Inventory management software that tracks shade lots and batches.
IBIOS Inventory is inventory management software for small UK businesses. Track stock across all your supplier brands and more than one location. Record shade lots and batch numbers on every tile order. Flag mismatches between what you ordered and what arrived, before the goods leave your warehouse.
A shade-lot mismatch found after fitting costs more than the tiles
Every tile retailer has had the same call. The customer is halfway through a bathroom installation. The tiler has noticed the wall tiles do not quite match the floor tiles — different shade lot, different production batch, slightly different colour under the showroom lights. The fix means replacing tiles, rebooking the tiler, and weeks of delay. The cost, in materials and goodwill, is significant.
The shade lot problem happens because orders are placed weeks apart, stock is received without a batch check, and by the time the mismatch is noticed, the affected tiles have already been fitted. IBIOS Inventory Control records the shade lot on every tile order and compares the incoming shade lot on goods receipt against the original order. A mismatch is flagged before the goods leave your warehouse.
For non-tile products, batch tracking provides the same protection for any product category where production variation matters — paint batches, fabric dye lots, glazed ceramic finishes.
How does the IBIOS stock control system work?
From order to receipt — shade-lot verification at every step.
Configure
Set up your product catalogue with shade-lot tracking enabled on tile and batch-sensitive products.
Order
Every supplier order line records the specified shade lot alongside the product reference and quantity.
Receive
When goods arrive, log the shade lot on the goods receipt. IBIOS compares it against the order.
Flag
If the received shade lot differs from the order, IBIOS flags the discrepancy before the goods are allocated to the job.
What’s included
Shade-lot tracking
Record the shade lot and batch reference on every tile order line. The shade lot travels with the product through order, receipt, and allocation.
Mismatch flagging on receipt
When a delivery arrives, IBIOS compares the incoming shade lot against the original order. Mismatches are flagged before the goods are put away.
All your supplier brands
Track stock across all your supplier brands from a single view. Each brand and supplier has its own pricing, lead time, and stock visibility.
Low-stock alerts (coming soon)
Coming soon: set a reorder point per product and IBIOS will alert you when stock drops below it, before you run out and have to delay a customer job.
Partial arrival tracking
Record deliveries line by line. See exactly what has arrived against an order and what is still expected, without waiting for the supplier to call.
Multi-supplier stock view
View stock availability across multiple suppliers for the same product. Compare lead times and availability before raising an order.
How is Inventory Control priced?
On its own or with other IBIOS products
Founding prices for waiting-list members are explained on the pricing page. Inventory Control can be used on its own or together with other IBIOS products, such as order management and IBIOS Warehouse.
Join the waiting listEarly access by waiting list.
Buying guide
Choosing inventory management software: how to get stock figures you can trust
Written by the IBIOS team. IBIOS was built inside a working bathroom showroom in Northern Ireland, where it runs the business day to day. Last updated 18 October 2026.
How do you choose inventory management software for a small business?
Inventory software is only as good as the figure on the screen when a customer asks "have you got it?". Choose by how that figure stays right: how products get in, how stock moves, and how batches are kept apart. Reports and dashboards come last.
- How your product list gets in. Your own catalogue and supplier price lists, imported rather than typed, with prices and codes you control.
- How stock comes in. Booked in against supplier orders, so what arrives updates stock and what is missing stays visible.
- Where stock is kept. One store, several sites, a van. Decide how much detail you need now and what can wait.
- Batches and shade lots. For products where batches differ, the batch is part of the stock, not a note on the side.
- Stock promised to customers. What you hold, and how much of it is already earmarked for someone’s job.
- Where else you sell. A counter, a website or a marketplace each take stock. Ask which channels are kept in step today.
Whose catalogue is it?
Yours. In IBIOS you import your own product catalogue and supplier price lists, and your catalogue is private to your business; nobody else using IBIOS sees your products or prices. Be wary of software that asks you to work from a shared catalogue you cannot correct.
What is a shade lot, and should you track it?
