Compare Inventory Management in Australia

Inventory management software ranges from free (Zoho Inventory for 1 user) to over $1,400 AUD/mo for enterprise platforms. Most mid-range options cost between $150 and $550 AUD/mo. Pricing typically depends on the number of users, warehouses, sales channel integrations, and whether manufacturing features are included. Watch for add-on costs: platforms like Katana advertise a base price of around $420 AUD/mo but the real cost with manufacturing and traceability add-ons can exceed $1,000 AUD/mo.

If you sell through a single channel (one physical store or one online shop), your POS or accounting software's built-in inventory features may be sufficient. Lightspeed, Square, and Shopify all include basic inventory tracking. However, if you sell across multiple channels (online store plus Amazon plus physical retail), manage multiple warehouses, or manufacture products, you will likely need dedicated inventory software that syncs stock levels in real time across all channels.

Unleashed has the deepest native Xero integration among dedicated inventory platforms, reflecting their shared NZ/AU heritage. Cin7 Core, Katana, and inFlow also integrate with Xero. Zoho Inventory integrates natively with Zoho Books but has limited Xero connectivity. If Xero integration is your top priority, Unleashed is the strongest choice. For QuickBooks users, Fishbowl offers the deepest integration.

Both are from the same company but serve different markets. Cin7 Core (formerly DEAR Systems) is a self-serve platform with published pricing starting at around $489 AUD/mo for 5 users, covering inventory, purchasing, manufacturing, and multi-channel selling. Cin7 Omni is the enterprise tier targeting large multi-channel retailers and wholesalers, with quote-based pricing and deeper omni-channel capabilities including B2B portals and advanced warehouse management.

Yes, but not all platforms include manufacturing features. Cin7 Core, Fishbowl, and Katana have strong built-in manufacturing with bill of materials (BOM), production scheduling, and assembly tracking. Unleashed and inFlow offer basic assembly features. Lightspeed and Zoho Inventory do not support manufacturing. If you assemble or manufacture products, make sure the platform you choose includes BOM management on your pricing tier.

If you sell on more than one platform, multi-channel sync is essential. Without it, you risk overselling products you do not have in stock, which leads to cancelled orders and marketplace penalties. Cin7 Core and Cin7 Omni are the strongest for multi-channel sync, supporting the most integrations. Unleashed and Katana offer solid multi-channel capabilities. Zoho Inventory supports major marketplaces. Lightspeed's sync is primarily limited to its own e-commerce platform.

The most common hidden costs are: extra user licences (Cin7 Core includes 5 users, but a 10-person team needs the Pro plan around $840 AUD/mo), per-warehouse or per-location fees (Katana charges around $69 AUD per additional location), manufacturing module add-ons (Katana's Traceability add-on alone is around $349 AUD/mo), integration limits (Cin7 Core caps the number of channel integrations by plan tier), and implementation or onboarding fees for complex platforms (Cin7 and Fishbowl can require significant setup investment).

TradeGecko was shut down in 2021 after Intuit acquired it. The most common migration paths are Cin7 Core (which actively targeted TradeGecko migrants and offers a similar feature set), Unleashed (popular with AU/NZ businesses wanting strong Xero integration), and Katana (for manufacturers who valued TradeGecko's production features). Zoho Inventory is a good budget-friendly alternative for simpler operations. Each platform typically offers migration assistance for TradeGecko data.