Distribution
ERP
Inventory Management
Warehouse Management
Lot Tracking Software: How It Works and How to Choose
Last updated: October 9, 2026 · Independent buyer’s guide · We do not sell rankings or coverage.
Lot tracking software records the batch or lot number of every unit you receive, store, pick and ship, so you can find exactly which customers received a suspect lot and which stock is still on your shelves. For distributors and manufacturers, the deciding questions are whether the system forces lot capture at receiving, whether it can pick by lot and expiry date without relying on the picker, and how fast it produces a recall report. This guide compares how named products handle those three jobs, with documented limitations and published prices.
Key takeaways
- Lot data is only as good as receiving. Choose a system that makes the lot field mandatory and reads GS1 barcodes.
- Many entry-level products record expiry dates but leave lot selection to the picker. Automatic FEFO often needs a higher tier or add-on.
- A recall report must show which customers received the lot and how much is still in stock. Test it with your own data.
- Published prices for products with lot tracking start at $49 per user per month (MRPeasy Starter) and $79 per month (Zoho Inventory Premium). We found no published price for Oracle NetSuite or Katana’s Advantage plan.
What lot tracking software does
A lot (or batch) is a quantity of product made or received under the same conditions, identified by one lot number. Lot tracking software attaches that number, and usually an expiry date, to every receipt, move, pick, shipment and adjustment. Serial tracking does the same for single units.
For a distributor, that chain of transactions is the whole trace: supplier lot in, customer shipment out. Manufacturers add production, where component lots become a finished lot. Multi-level trace through work orders is covered in our lot genealogy guide. This guide covers the warehouse side.
How lot capture at receiving works
Every later step depends on the lot number entered at the dock. A good receiving workflow captures four things for each line: the item, the quantity, the supplier’s lot number and the expiry date. When supplier lot codes are missing or inconsistent, assign an internal lot and keep the supplier lot as a reference.
Barcodes remove most keying errors. The GS1 Application Identifier standard defines AI (10) for the batch or lot number, up to 20 alphanumeric characters, and AI (17) for the expiration date in YYMMDD format, with AI (15) for a best-before date (GS1 Application Identifiers dataset, no date shown). With GS1-128 case labels, one scan fills both fields. Without them, print internal lot labels at receipt.
The software should also stop a receipt from posting without a lot. Intuit’s documentation for QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, for example, lets you make the lot field mandatory on item receipts, transfers and quantity adjustments (Intuit, updated August 4, 2026). Ask every vendor to show the same control on adjustments and transfers.
Picking by lot and expiry
Once lots are in stock, the system has to decide which lot goes to which order. The common rules are FIFO (oldest receipt first) and FEFO (earliest expiry first). Customer shelf-life minimums and near-expiry alerts are covered in our guide to expiration date tracking.
The practical difference is whether lot selection is automatic or manual. Business Central suggests lots by earliest expiry only when lot warehouse tracking is on, stock was posted with an expiration date, and the location has Pick According to FEFO turned on; warehouse picks also need bins (Microsoft Learn, May 2, 2025). Katana’s documentation says you must select a batch on purchases, sales, manufacturing orders, adjustments and transfers, and does not describe automatic FEFO (Katana, July 10, 2026). Manual selection leaves rotation to the picker.
Scanning at the pick face closes the loop: the system rejects a scanned lot that does not match the allocation. Without that check, the shipped lot can differ from the recorded one.
Recall reports and mock recalls
A recall report lists every shipment of the affected lot by customer, date and quantity, plus the quantity on hand by location. FDA’s recall rules describe a recall strategy that sets the depth of recall (consumer, retail or wholesale level) and effectiveness checks that range from Level A, contacting 100 percent of consignees, to Level E, no checks (21 CFR 7.42, eCFR, current as of October 7, 2026).
Food companies on the FDA Food Traceability List have additional record and 24-hour response requirements under FSMA 204. FDA’s page says it will not enforce the rule before July 20, 2028, following a Congressional directive (FDA, updated October 8, 2026). Our food traceability software guide covers those requirements, so we do not repeat them here.
Run a mock recall at least once during selection. Pick a real lot from last quarter and time how long the vendor takes to produce the customer list and on-hand balance from your data.
Where lot tracking goes wrong
Most broken traces come from a few predictable gaps.
- Lots skipped on adjustments. A count correction posted without a lot creates stock that cannot be traced. Pair lot control with lot-level counting, which our cycle counting software guide covers.
- Merged or relabeled lots. Business Central lets you merge several lots into one, but every merged lot must take the same new expiration date (Microsoft Learn, June 17, 2026).
