Inventory Planner by Sage

Signing up for Inventory Planner is one of the worst decisions I've made in 13+ years as a business owner.

I chose it over the competition because it had the best interface and design. In practice, the software doesn't work anywhere near as smoothly as the sales pitch suggests. Everyday tasks require workarounds that eat up the time the product was supposed to save. For example Inventory planner will not sync to Quickbooks without manually syncing the web connector every time.

Onboarding was even worse. Over 10 weeks, we were shown several different ways to do the same operation, and the answer changed each time, after they checked with another team member. Nearly every question took days to answer because it had to go to their so called "tech team." They told us the onboarding sessions were being recorded multiple times. When I asked for copies, I was told they had never been recorded, despite them asking for permission to record each time. I also confirmed verbally, multiple times, the recordings would be supplied to me so I could go back over them and review the material. Be sure to demand your recordings after each meeting.

The contract structure is the real trap. They structure the contract so that you pay for a year in full up front. Onboarding does not start until full payment is made and contract is signed. By the time you find out how the product actually works you have no way out. The price is tied to your revenue, so as your business grows your costs only go up, regardless of whether the software is helping you.

If you read their contract and it feels one-sided, take that seriously, I wish I had.

Inventory Planner is an exceptional tool as far as forecasting is concerned. We'd recommend it to anyone looking for tighter control of their purchasing and reporting.

We are incredibly happy with Inventory Planner! It saves us a lot of time and ensures that we have the right products in stock at the right time. Fantastic support!