Fishbowl Manufacturing software for QuickBooks and Xero
Know what's buildable. Build it on time. Know what it cost.
Fishbowl gives small manufacturers the BOMs, work orders, MRP and traceability of a real production system, with AI that forecasts what you'll need, answers in plain English, and drafts the purchasing before the shift starts. Without the ERP, and without adding headcount.
Manufacturing inventory software for small manufacturers: BOMs, work orders, kitting and job costing, with AI that forecasts, answers and drafts purchasing for your approval.
Manufacturers who run on Fishbowl
“$11M in inventory costs saved, with stockouts reduced and excess inventory a thing of the past.”
Extract Production
“Automated cascading BOM updates eliminated hours of data entry per vehicle. Scheduling time down 50%.”
Velocity Restorations
“We've seen an 18% decrease in overall inventory costs since starting to use Fishbowl.”
Cascadia Motion
“99% on-time delivery, with order cycle times down to an average of 3.9 days.”
Grill Works
“Inventory adjustments went from 12% to 2%, and cost-to-manufacture is known the day we build, not six months after year-end.”
Prince Michel Vineyard & Winery
“I was using QuickBooks Enterprise Advanced which didn't have a tenth of the features. I have my costing down to the penny. Fishbowl has made my manufacturing extremely lean.”
Fidalgo Coffee Roasters, G2 review
Manufacturing AI that adapts to how you run
Automate the manual work that slows production down
When teams are stretched thin, manual prep work breaks production. Fishbowl's AI removes that burden: it forecasts what you'll need from your own sales history and vendor lead times, answers plain-English questions about readiness and shortages from live data, and, in the cloud product, drafts the purchase orders for what's short, for your approval.
Hi! I'm Coralie, your operations specialist. How can I help you today?
Know the job is buildable, the parts are there and the margin is real.
Built for shops that need control over inventory, materials and production, without bending the operation to a generic system or paying for ERP-level complexity.
Sales orders become jobs on their own
Multi-stage BOMs and work orders created from the sales order automatically, so nothing waits on a re-key.
Buy what the schedule actually needs
Material planning tied to real production: what's buildable, what's in stock and what's needed next.
Raw, WIP and finished goods, one count
Inventory built for production, with costing shown in the context of the orders and jobs that moved it.
Know the margin the day you ship, not at year-end
Material, labor and overhead measured as work happens, with dashboards on performance and yield.
Kits ship right the first time
Kitting and assemblies built to order or to stock, components consumed the moment the kit ships, nested where your BOM does.
Ready for the auditor, and the recall you hope never comes
Lot and batch traceability forward and backward, with the records ready the moment someone asks.
Built for exactly how your operation runs. Two ways to get it.
Whether you kit and assemble on QuickBooks Online or run regulated, multilevel production on Enterprise, there is a Fishbowl fitted to it. Pick your path, and we will tell you straight if the other one fits better.
Fishbowl AI Manufacturing cloud
For light assembly, kitting and build-to-order shops on QuickBooks Online or Xero.
BOMs, work orders and purchasing at real vendor lead times. Forecasting and plain-English answers, plus the AI operations specialist drafting the purchasing at real vendor lead times, for your approval.
50%less scheduling timeVelocity Restorations →Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing hosted
For regulated, multilevel or complex-routing production, and shops on QuickBooks Desktop or Enterprise.
Multilevel BOMs, MRP, routing and WIP, lot genealogy and the audit trail an inspector asks for. Forecasting and plain-English answers from your own data. Some people call it an ERP. It costs and behaves like Fishbowl.
99%on-time deliveryGrill Works →Built with food and beverage, specialty chemicals, industrial machinery, fabricated metal, automotive parts and building materials manufacturers.
Works with the systems you already rely on
Inventory, production and purchasing sync with your books and your channels automatically. No duplicate entry.
Spreadsheet vs. ERP vs. Fishbowl
Spreadsheet
- What it does well
- Free and flexible.
- Where it leaves you
- Holds a parts list. Cannot track what a build consumes, flag a shortage or catch it before the line stops.
ERP
- What it does well
- Runs a much larger company's production.
- Where it leaves you
- The implementation, the modules and the six-figure quote come with it, and the AI it adds still leaves the work to your team.
Fishbowl
- What it does well
- Built around QuickBooks or Xero. BOMs, work orders and job costing a small team can run.
- Where it leaves you
- Forecasting, answers and production prep come with it, and the final call stays with you.
Manufacturing questions, answered
What is a manufacturing work order in Fishbowl?
The instruction to build a quantity of an item from its bill of materials. Fishbowl creates it from the manufacturing order, checks materials against it at release, consumes them from the pick as you build, and closes it into finished goods.
What is manufacturing inventory software?
Manufacturing inventory software is a system that tracks raw materials, work-in-progress items, and finished goods throughout the production process. It connects stock levels directly to production schedules, BOMs, and purchasing so manufacturers always know what they have, what they need, and what's ready to ship.
How is manufacturing inventory software different from ERP?
ERP covers an entire business — HR, finance, CRM, and more. Manufacturing inventory software focuses specifically on inventory tracking, production planning, and warehouse operations. Fishbowl gives you the inventory and manufacturing capabilities of an ERP without the complexity, timeline, or cost of a full enterprise system.
Does Fishbowl do production scheduling?
Yes. Work orders schedule against material availability and vendor lead times, so the date on the board is one the floor can keep.
What types of manufacturing does Fishbowl support?
Fishbowl handles standard assembly, disassembly, reverse manufacturing, repair jobs, and custom work orders.
Do you support multilevel BOMs?
Yes on Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing today. The cloud product supports single-level BOMs and kits today, with multilevel BOMs coming next.
How does Fishbowl handle lot tracking and traceability?
Fishbowl provides end-to-end traceability with lot tracking, batch tracking, and serial number management. Track every item from vendor receipt through production to customer shipment. This supports compliance requirements in industries like food & beverage, pharma, aerospace, and firearms.
We are FDA or ISO regulated. Which Fishbowl?
Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing, with lot genealogy and the audit trail an inspector asks for.
Does Fishbowl support barcode and RFID scanning?
Yes. Fishbowl includes mobile barcode scanning for receiving, picking, packing, and cycle counts. Scan items at every stage — from raw material receipt to finished goods shipment — to eliminate manual entry errors and keep counts accurate.
Can Fishbowl integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes. Fishbowl was built for QuickBooks from the start. Your chart of accounts, vendors, and customers stay where they are. Fishbowl syncs inventory movements, COGS, and production costs directly into QuickBooks and Xero — no double entry, no reconciliation cleanup.
Which product has the AI operations specialist?
The AI operations specialist drafts the purchasing in Fishbowl AI Manufacturing, the cloud product. Fishbowl Advanced Manufacturing runs forecasting and plain-English answers from your data. Tell us what you build and we will tell you straight which one fits.
What is demand forecasting in manufacturing inventory management?
Demand forecasting uses historical sales data and trends to predict future inventory needs. Fishbowl's AI-powered forecasting helps you set accurate reorder points, draft purchase orders for your approval, and avoid both stockouts and excess inventory.
How long does it take to implement Fishbowl?
Implementation timelines vary by complexity, but you're never doing it alone. Fishbowl provides dedicated implementation specialists, trainers, and AI-guided data migration to get your team up and running. Setup takes time, but the guided process means fewer mistakes and a stronger foundation.
Ready to know what's buildable before the shift starts?
30 minutes, your operation, no commitment.