Looking for inventory management software? Here's how Fishbowl Warehouse and Brightpearl stack up.
Mark Hammersley
Last updated 12o July 2020
4.2 Stackupp rating
Pricing from
Price on application
Free Plan?
Trial
Best for
small and medium-sized retailers that are looking for a cost-effective desktop solution with a large feature-set.4.2 Stackupp rating
Pricing from
Price on application
Free Plan?
No
Best for
medium-sized and large multichannel retailers with annual turnover in excess of one million dollars.Can't decide between Fishbowl Warehouse and Brightpearl?
Find the best platform for you with our side by side comparison of Fishbowl Warehouse and Brightpearl. See how each platform stacks up across ease of use, features, integrations, support and value for money.
Let the comparison begin. Don't worry, we'll guide you.
Fishbowl Warehouse is a popular inventory management solution. A few things set it apart from the majority of its competitors and, depending on what you need, it could be exactly the solution you’re looking for.
It should be stated at the outset that Fishbowl Warehouse is a desktop application. If you prefer cloud-based platforms, then it’s not for you. Equally, Fishbowl offers a separate product for manufacturers called “Fishbowl Manufacturing”, with tools that aren’t included in its inventory-management-focused counterpart.
Fishbowl is also one of the few software developers to offer lifetime licences, instead of working on a subscription model. If you’re looking to minimize costs, you will likely find this appealing. But remember that you will have to pay for support and updates after the first year.
you’re a small or medium-sized retailer looking for a relatively inexpensive solution with a brilliant set of features. You also need to be happy to run Fishbowl on your own servers.
Brightpearl is an inventory management app aimed at medium and large retailers. It’s a great option for companies that require an enterprise solution to oversee listings across multiple marketplaces, in addition to their own store.
It’s a competitor to other multichannel apps like Skubana and offers an extensive array of features, including inventory, supply chain, and order fulfillment tools, a reasonably large integrations library, automation options, and a robust analytics interface.
It’s aimed squarely at retailers, both B2C and B2B. If you’re looking for a solution with manufacturing functionality, then you’ll need an alternative app. The price of the service also makes it unsuitable for smaller online sellers. As a rough guide, if you’re dealing with upwards of one millions dollars worth of orders per month, then it’s well worth considering.
you’re looking for an enterprise-level solution that will enable you to manage inventory across multiple channels and third-party marketplaces.
Our first comparison criteria, ease of use. Why? Because it’s the most important.
Think about it. You don’t want to invest a lot of your precious time setting up an online store and tweaking the design only to find out that it’s a pain in the butt to manage day to day.
We take a look at how simple the Fishbowl Warehouse and Brightpearl platforms are to run.
Fishbowl Warehouse is built with a “traditional” desktop design. The interface has a menu at the top which links to separate dashboards for “Materials”, “Purchases”, “Reports”, and so on.
The interface isn’t as minimal and intuitive as some of its cloud-based alternatives, and there’s definitely a learning curve. That said, it’s not overly complex, and Fishbowl provides ample support, through both onboarding assistants and documentation.
“The implementer that worked with me did a great job and we got a very personalized experience and a lot of up front training and support.”
“It works. As advertised and better. Some companies embellish the quality and quantity of their features. Not Fishbowl. They do everything they say and more.”
“It’s a little clunky to use, could definitely be a bit more user friendly. There is a bit of a learning curve and does take time to train new employees.”
Brightpearl is something of a mixed bag when it comes to ease of use. While the interface itself is relatively straightforward, and much more intuitive than some competitors we’ve tried, configuring settings can be cumbersome.
Tasks like creating listings, batching products, and setting up integrations, for example, require numerous manual steps.
There is a little bit of a learning curve for new users. That said, Brightpearl offers high-quality support and extensive documentation, along with the option of dedicated training.
"While Bright Pearl is easy to use, sometimes the amount of manual steps you have to take with some of the processes are tedious."
"Sometimes you have to do things by the book and can't cut corners in processes."
"Really easy to learn and manage."
