How to choose an app to count inventory with your phone
There is no single best inventory app. There are five kinds, built for five different jobs, and most disappointment comes from picking a good app of the wrong kind. This guide explains the five kinds, names well-known examples of each and gives a short checklist to test any app before count day. We make Inventory Mobile, a counting app, so we also say plainly where our own app fits and where it does not.
Short answer
- If you only need to count what is on the shelves and get the result into Excel, choose a counting app. Examples: Inventory Mobile, mise, Orca Scan.
- If you need purchase orders, sales orders and shipping, choose an inventory management system such as Zoho Inventory, Odoo or inFlow.
- If you sell at a counter, use the stock module of your point-of-sale app, such as Square or Loyverse, so stock follows sales.
- If you track equipment, tools or supplies and not goods for sale, look at a simple tracker such as Sortly or BoxHero, or an asset manager such as Asset Panda.
- If you have a short list and one person counting, a spreadsheet may be enough.
First decide which job the app has to do
The word inventory covers two different jobs, and most apps are good at one of them.
- Counting (stocktake, physical inventory, cycle count): you go to the shelves, count what is really there and compare it with what your records say. It happens once a year, once a month or by rotation.
- Managing (stock control): you record every receipt, sale and transfer as it happens, so the records stay right between counts.
A shop that sells from a till needs the till to do the second job. The same shop still has to do the first job at year end. So many businesses end up with two tools: the system that runs sales or orders, and a phone app that makes the count fast.
The five kinds of app
| Kind | Built for | Well-known examples | Check before you rely on it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | A short list, one person, no scanning | Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets | Typing errors, no barcode scanning by itself, and merging several people's files by hand |
| Counting app | Physical counts with a phone: scan, type the quantity, compare with the expected quantity, export | Inventory Mobile, mise, Orca Scan | It does not run sales, purchasing or invoicing |
| Simple inventory or asset tracker | Lists of items with photos, folders and QR labels: tools, equipment, supplies | Sortly, BoxHero, Asset Panda | Whether it can count a large catalog against the quantities in your records |
| Inventory management system | Purchase orders, sales orders, several warehouses, shipping, links to online shops and accounting | Zoho Inventory, Odoo, inFlow | Set-up and training time, which is more than a yearly count needs |
| Point-of-sale app with stock | Shops, cafes and restaurants that sell at a counter | Square, Loyverse | The count function is an extra, so try it before a large stockroom count |
The last column is about each kind of app, not about a named product. Examples were checked on each maker's own site in November 2026.
Eight things to check before you pick
- Scanning with the phone camera. Does it read your codes (EAN, UPC, Code 128, QR) quickly and in poor light? Test with ten real products.
- Importing your product list. Can you load your list from Excel or CSV, with your own codes and expected quantities, without retyping it?
- Expected quantity and difference. After the count, does it show the expected quantity next to the counted one, and the difference between them?
- Working without signal. Stockrooms, basements and cold rooms often have no connection. Does the app keep counting and sync later?
- Several people at once. Can two or more phones count the same inventory at the same time, without merging files by hand?
- Export. Can you get the result out as Excel or CSV, with the columns your accountant or your system needs? Is export limited in the free version?
- What free means. Free for ever, free up to a number of items, or a free trial? Check what happens to your data and your exports when it ends.
- The devices you already have. Android, iPhone or both? A web version for the office computer? Bluetooth scanners, if you count for hours?
Where Inventory Mobile fits, and where it does not
Inventory Mobile (also known as Mobile Inventory) is a counting app for Android, iPhone and the web. It also keeps simple stock in, out and move records between counts.
It fits when
- You count stock with phones, alone or as a team, and want the result in Excel or CSV.
- You already have a product list in Excel or in another system and want to import it, not type it.
- You have to keep counting where there is no signal and sync when the connection returns.
- Several people count the same inventory at once and you want to see the count grow in real time.
- You use Bluetooth or USB scanners or Android handhelds for long counts.
It does not fit when
- You need a till. Inventory Mobile does not take payments or print receipts.
- You need purchase orders, sales orders, invoices or accounting. It holds stock levels, but it does not run purchasing or sales.
- You want everything free for ever. The free version has no team sync and limited export. Team sync, unlimited export and external scanners need a paid license.
- You manage fixed assets with depreciation or maintenance schedules.
A 15-minute test before count day
- Install two or three candidate apps on the phone you will really use.
- Import twenty real products from your own Excel file.
- Scan ten of them in the worst corner of your stockroom, with the light and the signal you really have.
- Give a second phone to a colleague and count the same shelf together.
- Export the result and open it on your computer.
The app that gets through these five steps with the least friction is the right one for you, whatever any list says, this one included.
Questions people ask
What is the best app to do inventory with a phone?
It depends on the job. For a physical count with barcode scanning and an Excel export, a counting app such as Inventory Mobile, mise or Orca Scan fits best. For orders, purchasing and shipping, an inventory management system such as Zoho Inventory, Odoo or inFlow. For a shop that sells at a counter, the stock module of a point-of-sale app such as Square or Loyverse.
Is there a free inventory app for a small shop?
Yes, with limits. Spreadsheets are free. Loyverse describes its point-of-sale app as free. Inventory Mobile has a free version that covers products, barcode scanning with the camera, counting and offline work, with limited export and no team sync. Before you choose, check what each free version limits: the number of items, exports, users or time.
Which app scans barcodes with the phone camera and exports to Excel?
Counting apps do exactly this. In Inventory Mobile you scan with the camera, type the quantity and export the inventory to Excel or CSV. You can import your product list from Excel first, so each scan shows the product name and the expected quantity.
Which app lets several people count at the same time?
Look for real-time team sync, not for a way to merge files. In Inventory Mobile several people count the same inventory on their own phones at once with a paid PRO license, online or offline, and the counts sync when the connection returns.
Do I need a dedicated barcode scanner?
Not to start. A phone camera is enough for a small or medium count. For thousands of scans in a day, a Bluetooth scanner or a rugged Android handheld is faster and easier on the battery, so check that the app supports it. Inventory Mobile supports Bluetooth and USB scanners on Android.
Can I keep my current system and use an app only for the count?
Yes, and many businesses do. Export the product list with its quantities from your system, import it into the counting app, count, export the differences and enter the adjustments in your system.
Written by the Inventory Mobile team. Other apps are named as examples so you can compare. We have no connection with them, and features and prices change, so check each app's own site.