Top 5 Free Order Management Software for Small Businesses

Why do Small Businesses need Order Management System? – Top 5 Free Order Management Software for Small Businesses | If you operate a successful home-based small business offering cottage-style food products, you are aware of the difficulties in handling sales, ordering products, and keeping track of inventories. One of the things we frequently observe is home bakery owners starting their dream businesses selling homemade food online. Just like you, they have a similar business model, and before they know it, their customer base is exploding, orders are pouring in through the windows, doors, and mail slot, and they are feeling pressured. That is a pleasant problem to have, for starters.

However, it would be a very difficult issue to solve without the appropriate order management solutions. The good news is that there are systems out there that can and will assist you in managing your quickly expanding sales monitoring demands. They are also quite straightforward and user-friendly.

Before moving ahead, let’s check out quickly, what is the order management system?

What is Order Management?

Order management is the practice of managing orders and enhancing order accuracy, work productivity, and customer happiness through the use of structured procedures, useful tools, and streamlined processes.

Even though the main goal of order management is to process orders effectively, various sectors demand various order management systems. Businesses utilize an organized approach for managing orders that are best suited to their particular demands.

A stock market behemoth like Goldman Sachs, which processes several hundred orders in nanoseconds, uses a different order management system than an e-commerce company like Amazon, which processes several hundred orders every day.

What is Order Management Software?

Businesses may handle their e-commerce orders effectively with the tools and capabilities offered by order management software (OMS). Businesses enter and process a variety of orders using order management software. The majority of OMS is a separate, individual software package used exclusively for order management. The ERP system’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system includes some OMS as modules or parts. OMS is made to address a variety of operational problems with order processing and fulfillment.

Why Small Businesses Should Invest in Order Management Software? – Windfalls of Order management software

  • Integrating Order Management For Physical And Online Transactions
  • Improving The Clarity Of Inventory Management Procedures
  • Make Order Fulfilment And Logistics More Efficient
  • Lowering The Danger Of Overstocking And Overselling
  • Enabling Quicker, More Effective Deliveries.
  • Providing Customers With A Seamless, Excellent Experience

What Small Businesses should look for in Order Management Software before investing in it?

Following are some essential criteria to consider as you begin your search for the ideal OMS for your business:

  • Integrations: Both with the many sales channels you employ and with other solutions you already use.
  • User-friendliness: How quick, simple, and straightforward is it to utilize the platform?
  • Task Automation: How much time can you save by using the software to automate manual tasks?
  • On Cloud Software: Cloud-based services could eliminate the requirement to install complex software on personal PCs and local networks.
  • Reliable Reports and Analytics: Reporting and analytics can give you important insights into sales patterns and trends as well as assist you to spot potential problems.
  • Inventory Management: Tools for managing inventories and warehouses are available if necessary.
  • Scalability: Will the software be able to keep up as your company expands?

Top 5 Free Order Management Software for Small Businesses

Following are the popular top 5 free order management software for small businesses:-

1. Hydra

Service and task orders can be managed using the free and open-source Hydra order management software suite. To carry out this function, it features a built-in BPM engine. Because it uses business processing management principles to manage orders, this free order management software differs from other generic order management software. Most other OMS do not.

Salient Features: 

  • Automate The Flow Of Order Execution
  • Swift Process For Executing Orders
  • Strong Software Integration With Third Parties
  • Order Adjustments Are Effective Right Away For Any New Orders.
  • Billing System For Hydra
  • Various Choices For Customization
  • Claim Orders, Refund Orders, Churn Customer Orders, Re-Billing, And Other Order Types Can All Be Executed.
  • Report Statements And Analytics Orders That Have Been Completed Are Available.
  • Integration Of SQL Databases

2. Square for Retail

A complete point-of-sale system, Square for Retail provides features for managing inventory across multiple locations, accepting payments, and much more. There are many features to help organize and manage orders, stock, and the customer experience, even though its primary goals are selling and receiving payments.

Salient Features:

  • A practical counting tool and intelligent stock forecasts are part of intuitive inventory management across numerous locations and channels.
  • Orders placed automatically
  • Making and printing barcode labels
  • Tools for managing vendors
  • Website builder with savvy
  • Tools for checkout, such as barcode scanning, returns, and exchanges
  • Reporting on sales, profit margins, and inventory
  • Tools for managing teams, such as timecard reporting
  • Integrating payments while adhering to PCI requirements
  • Billing, expert estimates, and automated client reminders.

3. ZOHO Inventory

For small to medium-sized organizations, Zoho Inventory provides a complete inventory management solution.

Salient Features

  • Tracking transfers between warehouses and managing goods across several locations in warehouses
  • Management of sales orders and billing
  • Including creating shipping labels and having access to real-time shipping rates, packaging, and shipping
  • Vendor relationship management, which includes billing, purchase orders, and customized price lists.
  • integrations with payment processors, e-commerce platforms, and accounting applications, among others.
  • You can manage orders while on the go with mobile apps for iOS and Android.

4. Odoo

Odoo is yet another free open-source software program, but it offers far more functionality than only inventory control. A platform for enterprise resource planning (ERP) was created to increase warehouse productivity.

Salient Features:

  • Double Entry Inventory Management Using Intelligence
  • Complete Automation Of Supply Replenishment
  • To Expedite Order Fulfilment, Deliver Goods Straight To Clients From Vendors.
  • Real-Time Dynamic Reporting
  • Individual Dashboards
  • Sync Inventory Management With The Sales, Purchase, And Accounting Modules Of The Odoo Software.

5. Now Commerce (Free Trial)

For companies that sell to professional customers, Now Commerce is an online B2B ordering platform. It offers a more complex online shopping experience than the shopping cart. With complete access to all services, including custom pricing, inventory, and account history, it is a 24-hour online order system. Customers have access to invoices and order tracking. For users of QuickBooks Desktop, Commerce is now free.

Salient Features:

  • Improved Ordering
  • From Basic To Complex Matrix Order Forms
  • The Reports Page For Admin Users Displays The Entire Order History.
  • Sales Orders, Invoices, Estimations, And More Are Accessible To Administrators.
  • Shows The Stock Status.
  • Account Management Information
  • Quickbooks Is Immediately Updated With Online Orders.
  • Look Up The Shipping Status
  • View Pricing And Inventory In Real-Time.
  • Look At Active Orders
  • View Your Whole Account History, Including Returns And Credits
  • Using Your Company’s Logo To Brand
  • Dependable Quickbooks Integration

Wrapping It Up

All firms have been forced to modify their main business strategies as a result of the paradigm shift from B2B to B2C. Businesses cannot afford to let their customers down at any cost when they are all working for increased customer engagement and total customer satisfaction goals.

The way instructions were handled in the past and how they are handled now is vastly different as a result of the passage of time. The field of order management has undergone an extraordinary improvement thanks to new methods and ideas like lean management, the Kanban theory, and many more. OMS is now being used by new professions and companies that previously relied on paper and human interaction for receiving and carrying out orders.

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