Sortly pricing for five users and a growing item catalog

You have 1,000 catalog entries, but thousands more physical units on the shelves. Sortly pricing depends on how those entries are represented as unique items, as well as who needs access. Counting every washer as a separate catalog item can produce a very different plan estimate from tracking one washer type with a quantity.

For five users and 1,000 unique items, Ultra is the first published tier whose included allowances cover both counts. Evaluate Premium if its additional controls are required, and request an Enterprise quote for requirements outside the listed plans. Keep the current system if it already tracks custody and returns reliably and switching would only replace a report.

Count the records your team needs to distinguish

Sortly’s unique-item definition uses the Sortly ID, or SID. Quantities do not increase the unique-item count, and clones sharing a SID do not increase it either. Variants have distinct SIDs and do count. The billing screen shows the current count, so reconcile a trial import against that figure.

For example, a single record for a standard fastener with a quantity of 300 is one identity in the catalog. Individually managed equipment may need distinct records so staff can tell which physical unit was issued. Decide what must remain identifiable after checkout before using a generic item record to reduce the count.

Kartik Deshpande prepared this review from official documentation checked October 22, 2026. The budget and workflow below are hypothetical, with no claim of hands-on testing. For a smaller catalog, the free inventory software comparison covers other starting options and their limits.

Check the catalog and user allowances together

The pricing page lists Ultra at $149 per month or an advertised first-year annual bill of $888 for new subscriptions. Premium shows $299 per month or $1,788 for the introductory year. The stated annual discount changes after year one. Use the explicit billed totals rather than recalculating a rounded promotional headline.

Premium lists customizable role permissions. If an employee must move equipment but must not edit item definitions or delete records, demonstrate that exact distinction before choosing by capacity alone. Obtain a written scope and price for any additional users, services, or requirements outside the published allowances; those costs remain unknown here.

Budget five users and 1,000 unique items for twelve months

Assume a stable roster of five internal users and 1,000 unique item identities, without extra services. Ultra’s published first-year annual payment is $888. Paying its listed monthly rate for twelve months would be $149 × 12 = $1,788. The difference for this example is $900, before taxes, devices, labels, implementation, or unquoted additions.

An annual offer changes the payment commitment as well as the monthly equivalent. Sortly states that a 20% annual-plan discount applies after the introductory year. Confirm the renewal amount in the account before purchase, because the promotion, applicable base rate, and taxes can change. Do not budget the introductory payment as a permanent subscription price.

Keep catalog growth separate from stock growth. Buying more units of an existing item is different from adding new variants or individually tracked assets. Estimate the records needed for new equipment and seasonal supplies, then leave room for the catalog structure the actual workflow requires.

Try one equipment checkout and partial return

Use a permitted test inventory containing ten interchangeable inspection kits in a Stores folder. Create a destination folder for a named job. Record the starting quantity and SID, then have an ordinary user issue three kits to that job. Expected balances are seven in Stores and three at the job, with ten still owned across both locations.

Sortly’s checkout and move instructions describe selecting quantities and destination folders, including scanning. Use the intended device and labels in the exercise. Confirm that the action represents custody movement rather than consumption, so a kit leaving Stores is not mistaken for a lost or used-up kit.

Return two kits and leave one at the job. The expected result is nine in Stores and one still out. Sortly documents Return to Origin for Ultra, Premium, and Enterprise, with a configurable origin folder and return quantity. Enable it in the test configuration and inspect the destination before completing the return.

Repeat the exercise with a damaged kit that should go into a separate inspection location instead of becoming available for issue. Also try individually identified kits if you must prove which physical unit returned. A quantity-only result may be sufficient for interchangeable supplies, but it cannot answer an identity question your catalog never recorded.

Inspect the history and the controls around corrections

After the fixture, ask another user to explain the balances from the recorded movements. Check the actor, time, source folder, destination, and quantities available in the relevant report. Then correct an intentionally wrong test quantity and inspect what remains visible. These are acceptance criteria, not a claim that a configuration has passed.

Sortly’s inventory-update documentation says notes and reasons cannot be made mandatory for quantity updates or movements. If your process requires a reason for every adjustment, account for that limitation in the decision. A written instruction to staff is a different control from a field the application requires.

Sortly’s historical-quantity instructions use the Transactions export and the latest relevant New QTY value. Follow its date-range method rather than adding changes without a starting balance. If a stock count disagrees, the cycle-counting process explains how to investigate movements before posting an adjustment.

Verify the import and the exit path with the same records

Prepare a sample with item identifiers, units, quantities, folder paths, asset identifiers where required, and a consistent naming rule. Import it into a permitted trial, inspect the unique-item count, and reconcile totals by location. A duplicate identity can change both the reported stock and the subscription capacity you think you need.

Sortly publishes inventory-export instructions. Export the sample before committing, then check whether its fields preserve the identifiers and folder relationships your next system or reporting process will need. Request transaction exports separately where required; an inventory snapshot should not be assumed to contain every historical movement.

Keep an accessible archive of the old system and define one cutover time. A kit already at a job belongs in that destination’s opening balance, not in Stores as well. If you require supplier-batch-to-customer tracing, test those relationships explicitly; the lot traceability discussion covers evidence beyond an equipment custody record.

Where Permute fits around item identity

Permute sells connected business data and custom applications. A suitable project could reconcile permitted inventory exports with purchasing records and operational spreadsheets. Start by matching the identifiers for the same item while keeping distinct physical assets separate when the business needs that distinction.

Define available, issued, damaged, and consumed quantities before combining reports. An inventory manager could then inspect which source record and movement explain a balance. Missing identifiers or inconsistent units should remain visible as exceptions until someone resolves them.

Keep inventory execution and reporting scope explicit

Permute is not presented as a packaged Sortly replacement or a ready-made Sortly connector. Verify source access, permissions, refresh needs, and implementation scope. Any external action needs separate authorization; a reporting project does not automatically take over equipment checkout.

For the stated roster and catalog, start by evaluating Ultra against the checkout and return exercise. Use the published first-year bill alongside a confirmed renewal amount. Check the history and export before importing the full catalog. Move ahead when the balances and item identities can be explained by someone other than the person who set them up.

Questions about Sortly costs and item limits