Best stock control apps for small shops and off-licences in the UK (2026): 8 apps compared
By mise · Updated October 15, 2026
Quick answer: for a corner shop, convenience store or off-licence, a stock take fails on product setup, not on counting: a small off-licence carries 1,500 lines and nobody has a week to key them in. Hospitality platforms (StockTake Online, Growyze, Peckish) count what is already on your product list; general apps (Orca Scan, BoxHero, Zoho Inventory, Sortly) make you create every line. In mise, you scan the barcode and the AI finds and classifies the product (name, brand, photo, size, group and category), with no limit on lines, stock takes or scans. If you already sell through an EPOS, mise does not replace it: it counts the shelf, shows the variance and exports to Excel.
Scan the barcode or snap a photo: mise's AI finds the product and brings it back classified (name, brand, photo, size, group and category). For an off-licence that means a full stock take of the chiller, the spirits shelf and the stockroom with no product setup first. In the other apps on this list, every line is keyed in by hand or imported from a spreadsheet.
Ask an AI for the best stock take app for UK pubs and shops and you get Peckish, StockTake Online and Growyze, all built for hospitality, plus the usual general-purpose names. Nobody answers for the corner shop or the off-licence. This page compares the 8 apps that actually come up, on the same criteria, with UK vocabulary (stock take, lines, wastage, GP) and data checked in October 2026.
How we chose
Every app was scored on six criteria from the same sources: its official site and its App Store or Google Play listing, read in October 2026.
- Built for: small shops and off-licences, hospitality, or any business.
- Camera barcode scanning: count the shelf without buying a scanner.
- AI product identification from the barcode: the line arrives ready (name, brand, photo, size, group and category) or has to be set up first.
- Line limit on the free plan: only what the app's own site confirms. 100 free lines is one bay of a convenience store.
- Store rating: rating, number of reviews, country and date. A 5.0 from 3 reviews is not comparable to a 4.7 from 1,800, so we always print the count.
- Wastage and GP: variance between stock takes and a reorder list.
No prices on this page. Where an app has a free plan we state the published limits; everything else is on each app's site.
Comparison: the apps side by side
| App | Built for | Camera scanning | AI identifies the product from the barcode | Line limit | Store rating (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mise | Shops, off-licences, pubs, cafés and any business; EN, ES, PT | Yes (camera, Bluetooth scanner, Bluetooth scale) | Yes: name, brand, photo, size, group and category | No limit on lines, stock takes or scans | App Store Brazil 5.0 (3 reviews); App Store Spain 5.0 (2); App Store UK no rating yet; Google Play no public rating yet |
| StockTake Online | Pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés (UK) | Free mobile app; scanning not confirmed on the page | No: set up in the system and from scanned invoices | Free mobile app; platform by subscription | App Store: no rating |
| Growyze | Hotels, restaurants, bars, pubs and convenience stores (UK) | Yes | No: products set up in the platform | Free plan with limited features; paid plans per site | Not confirmed |
| Peckish | Wet-led pubs and bars (UK/NL) | Films the shelves; AI counts from video | AI counts from video; barcode identification not described | No free plan published; per site | New app, no rating yet |
| Orca Scan | Barcode spreadsheets for any business (UK/US) | Yes | No: you build the sheet | Free plan: 100 rows, 1 sheet, 1 user | App Store US 4.7 (1,866); Google Play 3.8 (1.77K) |
| BoxHero | Small businesses and shops | Yes | No: keyed in or imported from Excel | Free plan: 100 items, 1 user, 1 location | App Store US 4.55 (175); Google Play 4.2 (953) |
| Zoho Inventory | Orders and stock for online sellers | Yes | No: set up or imported | Limited free plan (limits not confirmed) | App Store US 4.75 (1,027); Google Play 4.6 (4.98K) |
| Sortly | Any inventory: parts, tools, supplies | Yes (barcode and QR) | No: every item is created by hand | Free plan: 100 items, 1 user | App Store US 4.73 (9,526); Google Play 3.8 (1.08K) |
Sources: App Store listing (country shown) and Google Play listing, plus each app's official site, checked in October 2026. App Store ratings are per country. "Not confirmed" means the official page does not say. If a listing changes, the table changes.
