Zoho Inventory is solid for an SME already on Zoho CRM, Books, Desk — native integration, low entry ($29/org/month). For a Swiss AV/event rental, ark.stock covers 5 states, batch sessions, hierarchical containers, maintenance, QR-bill via ark.plan — Zoho only partially.
Strong if you're already on Zoho. Generalist on rental.
Zoho Inventory is part of the Zoho suite (CRM, Books, Desk, One) published by Zoho Corporation (India). Per their own public announcements, the platform serves 100M+ users. $29/org/month entry (not per user) is attractive, with native integration across Zoho apps. It's an inventory/commerce B2C/B2B tool, not a pro rental tool — no 5-state project workflow, no event mode, no Swiss QR-bill, no hierarchical flight cases.
Native integration with the Zoho ecosystem (CRM, Books, Desk, Analytics).
Pricing per organisation rather than per user — invoice predictable in advance.
Native multi-warehouse with batch and serial-number tracking.
E-commerce integrations (Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy) and accounting via Zoho Books.
No professional rental mode — built for commerce inventory, not rental projects.
No Swiss QR-bill — invoicing stays generic for international use.
Hosting outside Switzerland — no data centre on Swiss soil.
No hierarchical flight cases or batch send/return sessions.
| Feature | ark.stock | Zoho Inventory |
|---|---|---|
| Items + SKU + serials/batches | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-warehouse | Partial | Yes |
| rental projects in 5 statuses | Yes | No |
| Batch send/return sessions | Yes | No |
| Hierarchical containers / flight cases | Yes | No |
| Planned maintenance | Yes | No |
| Swiss invoicing via ark.plan (SIX / ISO 20022 QR-bill) | Yes | No |
| E-commerce (Shopify, Amazon, eBay) | No | Yes |
| Native CRM/accounting/desk integration | Partial | Yes |
| Swiss hosting (Infomaniak Geneva, ISO 27001) | Yes | No |
| Swiss nFADP + GDPR compliance | Yes | Partial |
| Flat pricing (no per-user billing) | Yes | Yes |
| Full CSV / Excel / PDF export anytime | Yes | Yes |
What the matrix above asserts, here's how it looks inside ark.stock. Previews faithfully rebuilt from the app.
SIX QR-bill embedded on every invoice. ISO 20022 standard, native IBAN, scanned and paid by any Swiss bank.
Versioned quotes with immutable snapshots. Each send freezes prices and terms — 100 % traceability without guessing what was on the table 6 months ago.
Fast loan in three steps: QR scan, pick borrower, validate. 80 % of loans are routine — the app removes the friction on those 80 %.
At sticker price yes ($29 vs CHF 79 Pro). But Zoho Standard caps at 2 users and 500 orders/month. For 5 users plus 1 000 orders you move to Professional ($79, 3 000 orders, 2 users) or Premium ($129, 7 500) and add 3 users at $7.50 = around $101.50/month. ark.stock Pro stays CHF 79/month flat, 5 users included, no project cap. The real cost converges.
Technically yes if you hack it (a virtual per-day SKU, recurring orders) but not natively. There is no availability conflict detection, no planned maintenance between two rentals, no versioned and signed quote. ark.stock handles conflicts and maintenance natively; versioned quotes and signature follow via ark.plan.
Zoho Inventory supports a full CSV export (items, contacts, vendors, transactions). The ark.stock mapping tool reads these CSV files directly. Typical migration: 2 to 3 hours for 1 000 items.
§ NEXT STEP
A few slots reserved before the public launch. Tell us about your needs — we reply within 2 business days.
