Skubana vs. Unleashed Software

Looking for inventory management software? Here's how Skubana and Unleashed Software stack up.

Mark Hammersley

Mark Hammersley

Last updated 11o July 2020


Skubana

3.7  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 999.00 / month

Free Plan?

No


Best for

high-volume retailers, especially those that sell on marketplaces like Amazon.

Unleashed Software

3.7  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 259.00 / month

Free Plan?

Trial


Best for

small and medium-sized retailers and manufacturers.

Skubana or Unleashed Software: Which is best?

Can't decide between Skubana and Unleashed Software?

Find the best platform for you with our side by side comparison of Skubana and Unleashed Software. 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.

Is Skubana right for you?

Skubana is an inventory management app aimed at medium-sized and enterprise retailers that process a high number of orders. It has a robust set of features and offers everything you would expect from an app of its type, including order, reorder, and delivery tracking, analytics, automation options, barcode scanning, and an extensive library of integrations.

For multi-channel sellers, Skubana is one of the best (if not the best) solutions that we’ve reviewed. It integrates with a wide array of ecommerce platforms and marketplaces, and everything from the orders dashboard to the reporting tools is designed to deal with information from multiple inputs.

Advantages

  • Designed to deal with a large number of monthly orders.
  • Lots of third-party marketplace integrations.
  • Customizable with the REST API.

Drawbacks

  • Relies quite heavily on integrations for certain functionality.
  • Expensive compared to some other solutions.
  • The interface is a little cluttered.

you’re looking for a robust enterprise solution that won’t break the bank. If you’re a high-volume multi-channel seller, especially on Amazon, you’ll find a lot to like.

Is Unleashed Software right for you?

Unleashed is a popular inventory management solution for small and medium-sized retailers and manufacturers in the UK. If you’re looking for access to a UK support team and a library of integrations tailored to British ecommerce companies, then Unleashed is well worth considering.

In terms of features, Unleashed has everything you would expect in an inventory management app, including stock, reorder, and delivery management tools, analytics, automation tools, barcode scanning, materials and assembly tracking, and more. Features are spread pretty evenly to cover retail and manufacturing functionality, so it’s definitely suitable for both camps.

All of that said, there are a few downsides. Not all ecommerce platforms are supported and native integrations with third-party marketplaces like Etsy and eBay are lacking (although you can make up for this to an extent with the OneSaaS integration).

Advantages

  • Overall, the platform is well-priced.
  • Excellent set of features.
  • Unlimited warehouses, currencies, and transactions.

Drawbacks

  • Not all ecommerce platforms are supported.
  • There are hidden costs, such as compulsory onboarding assistance for the first three months at £119/month and an extra monthly charge for premium support.
  • Support is only via email and community if you don’t want to pay extra

you’re a UK-based retailer or manufacturer that needs a comprehensive inventory management solution with access to a UK support team.

Ease of Use

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 Skubana and Unleashed Software platforms are to run.

How easy is Skubana to use?

Rated 4/5 for Ease of Use

Skubana is a browser app with a fairly typical user interface design. A central login page links to management dashboards for orders, shipments, inventory, analytics, and so on.

We thought that Skubana’s interface was reasonably intuitive and easy-to-use. It’s not the most straightforward on the market, and there is a slight learning curve, especially when it comes to the analytics dashboard. That said, it’s by no means the worst.

What Skubana customers are saying...

"It's a fantastic platform that has helped us leverage multiple additional technologies."
"It takes a little bit of time to fully learn everything about Skubana, I'm sure we still have a lot to learn."
"It takes a little bit of time to fully learn everything about Skubana, I'm sure we still have a lot to learn."

How easy is Unleashed Software to use?

Rated 4.5/5 for Ease of Use

Unleashed is a cloud-hosted solution and access is through a browser app. It’s a good option for companies that don’t want the hassle of maintaining desktop software.

All in all, the Unleashed dashboard is fairly intuitive and easy to use. It follows a traditional format, with a left-hand menu providing access to the management areas for order processing, customer details, production processes, integrations, and analytics.

What Unleashed Software customers are saying...

“Using Unleashed I finally have a process for everything inventory related in my business from purchasing, manufacturing, through to pick/pack/dispatch/invoice and everything in between.”
“Unleashed is a necessity for small businesses growing in the e-commerce industry.”
"Outstanding. We went live with Xero and Unleashed on October 1, 2018. We chose both on the basis of their respective features, and the tight integration."
Unleashed Software is our winner for ease of use

Skubana Features

Rated 3.5/5 for Features

On the surface, Skubana’s feature-kit appears less comprehensive than many of its competitors. There’s no mobile app, native barcode scanning, POS, or accounting integrations.

