Craftybase Reviews

Pros

I love this software because the developers understand how a small manufacturing business works. They don't load you down with confusing features - just what you need when you need it. It has helped me get completely organized with raw materials, track all production, determine pricing and just basically keep everything straight. If you're a maker and you're not using it, you need to be.

Cons

I sometimes feel the software tries to be all things to all people. I really don't see why the accounting aspects are necessary and feel they are sometimes lacking.

Pros

All the reports that you can pull from all the information about your inventory are fantastic

Cons

Learning how to initially set everything up. Everyone's needs are slightly different and wrapping your head around it can be daunting

Alternatives Considered

Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

I have to use both. I need Craftybase for the detailed inventory counts and I need QuickBooks for my monthly bookkeeping because that is not supported very well in CB.

Pros

For small manufactures. The price. Pricing help

Cons

Cumbersome to use. Few reports. Not customizable reports.

Pros

It's powerful and flexible. I've created some custom categories, and it enables me to search for things by color, style, etc. A really great way to keep track of inventory of materials on-hand.

I can sort things by date, supplies purchased from a specific vendor, view only certain categories, etc.

It integrates with Etsy, which is nice.

Cons

Some things I wish I could change preferences on (e.g. when/how sales tax is counted or not).

Not really a con, but I'd love to be able to create custom fields (e.g. color, fiber content) rather than putting those things in the notes box.

Pros

I love how I can keep track of all my inventory on hand, everything that has been sold, my profits, pull needed reports, automatic uploads and so much more.

Cons

It is a little confusing in the beginning but within 2 weeks, I was majorly loving this program.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

It was a lot more time consuming and confusing keeping track of everything on my own using excel especially when some inventory is quite large. This program does all the thinking for me when everything is entered in correctly. It's awesome! and the customer service is exceptional when help is needed.

Pros

It keeps me organized and I love that I can refer to my recipes easily. My favorite part is the automatic cost analysis and recommendations for pricing new products.

Cons

Probably the price. It does get a little pricey, so I’ve had to say no to some of the features I really wish I could utilize, like the batch # feature.

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

Probably the promise of organization... and really it is very easy to use and store data. I just wish I could be more consistent with it. It took me forever to begin because I worried I’d set it up wrong and have to do everything all over again.

Pros

I love how crafty base to make everything so much easier with managing my supplies and my cost of good sold automatically based on the supplies I enter. It integrates with Etsy it makes it seamless and super easy to manage my business .

Cons

I have yet to find a reason to be disappointed

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

Is for the creative entrepreneur QuickBooks is less about creativity which makes it hard when you’re dealing with custom made products. Ways to manipulate your inventory and your products on crafty base which is absolutely necessary for the business I run .

Pros

For a handmade business, it is great to keep track of materials, recipes, components.

Cons

The storefront integration isn’t quite what I would prefer. If it was a true all in one solution that would be really helpful.
It was well worth it at the promotional price but iffy at regular price.

Pros

This is a great way to keep track of all my inventory, batches and packaging. I love how I can make a full product and craftybase will actually account for everything right down to the time used, cap and stickers. It really keeps my business profitable and professional.
Good customer service! intergrades with so many options. Very cost effective.

Cons

It’s needs a Canadian tax/paperwork section.

Would love for it to automatically recognize an invoice and copy it in.

menu set up

Alternatives Considered

Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

Because it does batches and I need that style of pricing and it’s one of only a couple that work with Mac.

Pros

Unique format that provides solutions to small business owners who are trying to expand their company.
Provides a place and format for information that is confusing and complicated to organize.

Cons

Some things are stuck the way they are and dont apply to what Im doing or if things change in the way we create products it is hard to apply the changes.
Syncing products from multiple sales channels instead of them showing as unique products over and over again can be frustrating.

Alternatives Considered

Airtable, A2X and Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

None of these programs offered the functionality with affordable pricing.

Pros

I like being the robustness of the reports craftybase offers. I like how it helps me to track my inventory in a detailed way. I like how it helps me figure out the cost of my item and helps me to automatically figure out the least amount I should charge for it on each channel. It integrates with my accounts on amazon and shopify, which makes inventory a breeze.

Cons

I don't love paying every month. Also, recently, I had to do some projections for how much of something to buy. I'd like it to have a feature that would look at my average usage of something over the last year, per month, and how much was currently in stock to tell me how much I should by.

Pros

The software does the thing a small manufacturer like me needs most: keeps an inventory of supplies, manufactures, etc. It does it well, for the most part.

It also handles multiple sales channels well, and gives me a good idea of costs.

Cons

The difficulty comes when you, say, want to sell off some of your inventory, or make a gift basket from your manufactured goods, or sometimes sell a pack of two instead of one. The software does not handle that well at all.

