month:
What you do not get at $19/month:
Who it is for: Single-location retail stores that count weekly and order from suppliers. If you have been using a spreadsheet to track 200 to 500 items and writing order emails by hand, TrackItWeekly replaces both of those tasks for less than $1/day.
Sortly's free tier lets you photograph items, organize into folders, and track quantities. If your budget is truly zero and you just need a digital catalog of what you have, this works.
The gap: No PAR levels. No ordering workflow. No usage analytics. No vendor emails. You will still write your own orders by hand and guess at quantities. The free tier also has strict limits on items and users.
Pricing: Free tier available. Paid plans start around $49/month for multi-user and barcode features.
Zoho Inventory's free tier is designed for online sellers. It syncs stock across Shopify, Amazon, and eBay, and includes basic reorder point alerts. If you sell online and your inventory moves through orders, Zoho handles the sync.
The gap: No physical counting workflow. Zoho tracks what sells, not what is on your shelf. If your physical stock and your system stock do not match (and they never match perfectly), Zoho will not help you reconcile. No vendor-ready order emails. No offline counting.
Pricing: Free tier available (limited orders and SKUs). Paid plans start around $39/month.
Square includes basic inventory management with its free POS. You can track stock levels, set low-stock alerts, and manage SKU variants. If you already process sales through Square, the inventory features are included.
The gap: No PAR-based ordering. No vendor-ready order emails. No offline counting. No weekly counting workflow. Inventory is tied to sales data, so it only updates when something sells. If you lose stock to damage, theft, or miscounts, Square will not catch it without a manual count. Multi-location requires higher-tier Square subscriptions.
Pricing: Free with Square POS. Advanced inventory features require Square Plus or higher plans.
| Your Situation | Best Choice | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|
| You count weekly and place orders with suppliers | TrackItWeekly | $19 |
| You just need a visual catalog of what you have | Sortly | $0 |
| You sell online and need multi-channel sync | Zoho Inventory | $0 |
| You already use Square POS and need basic tracking | Square Inventory | $0 |
| You have multiple retail locations and need remote ordering | TrackItWeekly (Growth) | $79 |
| You are starting from zero and need something free | Google Sheets | $0 |
If your store has 200+ SKUs and you place regular orders with suppliers, yes. The time savings from generating vendor-ready orders in one session instead of manually cross-referencing a spreadsheet and typing order emails pays for the subscription. If a single over-order or stockout costs you more than $19 in a month, the app pays for itself.
Yes. TrackItWeekly's pricing scales with your business. Starter at $19/month for one location. Growth at $79/month for up to 5 locations with reorder alerts. Scale at $149/month for up to 10 locations with advanced analytics. No annual contracts. Cancel anytime. 14-day free trial with no credit card required.