But it’s important to remember that the platform has been designed with multichannel retailers in mind. For this specific group, few other platforms come close to providing the same level of functionality.

Among the most notable features are the individual channel reporting tools, the API for building custom integrations, automation bots which can be used to manage inventory on third-party marketplaces, and advanced options for organizing parent-child and bundled products.

Skubana also excels on the training front. Users have access to onboarding consultants (full onboarding takes between four and six weeks), long-term client success managers, and a complete and highly-praised support package.

The analytics tools also rank among the best in the industry. Retailers can access a myriad of metrics, including turnover for specific channels, fulfillment rates, carrying costs, inventory age, and more. There are dedicated features for calculating customer value, keeping on top of accounting tasks, and maintaining a big-picture view across multiple stores.

Finally, all Skubana servers are run using AWS (Amazon Web Servers) and are fully secure. Reviews indicate that software is well-maintained from a technical standpoint and suitable for scaling companies.

Unleashed Software Features

Rated 4/5 for Features

Unleashed has a very large set of features and is suitable for both manufacturers and retailers. The platform has everything users need to run a store efficiently. Main features include inventory, reorder, and management tools, analytics, POS, barcode scanning, materials and production tracking, warehouse connectors, and a reasonably extensive library of integrations. The one big downside is that native integrations with third-party marketplaces like Etsy and eBay aren’t available.

Retailers looking for a solution accessible from mobile devices will feel very at home with Unleashed. The Apple and Android apps are suitable for a range of tasks, including displaying online catalogs, checking stock, and making sales (both online and offline). It’s a great tool for sales teams and one of the best inventory management mobile apps we’ve seen.

Training and customer service are also excellent. UK businesses will benefit from fast email support on UK hours, with the option to upgrade to premium phone and live chat support for an extra £119/month. Team members also have access to “Unleashed University”, which is a structured and in-depth set of training materials for new users.

On the reporting front, Unleashed offers a comprehensive collection of twenty-one reports, covering areas like purchases, sales, reorders, and so on. Analytics functionality can further be extended with integrations.

Unleashed Software is our winner for features

Skubana Integrations

Rated 3.5/5 for Integrations

Skubana relies quite heavily on third-party integrations to supplement its core feature-set. Barcode scanning and POS, for example, are only available through connectors. The downside to this approach is that it incurs extra costs because users have to pay for separate services.

While the Skubana integrations library is fairly solid, it’s not the best we’ve seen. Accounting apps for Xero and Quickbooks were notably absent, although Zapier makes up for this to an extent.

Where Skubana really shines, on the other hand, is in relation to omnichannel selling. A variety of EDI tools (SPS, eZCom, B2BGateway, etc.) enable retailers to sync up with practically any third-party marketplace, and native integrations are offered for Amazon, eBay, Groupon, Houzz, Jet, Newegg, Sears, Target, and Walmart. On the shopping cart front, 3dcart, BigCommerce, Magento, Shopify, and Shopify Plus are supported.

Skubana also offers an excellent array of its own integrations with shipping providers, including DHL, Endicia, FedEx, and UPS.

On the whole, while the integrations library might not be the most comprehensive we’ve reviewed, we were left with the impression that it’s been uniquely designed for multichannel retailers. If you sell on various marketplaces, you simply won’t find a more extensive set of connectors.

Unleashed Software Integrations

Rated 3/5 for Integrations

We were a little disappointed with the Unleashed integrations library. The “App Marketplace” isn’t anywhere near as extensive as some other solutions we’ve reviewed. It’s not terrible - and for many businesses it will be entirely sufficient - but it’s not brilliant either.

Unleashed also relies quite heavily on “connector” integrations like Zapier and OneSaaS, which allow users to link up with third-party apps via an intermediary service, rather than syncing directly. Functionality is sometimes limited by this approach. What’s more, features that retailers may consider essential, such as a point-of-sale system, are only provided through integrations, which often incurs extra costs. It would have been nice to see more in-house Unleashed options for retailers that want to take advantage of additional functionality.

Magento and Shopify are the only ecommerce platforms which are natively supported. Further compatibility, for example with WooCommerce and BigCommerce, is provided through OneSaaS. On the accounting front, both Xero and Intuit Quickbooks are available.