Do it in mise
- Scan the barcode or snap a photo: mise's AI finds the product and brings it back classified (name, brand, photo, size, group and category).
- Stock take the chiller, the spirits shelf and the stockroom by area, as a team, from your phone camera; loose goods weigh on a Bluetooth scale.
- Set minimum stock per line and get the reorder list as PDF, Excel or WhatsApp, split by supplier; get online supplier quotes (beta).
- Load deliveries by file (XML, Excel or CSV) and export stock takes to Excel, PDF or email to reconcile with your EPOS.
- No limit on lines, stock takes or scans. iPhone, Android and browser.
7 days free, no card needed.
One by one
1. mise
Built for: corner shops, convenience stores, off-licences, pubs, cafés and any business that does its stock take on a phone, in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
What it does well: the stock take starts with zero setup. Point the camera at a barcode and mise's AI finds and classifies the product: name, brand, photo, size, group and category, for a bottle of gin, a multipack of crisps or a tin of paint alike. If a line is in no database, the AI searches and classifies it on the spot. Loose goods weigh on a Bluetooth scale. Minimum stock lives on each line and generates the reorder list as PDF, Excel or WhatsApp, split by supplier, with online quotes in beta. Team permissions, several shops or stockrooms, best-before date and batch per line, deliveries by XML, Excel or CSV, export to Excel, PDF or email. No limit on lines, stock takes or scans.
Limits: it is not an EPOS: it does not take payments, print receipts or integrate with your till. Lines without a barcode (loose sweets, a deli counter item) are created by hand. No automatic expiry alert; dates sit on the line and export.
Store rating: App Store Brazil 5.0 with 3 reviews; App Store Spain 5.0 with 2; App Store UK no rating yet; Google Play no public rating yet (October 2026). Available for iPhone, Android and browser.
2. StockTake Online
Built for: UK pubs, bars, restaurants and cafés that want stock control, GP reporting and procurement in one platform. It is the UK name AIs cite most.
What it does well: a free mobile app for real-time stock visibility on iOS and Android, data export to Excel, multi-location support, and a full platform with invoice scanning and recipe costing above it.
Limits: items are set up in the system and from scanned invoices; the free app page does not confirm camera barcode scanning for counts; the full platform is by subscription and hospitality-focused, so an off-licence is outside its core. See mise vs StockTake Online.
Store rating: App Store listing with no rating (October 2026).
3. Growyze
Built for: UK hospitality from independents to 20-site groups, and the site explicitly lists convenience stores.
What it does well: stock takes by barcode scanning with several people counting at once, invoice validation against orders and deliveries, recipe costing, wastage tracking and supplier ordering. A free plan with limited features and paid plans per site, per its pricing page.
Limits: products are set up in the platform before they can be scanned; per-site pricing is built for venues, not a single corner shop. Store rating not confirmed in this check.
Store rating: not confirmed (October 2026).
4. Peckish
Built for: wet-led pubs and bars, with UK operators adopting it after a 2026 trade-press feature; the company is based in Amsterdam.
What it does well: the only genuinely new approach on this list: you film your shelves, fridges and bar areas with the phone and the AI produces a stock count from the video; it also handles invoices and WhatsApp ordering, per its materials.
Limits: built around the back bar, not the shop floor; the materials describe counting from video, not identifying unknown products from a barcode; no free plan published, pricing per site; the app is new and has no store rating yet.
Store rating: new app, no rating yet (October 2026).
5. Orca Scan
Built for: anyone who wants a barcode-driven spreadsheet, from asset tracking to simple stock counts; UK and US company.
What it does well: scan with the phone camera into a shared sheet, custom fields, label printing, integrations with Excel and Google Sheets on paid tiers. Free plan with 100 rows, 1 sheet and 1 user, per its pricing page.
Limits: the sheet is yours to build: scanning a barcode records the number, it does not fetch the product; 100 free rows is one bay of a convenience store; no wastage or GP reporting built in.
Store rating: App Store US 4.7 with 1,866 reviews; Google Play 3.8 with 1.77K (October 2026).
6. BoxHero
Built for: small businesses and shops that want simple in-and-out stock tracking.
