Fishbowl alternatives
Last reviewed
Fishbowl starts at $229 a month for 2 users, billed yearly, up to $729 for 10 users, with forecasting and more channels as paid extras. In reviews, users most often report hard-to-reach support, freezes and inaccurate stock, and setups that never finished.
Is Fishbowl right for you?
Fishbowl has served QuickBooks businesses for two decades. If you make products in-house and need work orders, MRP and lot tracing, use QuickBooks Desktop, and can give a team six to eight weeks of training, Fishbowl is built for that, and many reviewers are happy with it.
If you sell on Shopify and Amazon, buy finished goods or components from factories, and want to know what to order and when, you’d be paying per user for a manufacturing system and staffing its setup. Here is what Fishbowl users report.
Fishbowl and Kerno, side by side
| What Fishbowl users report | Kerno | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $229 to $729 a month, billed yearly. “Adding extra users or custom add-ons to the product can become expensive.” | Free during early access, then a founding price you keep for as long as you stay |
| Forecasting | A paid add-on on Growth, included on Scale. Method not documented | Built in. Every purchase order is drafted from the forecast, with the reason behind each quantity. Confirm it, or autosend |
| Getting started | “even after six months, we were unable to utilize the system.” A 6 to 8 week training course | Runs alongside what you use now. Connect Shopify and Amazon, or import a CSV, and see your own numbers straight away |
| Your history | Fishbowl’s migration moves items, customers and open orders, “Not including history” | Your sales history is what Kerno forecasts from, so it comes in on day one |
| Reliability | “The software frequently freezes” | Runs in your browser, with nothing to install, restart or back up |
| Stock you can trust | “The inventory is consistently inaccurate regardless of efforts made.” | One live stock count across every warehouse and channel, held for each order the moment it arrives |
| Support | “It is nearly impossible to reach a live person when calling the company” | We read every request ourselves |
| Shopify and Amazon | One sales channel on Growth, two on Scale | Shopify and Amazon connected from the start, including stock at Amazon’s warehouses |
| Accounting | QuickBooks Online and Xero. QuickBooks Desktop needs the Advanced plans | Invoices, cost of goods and supplier bills sync to QuickBooks Online or Xero |
| Leaving | Billed yearly | No card, no contract. Export everything as CSV whenever you like |
Quotes are from Fishbowl reviews on SoftwareFinder and Fishbowl’s own pricing page, 2022 to 2026.
What Fishbowl users like, and where Kerno stands
- QuickBooks integration. “Fishbowl integrates smoothly with QuickBooks Online.” Kerno syncs to QuickBooks Online or Xero, so your accountant keeps their tools.
- Manufacturing depth. Bills of materials, work orders, MRP and lot tracing. Kerno tracks each component from its supplier’s shipment to the build, and books each build at its full cost. If you need routings and lot genealogy on a shop floor, Fishbowl goes further.
- Easy order screens. “The Sales Order side of Fishbowl is incredibly user-friendly.” Kerno is built for small teams too, and sets itself up from your history.
- Support that used to be good. “customer support was excellent… However, it seems those days are over.” With Kerno you talk to the people who build it.
What Fishbowl users report
From the 40 reviews we read, by how often each comes up. Counts are the reviews we saw, so they are minimums.
- Support. 8. “The Fishbowl support team lacks the knowledge to fix their own software.”
- Freezes, slow screens and inaccurate stock. 8. “This system is super unreliable”
- Cost of users and add-ons. 5. “I was deeply disappointed with the cost of Fishbowl.”
- Setups that stalled. 4. “The system setup is incomplete, and we have been unable to obtain assistance.”
- Learning curve and a dated screen. 4. “The learning curve can be steep”
Ratings: SoftwareFinder rates Fishbowl 4.1 from 181 reviews, and Capterra lists it at about 4.2. Trustpilot shows 2.8 from 3 reviews. Most of the harshest reviews we read date from late 2023.
