Fishbowl

Good Software

Pros

Fishbowl is user-friendly and effectively maintains our shop's inventory.

Cons

Fishbowl failed to establish a connection with shipping software like UPS Worldship, pirateship, etc., resulting in an unsatisfactory user experience.

Will Fishbowl Survive in the coming years?

Pros

The onboarding process was smooth and the team provided responsive and helpful support. However, be prepared to handle the workload independently. Despite the initial challenge of starting from scratch and excluding Quickbooks inventory, it is ultimately worth it.

Cons

Once your system is up and running, customer support becomes a distant concern. Seeking assistance often entails spending thousands of dollars, even for the simplest requests, and getting a response can be a lengthy process, sometimes spanning up to two weeks for scheduling a resolution.

Software that's 70% complete

Pros

I appreciate the interface's simplicity and seamless integration with Quickbooks.

Cons

This software has the potential to be fairly decent, but numerous peculiarities prevent it from truly being a powerful tool. A prime example is when moving inventory from one location to another. If you've had the item in your warehouse for six months and you move it from row 1 to row 2, the aged date resets to zero. Consequently, tracking aged inventory becomes effectively impossible. Additionally, when searching for a part that is not in stock, you must go through an advanced search, select the option for non-inventory items, and then search for the product. This process needs to be repeated for every consecutive product, resulting in unnecessary repetition.

Horrible Service and Obsolete Setup

Pros

The system setup is incomplete, and we have been unable to obtain assistance.

Cons

The service received while setting up our Fishbowl system was terrible. Our attempts to explain certain aspects were ignored, and our input was disregarded. The support team followed a script without considering our specific needs.

Best solution for my business

Pros

It significantly aids in maintaining our firm's top position in the local region.

Cons

Occasionally, there were blocking issues, but I managed to resolve them myself.

NOT 3PL / Warehouse inventory system

Pros

Unfortunately, even after six months, we were unable to utilize the system.

Cons

This system is super unreliable, and the company behind it is, is also unreliable. They refuse to take responsibility for system failures, as stated in their "NO REFUNDS" agreement. The software is overly complicated and lacks user-friendliness, requiring excessive steps for daily data entry. Custom reporting for inventory traceability is either an additional cost or time-consuming to complete.

Efficient & Reliable.

Pros

It's excellent for managing our small inventory, and we have successfully integrated it.

Cons

We sometimes encounter difficulties with the database and its maintenance.

Fishbowl, Wish we could switch over to something that works better!

Pros

The ability to track item location is limited. Our inventory involves numerous transfers, from the warehouse to staging, deployment, return, RMA, and back to inventory. We are currently exploring asset management programs instead of inventory management programs. This program may work well for stocking specific quantities and using them in different work orders, but it doesn't suit our needs.

Cons

The software frequently freezes, and despite blaming it on our server, it was determined to be their issue. Some days, reports fail to run, and obtaining quick answers regarding server space usage is challenging. Certain limitations exist, such as being unable to view pictures and notes on both the parts and inventory sides. Switching between parts and inventory is only possible in one direction. Editing an item's title in inventory requires navigating back to the parts section. Deleting items or locations is not feasible, resulting in increased server space usage. Although Fishbowl Go was attempted, it was not preferred. Searching for items by serial number or extension ID is not supported. The program might have been state-of-the-art initially, but it has failed to keep pace with time. The issues with the software are numerous, and it seems futile to continue listing them.

Terribly slow and no answers from customer service

Pros

We initially believed it would be a long-term solution, but it turned out not to be.

Cons

Loading part inventory takes an agonizingly long time, and we have received no helpful solutions from Fishbowl on improving the speed. Their only suggestion is to start over with a new database, which is a complete disaster. Over the years, the speed has consistently worsened to the point where completing tasks is nearly impossible.

Useless

Pros

Fishbowl used to be good, but its quality has declined.

Cons

The Fishbowl support team lacks the knowledge to fix their own software. My Fishbowl has been unusable for months, and despite several attempts to resolve the issue with Fishbowl, the graphical user interface (GUI) continues to glitch and display improperly. Instead of addressing the problem, they attempt to blame it on the user's computer. I have a powerful new Alienware computer, and I have been a loyal Fishbowl customer for years. However, if this issue remains unresolved, I will have no choice but to take my business elsewhere.