It also isn't a full-fledged bookeeping program (you can't issue a credit, for instance). I'm not sure it needs to be, but it is a caveat.

Pros

My favorite features are supply ordering versus use breakdown ie purchase the supply by the foot and then use by the inch. The product recipe section is easy to set up and fantastic in usability. It makes tracking manufactures a breeze

Cons

I wish there was a better way to track payments. Right now it's just a check box. I would love to see a date and pay method field.

Also would love the ability to print invoices without having to download them first.

Pros

Affordable with different tiers and features. Great inventory program for small handmade business. Integrates well with e-commerce platforms and Etsy. Great response time with customer service. Web based and accessible from any computer. Ease of running different reports.

Cons

Would like to see some additional customization options with bundles/gift boxes and recipes. Would like to be able to add amounts of materials in more than one type of measurement (metric, US customary units) Also more customizations with reports

Pros

Great functionality! It has everything I need to run my handcrafted skincare business. I can sync my eCommerce channels with my inventory and keep track of raw materials and packaging materials, whole loaves of soap (product components) down to individual bars(products). Craftybase also gives me monthly reports for local sales tax purposes. Thank you for making my life easier!

Cons

It takes a little getting used to, but once you have everything set up it runs smoothly. Searching the help section is easy and you can always reach out and ask for help.

Pros

Craftybase integrates almost seamlessly with both Etsy and Shopify. Every time I have had a question or issue, custom service is super helpful and quick. I’ve been using the software for over 5 years, and over that time the developers have listened to community feedback and greatly increased the efficiency and functionality of the software. Once you understand the terminology, you can manipulate the software to benefit your business needs.

Cons

Could use more bulk edit functionality, and the ability to back edit where a change in a material is automatically reflect in all product recipes and all previous manufactures.

Pros

It calculates true Cost of Goods Sold based on the cost of my inventory, including pro-rated shipping/handling fees and taxes from suppliers.

Cons

Set-up for initial makes can be time consuming, but if you do a lot of production work, the time investment is well worth it.

Pros

It is very easy to use and is much cheaper than similiar software.

Cons

So far there is nothing I do not like about this software. I have had no problems and have not had to call customer service.

Alternatives Considered

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

Cheaper

Pros

We manufacture bath and body care products and have increased our private label customer base which means there are more things to track. Craftybase keeps us on track with inventory, material inventory, orders and expenses. They are always trying to improve the software and add suggested options.

Cons

There isn't really anything I like least, but I do wish that the sales channel's variations would match up with the variations I create in Craftybase so I don't have to manually adjust every order to reflect the size.

Pros

It's pretty easy to use. I love that it keeps my recipes and shows when an ingredient is getting low or even the whole product so I can schedule when to restock. I am also thankful that it shows my costs in making each product along with showing recommended retail & wholesale pricing, as well as what my profits are.

Cons

Some of the features can be confusing. For me, the stocktakes have been too time consuming, so right now it's not my favorite.

Pros

I find Craftybase SUPER easy to use. I make products that require multiple levels of inventory tracking, and had been looking for software to help me accomplish this for months. When I stubbed upon Craftybase, it was almost too good to be true! The software is easy to use, is detailed enough to be incredibly useful for my business, and automatically syncs with most of my sales channels. It's awesome. I can't recommend it enough.

Cons

The product variations are useful i some situations, but tricky in others. I wish I had more control over the way things are imported from the sales channels since I don't care about some aspects of those orders and do for others.

Pros

Calculating your cost of goods and time spent to make your products. Let you figure out where is the best defend your time. Also allows you to calculate prices for multiple platforms

Cons

System doesn’t calculate cost of goods on product that was built prior to starting the software. I understand the reason, however, it makes the first year a little difficult to easily get your taxes together.

Pros

I like that it's specifically made for small/micro businesses that make their own products. There's a lot of other inventory software solutions out there, but they're all for larger businesses with very different needs and as a result have a lot of complicated features that small business owners don't need and will be overwhelmed by. Craftybase is the only software that has the exact features I need, including integrations with my sales channels (Shopify and Etsy).

Cons

There are sometimes glitches and errors however support is usually pretty good about responding quickly and making fixes/corrections in a timely manner.

Pros

I love how easy it is to understand, use, and implement. I like how it automatically interfaces with my sales outlets.

Cons

That they only offer a monthly pay package. It feels like a lot to continue paying month after month. I'd rather pay for the software upfront, then pay for upgrades only when I feel I can use the new features.

Pros

I like that I was able to sync my Etsy Shop account with the software. It is constantly updating sales from my account. Since I make handmade items for sale, it helps me track the material used for each order. I also like that it imports all of my listings and how many of each I have sold. If I were to make them in advance, it would track how many I have made on hand.

Cons

It is a bit over whelming at first. And I wish it was cheaper per month after the trial.