Other options
These are the names that come up most when people search for a Fishbowl alternative.
| Tool | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Katana | Makers who run production in-house | Free to 30 SKUs; Advantage by quote |
| MRPeasy | Small manufacturers that schedule production in-house | $49–$149 a user a month |
| Odoo | Firms with a partner or technical owner that want one system for everything | $22.80–$36 a user a month, plus setup |
| Cin7 | Brands that want inventory, sales and assembly in one system and can run an implementation | Core $349–$1,199 a month; Omni by quote |
| Kerno | Shopify and Amazon brands that want one record from factory order to invoice, without a switch-over project | Free during early access |
See the whole flow, or ask for early access.
Sources, checked 2 November 2026: Fishbowl, Fishbowl pricing, Fishbowl integrations, Fishbowl reviews on SoftwareFinder, Fishbowl on Trustpilot, Fishbowl on Capterra, a December 2025 Fishbowl review on Lark, and the pricing pages of MRPeasy and Odoo.
See it in Kerno Forecast.
What you see once your store is connected, with example data. It opens on the view for this topic; click through the other tabs. More about Kerno Forecast
Overview
Every product across Shopify, Amazon and your warehouses, as of 5 Dec. Recalculated each morning.
- Buy list$9,421What the suggested orders cost, at each supplier’s price.
- Products to order this week4Products whose order-by date is in the next 7 days.
- In-stock rate91%Share of selling days each product was in stock, weighted by its sales. Last 90 days.
- Sales lost to stockouts$24,800Sold-out days × in-stock daily sales × price. An estimate. Last 90 days.
- Stock on order$10,310Open purchase orders not yet received, at cost.
- Overstock$5,240Cost of stock with more than 180 days of cover, or unsold for 90 days.
- Forecast accuracy87.0%1 − (units forecast wrong ÷ units sold), per product, last 3 months.
- Days of cover51 days(On hand + on order) ÷ in-stock daily sales. Median across products.
- Stock turns5.2×Cost of goods sold in the last 12 months ÷ average stock at cost.
- Supplier delay10 daysAverage days the last 3 orders arrived after the supplier’s quoted date.
Needs you today
Order 840 insulated bottles today.Ningbo has taken 38 days, not 25. Ordering later than today means a sell-out around 9 Jan, in the January sale.
Order cold brew jars and black mugs by 8 Dec.One Jingdezhen order for both, so the mugs ride in the same shipment.
3 purchase orders are late.The 200 bottles and 400 mugs are already counted, at their new dates. Chase the 200 straw packs Ningbo didn’t ship.
Black mugs at Amazon drop under 28 days this week.Send 90 from New Jersey before Amazon starts its low-inventory fee.
Gift boxes are covered for the peak.650 arrive from Leeds on 9 Dec, before the last week of Christmas orders.
Buy list
What to order, how many and by when. The order-by date allows for each supplier’s real lead time plus 7 days of safety stock.
| Product | Sold a day | On hand | On order | Days of cover | Lead time | Order | Order by | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insulated bottle, 750 mlNingbo Steelware, $6.40 each | 30 | 1,100 | 200 | 43 | 38 days | 840$5,376 | Today | Out of stock 27 of the last 90 days; the December peak is inside the cover window. |
| Spare bottle lidNingbo Steelware, $0.90 each | 9 | 420 | – | 47 | 38 days | 350$315 | 6 Dec | 5 of its 9 a day sell inside two bundles. Rounded up past the 300 minimum. |
| Steel straw packNingbo Steelware, $1.20 each | 6 | 380 | 200 | 97 | 38 days | 500$600 | 25 Jan | Not due until 25 Jan. Added to this Ningbo order so it ships in the same run. |
| Cold brew jarJingdezhen Ceramics, $5.50 each | 8 | 410 | – | 51 | 41 days | 420$2,310 | 8 Dec | Sales up 4% a month since June. The last 3 orders took 41 days, not 25. |
| Travel mug, blackJingdezhen Ceramics, $4.10 each | 19 | 580 | 400 | 52 | 41 days | 200$820 | 8 Dec | 400 already on order, so only 200 more. Goes on the same order as the jars. |
| Gift box setLeeds Print & Pack, $11.00 each | 25 | 300 | 650 | 38 | 21 days | – | Covered | 650 arrive 9 Dec and cover the rest of the peak. Sales fall to 6 a day in January. |
| Buy list | $9,421 | |||||||
Sold a day leaves out the days a product was sold out, and counts every bundle sale on each product inside it. Quantities round up to the supplier’s minimum and the bottle’s case of 24. Change any quantity and the purchase order follows.
