Ask the Collective
The questions independent drinks founders ask most — answered. Distilled from years of community knowledge so the good stuff never disappears in the feed again.
What inventory management software should small drinks brands use for batch/serial numbers, stock tracking, and ingredient management?
Members recommend several options depending on budget and complexity. **Unleashed** is praised for accuracy, especially with multiple ingredients and component parts, and integrates with Xero and Sage, though it's expensive. **Breww** (£175/month average) is a popular cost-effective alternative—volume-based pricing, includes basic CRM, 1% trade store commission, integrates with Xero, has a deliveries system, and strong support. Members use it successfully beyond brewing (e.g., for syrup production) without needing additional staff. **Workhorse** and **Brewman** are also mentioned as cheaper options. For larger operations, **SAP B1** (cloud-based) and **Oracle NetSuite** integrate well with other systems. Members strongly advise against using Xero alone for stock control—it becomes painful beyond small production runs with few SKUs. The consensus is to commit to one system, as they take time to learn but become reliable once embedded.
What ERP or inventory management software do small drinks producers recommend, and how well do they integrate with Xero?
Members consistently recommend **Unleashed** as a powerful, scalable solution for inventory, production, costing and SKU-level tracking—but emphasize it requires significant setup and ongoing commitment. It syncs with Xero, Shopify, Vend, Zettle, and Wise, and produces strong reports. However, implementation typically takes 6–9 months and benefits from specialist support; members used **Outserve** (philip.oakley@outserveweb.co.uk) for implementation, though noted the cost is high. Success depends on dedicated team buy-in or a single person owning the system day-to-day. For smaller teams without heavy resources, members highlighted lighter alternatives: - **Breww** — £90/month all-in with unlimited users, focused on breweries but adaptable to other drinks production; integrates easily with Xero; includes batch/date tracking, warehouse floor app, built-in CRM and tank cleaning scheduler; requires no full-time operator. - **BrewMan** — £50 per user per month, noted for costing and production focus. - **Workhorse** — Simpler alternative recommended by members using third-party production models; handles POs, stock, production and tracking but less suitable for complex direct/bonded/duty-paid sales scenarios. - **Excel spreadsheets** — Several members running effective operations on well-built spreadsheets with bookkeeper support; members offered to share templates. **Caveats:** Unleashed can cause integration issues with Xero (phantom duty calculations reported); it's a blank canvas requiring API configuration and carries risk of problems if not carefully set up. Members cautioned that Zoho is primarily CRM, not true ERP. The choice depends on operational complexity—Unleashed scales to handle multiple SKUs, hundreds of ingredients and multiple warehouses, but simpler systems suit leaner operations.
What are the key considerations and best practices for implementing Unleashed inventory software, particularly with accounting integration?
Unleashed is powerful for production tracking and batch traceability but requires careful setup and ongoing management—especially if integrating with accounting systems. **Key findings from the community:** - **Unleashed + Xero integration** — can cause serious problems if not set up correctly. Members reported duty being randomly allocated to balance sheets and P&Ls. One member had this issue and now uses Unleashed for production tracking only, deliberately not integrating it with Xero to avoid these errors. - **Professional implementation is essential** — multiple members emphasised that Unleashed "requires a team, training, and proper setup." One member previously tried integrating SOS Inventory with QuickBooks, which became "an absolute disaster" and forced them to run parallel systems for 2 years. They now use **Outserve** (philip.oakley@outserveweb.co.uk, https://www.outserveweb.co.uk) as their implementation and ongoing support partner. Outserve specialises in breweries and distilleries and understands excise duty treatment. - **Recommended use case** — Unleashed works well as a production-only system, especially when you need end-to-end batch traceability (required for SALSA compliance and larger customers). Members do not recommend setting it up without professional help or someone experienced with the system. - **Ongoing overhead** — expect significant monthly work for management accounts reconciliation. This is an interim solution before stepping up to enterprise systems like SAP or NetSuite (which are much more expensive). - **Cost trade-off** — Outserve support is not cheap, but members found it worthwhile to avoid the parallel-system nightmare and get proper excise duty handling. **Caveat:** Integration with accounting software can fail badly without expertise. Do not attempt a direct Xero integration without professional guidance.
What inventory and ERP systems do spirits makers recommend for managing duty compliance and scaling production?
Members report mixed experiences with cloud-based inventory platforms. **CIN7** was noted as potentially unsuitable for manufacturers based on initial review feedback. **Unleashed** was under active consideration by at least one member, though no conclusive recommendation emerged. The most concrete recommendation came from a member using **SAP B1 (cloud-based)**, supplied and supported by **LAKE financial in Leeds** (a licensed SAP partner). LAKE customised duty compliance elements for the member's needs and provides ongoing support, with the cloud-based model avoiding upfront server costs. This appears to be a more robust solution for duty-specific requirements. Members suggested booking live demos with multiple platforms before committing to a decision, to assess suitability for your specific manufacturing workflows and compliance needs.
What CRM or sales platform integrates well with inventory management for small drinks businesses?
Members recommend a mix of approaches depending on whether inventory integration is critical. **Salesforce** integrates with both Unleashed and NetSuite, making it a strong choice if you need tight inventory links, though some found it not very user-friendly. **HubSpot** is praised by members as handling everything needed for small operations. **Bowimi** works as a pure sales CRM but doesn't integrate with inventory systems, so it's better if you're managing stock separately. One member cautioned that after two years on Salesforce with Unleashed integration, they switched to Bowimi because their team didn't engage well with Salesforce's interface—so ease of adoption matters as much as feature depth.
What inventory management software integrates well with Xero for small-scale beverage brands with few SKUs?
For small operations with minimal SKUs, members recommend purpose-built tools that integrate cleanly with Xero and shipping platforms rather than enterprise-grade systems. **Key recommendations:** - **Mintsoft** — described as "pricey but accurate" with clean integrations to Xero, Royal Mail, DHL, and Palletways. Works as a workhorse for members using Xero. - **NetSuite** — mentioned as an option, though less detail provided on use case fit. **What to avoid:** - **Unleashed** — members characterised it as "a sledgehammer for a walnut" for smaller-scale operations, suggesting overkill for brands with only 2–10 SKUs. - **Breww** — one member flagged it as not suitable for their needs despite prior use. **Integration priorities for small brands:** Members integrating with Xero and shipping platforms (Ship Theory mentioned) should verify before purchase that your chosen system has native connectors to your shipping partner and accounting software. Mintsoft's documented integrations with Royal Mail, DHL, and Palletways suggest it's a safer bet for UK-based small beverage brands, though cost should be weighed against the scale of operation.
How can we increase brand-level storage limits at Amazon FBA when we're hitting caps and unable to send adequate stock across SKUs?
Amazon FBA enforces brand-level storage caps (not just SKU-level) to manage inventory throughput. Members report this forces difficult choices about which SKUs to stock. **How the limit works:** - The cap appears to be tied to your **Inventory Performance Index (IPI)** score and inventory throughput — Amazon doesn't want stock sitting idle in their warehouses for extended periods. **Tactics members mentioned:** - One member speculated Amazon may be **pushing sellers toward Vendor Central** as an alternative route, suggesting that could be worth exploring if FBA constraints become too restrictive. **Caveats:** Members didn't share a direct workaround for increasing the brand-level cap itself. The constraint appears to be a deliberate Amazon policy tied to inventory health metrics, not a hard ceiling that can be negotiated up. Focus on IPI management (faster turnover, lower excess stock) may be the underlying lever.