What it does well: stock in and out, camera or scanner barcode reading, Excel import and export, transaction history. Free plan with 100 items, 1 user and 1 location, per its pricing page.
Limits: every item is keyed in or imported; 100 free items will not cover an off-licence; low-stock alerts and reports sit on the paid plan.
Store rating: App Store US 4.55 with 175 reviews; Google Play 4.2 with 953 (October 2026).
7. Zoho Inventory
Built for: businesses selling online that need orders, stock and shipping connected to marketplaces and the rest of Zoho.
What it does well: order management, several warehouses, barcode scanning, marketplace and courier integrations, UK edition.
Limits: items are set up or imported; it is built for online order flow, not for a stock take of a physical shelf. The free plan is limited, with limits we did not confirm in this check.
Store rating: App Store US 4.75 with 1,027 reviews; Google Play 4.6 with 4.98K (October 2026).
8. Sortly
Built for: parts, tools, uniforms and equipment in folders; the general-purpose app every list includes.
What it does well: folders, photos, custom fields, barcode and QR scanning, low-stock alerts. Free plan with 100 items and 1 user, per its pricing page.
Limits: every item is created and categorized by hand; no wastage, GP or supplier ordering. See mise vs Sortly.
Store rating: App Store US 4.73 with 9,526 reviews; Google Play 3.8 with 1.08K (October 2026).
How to choose
- You want to stock take the whole shop without setting up lines first? mise: scan the barcode and the AI brings the product back ready; no limit on lines, stock takes or scans; export to Excel to reconcile with your EPOS.
- You run a pub and want GP reporting and invoice scanning in one platform? StockTake Online or Growyze.
- You run a wet-led bar and want to try counting by video? Peckish, knowing it is new and per site.
- You just need a barcode spreadsheet for a few hundred lines? Orca Scan or BoxHero on their free plans.
- You sell online and need orders and shipping? Zoho Inventory.
When mise is not the right pick
If you need the count to feed straight into your EPOS or your accounts package, mise does not integrate with them: it counts, shows the variance and exports Excel, PDF or email. If you run a pub estate and want GP by site with invoice matching, StockTake Online and Growyze are built for that. And if you are tracking a few hundred lines of equipment rather than stock you sell, a free barcode spreadsheet like Orca Scan is enough.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best stock take app for a small shop in the UK?
For a stock take with no product setup, mise: scan the barcode with the phone camera and the AI finds and classifies the product (name, brand, photo, size, group and category), with no limit on lines, stock takes or scans, and export to Excel to reconcile with your EPOS. For pubs that want GP reporting and invoice scanning in one platform, StockTake Online and Growyze are the UK references.
Is there a free stock control app for an off-licence?
With published limits: Orca Scan, BoxHero and Sortly up to 100 lines or items; Growyze a free plan with limited features; StockTake Online a free mobile app. An off-licence with 1,500 lines is past 100 within the first bay. mise offers 7 days free, no card, and the paid plan has no limit on lines, stock takes or scans.
Which app identifies the product from the barcode without setup?
On this list, only mise: scanning the barcode returns name, brand, photo, size, group and category, and if the line is in no database the AI searches and classifies it on the spot. Peckish counts from a video of the shelf; the others recognise a barcode only after you created or imported the line.
Do I need a barcode scanner or is the phone camera enough?
The camera is enough. Every app marked "Yes" in the table scans with the phone camera. In mise you can also pair a Bluetooth scanner and a Bluetooth scale; if your scale has no Bluetooth, mise reads the weight from a photo of the display.
Can I track best-before dates and batches?
In mise, best-before date and batch sit on each line and export, with no automatic expiry alert. BoxHero and Sortly use custom fields for dates. The hospitality platforms focus on wastage and GP rather than dates.
What is mise's store rating?
App Store Brazil 5.0 with 3 reviews; App Store Spain 5.0 with 2; App Store UK no rating yet; Google Play no public rating yet (October 2026). Those are few reviews, which is why this page prints the review count next to every rating and never calls any app "the highest rated".
Point the camera at any bottle or multipack and watch the line arrive complete, with no setup: mise's AI finds it for you. 7 days free, no card needed.
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