7 Inventory Management Tools for Trades and Field Service Businesses

Inventory management software for contractors tracks materials that move on trucks and job sites rather than sitting on shelves. This guide ranks seven tools on van stock, consumables, tool tracking, and whether the vendor publishes a price. Two of the seven don't manage stock in the way a contractor would expect, and we say which.

Cash Margin Partners publishes this site. We rank ourselves first and we're specific about the narrow case where we fit: trades businesses that run a counter, a showroom, or a parts department. A pure mobile operation should skip to Sortly or Simpro.

The 7 Tools at a Glance

How We Chose These 7

Four criteria, applied to a contractor with two to ten technicians and no purchasing department.

Does it track quantity on hand, or only cost? Several popular field service tools record what a job consumed without decrementing anything. That difference decides whether a tool belongs in this category at all.

Does it handle the van? Stock on wheels is the defining problem here. A tool built around one warehouse solves a problem the reader doesn't have.

Is the price published? Three of these seven publish nothing. We rank them lower and say so, because a small shop can't plan around a quote it hasn't received.

Does it work where the signal doesn't? Basements, plant rooms, and rural sites break tools that assume connectivity. We checked each vendor's own statement.

This comparison includes selected pricing and feature checks from September 2026. Confirm the current plan, integrations, and subscription terms for your store before buying.

Key insight

Three of the seven tools here publish no price at all. Simpro, ServiceTitan, and Kojo each require a sales call before a contractor learns what the software costs, which is worth knowing before booking four demos.

1. Cash Margin Partners: Inventory Cash Analysis for Independent Retailers

Cash Margin Partners publishes this comparison and includes its own product. It is free inventory analysis software for independent retailers, with no credit card or time limit. It is not a replacement for purchasing, accounting, manufacturing, or workforce software.

After a successful import with sufficient evidence, the workspace identifies eligible recovery candidates, shows inventory cost basis, and suggests markdowns, same-category bundles, and liquidation review. Healthy, newly arrived, and data-incomplete items remain protected from recovery actions.

Connections and data

Cash Margin Partners offers read-only Shopify, Square, and Lightspeed Retail X-Series connections where production launch status and workspace eligibility permit. Lightspeed is a capacity-managed X-Series custom application, excluding R-Series, eCom, and Restaurant. Compatible item-level uploads remain available after column review; Clover uses that export path, not a native connection.

Shopify supplies unit cost when available; Square and Lightspeed analyses add costs through CMP's prefilled template.

Planning and recovery

Directional 30-, 60-, and 90-day inventory-risk estimates and confidence signals require a recent successful supported live connection with sufficient usable history and cost evidence. They support decisions and do not guarantee future sales or recovery prices.

The proposed CMP Exchange publishes a 20% fee on a completed marketplace transaction, with no software subscription. Live listings, Stripe checkout, payouts, and buyer availability remain subject to production acceptance and workspace eligibility; no sale or payout timing is guaranteed.

Start with the right analysis

The free five-step calculator provides a directional trapped-cash estimate from questionnaire answers. A separate free workspace supports SKU-level analysis after a supported store connection or compatible item-level upload.

Limitations

CMP does not buy inventory or guarantee buyers. Recommendations require owner review; pricing guidance uses heuristics and confidence signals, not a validated market-clearing price model.

2. Sortly: Best for Small Crews Who Want Stock Tracked From a Phone

Sortly tracks items with photos, QR codes, and custom fields across folders that stand in for vans, warehouses, and job sites. It's free for up to 100 items and publishes every tier's limits openly.

Sortly calls itself "The best inventory software for small businesses to manage their physical inventory, including supplies, materials, tools, and equipment." The construction page is specific about the field case: tracking what goes out to a job site and what comes back.

The visual approach suits trades well. Item photos record condition, nested folders map to vans and sites, and custom fields carry whatever a given trade needs on each record.

Published pricing is the real advantage over most of this list. Plans run from free at 100 items and one user to Premium at 5,000 items and eight users.

