Fishbowl
Inventory & manufacturing management for QuickBooks & Xero with AI insights.
Fishbowl is a solid pick for QuickBooks/Xero-reliant SMBs that need real manufacturing and multi-warehouse capabilities. The AI insights are a nice bonus, but the lack of transparent pricing and limited integrations beyond accounting may deter some. Schedule a demo if you fit the ecosystem.
- Manufacturing businesses needing BOM, work orders, and MRP
- QuickBooks or Xero users wanting seamless accounting sync
- Mid-sized companies managing inventory across multiple warehouses
- Ecommerce retailers needing real-time inventory and order management
- Small businesses with simple inventory needs wanting a free or low-cost solution
- Companies not using QuickBooks or Xero (limited accounting integration options)
- Pure service businesses with no physical inventory
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Skip Fishbowl if you don't use QuickBooks or Xero, need a free or low-cost solution, or require extensive third-party integrations beyond accounting and payments.
Pricing is contact-only with no published tiers, so you cannot self-serve evaluate cost without a sales call.
Fishbowl's contact-sales pricing targets SMBs that are already paying for QuickBooks/Xero and need serious inventory/manufacturing depth. It's likely more expensive than Zoho Inventory (free tier available) and Odoo (open-source), but less than enterprise ERPs like NetSuite. Without public pricing, it's hard to compare directly.
In short
Fishbowl — Inventory & manufacturing management for QuickBooks & Xero with AI insights. Best for Manufacturing businesses needing BOM, work orders, and MRP, QuickBooks or Xero users wanting seamless accounting sync, Mid-sized companies managing inventory across multiple warehouses. Contact Sales pricing.
Viability Score
How likely is Fishbowl to still be operational in 12 months? Based on 4 signals — momentum (how recently it shipped), wrapper dependency, revenue model, and web presence.
Last calculated: July 2026
How we score →Key Features
- Real-time inventory tracking across multiple locations
- Auto purchasing with landed cost calculation
- Vendor management (cost, lead time, part numbers)
- Bill of Materials (BOM) management
- Manufacture and work order management
- Material Resource Planning (MRP)
- Time tracking and labor costing
- Kitting and bundling products
- Ecommerce integration with pricing rules
- Order fulfillment (pick & pack, transfers, RMAs)
- Third-party logistics (3PL) support
- AI analytics with Athena assistant
- Integrated payment processing (Fishbowl Payments)
- Custom reports and shipping integration
- Parts and asset tracking
About Fishbowl
Fishbowl is a cloud-based inventory and manufacturing management platform built for small to mid-sized businesses using QuickBooks (Online, Desktop, Canada) or Xero. It offers real-time multi-location inventory tracking, barcode scanning, pick/pack workflows, and order fulfillment, including 3PL support. For manufacturers, it includes Bill of Materials (BOM), work orders, Material Resource Planning (MRP), time tracking, and labor costing. The platform also features Fishbowl Commerce Suite for ecommerce integration and Fishbowl Payments for built-in payment processing. A standout capability is Fishbowl AI Insights, powered by an AI assistant named Athena, which delivers on-demand business data and actionable insights. Compared to simpler inventory apps or generic ERP systems, Fishbowl provides deep functionality specifically for QuickBooks and Xero users who need integrated inventory, manufacturing, and AI features.
Behind the Verdict
We'd reach for Fishbowl when you're a growing manufacturer or distributor already locked into QuickBooks or Xero and your inventory complexity has outgrown simple spreadsheets or basic apps. The BOM, MRP, and work order features are genuinely built for manufacturing—this isn't a repurposed retail tool. The AI assistant Athena is a differentiator: ask questions like 'what's my slowest-moving sku?' and get instant answers without running reports. That said, Fishbowl isn't for everyone. If you don't use QuickBooks or Xero, the accounting sync options are limited, and you'll need a middleman for other ERPs. Pricing is opaque—contact-sales only—so budgeting requires a call. Also, the ecosystem of third-party integrations is thin beyond accounting and their own Commerce/Payments modules. Compared to alternatives like Cin7 or Zoho Inventory, Fishbowl offers deeper manufacturing features but fewer out-of-the-box connectors. In practice, onboarding can take weeks, and the user interface feels dated in spots. Pick this for the narrow sweet spot of QuickBooks/Xero + manufacturing; pass if you want transparent pricing or broad integration freedom.
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Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Fishbowl actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
You need to automate purchase orders based on reorder points and track raw materials across two warehouses.
Outcome: Fishbowl auto-generates POs, syncs to QuickBooks, and gives real-time stock visibility across locations via barcode scanning.
You need to sync inventory between your online store and accounting, manage kits, and accept payments.
Outcome: Fishbowl Commerce Suite links sales orders to inventory, supports kitting, and processes payments via Fishbowl Payments, all synced to Xero.
You need to manage inventory by client owner, perform pick/pack, and process RMAs.
Outcome: Fishbowl's 3PL support and order fulfillment tools enable multi-owner tracking, efficient pick/pack workflows, and returns management.
Use Cases
- Track inventory in real time across multiple warehouses using barcode scanning.
- Automate purchase orders based on reorder points and vendor lead times.
- Manage bills of materials and work orders for manufacturing runs.
- Connect inventory data with QuickBooks or Xero for accurate accounting.
- Use AI Insights to get instant analytics and catch shortages early.
- Fulfill orders from sales channels with integrated order management.
Models Under the Hood
as of 2026-07-05
Limitations
- Fishbowl does not offer a public API, which may hinder custom integrations and automation.
- Pricing is only available by contacting sales, making it difficult to evaluate cost upfront.
- The platform does not list any free tier or trial on the public website, which could be a barrier for small teams.
- There is limited ecommerce integration beyond basic features, and the Commerce Suite's capabilities are not fully detailed.
as of 2026-06-28
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Fishbowl's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
Fishbowl's contact-sales pricing targets SMBs that are already paying for QuickBooks/Xero and need serious inventory/manufacturing depth. It's likely more expensive than Zoho Inventory (free tier available) and Odoo (open-source), but less than enterprise ERPs like NetSuite. Without public pricing, it's hard to compare directly.
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Fishbowl — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
For a QuickBooks user with existing data, setup can take 1-3 days for basic inventory tracking. Manufacturing workflows (BOM, work orders) may require 1-2 weeks of configuration and training. Fishbowl provides implementation support services, but the timeline depends on your data complexity and team readiness.
Switching to or from Fishbowl
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From Excel spreadsheets: Fishbowl offers import templates and implementation support to migrate inventory data into the system.
- →From QuickBooks itself: Fishbowl is designed to complement QuickBooks, so migration involves syncing inventory data rather than full replacement.
- →From a basic inventory app (e.g., Zoho Inventory): Fishbowl provides onboarding services to map data, but expect manual export/import steps.
- ↗To a larger ERP like NetSuite: Fishbowl can export inventory data, but full migration requires mapping to NetSuite's data structure and likely professional services.
- ↗To a simpler tool like Zoho Inventory: Export Fishbowl data to CSV and import into Zoho; some manual reconfiguration of workflows will be needed.
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