BoxHero

What is BoxHero

BoxHero is a cloud-based inventory management software designed specifically for small businesses. Its core purpose is to provide a simple, intuitive alternative to complex spreadsheets or expensive enterprise-level systems. The platform helps business owners track stock levels, manage inventory across multiple locations, and gain insights into their sales and stock movements. Developed by BGNT Inc., BoxHero focuses on essential features like barcode creation and scanning, order management, and reporting, all accessible through a web browser and dedicated mobile apps for iOS and Android. The main goal is to make inventory control accurate, easy, and accessible from anywhere.

BoxHero Features

BoxHero offers a set of focused features to help small businesses manage their inventory effectively.

• Inventory Customization: Easily import your existing inventory list from Excel. You can organize items by category, add custom attributes like size or color, and include photos for visual identification.
• Barcode and QR Code System: Generate and print custom barcode or QR code labels directly from the platform. This allows for quick item identification and tracking.
• Mobile Scanning: Use your smartphone's camera as a barcode scanner with the BoxHero mobile app. This eliminates the need for expensive, dedicated hardware for stock-ins, stock-outs, and inventory counts.
• Order Management: Create and manage purchase orders and invoices within the system. You can track order statuses, manage supplier and customer information, and process returns.
• Real-time Reporting: Access reports that provide insights into your inventory. Analyze stock levels by date or location, track historical data to identify trends, and monitor inventory turnover.
• Multi-Location Management: Track and manage inventory across different warehouses, stores, or branches from a single dashboard. You can easily transfer stock between locations.
• Low Stock Alerts: Set minimum stock levels for your items. The system will automatically notify you when inventory runs low, helping you prevent stockouts and plan reorders.
• Excel Import/Export: Quickly set up your account by importing data from Excel. You can also export inventory data at any time for backup or further analysis.

BoxHero Pricing Plans

BoxHero offers different pricing tiers to suit various business needs.

• Personal Plan: This is a free plan designed for individuals or very small businesses just starting out. It includes basic inventory management features but has limitations on the number of items, users, and locations you can manage.
• Business Plan: Aimed at growing small businesses and teams, this paid plan unlocks more advanced features. It typically includes support for multiple users, management of several locations, purchase order and invoice creation, advanced reporting, and access to the developer API.
• Enterprise Plan: For larger businesses with more complex needs, custom plans may be available upon request, offering dedicated support and higher usage limits.

BoxHero Free Plan

BoxHero provides a Personal Plan which is completely free to use. This plan is ideal for freelancers, hobbyists, or small-scale operations. It allows you to manage a limited number of items and provides access to core features like barcode scanning and basic inventory tracking for a single user and location. For those wanting to test the paid features, BoxHero also offers a 30-day free trial of its Business Plan, with no credit card required to sign up.

How to use BoxHero

Getting started with BoxHero is a straightforward process.

1. Sign Up: Create a free account on the BoxHero website.
2. Import Inventory: The easiest way to begin is by importing your existing product list. You can download their Excel template, fill it with your item details (name, SKU, quantity, price), and upload it.
3. Organize Items: Once imported, add more details to your products, such as images, categories, and custom attributes (e.g., size, color, material).
4. Generate Barcodes: If your items don't have barcodes, you can create and print them directly from BoxHero.
5. Track Stock Movements: Use the web dashboard or mobile app to record stock changes. Scan a barcode to perform a 'Stock In' when receiving new products or a 'Stock Out' when selling or using an item.
6. Conduct Audits: Use the 'Inventory Count' feature on the mobile app to perform physical stock checks. Scan items and enter quantities to compare physical counts with system records.
7. Monitor and Report: Regularly check the dashboard and reports to monitor stock levels, identify slow-moving items, and get low-stock alerts to plan your purchasing.

Pros and Cons of BoxHero

Pros:

• Very easy to use: The interface is clean and intuitive, requiring minimal training.
• Mobile App: The iOS and Android apps are powerful and allow you to manage inventory on the go, including using your phone as a scanner.
• Affordable: The free plan is generous for small needs, and the paid plans are competitively priced for small businesses.
• Barcode Functionality: The built-in barcode generation and scanning capabilities are a major advantage.
• Multi-location support: A key feature for businesses with more than one store or warehouse.

Cons:

• Limited Integrations: Lacks direct, pre-built integrations with major e-commerce platforms (like Shopify or WooCommerce) and accounting software.
• Basic Reporting: While useful, the reporting features may not be advanced enough for businesses requiring deep analytics or demand forecasting.
• Not for Manufacturing: The software is not designed for complex manufacturing processes that involve bills of materials or work-in-progress tracking.

BoxHero integrations

BoxHero is primarily designed as a standalone inventory management system. It does not offer a wide range of pre-built, direct integrations with other third-party applications like e-commerce platforms, accounting software, or CRM systems. Businesses that need to connect BoxHero with other tools typically rely on manually exporting data in Excel or CSV format and then importing it into the other system. For more automated connections, users can leverage the BoxHero API, which is available on the Business Plan.

BoxHero Alternatives

• Sortly: A highly visual inventory and asset tracking app. It's a great alternative if you need to track items using photos and QR codes, making it ideal for asset management, not just stock.
• Zoho Inventory: Part of the large Zoho ecosystem of business apps. It's a strong choice if you already use other Zoho products (like Zoho Books or CRM) as it integrates seamlessly with them.
• inFlow Inventory: A more powerful solution that caters to slightly larger small businesses. It offers features for manufacturing, purchasing, and sales, along with integrations for e-commerce and accounting.
• Odoo Inventory: An open-source option that is part of a full ERP suite. It is highly customizable but has a steeper learning curve compared to BoxHero.

BoxHero API

Yes, BoxHero provides a REST API for developers on its Business Plan. The API allows you to programmatically interact with your inventory data, enabling custom integrations with other software systems your business uses. You can use it to add items, update stock levels, retrieve product information, and more. To get started, you need to generate an API key from within your BoxHero account settings, typically found in the 'Team' or 'Settings' section of the web dashboard.

Here is a basic example of how to fetch your item list using Python:

import requests

API_KEY = 'your_api_key_here'
TEAM_ID = 'your_team_id_here'

url = f'https://api.boxhero-app.com/v1/teams/{TEAM_ID}/items'

headers = {
    'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
}

response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)

if response.status_code == 200:
    items = response.json()
    print(items)
else:
    print(f'Error: {response.status_code}')
    print(response.text)

BoxHero Affiliate program

BoxHero does not publicly advertise a formal affiliate or reseller program on its website. This means there isn't a standard sign-up page with defined commission rates for referring new customers. However, companies often have private partnership programs. If you are an influencer, consultant, or agency interested in promoting BoxHero, it is recommended to contact their customer support or business development team directly through their official website to inquire about potential partnership or referral opportunities.