Key features

• Item photos to record appearance and condition
• QR code scanning from Advanced, barcode scanning from Ultra
• Custom fields and nested folders mapping to vans, sites, and warehouses
• Low stock alerts
• Offline mobile access on all plans, including Free

Pricing

Free covers 100 items, one user, and one custom field. Advanced is $49 per month list for 500 items and two users, Ultra $149 for 2,000 items and five users, and Premium $299 for 5,000 items and eight users. A first-year discount is running at the time of writing.

Who should choose Sortly

• Two to five technician shops tracking consumables and tools together
• Contractors who want a phone-first system with no rollout
• Anyone who needs a working free plan to prove the case

Limitations

Sortly’s plan comparison includes offline mobile access across all plans. Its offline guide explains that changes remain on the device until syncing resumes. Test that workflow before a remote job. Accounting sync and API access remain separate plan-selection questions.

Sortly vs Cash Margin Partners

Sortly tells a contractor what they have and where it sits. Cash Margin Partners tells a counter operation what it's holding that nobody is buying.

3. Simpro: Best for Van, Warehouse, and Supplier Catalogs in One Place

Simpro gives real-time stock visibility across field, van, and warehouse, syncs supplier catalogs for current material costs, and updates stock automatically when purchase orders are received. Pricing is quote-only.

Simpro, formerly styled simPRO, is the most complete answer here for a trades business that wants stock properly connected to jobs. Its inventory page promises to "Gain real-time visibility of stock across field, van and warehouse."

Technicians add materials from the mobile app on site, and stock transfers between storage locations. Stocktakes run through a barcoding portal on a tablet rather than a clipboard.

Supplier catalog sync is the feature small shops underrate. Simpro names ADI Global, Reece, and Rexel, and compares pricing across suppliers. It scores 4.2 on G2 across 478 reviews.

Key features

• Stock visibility across field, van, and warehouse with live updates from technicians
• Materials added from Simpro Mobile on site, with transfers between locations
• Barcode stocktakes through a tablet portal
• Stock updated automatically when purchase orders are received
• Supplier catalog sync with ADI Global, Reece, and Rexel, plus price comparison
• Maximum restock levels to prevent over-ordering

Pricing

Custom pricing, not published. The pricing page names a single Base Plan with a request form and no figures.

Who should choose Simpro

• Electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and fire protection contractors with real material volume
• Shops buying from ADI Global, Reece, or Rexel who want catalog pricing in the system
• Businesses ready to run jobs, stock, and invoicing on one platform

Limitations

No published price means no way to size the cost before a sales call, and Simpro positions itself for teams up to 200 staff. The inventory module assumes structured setup across storage locations, supplier catalogs, and a barcoding portal, which a two-van shop must build and maintain before it pays off. Its G2 reviews carry recurring criticism of implementation complexity.

Simpro vs Cash Margin Partners

Simpro controls material flowing through jobs. Cash Margin Partners looks at material that stopped flowing.

4. ServiceTitan: Best for Shops Already Running the Whole Platform

ServiceTitan treats trucks and warehouses as inventory locations, triggers replenishment against min and max levels, and auto-generates purchase orders by vendor or by truck. Pricing is per technician and quoted.

ServiceTitan is the largest platform on this list and the inventory module is a component of it rather than a standalone purchase. Its promise is to "Maintain optimal stock levels."

The replenishment workflow is the strongest part. Min and max quantity templates are set per location, purchase orders generate automatically, and vendor returns and credits are tracked through the same system.

One caveat matters more than any feature. ServiceTitan's own documentation states it "does not allow you to track on-hand inventory in real-time." It scores 4.4 on G2 across 375 reviews.

Key features

• Trucks and warehouses organized as inventory locations
• Transfers between trucks and warehouses, with requisitions linked to jobs
• Replenishment triggered by min and max templates per location
• Purchase orders auto-generated by vendor or by truck
• Barcode scanning through the ServiceTitan Inventory App
• Accounting sync to QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Desktop, and Sage Intacct

Pricing

Custom pricing, not published. Three tiers exist, all with a request button, and pricing is described as per technician.

