Softwr

ERP & Business Operations · head to head

Fishbowl vs Zenefits

Fishbowl logo

Fishbowl

ERP & Business Operations

Manufacturing and warehouse management for QuickBooks

From
$4395/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zenefits logo

Zenefits

Payroll & Benefits

All-in-one HR platform for growing companies

From
$8/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Fishbowl the $229 per month Essentials plan includes only 2 users, Growth at $429 includes 5 and Scale at $729 includes 10, all billed annually; Zenefits product discontinued by parent company TriNet
  • They diverge on capability: Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Zenefits covers HR Administration.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fishbowl and Zenefits actually diverge.

Attributes where Fishbowl and Zenefits differ
AttributeFishbowlZenefits
Starting price$4395/one-time$8/month
Pricing modelone-timesubscription
PlatformsWindows, CloudWeb
CategoryERP & Business OperationsPayroll & Benefits
Founded20012013

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Fishbowl

  • Inventory management
  • Manufacturing
  • Work orders
  • Barcode scanning
  • QuickBooks integration
  • QuickBooks Desktop
  • QuickBooks Online
  • Shopify

Only in Zenefits

  • HR Administration
  • Benefits Management
  • Payroll
  • Time and Scheduling
  • Compliance
  • Performance Management
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Fishbowl

  • Inventory and SKU tracking for wholesale and distribution businessesnot Zenefits
  • Manufacturing bills of materials, MRP, work orders and job costingnot Zenefits
  • Warehouse fulfilment, transfer orders and automated reorderingnot Zenefits
  • Multichannel selling with synchronised stock levelsnot Zenefits

Zenefits

No use cases recorded yet. See the Zenefits review.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Fishbowl

  • The $229 per month Essentials plan includes only 2 users, Growth at $429 includes 5 and Scale at $729 includes 10, all billed annually
  • A paid implementation package is required as part of purchase and covers a 6 to 8 week training certification
  • Lot tracking, demand forecasting and compliance documentation require the Scale plan at $729 per month
  • Advanced Warehouse from $595 per month and Advanced Manufacturing from $675 per month are quoted on team size and deployment rather than sold at a fixed rate
  • Demand forecasting and custom reports are add ons carrying separate fees
  • All listed plan prices are billed annually rather than monthly

Zenefits

  • Product discontinued by parent company TriNet
  • Remaining customers forced to migrate to more expensive TriNet products

Pricing, plan by plan

Fishbowl

$4395/one-time
  • Fishbowl Warehouse$4395/one-time
    • Inventory tracking
    • Order management
    • QuickBooks sync
  • Fishbowl Manufacturing$5495/one-time
    • Work orders
    • Bill of materials
    • Shop floor control

Zenefits

$8/month
  • Essentials$8/month
    • HR Administration
    • Time Off Tracking
    • Scheduling
  • Growth$16/month
    • All Essentials features
    • Compensation Management
    • Performance Management

Which should you pick?

Choose Fishbowl if

  • You need inventory management.
  • You work on Windows, Cloud.
  • You also want manufacturing.
Fishbowl review

Choose Zenefits if

  • You need hr administration.
  • You also want benefits management.
Zenefits review

Questions people ask

Is Fishbowl or Zenefits better?
Neither clearly leads. Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Zenefits at $8/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fishbowl or Zenefits?
Fishbowl starts at $4395/one-time and Zenefits at $8/month.
Does Fishbowl or Zenefits run on more platforms?
Fishbowl runs on Windows, Cloud. Zenefits runs on Web.
What is Fishbowl best used for?
Fishbowl is most often used for inventory and sku tracking for wholesale and distribution businesses, manufacturing bills of materials, mrp, work orders and job costing, warehouse fulfilment, transfer orders and automated reordering, multichannel selling with synchronised stock levels. Of those, inventory and sku tracking for wholesale and distribution businesses and manufacturing bills of materials, mrp, work orders and job costing are not what Zenefits is typically brought in for.
What can Fishbowl do that Zenefits cannot?
Fishbowl covers Inventory management, Manufacturing, Work orders, Barcode scanning. Zenefits covers HR Administration, Benefits Management, Payroll, Time and Scheduling.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Zenefits: Is Zenefits still available as a standalone product?

No. Zenefits was discontinued as a standalone product after TriNet's acquisition in 2022. Existing customers are being migrated to TriNet HR Plus (ASO) or TriNet PEO at higher costs.

Source
Zenefits: What were Zenefits' main features before discontinuation?

Zenefits provided HR, benefits management, payroll as optional add-on, time and attendance tracking, and compliance tools for small to mid-sized businesses with 10-200 employees.

Source
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Related pages

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