Forecast
One model per product, picked by which would have forecast its last 12 months best. Every forecast shows its range, and you can change any month.
Insulated bottle, 750 ml, units a month
Solid: sold last year. Red: units it would have sold in September and October if it hadn’t sold out, which the forecast counts as demand. Dashed: the forecast, with the shaded range it expects to land in 9 months out of 10.
Every product’s forecast
| Product | Model | Next 30 days | Next 90 days | Accuracy | Your changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insulated bottle, 750 ml | Seasonal, peaks in December | 1,380 | 3,140 | 88.0% | +180 in January for your planned sale, added by you |
| Gift box set | Seasonal, peaks in November and December | 620 | 900 | 81.0% | – |
| Travel mug, black | Steady | 570 | 1,710 | 91.0% | – |
| Cold brew jar | Growing, up 4% a month | 250 | 790 | 84.0% | – |
| Spare bottle lid | Follows the bottle and its two bundles | 270 | 830 | 89.0% | – |
| Steel straw pack | Steady | 180 | 540 | 90.0% | – |
| Insulated bottle, 1 l | New, borrows the 750 ml bottle’s pattern | 0 | 640 | New | Launches 20 Jan, set by you |
Accuracy compares the last 3 months’ forecast with what sold. Your changes stay on the forecast, labelled, until you remove them.
Purchase orders
Every purchase order from draft to received. Expected dates use each supplier’s real lead time, not the date they quoted.
| Order | Status | Lines | Value | Supplier said | Expected | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PO-124Ningbo Steelware | Draft | 840 bottles, 350 lids, 500 straw packs | $6,291 | – | 12 Jan | Approve and send today. |
| PO-125Jingdezhen Ceramics | Draft | 420 cold brew jars, 200 black mugs | $3,130 | – | 18 Jan | Approve by 8 Dec. |
| PO-123Leeds Print & Pack, sent 18 Nov | Confirmed | 650 gift box sets | $7,150 | 9 Dec | 9 Dec | On time. |
| PO-122Jingdezhen Ceramics, sent 30 Oct | Confirmed, late | 400 black mugs | $1,640 | 24 Nov | 10 Dec | 16 days late. Ask for a ship date. |
| PO-121Ningbo Steelware, sent 2 Nov | In transit, late | 200 bottles | $1,280 | 27 Nov | 10 Dec | At the port. The bottle’s buy list already counts it. |
| PO-119Ningbo Steelware, sent 20 Oct | Partly received, late | 200 of 500 straw packs still to come | $240 | 14 Nov | Not shipped | Short by 200. Chase them, or close the rest of the order. |
Drafts are ready to check and send as a PDF or email, in the supplier’s currency. Receive in part or in full; a short delivery stays open until you close it.
Suppliers
| Supplier | Quoted lead time | Real, last 3 orders | On time | Minimum order | Currency and terms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ningbo Steelware | 25 days | 38 days | 1 of 3 | 300 per product | USD. 30% with the order, the rest before it ships |
| Jingdezhen Ceramics | 25 days | 41 days | 0 of 3 | 200 per product | CNY. 50% with the order, the rest before it ships |
| Leeds Print & Pack | 21 days | 21 days | 3 of 3 | 250 per product | GBP. 30 days after delivery |
The buy list plans with the real lead time. When a supplier speeds up, the next three orders bring the figure back down.
Locations
Stock and days of cover at each place you sell from. Each location is forecast from the orders it ships.
| Product | Own warehouse, New Jersey | ShipMonk, Las Vegas | Amazon FBA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insulated bottle, 750 ml | 52040 days at 13 a day | 18026 days at 7 a day | 40040 days at 10 a day |
| Travel mug, black | 38048 days at 8 a day | 408 days at 5 a day | 16027 days at 6 a day |
| Cold brew jar | 30060 days at 5 a day | 11037 days at 3 a day | 0Not stocked |
Suggested transfers
| Product | Move | From | To | Freight | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel mug, black | 120 | Own warehouse, New Jersey | ShipMonk, Las Vegas | $46 | Las Vegas runs out in 8 days; New Jersey has 47. After the move both have about 32 days. |
| Insulated bottle, 750 ml | 70 | Own warehouse, New Jersey | ShipMonk, Las Vegas | $38 | Evens both sites to about 35 days, so west coast orders don’t ship from New Jersey at twice the postage. |
Approve a transfer and Kerno writes the transfer order, or the inbound shipment for ShipMonk. A transfer is suggested only when it costs less than ordering more.