Who should choose ServiceTitan

• Shops already running ServiceTitan for dispatch and invoicing
• Residential service businesses with structured replenishment
• Contractors wanting purchase orders generated from materials used

Limitations

The marketing copy and the help documentation disagree on a central point: one promises replenishment triggered by stock levels, the other says on-hand truck inventory isn't tracked in real time. Adopting the inventory module means adopting a full field service platform, which is a large change for a small shop. Its own docs call inventory "a robust process requiring your active participation", and existing accounts need a success manager to configure replenishment.

ServiceTitan vs Cash Margin Partners

ServiceTitan restocks the truck from what the last job consumed. Cash Margin Partners helps evaluate eligible inventory that has stopped selling.

5. ShareMyToolbox: Best for Tools and Consumables Assigned to People

ShareMyToolbox assigns tools to employees with an accept workflow, scans barcodes from a phone camera, and now tracks consumable quantities across locations. It starts at $100 per month for the first admin.

ShareMyToolbox solves accountability rather than stock control. Its model is built on connections that "define who has current responsibility for an Item," which is the question most contractors argue about.

The accept workflow is the clever part. A tool doesn't move to another technician until that technician accepts it, so the record reflects possession rather than intent.

It added consumables in June 2025, tracking quantities of items like tape, blades, and fasteners alongside serialized tools. It scores 4.8 across 296 ratings on the Apple App Store and 4.8 across 39 reviews on Capterra.

Key features

• Tools assigned to employees, with peer-to-peer loans and an accept workflow
• Barcode and QR scanning using the phone camera, no extra hardware
• GPS location tagging and assignment to kits, trucks, and trailers
• Consumable quantity tracking across multiple locations
• Audits, transaction history, and notifications

Pricing

Business is $100 per month for the first admin user, plus $10 per employee or additional admin, sold in blocks of five. Tools and items are unlimited, so price scales with people. Enterprise is quoted.

Who should choose ShareMyToolbox

• Contractors losing tools between crews and sites
• Shops wanting one system for durable tools and consumables
• Teams who'll use a phone but won't use a desktop system

Limitations

The app requires an internet connection and syncs in real time, per the vendor's own FAQ, so it goes read-only where signal drops. No accounting or construction software integration is named anywhere on the site, and API access needs a technical feasibility meeting, leaving Excel import and export as the path for everyone else. At $100 a month before the first technician is added, the entry cost is high for a two-person shop.

ShareMyToolbox vs Cash Margin Partners

ShareMyToolbox knows which technician has the item. Cash Margin Partners identifies eligible items with no recent verified sales.

6. Kojo: Best for Commercial Contractors With a Yard and a Buyer

Kojo handles materials procurement, supplier price comparison, warehouse inventory, and tool tracking for commercial trade contractors. Pricing is quote-only and the product assumes a construction ERP.

Kojo, formerly Agora, describes itself as "the construction industry's leading materials management software." The procurement side is strong, with more than 200 supplier integrations and price comparison across them.

Warehouse inventory covers shelf and bin organization with searchable images and low-stock alerts. Tool tracking lets field crews check tools in and out from their phones, with statuses for service, damaged, lost, and stolen.

The buyer profile is the thing to notice. Its integration list names Sage 300 CRE, Vista, CMiC, eCMS, Procore, and Acumatica, alongside suppliers including Ferguson, Graybar, Rexel, and Wesco.

Key features

• Materials requisition and procurement from field to office
• More than 200 supplier integrations with price comparison
• Warehouse inventory with shelf and bin organization and low-stock alerts
• Tool tracking with check-in and check-out from the field
• Invoice matching through Kojo AP
• ERP connections including Sage 300 CRE, Vista, CMiC, and Procore

Pricing

Custom pricing, not published. The pricing page lists features, states unlimited users and data, and routes to a custom quote. There's no free trial.

