Inventory Management · head to head
QuickBooks Enterprise vs SOS Inventory
QuickBooks Enterprise
Inventory Management
Advanced inventory for QuickBooks users
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
SOS Inventory
Inventory Management
Inventory management for QuickBooks Online
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: QuickBooks Enterprise quickBooks Desktop Enterprise is capped at 1-30 users per company file; Silver, Gold and Platinum are sold as annual subscriptions, not perpetual licenses, and auto-renew until cancelled (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020); SOS Inventory the Companion plan at $69.95 per month is limited to a single location and 1 custom field
- They diverge on capability: QuickBooks Enterprise covers Advanced inventory, SOS Inventory covers Lot tracking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which QuickBooks Enterprise and SOS Inventory actually diverge.
| Attribute | QuickBooks Enterprise | SOS Inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows | Web, Cloud-based |
| Founded | 1983 | 2011 |
Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Inventory Management).
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 QuickBooks Enterprise
- Advanced inventory
- FIFO costing
- Serial/lot tracking
- QuickBooks ecosystem
- Fishbowl
- TSheets
- Method CRM
- Avalara
Only in SOS Inventory
- Lot tracking
- Serial numbers
- Manufacturing
- QuickBooks Online
- Shopify
- BigCommerce
- ShipStation
- Web support
Both cover
- Multi-location
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
QuickBooks Enterprise
- Advanced inventory trackingnot SOS Inventory
- Cost accountingnot SOS Inventory
- Multi-location managementnot SOS Inventory
- Lot trackingnot SOS Inventory
SOS Inventory
- Adding inventory, assembly and manufacturing tracking on top of QuickBooks Onlinenot QuickBooks Enterprise
- Tracking serial and lot numbers across warehouse locationsnot QuickBooks Enterprise
- Managing sales orders, work orders and job costing for small manufacturersnot QuickBooks Enterprise
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
QuickBooks Enterprise
- QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise is capped at 1-30 users per company file; Silver, Gold and Platinum are sold as annual subscriptions, not perpetual licenses, and auto-renew until cancelled (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
- Filing taxes in more than one state costs an additional $12/month per extra state on top of the base subscription (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
- Introductory discounts (10 percent off for 1-4 users, 40 percent off for 5-30 users) apply only to the first year; the account is automatically charged the full then-current subscription fee from year two onward until the customer cancels (archived pricing page, 2 January 2020)
SOS Inventory
- The Companion plan at $69.95 per month is limited to a single location and 1 custom field
- Serial and lot number tracking, barcoding and unlimited locations require the Plus plan at $139.95 per month
- Phone support is excluded from the Companion plan
- Job costing, advanced manufacturing and the customer portal require the Pro plan at $194.95 per month
- Each plan includes only 2 to 5 users and additional users cost $25 each per month
- The 2 months free discount requires paying a year up front
Pricing, plan by plan
QuickBooks Enterprise
On request- Gold$199/month
- Core features
- Up to 5 users
- Standard support
- Platinum$299/month
- Advanced inventory
- Up to 10 users
- Priority support
- Diamond$449/month
- Full features
- Up to 40 users
- Premium support
SOS Inventory
On request- Companion$49/month
- Basic features
- 2 users
- Email support
- Plus$99/month
- Full features
- 5 users
- Priority support
- Pro$199/month
- Advanced manufacturing
- 10 users
- Premium support
Which should you pick?
Choose QuickBooks Enterprise if
- You need advanced inventory.
- You work on Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows.
- You also want fifo costing.
Choose SOS Inventory if
- You need lot tracking.
- You work on Web, Cloud-based.
- You also want serial numbers.
Questions people ask
- Is QuickBooks Enterprise or SOS Inventory better?
- Neither clearly leads. QuickBooks Enterprise starts at On request and SOS Inventory at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, QuickBooks Enterprise or SOS Inventory?
- QuickBooks Enterprise starts at On request and SOS Inventory at On request.
- Does QuickBooks Enterprise or SOS Inventory run on more platforms?
- QuickBooks Enterprise runs on Desktop, Cloud-hosted, Windows. SOS Inventory runs on Web, Cloud-based.
- What is QuickBooks Enterprise best used for?
- QuickBooks Enterprise is most often used for advanced inventory tracking, cost accounting, multi-location management, lot tracking. Of those, advanced inventory tracking and cost accounting are not what SOS Inventory is typically brought in for.
- What can QuickBooks Enterprise do that SOS Inventory cannot?
- QuickBooks Enterprise covers Advanced inventory, FIFO costing, Serial/lot tracking, QuickBooks ecosystem. SOS Inventory covers Lot tracking, Serial numbers, Manufacturing, QuickBooks Online. Both handle Multi-location.