November 5, 2012 min read

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With products flying in and out of your business, tracking all the moving pieces can be overwhelming. Fortunately, you can help take control of your inventory with mobile-friendly tracking tools. Having immediate access to accurate, timely inventory information in the palm of your hand can help when discussing orders with customers on your shop floor, attending meetings or trade shows, visiting suppliers, or just to relieve a nagging question in the back of your mind.

Here are five mobile apps that let you update and check your level of supplies or product on hand -- from anywhere. Some of these stand alone while others integrate with other systems such as order management, customer relationship management, bookkeeping and more.

1. Lettuce

In addition to inventory management, this iPad-only app integrates related systems such as order capture, payment processing, shipping and tracking, customer relationship management, and sales and order analysis.

Lettuce eliminates the need to make redundant entries in separate software packages which may not communicate well. It also offers a companion cloud-based web app for desktop or laptop computer use. This is useful for setting up users, customer records and product listings, and for integrating systems and customizing your experience.

Price: The app costs $59 per month for one user, plus $25 per month per additional user.

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2. Goods Order Inventory

This inventory management app is designed to help manage orders, inventory and sales on a mobile device. It does not currently integrate with other services or software, but you can export the database and potentially view data from this app in a spreadsheet or similar tool.

The Goods Order Inventory smartphone app is available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices.

Price: Free, with a premium pro version with extra features coming soon.

3. Canvas

This versatile set of tools provides data collection forms that run on a smartphone or tablet to support collecting a wide range of data types, including for inventory. Examples include restaurant inventory, chemical inventory and damage and loss reporting. It's available on iOS, Android and BlackBerry mobile platforms.

To run Canvas apps you first need to install the free Canvas Smart Client. Collected data can be downloaded into a spreadsheet or database or exported as a PDF.

Price: After a 30-day free trial, it's $20 per month or $210 a year for unlimited usage. There's also a pay-as-you-go model but, for inventory apps, it might not be a cost-effective option.

4. Inventory Tracker

This Android app lets businesses track inventory, sales, payments, shipments and balance sheet data. Spreadsheet export is available as are barcode scanner support, multiple currencies, database backup and many customization options available.

Price: Inventory Tracker costs $5.99

5. Business Inventory

This is a basic inventory management app for tracking product levels, orders, sales and deliveries. Business Inventory's features include barcode support, including photos taken with phone camera into product listings, and more. Available on iOS only, this app allows you to export to email or spreadsheet.

Price: Business Inventory costs 99 cents.

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