Emailed purchase orders staged for review
Customer orders are read, matched to customers and parts, and set up in Fishbowl for a person to confirm.
Fishbowl integration consulting
Connect Fishbowl to the rest of your business.
Fishbowl Advanced runs inventory, purchasing, sales orders and manufacturing for many small and mid-size manufacturers and distributors. We build the connections and tools around it, so customer orders, supplier paperwork and shop floor updates reach Fishbowl without being retyped.
Keep it, then extend it
What Fishbowl does well, and where teams outgrow it.
Where Fishbowl shines
- Built for parts and assemblies
- Works beside your accounting
- Your team approves every connection
Where teams hit the limits
- Orders arrive outside FishbowlCustomer purchase orders and quote requests come in by email and PDF, and someone keys them in.
- Online stores and warehouses sit apartWeb orders, 3PL shipments and marketplace stock counts need someone to move them across.
- Reports by exportMargin by job, slow stock and late suppliers usually mean exports and a spreadsheet.
What changes
The same week, with the connection.
Today
- The production planner discovers a parts shortage when a work order hits the floor.
- The shipping clerk copies tracking numbers from carrier labels into Fishbowl orders by hand.
- The AP clerk compares supplier bills to POs and receipts in Fishbowl by hand.
With the connection
- Shortages against open work orders arrive each morning. The planner and purchasing sort them before release.
- Labels and tracking numbers are recorded on the order. The clerk ships, and customers hear automatically.
- Bills arrive matched to the PO and receipt. The clerk reviews differences before payment.
What we build around it
Connecting Fishbowl to the rest of your work.
Web orders and stock in step
Orders from your online store flow into Fishbowl, and stock levels flow back so you don't oversell.
Supplier invoices matched
Bills are read and matched to the purchase order and receipt, with differences flagged before payment.
Shortages caught early
Open work orders checked against stock and incoming parts, with shortfalls sent to purchasing each morning.
Shipping and tracking back in Fishbowl
Carrier labels and tracking numbers recorded on the order, and customers told when it ships.
Reports across Fishbowl and accounting
Inventory, sales and job figures combined with accounting data in one scheduled report.
How it starts
What happens after you reach out.
You work directly with a senior builder from the first call to launch, not a hand-off to a junior team. How we work
Before we start
What we need from you.
- Someone on your team with admin rights sets up our access. We walk them through it.
- You choose what the connection can see and change, and you can switch it off at any time.
- We build and test on sample data before touching live records.
Technical details for your IT team
Fishbowl Advanced runs on a server you host or that Fishbowl hosts for you. Your admin creates a Fishbowl user for the connection with only the access it needs, because the connection can do exactly what that user can do. The first time the connection signs in, an admin approves it in Fishbowl under Settings, Integrated Apps (see Fishbowl's guide). We work with your IT team so the connection can reach the server securely, and we test against a copy of your data first. Disabling the user or removing the app cuts it off. Using QuickBooks for the books? See our QuickBooks page.
FAQ
Common questions.
Do we have to replace Fishbowl?
No. Fishbowl stays your inventory and manufacturing system. We build around it and connect what it doesn't reach.
Doesn't Fishbowl already connect to QuickBooks?
Yes, and you should keep using that. Custom work makes sense for the steps around it, like reading customer orders or keeping a store or 3PL in step.
Our Fishbowl server is in our office. Does that matter?
It changes how the connection reaches it, not whether it can. We work out a secure route with your IT team before we build.
What access do you need from us?
A dedicated Fishbowl user with limited access, approved by your admin under Integrated Apps. You can turn it off at any time.
Are you a certified Fishbowl partner?
No. We're an independent integration consultant and development team. We build with Fishbowl's official developer tools and approved access, using the access your team grants, and we work alongside your Fishbowl admin or implementation partner rather than replacing them.
Sources
- Fishbowl Advanced API docs: Login (integrated app approval)
- Fishbowl Advanced API docs: Connecting
- Fishbowl Advanced API docs: Introduction
- Fishbowl Advanced API docs: Users
Facts checked against the vendor's own documentation, November 2026. Names are trademarks of their owners. Inkwell is independent and not affiliated with these companies.
Partner with Inkwell
Tell us how you use Fishbowl today.
A few sentences is plenty. We'll tell you what we'd connect first, and whether a ready-made app already does the job.