Order tracking software for small businesses is non-negotiable, especially if you want a multichannel strategy.

In previous years, it was enough to have a single Shopify store and run ads to your site.

Now, consumers expect you to be on every online platform.

Be it your own website, social media platforms, or marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, sales opportunities are plentiful.

However, managing orders flowing in from multiple directions presents a unique challenge. The solution? Channeling these orders through a singular, efficient order management system.

In this post, we’ll explore the top order management systems transforming the market.

To aid your decision-making process, we’ll provide comprehensive overviews of each software and highlight their best use cases.

Additionally, we’ll detail their key features, list their integration capabilities, and provide pricing information to help you find the best order management software for your business.

First, let’s talk about why efficient order tracking is such an important business process.

Why Efficient Order Tracking Matters for Small Ecommerce Businesses

It may seem self-explanatory, but it’s important to understand the specific ways order tracking benefits your business.

There are obvious ones, like more efficient stock control and more efficient order organization, but there are some other key ones as well.

Enhancing Customer Satisfaction and Trust

Efficient order tracking cultivates a sense of confidence and trust in customers by keeping them informed about their order’s progress.

It eliminates ambiguity, reducing the volume of customer queries and complaints about order status. This transparency necessarily creates better customer service and satisfaction, fostering an environment conducive to repeat business.

Optimizing Business Operations and Fulfillment

Beyond customer experience, efficient order tracking provides valuable insights into the business’s fulfillment process.

By monitoring the shipping and delivery procedures, businesses can identify bottlenecks or inefficiencies.

This process leads to optimization opportunities, from refining packaging materials to adjusting distribution centers, ultimately reducing costs and enhancing operational efficiency.

Facilitating Scalability and Growth

As small ecommerce businesses expand, so do order volumes.

An efficient, scalable order tracking system can accommodate this growth without compromising service quality.

Implementing such systems early paves the way for seamless transitions during growth phases and enables businesses to maintain their standards of customer satisfaction.

Key Features of Order Tracking Software for Small Ecommerce Businesses

Live Order Tracking and Updates

Good order management software allows businesses to track orders live and in real time.

(We often call this a perpetual inventory system.)

This feature provides both the enterprise and its customers with current, accurate information on order status.

Integration with your accounting software, warehouse management systems and shipping document generation further streamlines inventory management, ultimately enhancing the overall customer experience.

Seamless Integration with Existing Ecommerce Platforms and Shipping Services

A critical characteristic of any order management software is its integration capability with existing ecommerce platforms and shipping services.

This ensures uninterrupted communication throughout the order process.

Linnworks, with its robust compatibility, allows companies to easily connect with a multitude of ecommerce platforms and shipping carriers. This facilitates streamlined business processes and mitigates the risk of delays and errors.

Data-Driven Decision Making through Reporting and Analytics

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.

By analyzing customer order patterns, sales data, and inventory management, businesses can identify trends, optimize product offerings, and develop targeted marketing strategies.

Adaptable and Scalable to Meet Specific Business Demands

While a core set of features is essential in order management software, we recognize the importance of customization and scalability, particularly for small businesses with unique needs.

This is why we design Linnworks as an adaptable system catering to both B2C and B2B sales, allowing businesses to customize their solutions as they expand and evolve.

This level of flexibility not only boosts efficiency but also ensures a robust order tracking platform capable of adapting to varying demands.

Top Order Tracking Software Solutions for Small Ecommerce Store Owners

Linnworks

Linnworks is a robust, feature-rich order management solution designed to help ecommerce businesses scale and streamline their operations.

The software provides comprehensive integrations, allowing for seamless connections with various ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, shipping services, and more.

By centralizing inventory management, order tracking, and advanced reporting features, Linnworks delivers all the tools necessary to supercharge your ecommerce store.

Key Features:

• Comprehensive Integrations: Allows for seamless connection with various ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, shipping services, and more.
• Centralized Inventory Management: Enables tracking and managing of inventory across multiple channels from a single platform.
• Advanced Reporting: Provides detailed business insights and analytics to help drive decision-making processes.
• Order Tracking: Facilitates real-time order tracking to enhance customer service and satisfaction.

Pros of Linnworks:

• Scalable solution catering to businesses of all sizes, from small businesses to large enterprises.
• Offers a robust API for custom integrations and solutions.
• Provides real-time inventory updates across all channels to avoid stock-outs or overstocking.
• Supports multi-currency and multi-warehouse operations.

Pricing:

Linnworks offers several pricing tiers based on the size and needs of your business, with each tier offering a different set of features.

For next steps, request a demo to learn more.

Oracle NetSuite

Oracle NetSuite is a cloud-based order management tool that helps to automate order-to-cash processes and streamline orders without any manual errors.

The system integrates sales, financial, and fulfillment teams to eliminate billing errors and increase fulfillment efficiency.

Key features:

• Accounting, invoicing, billing management, and sales order management.
• Return management system integrated with customer support.
• Approve orders based on company policy and calculate commissions.
• Built-in CRM system to establish a personalized relationship with customers.
• Establish pricing levels based on the user base and provides insight into pricing efficiency.
• Identify optimal shipping location to shorten the time frame between order placed and shipment fulfillment.

Pros of Netsuite:

• Drag-and-drop interface
• Cross-channel inventory
• Centralized promotions management
• Real-time approval handling and monitoring

Pricing:

Pricing information is not available on the official NetSuite site. You’ll need to get in touch with the vendor for a custom quote or to schedule a free consultation.