Fishbowl Warehouse is one of the most feature-rich solutions we’ve reviewed on Stackupp. It has all the functionality you would expect, including order and delivery management, analytics, automation, an extensive library of integrations, barcode scanning, POS, payment processing, on-site warehouse tracking, and more.
Fishbowl Warehouse was problematic in just a handful of areas. The analytics tools could be improved with more advanced reports. Currently, only limited sales and inventory tracking are possible. And very few integrations with third-party marketplaces, like Etsy, Wish, Walmart, and so on, are included. If any of these things is a make-or-break issue for you, then you’ll probably have to look elsewhere. Finally, keep in mind that Fishbowl offers a separate platform aimed exclusively at manufacturers. The “Warehouse” version alone isn’t suitable for tasks like tracking raw materials, managing parts, organizing stages of production, and so on.
The excellent multi-device compatibility is also worth noting. Fishbowl has built dedicated integrations to enable mobile use on Android, iPhone, and Microsoft Surface. And while it is a desktop app, users can access the platform from any device with the “Fishbowl Anywhere” tool. There’s also the option of “Fishbowl Hosting”, which allows users to store all their files on fully-secure servers. If you opt for this, you’ll still have to install software on your own hard drive but all your data will be looked after.
As a cloud-based solution geared towards larger companies, Brightpearl has an extensive array of features along with high-level reporting and inventory management tools. We couldn’t find anything major that was missing.
Brightpearl operates according to a “modular” pricing structure, so users can choose which kinds of functionality they want to pay for. In the longer-term, this may prove more cost-effective than opting for a one-size-fits-all plan.
Unusually for an inventory management app, Brightpearl also has CRM capabilities, making it possible to store and manage client details and send out notifications.
The only downsides were the lack of a mobile app and a somewhat limited selection of marketplace integrations (although this is offset somewhat by intermediary connectors like SPS Commerce). We also felt that some essential features, like POS, were omitted from the plan for smaller retailers.
In terms of order, inventory, and shipping management, Brightpearl includes multiple tools for dealing with high sales volume, including automated fulfilment rules. Users can also take advantage of multi-location and multi-currency inventory control, and warehouse features like barcode scanning.
The analytics centre allows for the creation of a variety of advanced reports covering channel-specific performance, demand forecasting, customer analysis, and more.
Finally, Brightpearl has a range of offerings for companies experiencing fast growth, including the option to move over to dedicated secure servers.
Fishbowl doesn’t disappoint on the integrations front. Its library is one of the most comprehensive that we’ve seen, and includes connectors for a range of third-party apps from sales automation to accounting. If we had to find one fault, it would be that there’s only limited support for third-party marketplaces like Etsy and Wish.
Let’s kick off with accounting. Fishbowl is incredibly popular among QuickBooks users, and provides dedicated integrations for both the desktop and online versions. Fishbowl Warehouse is designed to work seamlessly with Quickbooks, filling in many of the functionality gaps that retailers require. Integrations are also available for Xero, Avalara, and Reckon users.
Fishbowl syncs with numerous ecommerce platforms, including Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, 3dcart, Zen Cart, and others. Retailers can also take advantage of marketplace integrations for Amazon and eBay.
So what about shipping? Fishbowl has clearly dedicated a lot of time to building out its shipping tools and provides an extensive array of integrations, with the likes of FedEx, DHL, ShipStation, and UPS covered.
A number of in-house integrations which extend the functionality of the app’s core feature-set are also provided. Even though Fishbowl is a desktop app, “Fishbowl Anywhere” enables users to access the interface using an internet connection from most devices, including Apple and Android phones.
Finally, Fishbowl offers its own POS system, employee time tracking tools, EDI (electronic data interchange), and link-ups for Zoho and Salesforce.
While the Brightpearl integrations library is good, we weren’t absolutely blown away by it. For an enterprise platform of this sort, we expected to see more native marketplace integrations and support for a wider selection of ecommerce platforms.
As a retailer, you will likely find everything that you need. And even when in-house integrations aren’t offered, third-party connectors make up for the gaps in functionality. Just make sure you check out what’s on offer before you purchase. Large companies will be pleased to hear that Quickbooks, Xero, and Avalara are all supported on the accounting front. Brightpearl also integrates with the desktop version of Quickbooks.
