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

It is affordable for start ups compare to the bigger systems like trunk and gets the job done.

Cons

I hate the integration with the sales channels as it is very limited. I have been waiting for them to integrate with bigcommerce for 2 years now and their integration with square is horrible because it doesn’t bring in the items purchased and customer details. Instead it comes as a custom order and so it does pull from the inventory which means I have to delete the imported sales and re - enter it so it reduces the inventory. Time consuming.

Alternatives Considered

Trunk

Reasons for Choosing Craftybase

Doesn’t integrate with any online platforms which means manual entries.

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

Cheaper and suited my needs as a start up with one sales platform

Pros

I like that it helps you price your goods including labor costs. it is pretty easy to use if you know the terminology of inventory. i also really like that it allows for consignment which a lot of other software does not. it allows for manual entry of orders which many other software programs do not.

Cons

i don't like that it doesn't update shopify or other ecommerce sites. so i have to update inventory in craftybase and then also go into shopify and update inventory there as well. you can set low inventory alerts, but it doesn't notify you, so you have to manually go in and check periodically to see which products are running low. seems to defeat the purpose of an alert. it also doesn't sync with bookkeeping systems or shipping systems.

Pros

I can enter all my materials (in my case: various beads, wire, packaging materials, etc) and even set "recipes" for popular items so that when someone purchases an item, I can "Manufacture" it in the software and my materials are automatically deducted according to the recipe I set. I then get warnings anytime a specific material runs low. It's literally hands-off inventory management!

Cons

It's a LOT of data to input in the beginning. The time invested up front is well worth it though!

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

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

I love that you can set up everything to auto-manufacture so you don't have to go in and manually do it after every sale. It's pretty much on auto-pilot which saves a TON of time. It's also great that if you have two Etsy shops that still only counts as one Sales Channel.

Cons

I wish it didn't automatically import everything on the next import after you sign up. It would have been very helpful to just be able to import a little bit at a time to make sure everything is set up and functioning properly.

There is a pretty big learning curve, but only because it is dealing with SO MUCH information. Auto manufacture is amazing, but a lot of us don't keep everything we need on hand. If I have to order something and don't have it when the auto manufacture happens, everything is calculated incorrectly. If we could set the auto-manufacture to happen x days after the sale (or x days before it ships), it would help a ton, and I wouldn't have to go back in and manually change everything.

Also on the auto-manufacturing, say I run out of product stickers. And I manufacture 100 items before I buy more. It's just a small thing, so I just don't include the stickers in those 100 orders. But when I do buy more stickers, the 100 items I already made (but didn't include stickers) still count against my total. It screws up everything and I have to manually go back and change the manufacture for each sale. It would be nice if we could set it up somehow so if we're out of something, and we still manufacture the item, it doesn't count against the inventory of that item since it wasn't used.

I know that sounds like a lot of stuff, but it's really just little things here and there. The program is amazing and really does a ton of work for you.

Pros

That I can do everything for my business on it

Cons

It’s hard to understand in the beginning and no one to talk to just email

Alternatives Considered

Shopify POS and Microsoft Excel

Switched From

Shopify POS and Microsoft Excel

Reasons for Switching to Craftybase

All in one and recommended in my groups

Pros

It's absolutely perfect for my needs of running a small jewelry business. It keeps track of my supply inventory and how each material relates to finished products, to customer sales and production of those finished products. It's cloud based, which means I can check my orders and inventory from anywhere, and each section is intuitively linked to other sections, making it the only software I need to fully track my inventory and orders.

Cons

Nothing, honestly. It does everything I wanted it to, and intuitively.

Pros

We used to use spreadsheets to keep track of our inventory and raw materials until I discovered CraftyBase. It was one of the best investments we've made. Software is super easy to use, provides many tools and features to keep track of not only inventory and materials but also orders, different locations where our products are sold. It's all-in-one type of software that any business should have.

Cons

Ability to sync to regular Amazon inventory/order system.

Pros

I like this this is a cloud-based application. It works well for a jewelry business to track inventory, expenses and sales. It integrates with a few of the more popular e-commerce handmade platforms.

Cons

Some of the bugs are frustrating. For example, some of the Etsy fees do not auto associate with sales/products. So when trying to associate these fees, the fields in the Associate dialog do not keep focus. I can click in the field and then start to enter the product or order just to find focus was lost and nothing is being entered. There are lots of associations that need to be made, so it's very frustrating to select the field and then lose focus most every time.

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

Owning a craft business it is hard to find methods of maintain inventory levels, when I found craftybase I tried the trial and loved it. In addition to the ease of use, everytime I have a question I get a fast, professional response with an easy solution to my issue.

Cons

I can't think of any other than it does not integrate Etsy shipping labels. It will download but you have to associate it to the sale. It is an easy process. But if you neglect doing it it can take some time to catch up.

Pros

My absolute favorite thing about the software is the ease of tracking inventory levels. Not only finished products but also supplies.

Cons

It's not possible to change a classification/category once you create it. Inventoriable vs non-inventoriable or one product type vs another

Pros

Ease of setup and customer service and inventory control

Cons

Adding inventory to a second store did not show correct quantity and shows -quantiys

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

This software covers everything for the designer and manufacturer jewelry business.
It's not difficult to use but it works better if you are just starting your business.
The examples are very good and very well covered.

Cons

The only thing I wish it had was more video of the process. There is a lot of reading to do at times to grasp what you need to do,