Amazon FBA
Amazon FBA, from Amazon’s inventory, restock, inventory-planning and storage-capacity reports. Amazon’s own restock suggestion sits beside Kerno’s.
- Ready to ship674Units Amazon can sell now.
- Reserved96In customer orders, moving between warehouses, or being checked.
- To send this week90Units Kerno suggests sending from your own stock.
- Storage used182 of 300Cubic feet against your limit for standard-size items.
- Aged surcharge$168Amazon’s estimate for next month, on stock over 180 days old.
Send 90 black travel mugs to Amazon this week.Send 90 from New Jersey this week. Under 28 days, Amazon adds a low-inventory fee to every unit.
210 sage travel mugs are 271–365 days old.Amazon estimates a $168 surcharge next month. A removal order at about $0.97 a unit costs less, or run a coupon first.
Stock at Amazon
| Product | Ready to ship | Reserved | Unsellable | Amazon suggests | Kerno: send now | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insulated bottle, 750 mlB0C7K2M4QX | 340 | 6035 in orders, 20 moving | 4 | 280 | – | Covered to 14 Jan. Kerno plans the next send for 20 Dec, from the 12 Jan order. |
| Travel mug, blackB0C9TRVM6K | 130 | 3022 in orders, 8 moving | 2 | 180 | 90 | Send 90 from New Jersey this week. Under 28 days, Amazon adds a low-inventory fee to every unit. |
| Travel mug, sageB0C9TRVS2P | 204 | 62 in orders, 0 moving | – | – | – | Remove 150 or run a coupon before the aged surcharge rises in January. |
Amazon’s suggestion assumes you can send any amount at any time. Kerno’s counts what is in your own warehouse, what is on order from the supplier, and the next send date.
Units by age at Amazon
| Product | 0–90 days | 91–180 | 181–270 | 271–365 | Over 365 | Surcharge, next month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insulated bottle, 750 ml | 400 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Travel mug, black | 150 | 10 | – | – | – | – |
| Travel mug, sage | – | – | – | 210 | – | $168 |
After this week’s send, storage use is 191 of 300 cubic feet. Inbound shipments are planned to avoid Amazon’s placement fee where splitting the shipment costs less than the fee.
Bundles
Bundles are built from stock of their parts, so Kerno forecasts each part from every listing it sells in.
| Bundle | Made from | Sold a day | Can build now | Limited by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bottle and two spare lids | 1 × insulated bottle, 750 ml, 2 × spare bottle lid | 2 | 210 | Spare bottle lid |
| Starter set | 1 × insulated bottle, 750 ml, 1 × steel straw pack, 1 × spare bottle lid | 1 | 380 | Steel straw pack |
Where each part’s demand comes from
| Part | Sold on its own | In bottle and two spare lids | In starter set | Total a day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insulated bottle, 750 ml | 27 | 2 | 1 | 30 |
| Spare bottle lid | 4 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| Steel straw pack | 5 | – | 1 | 6 |
A spreadsheet that only counts lids sold on their own sees 4 a day and orders less than half of what you need.
Overstock
Stock with more than 180 days of cover, or nothing sold in 90 days. $5,240 at cost, kept off the buy list until it sells down.
| Product | Units | At cost | Sold a day | Days of cover | Last sold | Next step |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travel mug, sage$4.10 each | 640 | $2,624 | 0.4 | 1,600 | 21 Nov | Bundle it with the black mug, or mark it down 30%. It is off the buy list. |
| Bottle carry strap$1.10 each | 1,200 | $1,320 | 2 | 600 | 4 Dec | Add one free to bottle orders over $60 until it is under 180 days. |
| Cold brew jar, 2 l$7.20 each | 180 | $1,296 | – | No sales | 3 Aug | Ask the supplier about a return, or clear it at cost. |
The sage mug includes 210 units at Amazon, where it also costs an aged surcharge. See the Amazon FBA tab.