In terms of ecommerce platforms, Shopify, Shopify Plus, Magento, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and NuORDER are all covered.
Native integrations with third-party marketplaces Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Jet, and Newegg are provided. On the surface, this looks somewhat paltry for a dedicated omnichannel solution. And while this is true to an extent, SPS Commerce and CommerceHub significantly extend marketplace functionality. Brightpearl is built to work well with both of these integrations.
Finally, a wide range of shipping connectors is provided, including ShipStation, Hermes, DHL, Royal Mail, FedEx, UPS, Parcel Force, and others. Unlike many competitors, the selection of shipping integrations caters to UK as well as US retailers.
Everyone’s favourite topic - pricing. Let's dive in to see if Fishbowl Warehouse or Brightpearl offers better value for money.
Evaluating the pricing of Fishbowl Warehouse is a little tricky. It’s one of the few apps that doesn’t operate a subscription or software-as-a-service model, making comparisons with competitors pretty much redundant.
Although Fishbowl does have a high up-front cost - plans start at $4,395 with additional fees for extra users/licenses - once you’ve purchased the software, you own it outright. In the longer-term, this can be significantly more cost-effective than paying a monthly fee.
Just remember that you only get support, training, and updates for one year. You’ll have to pay for a one, two, or three-year package after that.
Brightpearl operates a custom pricing model and doesn’t publish exact figures on its site. You’ll need to get in touch directly for a quote.
Broadly speaking, there are two plans available, although various levels of customization are available. The first plan is for retailers processing under 1500 orders per month; the second is for retailers with orders in excess of 1500 per month.
The first plan allows for five channels and five users, while the second allows for an unlimited number of both users and channels. Warehouse management and POS is only available on the higher-priced plan. No free trial is explicitly offered but it may be possible to organize one.
If things go wrong (and they often do) you need to know someone’s there to help get you back on track. So, how does Fishbowl Warehouse's and Brightpearl's support measure up?
The help and support package provided by Fishbowl is fairly comprehensive. When you purchase a license, you’ll have access to customer support for one year, after which you’ll need to pay extra, including for software updates.
Support is available via email (6am - 6pm MST), phone (6am - 6pm MST), and online chat (8am - 5pm). It’s possible to make an unlimited amount of phone calls under ten minutes but there is an allowance for calls over ten minutes. Additional support options are also available, such as access to a training assistant for help getting set up.
The documentation and training videos are extensive and straightforward.
Brightpearl has an excellent support package. Companies in the UK and US will benefit from dedicated customer service teams in their own countries. There’s no limit to the number of technical requests that users can make.
Phone support is available sixteen hours a day. During the remaining eight hours, users can take advantage of 24/7 email support, with an average 26 minute response time.
Brightpearl also offers extensive documentation and training videos, along with access to a community of users. Companies that need extra training, whether in relation to sales order management, accounting, or the use of integrations, can purchase additional support packages.
The final say. Let's wrap up our thoughts on each platform.
Fishbowl Warehouse fills a unique gap in the market. It’s a desktop solution for small and medium-sized retailers that need access to a powerful array of features. Functionality covers everything you would expect and more. Standout features include the extensive library of integrations, multi-device access, and superb customer support.
If you prefer to own your software outright, then Fishbowl Warehouse is a great option. Over time, you will likely save hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars. Just be prepared to handle the backend side of things yourself. Or you can, of course, always opt to store your data on Fishbowl servers instead for an extra cost.
We were very impressed with Brightpearl. While we have a few minor quibbles - mainly due to the small number of native marketplace integrations, tedious configuration settings, and a lack of features on the lower-priced plan - overall we liked what we saw. Enterprise ecommerce companies will find everything they need with this inventory management solution.
It’s definitely geared towards larger retailers (with a minimum of one million dollars in yearly sales) and the cost of the software will be untenable for most smaller businesses. For larger online sellers, however, the modular pricing structure may prove more cost-effective than alternatives.
If you think it might be suitable for you, our advice is to get in touch and ask for a demo.
Overall, we couldn't pick a clear winner as Fishbowl Warehouse and Brightpearlscored similarly.
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