What to Test in a Warehouse Software Demo: A Buyer’s Checklist

A useful warehouse software demo is one where you set the script, not the vendor. Bring a handful of your real items, a real barcode label, last month’s receipt and dispatch note, and the report your manager asks for every week. If your own storekeeper has completed those tasks on the system by the end of the session, the demo did its job.

Most demos follow the same pattern: a sales engineer clicks through tidy sample data, everything looks smooth, and you leave with a good feeling but very little you can compare. A week later, when you have to pick between two or three vendors, nobody remembers which system coped with serialised stock and which one stumbled. This guide is only about the session itself, how to prepare it, who should attend and what to try. If you are still building a shortlist, read our guide on how to choose warehouse inventory software first.

How to prepare for an inventory software demo

Thirty minutes of preparation changes the quality of the whole meeting. Put together this pack before demo day:

• Ten to twenty real SKUs covering every type you stock: a plain item, a serialised item, a batch item with an expiry date if you have them, and two items with confusingly similar names.
• A few cartons or labels carrying the barcodes and QR codes that are already on your shelves today.
• One real goods receipt, one dispatch and one transfer from last month, with the same descriptions and the same suppliers or customers.
• The two or three reports your manager actually reads, in the format you deliver them now.
• A headcount: how many warehouses, how many people post transactions and who should only be allowed to look.

Ask the vendor to run the session with this material. Avadar, the warehouse system from P-Soft, offers a trial demo before purchase that is arranged with P-Soft’s specialists, and that scheduling step is the right moment to send your scenarios in advance.

Who should sit in on the demo?

If only the purchasing manager or the owner attends, the software is judged by someone who will never use it ten times a day. Invite at least these three people:

1. The storekeeper or operator. They should hold the phone or scanner and post the transactions themselves. Only they can tell you whether a screen is genuinely easy.
2. Accounts or stock control. They judge the reports, the stock card history and the exports.
3. The decision maker. So that questions about plans, hosting and support are answered in the room.

Warehouse management system demo checklist

Print this table and tick each row during the session. The rows follow the order of a normal working day in a warehouse.

Scanning and labels: the first real test

Bring your own cartons, not a sheet the vendor printed. Real labels are crooked, creased or arrive from suppliers in odd formats. In Avadar, receipts, issues and transfers are posted the moment a phone or handheld scanner picks up the item’s barcode or QR code, and you can still type an item in when a label is unreadable. Then create a brand-new item and print a label for it; Avadar ships ready-made barcode and QR label templates. For questions about label sizes and printers, see our article on barcode label printing.

Receipts, dispatches, search and a small stock count

For this part, your operator should be at the keyboard. Ask them to repeat last month’s receipt from scratch and then raise a dispatch to the same customer. Next, transfer stock between two warehouses and look at both balances. The question is not whether it can be done, but whether your operator can do it without the vendor’s specialist leaning over their shoulder.

Then test search. Imagine (a hypothetical case) a customer phones with nothing but the serial number printed on a device. Can you find the item and its history? Avadar lets you look an item up by whatever you have to hand: serial, batch, barcode, item name, or the customer or supplier involved. Finish by counting a single shelf with the scanner and watch how differences are presented.

Signatures, offline access and user roles

Three small tests are rarely requested in a demo, yet they matter most once the software is live:

• Receiver signature. In Avadar the person receiving goods signs the delivery sheet on receipts, issues and transfers. Sign one and check you can find it next to the document later.
• Losing the connection. Turn off mobile data in the middle of the session. Avadar is built so stock information stays viewable while the internet is down; see it with your own eyes rather than taking it on trust.
• Roles. Log in as an operator and confirm you only see that person’s warehouse. Every plan includes manager, supervisor and operator roles. A read-only auditor and per-user fine-grained permissions start with the Pro plan. More detail is in our piece on warehouse user roles and permissions.

Testing reports and speed with realistic data

Take the report your manager wants each week on paper and ask how to produce it. On every Avadar plan you get a dashboard, stock levels, movement history and the stock card, all exportable to a spreadsheet. Analytical reports such as expiry risk, slow-moving stock and shortage trends come with Pro and above, so if they matter to you, ask to see the demo on that plan.

On speed, do not ask for a number; ask for a test. If you hold thousands of SKUs, ask whether the demo can run on a volume close to yours and try searching and opening reports there and then. Your own experience counts for more than any brochure figure.

Picking the edition and plan after the demo

Avadar comes in three specialised editions built on one core, and you will learn more if the demo uses the edition that matches your business:

• Avadar Industry for factories and production stores, with production projects, batch and expiry, and warranty from Pro. Overview: Avadar Industry edition.
• Avadar Cargo for transport and logistics, with consignments, an in-transit board and a scan desk on every plan.
• Avadar Trade for trading, distribution and contracting, with commercial documents and detailed exit types on every plan.

Questions you should have answered before you leave

• Does it run in the cloud or on our own server? Avadar supports both.
• Which devices does it work on? A browser on desktop or mobile, the Android app, or a shortcut on the phone’s home screen.
• What support comes with each plan? The official P-Soft channel; Pro adds phone support and setup training; Elite goes further with priority handling plus a named account manager.
• Who moves our existing data across, and where is the scope written down?
• Is every change recorded? In Avadar, yes, and no installation is handed over with a default password.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Avadar offer a demo before purchase?

Yes. A trial demo is arranged with P-Soft’s specialists before you buy. Send your sample items and scenarios beforehand so the session uses your own material.

Should we use our own data or the vendor’s sample data?

Your own. Sample data is always clean and will not reveal problems with serialised stock, odd units or damaged labels.

Do we need a barcode scanner for the demo?

Not necessarily. Avadar reads barcodes and QR codes with a phone or a scanner. If you already own scanners, bring one so it is tested with your hardware.

How do we know which plan is right for us?

Count warehouses and users, then decide whether you need analytical reports or an auditor role. Both begin with the Pro plan.

How can we judge performance with a large catalogue?

Skip the brochure numbers. Ask for the demo to run on a data volume close to yours and try search and reports yourself.

To book a demo built around your own warehouse scenarios, visit the Avadar Trade edition page and send P-Soft a request.

Further reading

• What Is Warehouse Management Software & Why Every Business Needs It
• The Best Warehouse Management Software for Your Business: A Guide to Choosing and Comparing (2026)
• What Is Stocktaking? A Complete Practical Guide

Complete guide: warehouse management software