A shade lot is a production batch. Tiles, paint, wallpaper and fabric can vary slightly between batches even under the same product code. If you sell any of these, track the batch you hold and keep it with the stock, so the customer gets one batch for the whole job.
IBIOS records shade lots on stock, and holds stock across more than one location, so you know which batch is where.
Do you need barcodes?
Not always. Barcodes earn their keep when you handle a lot of small items quickly. If your stock is fewer, larger items ordered for specific jobs, booking goods in against the order line by line is often enough to keep figures right.
Barcode scanning is coming soon in IBIOS, as are shelf-level shop-floor locations (aisle, bay, shelf, and shelf versus back stock). They are not live yet.
Selling the same stock in more than one place
If you sell over a counter and online, every channel draws on the same shelf. Counter sales (EPOS) and stock sync to your online shop are both coming soon in IBIOS, so today manage online stock levels in your shop as you do now.
Spreadsheet, a till with stock, a stock app or IBIOS?
How the usual options tend to work out for a business that holds stock for customer jobs.
| Option | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Spreadsheet | A small range of slow-moving products. | Updated when somebody remembers; batches and reserved stock are rarely kept. |
| Till system with stock | Counter sales of boxed products. | Little idea of stock ordered for a specific customer job, or of batches. |
| Standalone stock app | Counting and scanning in a busy store. | Separate from quotes and supplier orders, so stock and jobs drift apart. |
| IBIOS | Your own private catalogue, stock across locations and shade lots, linked to supplier orders and jobs. | Early access by waiting list. Barcode scanning, shelf-level locations, counter sales and online stock sync are coming soon, not live yet. |
What you need in place before you start
- Your product catalogue and supplier price lists as files (spreadsheet, CSV or PDF).
- A list of stock locations.
- A recent stock count, including batch or shade lot where it matters.
- Your open supplier orders, so incoming stock is expected.
- One person responsible for keeping product codes and prices tidy.
What it costs
Wrong stock figures cost more than any licence: sales lost because the system said you had none, jobs delayed because it said you had some, and reorders placed for stock already in the building.
Founding prices for waiting-list members are explained on the pricing page. Inventory can be used on its own or with Orders and Warehouse.
Last reviewed October 2026.
What people get wrong
- Going live without a fresh stock count.
- Letting several people create products, so the same item exists three times.
- Treating stock reserved for a job as free to sell.
- Ignoring batches until a customer complains.
- Buying for barcode scanning first when goods-in against orders is the real gap.
- Assuming online stock is in step because the software can connect to your shop. Ask what syncs today.
Related reading
Inventory management software FAQs
Is IBIOS stock control software for small businesses?
Yes. IBIOS Inventory is inventory management and stock control software for small UK businesses; you import your own catalogue and supplier price lists, and your catalogue is private to your business.
Does IBIOS track shade lots?
Yes. IBIOS records the shade lot on stock, so you know which batch you hold and where.
Is shade-lot tracking only for tiles?
No. It suits any product where batches can differ, such as paint, wallpaper or fabric.
Can I hold stock in more than one location?
Yes. IBIOS tracks stock across more than one warehouse or location; shelf-level locations are coming soon.
Does IBIOS do barcode scanning?
Not yet. Barcode scanning is coming soon; today stock is booked in against supplier orders line by line.
Does IBIOS keep my online shop’s stock in step?
Not yet. Stock sync to ShopWired and Wix is coming soon; orders from those shops already come into IBIOS.
Not sure IBIOS fits your stock?
Tell us what you stock, where you keep it and how you sell it, and we will tell you honestly whether IBIOS fits now or which coming-soon parts you would be waiting for.
IBIOS Limited · company no. NI743167 · 10 Ballyclare Road, Doagh, Ballyclare BT39 0PE · Production is hosted in the UK.
No more shade-lot surprises.
Batch tracking and mismatch flagging for any UK business holding stock, proven at a bathroom showroom. Low-stock alerts coming soon. Early access by waiting list.