Orderhive

Orderhive is a multichannel order, shipping, and inventory management software that helps to track, sell, ship, and analyze your business.

This SaaS-based platform maintains a cloud business and allows you to manage all business processes, both on and off-premises.

Key features:

• Inventory management to maintain a proper inventory and keep a tab on particular products’ demands.
• Custom views to add or delete custom fields and tags to orders.
• Analytical report tracking all business dealings, including access to real-time trends, weaknesses and strengths, order status, etc.
• Bulk actions to confirm, cancel, import, export, or clone orders in bulk.

Pricing:

Orderhive offers five pricing plans (including one freemium and four paid plans):

• Free: free plan for Shopify users
• Lite: $44.99 per month
• Starter: $134.99 per month
• Growth: $269.99 per month
• Enterprise: Tailor-made for your business

All of the plans include all orders, shipping and inventory management features, Shopify integration, onboarding support, and more.

QuickBooks Commerce

QuickBooks Commerce is an automated cloud accounting system that helps regulate, fulfill, and monitor your business orders.

It syncs and integrates all your orders, inventory data, supplier, and customer data on one system.

Key features:

• Employee collaboration to coordinate with employees and hide sensitive information or share limited data.
• Access to sales reports to keep track of the KPIs and get insights into metrics like profits and cash flow.
• Automated payrolls to calculate, file, and pay federal and state tax compliance on time.

QuickBooks Commerce Pricing:

QuickBooks Commerce starts at $20 per month for the first 12 months. This plan allows you to track and fulfill orders, control inventory, sync QuickBooks to control accounting, and more.

Factors to Consider when Choosing Order Tracking Software

When selecting the right order tracking software for your small ecommerce business, consider the following factors:

Integration Capabilities

The software should be able to seamlessly integrate with your existing ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, and shipping services. This will allow for efficient management of orders across various channels.

Scalability

As your business grows, your order management needs will evolve. Choose a software that can scale to meet these changing needs, whether it’s handling an increase in order volume, expanding to new marketplaces, or managing multiple warehouses.

Feature Set

The software should have a comprehensive set of features that align with your specific business needs. This might include inventory management, real-time order tracking, returns management, and advanced reporting capabilities.

Ease of Use

The platform should be user-friendly and easy to navigate. A steep learning curve can lead to mistakes and inefficiencies. Consider software that offers a clean, intuitive interface and reliable customer support.

Pricing

Consider your budget and how the software’s pricing structure fits into it. Some software providers may charge based on the number of orders processed, while others might offer a flat monthly rate. Be sure to understand all costs upfront to avoid any surprises.

Customer Support

Good customer support can make a significant difference in your experience with an order management software. Look for providers that offer timely and helpful support, whether it’s through email, phone, or live chat.

Security and Compliance

The software should adhere to industry security standards to ensure your business and customer data is protected. If you’re operating in multiple regions, it should also be able to handle different compliance requirements.

Tips for Successfully Implementing an Order Tracking Software Solution

Plan a Smooth Transition

Identify challenges in your current system and develop a strategy to transition to the new software. Set clear goals like improved inventory control and faster order placement. Choose a solution compatible with your general ledger accounting and with features that aid return and purchase management.

Train Your Team

Before implementation, ensure your team is trained to utilize the software’s features. Involve them in the transition process and schedule regular training sessions during the initial phase.

Establish a Routine for Data Analysis

Implementing order tracking software involves regular monitoring and analysis of data generated by the system. Review key metrics regularly and establish a routine for this analysis to stay on top of trends and proactively address inefficiencies.

Utilize the Software’s Features

Enhance customer communication and streamline order fulfillment by utilizing the software’s features like automated notifications and self-service portals.

FAQs about Order Management Software

Is inventory management software the same thing as order tracking software?

No, inventory management software and order tracking software are not the same, although they can be closely related and sometimes integrated into the same system.

Inventory management software focuses on managing stock levels, product information, and supply chain processes.

It helps businesses monitor what they have in stock and when to reorder items. On the other hand, order tracking software focuses on the process of tracking and managing customer orders from the point of sale to delivery.

It helps businesses and customers monitor the status of orders and provides updates on the progress of delivery.

Which free apps are good for tracking?

While Orderhive does offer a free plan for Shopify users, there aren’t many free tracking apps suitable to track inventory levels for multiple sales channels.

Ecommerce businesses often need real-time access to a high volume of sales across multiple platforms. We recommend such businesses invest in an order management platform, as it will undoubtedly reap significant dividends in terms of ROI.

How can I track orders using Excel?

Using Excel to track orders is possible for small businesses with less complex order management processes.

Create a dedicated Excel spreadsheet to log incoming orders, details about each shipment, shipping method, and status. Assign unique order IDs and use functions like VLOOKUP or pivot tables to track and analyze your data.

Though Excel might be helpful for startups with limited orders, switching to software specifically designed for order tracking is recommended as your business expands.

Final thoughts

Investing in order management software isn’t just a decision; it’s a strategic move towards operational efficiency, business growth, and superior customer experience.

As we’ve explored in this guide, the right system can simplify your order processes, enhance your inventory management, facilitate effective communication, and provide valuable business insights.

Whether you’re looking to streamline order processing, seamlessly integrate with your inventory management, or leverage powerful analytics, Linnworks has the solutions to supercharge your ecommerce business.

Discover more about Linnworks today and see how our software can drive your business towards new heights of success.