Budget
Your buying plan by month: stock arriving, what you pay and when (deposits included), against the budget you set.
| Month | Forecast sales | Stock arriving, at cost | Paid to suppliers | Budget | Left |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | $142,000 | $10,070 | $9,540 | $15,000 | $5,460 |
| January | $96,000 | $9,421 | $6,600 | $12,000 | $5,400 |
| February | $88,000 | $14,800 | $11,200 | $12,000 | $800 |
| March | $99,000 | $18,900 | $16,400 | $12,000 | −$4,400 |
| April | $103,000 | $12,300 | $10,900 | $12,000 | $1,100 |
| May | $108,000 | $11,700 | $11,000 | $12,000 | $1,000 |
March is $4,400 over budget.Spring stock for the 1 l bottle launch lands then. Move its second order to April, or raise March’s budget; the forecast shows what each choice does to stock.
Plan to a sales target
Set a target and Kerno shows the stock it takes. To reach $650,000 from December to May, 8% over the forecast, you’d buy about $8,400 more, mostly bottles and gift boxes, and pay $2,600 of it in March.
Kerno compared, from factory order to invoice.
| Stage | Kerno | Brightpearl | Cin7 | Finale Inventory | Fishbowl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting started | Runs alongside what you use now, and sets itself up from your history | Scoped before you sign; customers “go live in 90-120 days, on average” | Group, one-to-one or partner-led onboarding; fee and time not published | “Go live in 2–6 weeks”; standard onboarding included | Implementation scoped per customer; a 6 to 8 week training course |
| Purchase orders | Drafted from the forecast, in the factory’s currency. Confirm it, or autosend | Suggested purchase orders through Inventory Planner | From reorder suggestions with the ForesightAI add-on; foreign currencies converted | Recommended reorder quantities turned into purchase orders | Drafted at reorder points on Growth; several currencies |
| Production and shipments | Production status on every PO; packing list and commercial invoice in one click | Not documented | Stock in transit for invoiced POs not yet received; production tracking not documented | Several shipments per PO; production tracking not documented | Stock on order; production and in-transit not documented |
| Landed cost | Freight and duties on the shipment, added to each product’s cost from the bills | Freight and import duty in each product’s landed cost | Extra PO costs spread into landed cost | PO fees spread by quantity, weight, value or volume | Shipping and tariffs spread across PO items |
| Receiving | Counted in against the PO at any warehouse; shorts and damage flagged on the spot | Not documented | Partial receipts; the shortfall stays on backorder | Partial receipts, the rest backordered; scanner receiving is an add-on | Received, then reconciled to the PO to clear discrepancies |
| Builds and kits | See what you can build today; each build booked at its full cost | Bundles, kits and assemblies; bills of materials through a partner app | Bills of materials and assembly on every plan; MRP on Core Pro and up | Kits, bundles and bills of materials; builds use up components | Kits, bills of materials, work orders and MRP |
| Orders and stock | Shopify, Amazon and wholesale in one list; stock held for each order as it arrives | Shopify and Amazon; orders allocated across channels and warehouses | Shopify and Amazon; Core allocates stock when the order comes in | Shopify and Amazon, including FBA; several warehouses | Shopify and Amazon through add-ons; several sites |
| Shipping | Labels, packing lists and customs invoices; tracking to the customer and channel | Courier labels from the order; ShipStation also connects | Through ShipStation and other shipping apps | Labels through a free ShipRush account; ShipStation also connects | Labels from Fishbowl; ShipStation and ShipRush connect |
| Accounting | Invoices, cost of goods and supplier bills sync to QuickBooks Online or Xero | Its own built-in accounts, or Xero, QuickBooks Online or Sage Intacct | Xero or QuickBooks Online, including cost of goods | QuickBooks Online: invoices, bills and cost of goods | QuickBooks Online and Xero; QuickBooks Desktop on Advanced only |
| Contract | No card, no contract. Export everything as CSV whenever you like | Not documented | Core monthly or yearly, renews automatically, 30 days’ notice to leave | Most sign 12, 24 or 36 months; renews automatically, 30 days’ notice | Billed yearly, renews automatically; 60 days’ notice |
| Price | Free during early access, then a founding price you keep | By quote; unlimited users included | Core $349–$1,199 a month; Omni by quote | From $499 a month; Enterprise by quote | $229–$729 a month, billed yearly; Advanced by quote |
Kerno Forecast compared with the main alternatives.