Who should choose Kojo

• Commercial electrical and mechanical contractors with a purchasing role
• Self-perform general contractors running a construction ERP
• Businesses with a yard and material spend worth optimizing

Limitations

This is built for mid-market and large commercial contractors, and a two to ten technician shop is below the target. The whole model assumes a warehouse, a purchasing role, and an ERP like Sage 300 CRE or Vista. Third-party review volume is thin, with one review on G2 and four on Capterra, so there's little independent evidence to weigh.

Kojo vs Cash Margin Partners

Kojo optimizes what a contractor buys next. Cash Margin Partners addresses what they bought and still have.

7. Jobber: Best for Running the Job, Though It Doesn't Track Stock

Jobber handles quoting, scheduling, invoicing, and payments for field service businesses. It has no inventory management: products are priced line items with no quantity on hand and no reorder point.

Jobber is on this list because contractors keep asking whether it covers inventory, and the answer is worth stating clearly. It doesn't.

The product and service record holds item type, name, description, unit price, unit cost, markup, photo, tax exemption, and availability. There's no stock field. Items sync to QuickBooks as non-inventory products, which is the QuickBooks type that by definition doesn't track quantity.

Jobber's own product update points inventory users to a partner tool, describing it as software that gives access to "pricing, stock, and inventory details directly in Jobber." As a field service platform it's excellent, with 4.6 on G2 across 529 reviews and 4.6 on Capterra across 1,480.

Key features

• Quoting with financing and deposits
• Scheduling with map view, routing, and visit reminders
• Invoicing with batch sending and automated follow-ups
• Client manager holding job and communication history
• Payments with tap-to-pay and instant payouts
• Job costing with material cost entry per job

Pricing

Jobber’s annual-billing prices start at $29 per month for Core, $99 for Connect, and $149 for Grow, each for one user; Plus starts at $399 for five users. Team-size bands and monthly commitment options change the price. Compare the selected user band instead of assuming a flat $29 charge for every additional user.

Who should choose Jobber

• Service businesses that need scheduling and invoicing before stock control
• Owner-operators who want one system for quotes through payment
• Shops willing to run a separate tool for inventory

Limitations

There are no stock quantities anywhere in the product, so a plumber can't see that three water heaters left the warehouse and one is still on van two. Job costing captures material cost as a typed number rather than a consumption event that decrements stock, which reads as inventory to anyone skimming. Real inventory means a second paid tool alongside it.

Jobber vs Cash Margin Partners

Neither of these tracks van stock, and a contractor who needs that should look at Sortly or Simpro. Jobber runs the work, and Cash Margin Partners measures cash sitting in retail stock.

Side-by-Side Comparison of All 7 Tools

Key data point

Only four of the seven tools here publish a price a contractor can read without booking a demo. Simpro, ServiceTitan, and Kojo all route to a quote, with final terms requiring a vendor quote.

How to Choose for Your Own Shop

Decide whether the problem is tools or materials. Tools come back and need an owner. Materials get used up and need a count. ShareMyToolbox and Sortly sit on opposite sides of that line.

Test the offline question before anything else. If crews work in basements or out of coverage, that single answer removes several options.

Start standalone before you replace the platform. Swapping dispatch and invoicing to get inventory is a large change for a stock problem a cheaper tool may solve.

Count your items before comparing prices. Sortly's tiers are set by item count, and most contractors underestimate theirs by a wide margin.

Ask for the price in the first email. Three vendors here won't give it, which tells you something about where you sit in their market.

Plan a 90-Day Inventory Review

This is a suggested workflow, not a promise of recovered revenue.

Week 1: review the evidence

Cash Margin Partners offers read-only Shopify, Square, and Lightspeed Retail X-Series connections where production launch status and workspace eligibility permit. Lightspeed is a capacity-managed X-Series custom application, excluding R-Series, eCom, and Restaurant. Compatible item-level uploads remain available after column review; Clover uses that export path, not a native connection.

Shopify supplies unit cost when available; Square and Lightspeed analyses add costs through CMP's prefilled template. Confirm the observation window, cost completeness, returns, and any sales outside the source before judging individual SKUs.

