Sortly vs Ply: Which Inventory Software Is Better for Your Business?

Sortly and Ply both help businesses keep track of inventory, but they solve different problems. Sortly is a good fit if you want a straightforward way to organize items, scan barcodes, and see what you have. Ply is a better fit if inventory also needs to move through purchasing, warehouses, trucks, and field-service workflows. The right choice depends less on the size of your item list and more on what needs to happen after someone finds an item.

Sortly vs Ply at a glance

Both platforms can help you keep inventory organized, but they differ in how much of the materials workflow they are built to handle. This quick comparison shows where each may fit before we look at the details.

The short version: choose Sortly if simple, visual inventory tracking is your main goal. Take a closer look at Ply if you need to coordinate materials across locations and connect inventory work with purchasing and the people using those materials in the field.

How Sortly and Ply compare

Sortly and Ply overlap on the basics: both can help your team track items and use mobile scanning. The differences become clearer when you follow a part through a normal workday. Can someone find it, order more, receive it, move it to a truck, and keep the right people informed? The sections below compare how each platform supports those steps.

Tracking inventory across locations

Sortly lets teams organize items with photos, custom fields, folders, and barcode or QR code scanning. Its mobile app can also work offline, which is useful when someone needs to check or update an item without a reliable connection. For a business replacing spreadsheets or an informal stock list, that may be enough.

Ply is built around the way materials move through a trades business. You can track stock in a warehouse and on trucks, then give the office and field team a clearer picture of what is available and where. If a technician needs a part, the question is not only “Do we own it?” but “Which truck or location has it, and what needs to be replenished?”

Learn more about Ply’s truck inventory tools.

Purchasing and replenishment

Both platforms offer purchasing features, but the available tools depend on the plan and the workflow you need. Sortly includes purchase orders on certain paid plans. Check its current plan comparison to see which purchasing features and limits apply.

Ply puts purchasing closer to day-to-day inventory operations. Teams can create and receive purchase orders, manage supplier information, and use higher-tier tools for tasks such as replenishment and comparing supplier bids. That matters when ordering materials is a recurring part of keeping warehouses and trucks ready for work.

See how purchase orders work in Ply.

Barcode scanning and mobile use

Both Sortly and Ply support scanning, so “has barcode scanning” should not be the deciding factor by itself. Think about what a scan needs to accomplish. Do you mainly want to find an item and adjust its count? Or does your team need scanning to support receiving, transfers, truck stock, and other material movements?

Sortly’s visual item records and offline mobile access may appeal to teams that want a simple way to identify and count items. Ply is worth testing with the people who handle materials throughout your operation, including whoever receives orders, stocks trucks, and tracks what needs to be reordered.

Integrations

An integration only helps if it connects the steps your team actually uses. Ply lists connections with field-service and accounting platforms on its integrations page. Which connections and capabilities are available can depend on your Ply plan and the other software you use.

Sortly also offers integrations, including QuickBooks Online on certain plans. Before choosing either product, check the exact integration, plan requirement, and information that moves between systems. A connection that exports a document is different from one that supports the workflow your team expects.

Pricing and plan limits

Sortly offers a free plan as well as paid plans. Its published plan limits vary by factors such as unique items, users, and active jobs, while some features are reserved for higher tiers. That can make Sortly an accessible starting point for a small inventory, but it is worth estimating what your team will need as it grows.

Ply’s pricing is structured differently, with plans designed for trades inventory and purchasing workflows. Compare the cost using your real number of stock locations, required features, and integrations rather than assuming the two products’ entry plans cover the same work.

For current details, review Sortly’s plans and Ply’s plans. If you are comparing prices, ask each company what your actual setup would require.

Setup and day-to-day use

The easiest system to start with is not always the easiest one to keep accurate. Before committing, test a small but realistic set of items and involve the people who will update it.

For Sortly, see how quickly your team can organize items, print or scan labels, and maintain counts. For Ply, test a fuller materials workflow: receive an order, put stock in the warehouse, move some to a truck, and check what needs replenishing. Pay attention to where someone still has to re-enter information or work outside the system.

Which should you choose?

Choose Sortly if your main priority is an approachable, visual inventory system. It may be the better fit when your team primarily needs to catalog items, scan them, and keep counts current, without a more involved purchasing or field-service process.

Choose Ply if inventory is tied to how you buy, store, and use materials across warehouses, trucks, and jobs. It is especially worth considering when the office and field team need shared visibility, and missed parts or manual purchasing work are creating problems.

Neither choice should be made from a feature checklist alone. The most useful comparison is a test using your own materials and the steps your team follows every week.

A practical way to compare Sortly and Ply

Set up the same sample inventory in each system, then ask your team to complete these tasks:

1. Find a part and confirm its location and available quantity.
2. Receive a purchase order and update the stock count.
3. Move materials from a warehouse to a truck.
4. Identify an item that needs replenishing.
5. Check what information needs to reach your accounting or field-service software.

Note how long each task takes, who can complete it, and whether anyone needs a spreadsheet or a separate message to finish the job. That exercise will tell you more than comparing feature names alone.

See whether Ply fits your workflow

If you manage materials across a warehouse, trucks, and field teams, try Ply for free with a few real items and locations. If you would rather walk through your purchasing and inventory process with someone, book a Ply demo.

Related reading

• Explore Ply’s inventory and purchasing features
• How truck inventory works in Ply
• Purchase order tools for managing materials

Frequently asked questions

Is Sortly or Ply better for a small business?

It depends on the work behind your inventory list. Sortly may be enough for a small business that mainly needs to organize items and maintain accurate counts. A small trades business with trucks, frequent purchasing, and field staff may benefit from Ply’s more specialized workflows even if it does not have a large inventory.

Does Sortly have a free plan?

Yes. Sortly publishes a free plan with limits on usage and features. Check its pricing page for the current limits before relying on it for a growing team.

Can Sortly create purchase orders?

Sortly lists purchase orders on certain paid plans. Confirm the current plan requirements and test whether its purchasing workflow covers the steps your team needs, from ordering through receiving and replenishment.

Can Ply track inventory on trucks?

Yes. Ply supports truck inventory tracking alongside other stock locations. Test how your team would receive, move, and count materials to see whether it matches your current process.

Which is better if we use QuickBooks Online or field-service software?

Start with the specific connection you need, not the word “integrates.” Sortly offers a QuickBooks Online integration on certain plans. Ply lists accounting and field-service integrations, with availability depending on the plan and platform. Ask what information moves between the systems and test that workflow before choosing.