| Feature | Kerno Forecast | Inventory Planner | Netstock | Prediko | Fishbowl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forecast model | One per product, picked by which forecast its last 12 months best | Choose a model per product, adjustable | Picks from about 10 statistical methods for each product | AI-assisted; model not named | Demand forecasting is a paid add-on on Growth, included on Scale; method not documented |
| Sold-out days | Left out of demand, and the lost sales estimated | Not documented | Optional uplift for months with a stockout, set from 0 to 100% | Not documented | Not documented |
| Lead times | From each supplier’s last 3 deliveries, not the quote | Not documented | Measured from 3 or more past receipts, otherwise set by hand | Not documented | Not documented |
| Why each quantity | A plain reason on every line | Forecast calculation visible | Shows the policy and constraints behind each order quantity | Reviews call it a “black box” | Not documented |
| Bundles and kits | Each part forecast from every bundle it sells in | Not documented | Component demand from bills of materials | Bundles across locations; BOM add-on $20 | Bills of materials, work orders and MRP |
| Purchase orders | Drafts by supplier, rounded to minimums and cases | Yes, with minimum-order scaling | Recommended orders, rounded to minimums and multiples, sent to your ERP | Unlimited | Reorder points; automated reordering from Growth |
| Transfers between locations | Suggested only when cheaper than ordering more | Yes | Distribution plans and excess redistribution, as transfers in your ERP | Yes | Moves stock between sites |
| Amazon FBA | Restock beside Amazon’s own, aged stock and storage limits, during early access | Amazon connection | No Amazon or Shopify connection; works through your ERP | Amazon connection | Amazon connection, one stock position |
| Buying budget | By month, with deposits paid when they’re due, during early access | By month or retail week | Not documented | Revenue-target planning | Not documented |
| Overstock | Cost, days of cover and a next step | Last sold, units and cost | Excess and obsolete stock flagged against your stock policy | Not documented | Not documented |
| Price | Free during early access, then a founding price you keep | Quote only | From $900 a month, billed yearly | From $49 a month | $229–$729 a month, billed yearly; extra users and add-ons cost more |
From each vendor’s website, pricing page and Shopify App Store listing, checked October and November 2026. “Not documented” means their pages don’t describe it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Fishbowl cost?
Fishbowl's pricing page shows Essentials at $229 a month for 2 users, Growth at $429 for 5 users and Scale at $729 for 10 users, all billed yearly, with final pricing quoted to your users and deployment. Demand forecasting is a paid add-on on Growth. The Advanced plans start at $595 and $675 a month and are quoted. A review published in December 2025 listed each plan $30 a month lower.
Why do people leave Fishbowl?
In the reviews we read, mostly support and reliability. Reviewers describe support that is hard to reach or costly, software that freezes or loads slowly, stock counts they can't trust, and implementations that stalled for months.
What do Fishbowl users like?
Its QuickBooks integration, its manufacturing depth (bills of materials, work orders, MRP and lot tracing) and, for many reviewers, an order screen that is easy to use.
Does Fishbowl work with Shopify and Amazon?
Yes, through its integrations directory, though Growth includes one standard sales channel and Scale two. We found no Fishbowl listing on the Shopify App Store. Kerno connects Shopify and Amazon from the start, including stock at Amazon's warehouses.
How is Kerno different from Fishbowl?
Kerno is built around buying: every purchase order is drafted from the forecast, with the reason behind each quantity, and followed through production, shipping and your warehouses. It sets itself up from your sales history, runs in the browser and syncs to QuickBooks Online or Xero. There is no card and no contract during early access.