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Part of How to choose inventory software for UK marketplace sellers
How to choose inventory software for UK marketplace sellers
How to choose inventory software for UK marketplace sellers: compare FBA and eBay stock fields, forecasting tests, VAT records and exit terms.
What to take away
- The route the stock travels decides the features you need: FBA units sit inside Amazon's network, while most eBay UK stock sits on your own shelves.
- Score tools on per-unit landed cost, supplier lead time, committed against available stock, and the record of every adjustment.
- Test the data export before you pay for the forecast.
- VAT records belong in the same stock file, not in a spreadsheet kept alongside it.
- Write the exit test, including a readable export, before you sign.
Start with where the stock sits
Inventory software takes in spreadsheet templates, hosted systems that hold purchasing and warehouse data in one record, and stock modules attached to an accounting suite. Wikipedia's page on inventory management software is a fair check on what a vendor means by the term.
Where the stock sits matters more than the brand. FBA units rest in Amazon's fulfilment centres, and Amazon runs the pick, pack and dispatch. eBay UK orders usually leave your own unit, so bin locations and pick lists are basic requirements there.
Sellers on both routes need one line per SKU showing units at Amazon, units on your own shelf and units in transit. Without that split, available is an opinion rather than a number.
Compare the fields that decide a reorder
| Field | Amazon FBA UK | eBay UK, own warehouse |
|---|---|---|
| Stock position | units at the fulfilment centre, inbound, reserved | units on shelf, picked, packed, awaiting courier |
| Reorder trigger | supplier lead time plus Amazon's receiving queue | supplier lead time plus pick, pack and courier cut-off |
| Cost basis | landed cost per unit, freight and duty included | landed cost plus storage and pick and pack labour |
| Adjustments | reimbursements, removals, lost and damaged units | damage, loss, stocktake corrections, return restocking |
| Tax link | marketplace-collected VAT on eligible sales | VAT you record on sales and purchases |
A tool can score well in one column and badly in the other, so score each row on its own and reject any system that cannot show the split between the two routes.
Run the forecast on your own numbers
- Export twelve months of order lines per SKU from Seller Central and eBay UK, and keep the raw files.
- Add cost and lead time by supplier, including minimum order quantities.
- Split the history by route, because FBA and eBay sales carry different lead times and return rates.
- Test the reorder point against a month you already know, then compare suggested orders with what you actually bought.
- Decide in writing the error you will accept in a peak month before you trust a suggested order.
Repricing sits close to forecasting. If a repricer moves your price through the day, the sales history it creates is partly the tool's own work. A forecast trained on that history repeats the repricer's choices rather than the demand underneath.
Keep the stock file and the VAT record together
HMRC's Making Tax Digital rules require digital records and digital links between systems. A stock tool that cannot feed your VAT return software cleanly leaves two sets of figures to reconcile each quarter. That is why many sellers compare accounting software that handles MTD before choosing a stock system.
The GOV.UK guidance on Making Tax Digital for VAT sets out what those records must contain and how the digital links work.
VAT registration turns on turnover against the threshold, and GOV.UK's VAT registration page gives the current figure. Marketplaces collect VAT on some sales and not others, so fees, refunds and cross-border movements need a place in the stock record.
Set the exit test before you sign
Ask for a full export of products, stock movements, purchase orders and orders in a plain format, and open it before you commit. A file that needs the vendor's portal is not your data.
Check how the contract ends: notice periods, price changes, and what happens to your data on termination.
A return case built from an observed baseline, as set out in marketplace software return assessed from a baseline, survives a weak quarter better than a saving projected in a sales deck.
Set a review date twelve weeks after go-live and compare the reorder suggestions with the orders you actually placed.
Common questions
Do Amazon FBA sellers need separate inventory software?
Not always. A seller with a handful of SKUs and steady demand can run stock from Seller Central reports. The reorder and cost view breaks once a second channel or a long supplier lead time arrives.
Can one tool manage both FBA and eBay UK stock?
Yes, if it holds units by location and channel rather than one total per SKU, and shows units at Amazon, units on your shelf and units in transit.
How should a small seller judge the price?
Ask what triggers a charge: per order, per SKU, per marketplace connection or per user. Then compare that with the hours the system removes each week.
What must the system export if we leave?
Products, stock movements, purchase orders, orders and cost history, in a format you can open without the vendor's software. Test the export during the trial, not at the end of the contract.