Weeks 2 to 4: choose actions

Review eligible SKU-level markdown and recovery recommendations, same-category bundle suggestions, margin floors, and liquidation candidates. The owner approves and executes each action through the store's existing systems. A failed markdown alone does not prove that an item should be liquidated.

Weeks 5 to 12: measure again

Refresh the source data and compare what sold, what remains, and actual net proceeds after costs. Directional 30-, 60-, and 90-day inventory-risk estimates and confidence signals require a recent successful supported live connection with sufficient usable history and cost evidence. They support decisions and do not guarantee future sales or recovery prices.

The proposed CMP Exchange publishes a 20% fee on a completed marketplace transaction, with no software subscription. Live listings, Stripe checkout, payouts, and buyer availability remain subject to production acceptance and workspace eligibility; no sale or payout timing is guaranteed.

How to Vet an Inventory Tool Before You Pay

Five questions worth asking every vendor here, ours included.

"Does this decrement stock, or just record a cost?" Jobber is the example of why this question matters, and it isn't the only tool in the category that blurs it.

"Show me the van workflow on a phone." Ask for the live demo on a handset rather than a laptop mockup.

"What happens with no signal?" Get the answer in writing, because vendor marketing and vendor help docs disagree on this more than anything else.

"What does it cost for my exact crew size?" Per-user, per-item, and per-technician pricing diverge sharply at five people.

"What does your smallest customer look like?" If the case studies are commercial contractors with a yard, the roadmap belongs to them.

Start Here This Week

1. Count one van properly. One technician, one afternoon, everything written down. Most shops discover the problem is bigger than they assumed.
2. Open Sortly's free plan today. A hundred items is enough to prove whether the team will use it.
3. Separate the tool list from the material list. They need different software, and combining them is why most attempts stall.
4. The free five-step calculator provides a directional trapped-cash estimate from questionnaire answers. A separate free workspace supports SKU-level analysis after a supported store connection or compatible item-level upload.
5. Ask three vendors for a price by email. How they answer tells you how the next twelve months will go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best inventory management software for contractors?

Sortly is the best starting point for most small trades businesses because it publishes its pricing, works from a phone, and has a free plan for up to 100 items. Simpro is the stronger choice once van stock, supplier catalogs, and purchase orders all need to connect, though its pricing is quote-only.

Does Jobber track inventory?

No. Jobber stores products and services as priced line items for quotes and invoices, with no stock level, quantity on hand, or reorder point. Items sync to QuickBooks as non-inventory products, which by definition don't track quantity. Contractors needing real stock tracking pair Jobber with a separate inventory tool.

How do contractors track inventory on service vans?

Most treat each van as its own stock location and count it on a schedule. Simpro lets technicians add materials from the mobile app and transfer stock between van and warehouse. ServiceTitan organizes trucks as inventory locations and triggers replenishment, though its own documentation says it does not track on-hand truck inventory in real time.

How much does trades inventory software cost?

Published pricing is rare in this category. Sortly publishes plans from free to $299 per month, and ShareMyToolbox publishes $100 per month for the first admin plus $10 per employee in blocks of five. Simpro, ServiceTitan, and Kojo all require a sales call and publish no figures at all.

What is the difference between tool tracking and inventory management?

Tool tracking follows durable assets that come back, such as drills and ladders, and records who holds them. Inventory management follows consumable materials that get used up, such as fittings and cable, and records quantity on hand. ShareMyToolbox now does both, tracking serialized tools and consumable quantities.

Which inventory tool works offline on a job site?

Sortly includes offline mobile access across all plans, including Free. Sync before going offline and reconnect afterward to share changes with the team; the web app does not offer offline mode. Test any other candidate’s offline and conflict-resolution workflow before buying for remote job sites.

Should a small contractor buy a full field service platform or a standalone inventory tool?

A standalone tool first, in most cases. Platforms like ServiceTitan and Simpro bundle inventory into scheduling, dispatch, and invoicing, which means replacing systems that already work. A two to ten technician shop can usually solve the stock problem with a standalone tool for a fraction of the cost and disruption.

Count one van this week. The number will decide the rest.