A point-of-sale system is available through Vend or Shopify POS, both well-respected solutions. Shipping is managed with the ShipStation integration. Finally, Unleashed offers an in-house app for building a B2B ecommerce portal, which is a nice extra. Users can also take advantage of a mobile app, downloadable on either Apple or Android.

Skubana is our winner for integrations

How much do they cost?

Everyone’s favourite topic - pricing. Let's dive in to see if Skubana or Unleashed Software offers better value for money.

How much does Skubana cost?

Rated 3.5/5 for Pricing

Skubana is aimed at medium and large sellers dealing with high volumes. Pricing begins at $999/month. At this price-point, we feel that it isn’t suitable for smaller retailers unless they require an inventory management solution designed to sync with multiple marketplaces. For these independent retailers, a number of cheaper options are available.

It’s important to keep in mind that Skubana is the best multichannel platform on the market. The custom pricing model is also very competitive when compared to other providers, and there are no long-term contracts. If you’re considering opting for Skubana, get in touch for a free demo before making a decision.

How much does Unleashed Software cost?

Rated 3.5/5 for Pricing

We thought that Unleashed was very affordable. Retailers will appreciate the custom pricing model (the monthly cost increases for every extra user), along with annual discounts and a 14-day free trial.

The one downside is that there are the additional “hidden” costs for premium support and a compulsory onboarding fee of £139/month for the first three months.

The entry-level “Medium” plan, which includes three users, costs £149/month when paid annually or £159/month when paid monthly. Every extra user costs approximately £50/month on all plans. The “Large” plan is £299/month and is suitable for between eight and twenty users. The “Large Plus” plan costs £519/month and accommodates upwards of twenty users.

It's a draw!

Help and Support

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 Skubana's and Unleashed Software's support measure up?

How good is Skubana support?

Rated 4/5 for Help and Support

Customer support, which is via email (with a turnaround time of twenty-four hours), is generally very good. Users praise both the high level of technical assistance and the responsiveness of the customer service team when alerted to bugs and other backend issues. The FAQs and support documentation is also very extensive.

Skubana provides new users with a dedicated onboarding manager to help them get up and running as quickly as possible. In addition to this, retailers can access a “client success” representative who will help them to take full advantage of the platform.

The one downside is that Skubana doesn’t offer live chat or phone support, which could come in useful when time-sensitive problems arise.

How good is Unleashed Software support?

Rated 3.5/5 for Help and Support

On the whole, support is good. Unleashed customer service teams are available from GMT 8 AM to 6 PM, which will be of benefit to retailers based in the UK who might not be able to access direct support from companies based in other countries. Email and community/forum support are included on all plans. For help via phone or live chat, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium support package, which costs an extra £119/month and has a four-month minimum term.

The big downside in the pricing structure is the inclusion of compulsory “managed onboarding”, which essentially hikes up the monthly price by £139 for the first three months.

Skubana is our winner for support

The Bottom Line

The final say. Let's wrap up our thoughts on each platform.

Skubana: Our Verdict

Skubana isn’t for everybody. If you’re a small online retailer, or if you only sell through one store, then there are other options available with more functionality and better pricing. Skubana also relies quite heavily on integrations.

If, on the other hand, you’re a reasonably high-volume multichannel seller, then Skubana is easily the best solution on the market, and it’s the small details that make the difference. Along with obvious tools like marketplace integrations and multichannel analytics, Skubana also provides less obvious features. These include bundled product options, management of different SKUs for identical products (which can be an issue when using marketplaces), and automation bots for streamlining workflows.

Customer support is excellent, so if you’re thinking about purchasing a subscription, get in touch with the company and ask for a free demo.

Unleashed Software: Our Verdict

On the whole, we were very impressed with Unleashed. It’s definitely not suitable for certain kinds of retailers, especially those that process high volumes of sales on third-party marketplaces and use unsupported ecommerce platforms. But other retailers will find it ideal. If you’re based in the UK, run manufacturing as well as retail, and require a high-quality mobile app to manage sales and orders, then Unleashed is well worth considering. Despite some semi-hidden costs, it’s also one of the best-priced solutions available. Many retailers will appreciate the custom subscription model.

If you’re thinking about giving it a whirl, just make sure that your ecommerce platform is supported first. And don’t forget to take advantage of the free trial.

Overall, we couldn't pick a clear winner as Skubana and Unleashed Softwarescored similarly.

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