inFlow Inventory Alternative for Counting Stock
By mise · Updated November 10, 2026
Quick answer: inFlow Inventory is order and inventory management software for small and mid-size businesses, built around sales orders, purchase orders, invoicing and a B2B portal. mise is a smart inventory app for the counting side: scan a barcode or snap a photo, the AI identifies and classifies the item, and you just count and control. If you ship orders and need invoicing, inFlow is the stronger tool. If your main job is counting what is on the shelf, try mise: free trial, no card.
Do it in mise
- Scan a barcode or snap a photo: mise's AI finds the product and brings it back categorized (name, brand, photo, category and size).
- Count by area as a team, right from your phone camera.
- Scan or photograph supplier invoices, log your sales, and see actual COGS, waste and what's below par.
- Build your order list and export to Excel or PDF.
Free trial, no card.
Count and control: scan a barcode or snap a photo. mise identifies the item, files it in the right category and puts it straight into your count, so there is no product list to build before you start. The same app gives you par levels, waste, actual COGS and an order list you can export.
What sets mise apart
- Scan once, the product is classified. Read any barcode with the camera or a Bluetooth scanner, or snap a photo of the label: mise brings back the name, brand, group, size and photo, already sorted. No item setup.
- A product base that is already built. Your items are usually in it before you start. You can also upload your own list and mise fills in the rest.
- Alerts before you run out. Set a minimum for each product. Anything below it turns red and goes into a shopping list with how much is missing.
- Control stock from your phone. Count by location, with your team, and compare one count against another to see where the loss is.
- Bluetooth scale. Connect a scale to weigh open bottles, meat and bulk items; the weight goes into the product by itself.
inFlow and mise both run on a phone and both read barcodes, but they solve different problems. inFlow manages the whole order cycle of a small trading business. mise answers one question quickly: how much of each thing do I have right now, and what changed since the last count?
Side-by-side comparison
| inFlow Inventory | mise | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Inventory and order management software for small and mid-size businesses | A smart inventory app for counting and controlling stock in any business that keeps it |
| Barcodes | Generates and scans barcodes; a Stockroom app handles scanning stock in and out | Scans existing barcodes with the phone camera or a Bluetooth scanner; snap a photo when there is no barcode |
| How items get in | You build a product catalog, then scan against it | The AI identifies and classifies the item from the barcode or photo (name, brand, photo, category, size); you review only if you want to |
| Sales and purchasing | Sales orders with picking, packing and shipping; purchase orders and receiving; B2B portal | Order list from your pars, exported to Excel or PDF; you log your own sales to see actual COGS |
| Integrations | Connects with ecommerce and accounting software | No direct integrations; exports to Excel and PDF |
| Counting as a team | Mobile apps for Android and iOS | Count by area as a team on iPhone, Android or the web; compare one count against another |
| Pricing | See inFlow's pricing page | Free trial, no card; unlimited items, counts and scans |
Everything in the inFlow column comes from inFlow's own website. Where the page does not say something, we do not guess; check inFlow directly before you decide.
Which tool fits what you do
| Your business mostly… | What matters most | Better fit |
|---|---|---|
| Sells wholesale and ships orders | Sales orders, invoicing, a catalog buyers can browse | inFlow |
| Does field service or installations and tracks parts | Stock tied to jobs, purchasing, assets | inFlow, or a similar order-driven system |
| Runs a shop, cafe, bar, pharmacy or grocery and needs to know what is on the shelf | Fast counts, no data entry, alerts when stock runs low | mise |
| Does both | Keep orders in one place, check the shelf in the other | inFlow for orders, mise for counts |
When inFlow is the better choice
inFlow earns its place when stock is only one part of a larger sales process. If a customer places an order, you pick and pack it, ship it and then invoice it, you want software that carries the order from start to finish. inFlow describes exactly that: sales orders with picking, packing and shipping, purchase orders with the option to send requests for quotes, and receiving that works by scanning items in.
It is also the more natural fit if you sell to other businesses and want them to browse your catalog online. inFlow lists a B2B portal for that. mise has no customer-facing portal, no sales orders and no invoicing for your customers, and we would rather say so plainly than have you find out in week three.
Finally, if your accounting software or ecommerce store needs to stay in sync with stock automatically, inFlow says it connects with both. mise exports files; it does not push data into other systems on its own. For a wholesaler or a trades business that lives in its order book, that difference matters more than any scanning trick.
When mise is the better choice
mise is the better choice when the real problem is the count itself. Most stock problems at a retail shop or a venue are not about shipping orders. They are about nobody knowing how many bottles, boxes or packs are really there, and a product list that is always half finished.
With mise there is no catalog to set up first. You scan a barcode or snap a photo, the AI identifies and classifies the item, and you enter a quantity. The list builds itself while you count, so day one is a real count and not a data-entry project. If you already keep a list, you can upload it and mise fills in the rest.
The rest is what a count needs: par levels with an alert when something falls below its minimum, waste logged with a reason, a comparison between two counts to show where stock went, and a Bluetooth scale for open bottles or loose goods. Add a free trial with no card and the cost of testing it is an afternoon.
If you only ever needed to count, a full order system can feel like carrying a toolbox to change a light bulb. If your day is orders, it is the other way round.
A practical example
Pairing an order system for transactions with a counting app for the shelf makes sense because the two jobs reward different things. One rewards completeness, the other rewards speed and accuracy on the floor.
How to test mise next to inFlow
- Start the free trial; no card is needed.
- Pick one shelf or one storeroom and count it in mise by scanning barcodes. For anything without a barcode, snap a photo of the label.
- Set a minimum on the five items you reorder most often and see what turns red.
- Export the count to Excel and compare it with what your current system says for the same shelf.
- Repeat the count a week later to see usage and where stock moved.
If the numbers agree and the count was faster, you have a useful second tool. If not, you spent an hour. For broader reading, see the best inventory and stock take apps and our guide to the physical inventory count.
Scan the barcode or snap a photo: mise's AI finds the product and categorizes it. Free trial.
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Frequently asked questions
Is mise a full replacement for inFlow Inventory?
No. inFlow handles sales orders, purchasing, invoicing and a B2B portal. mise is for counting and controlling stock. Some businesses keep an order system for transactions and use mise only for the shelf count.
Does mise generate barcodes the way inFlow does?
mise works with the barcodes already on your products. For items without one, snap a photo or add the item once by name, then count it.
Can I import my inFlow item list into mise?
Yes. Export your list from inFlow to a spreadsheet and upload it; mise fills in the rest. You can also skip the import and just scan, since the list builds itself during the first count.
Does mise work offline?
Yes, for counting: counts keep working offline and sync when you are back online. Looking up a product mise has not seen before needs a connection at that moment.
How much does inFlow cost compared with mise?
Prices change, so see inFlow's pricing page for current plans. mise has a free trial with no card, unlimited items, counts and scans.
What is the main difference between mise and inFlow?
inFlow is built around the order cycle: sales, purchasing and invoicing. mise is built around the count: scan or snap a photo, the AI identifies and classifies the item, and you count and control.