- Incomplete trace views. Business Central’s Item Tracing page shows only applied transactions, so a lot received on multiple transactions may not show in full, and Microsoft points to the Find Entries page for all records (Microsoft Learn, August 21, 2025).
- Expired stock picked by hand. Cin7 Core can exclude expired stock from auto-pick and recommendations, but its help center says this does not apply to manual scanning or selection (Cin7, no date shown).
- Partial fulfillment. In NetSuite’s FEFO Lot Assignments SuiteApp, if you fulfill less than the committed quantity, you must make allocations manually based on expiry date (Oracle NetSuite Help, no date shown).
How software handles lot tracking
Lot tracking appears in four product types. Accounting systems with an inventory module, such as QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, record lots on ordinary transactions. Inventory apps such as Zoho Inventory, SOS Inventory, Cin7 Core and Fishbowl add lot capture, expiry dates and lot reports. MRP systems such as MRPeasy and Katana add lots in production. ERP systems such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central and Oracle NetSuite hold lots, costing and the ledger in one database.
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central
Business Central handles lot, serial and package numbers through item tracking codes, with expiration dates on tracked entries. FEFO picking is native with the setup described above, and the Item Tracing page traces Usage to Origin or Origin to Usage (Microsoft Learn, August 21, 2025). Essentials is $80 and Premium $110 per user per month, paid yearly (Microsoft, no date shown). Partner implementation is extra.
Oracle NetSuite
NetSuite lot records carry an expiration date, and a preference warns users who sell a lot close to expiry. Search Transactions on the lot record shows where the lot was received, transferred, built into assemblies or sold, which Oracle says can identify sales of a lot that needs to be recalled (Oracle NetSuite Help, no date shown). Automatic FEFO assignment comes from the FEFO Lot Assignments SuiteApp. We found no published NetSuite price.
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise
With Advanced Inventory on, QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise tracks serial or lot numbers, and you can only choose one. Expiration dates are available in Platinum and Diamond, with reports such as Lot Numbers in Stock and Inventory Expiration Status (Intuit, August 4, 2026). Intuit’s pricing page did not show a clear annual price when we checked, so get a written quote.
Zoho Inventory
Zoho Inventory records batches with manufactured and expiry dates on bills, invoices, transfer orders and adjustments, with Batch Details and Batch Transaction Summary reports. Its help page does not describe automatic FEFO (Zoho, no date shown). Batch tracking is listed from the Premium plan at $79 per month billed annually, and is not listed on the $29 Standard plan (Zoho, no date shown).
SOS Inventory
SOS Inventory, which its vendor says has tight integration with QuickBooks Online (SOS Inventory, no date shown), creates lots on item receipts, build outputs and adjustments, stores expiration dates, lets you mark a lot as recalled and offers a Lot history report (SOS Inventory help, no date shown). Lots are on Plus at $139.95 per month with three users and Pro at $194.95 with five (SOS Inventory, no date shown).
Cin7 Core
Cin7 Core requires a batch costing method such as FIFO (batch) or FEFO (batch). Its warehouse app auto-picks batches by FIFO or FEFO, but recommending or enforcing that order is limited to Advanced WMS subscribers (Cin7 help, no date shown). Core Standard is $349, Pro $599 and Advanced $1,199 per month (Cin7, no date shown). Confirm in writing which plan includes Advanced WMS.
Fishbowl
Fishbowl lists Essentials at $229 per month (two users), Growth at $429 (five users) and Scale at $729 (ten users), billed annually. Scale lists lot and forward and backward traceability, and Advanced Warehouse starts from $595 per month (Fishbowl, no date shown). Confirm whether lower plans include lot and expiry tracking.
MRPeasy and Katana
MRPeasy lists Lot Traceability on Starter at $49 per user per month, but expiry dates and serial numbers start on Professional at $69 (MRPeasy, no date shown). Katana publishes a free plan for up to 30 SKUs and custom pricing for its Advantage plan (Katana, no date shown). Its documentation says batches expired for over a month cannot be added to new orders (Katana, July 10, 2026).
Comparison table
| Product | Lot capture and expiry | Picking by expiry | Published price (checked October 9, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business Central | Lot, serial, package; expiry dates | Native FEFO after setup | $80 or $110 per user per month |
| Oracle NetSuite | Lot records with expiry and warning | FEFO Lot Assignments SuiteApp | Not published |
| QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise | Lot or serial; expiry in Platinum, Diamond | Not described | Not clearly published |
| Zoho Inventory | Batches with expiry dates | Manual selection | $79 per month (Premium) |
| SOS Inventory | Lots, expiry, recall status | Not described | $139.95 per month (Plus) |
| Cin7 Core | Batch and expiry at receiving | Auto-pick; enforcement needs Advanced WMS | From $349 per month |
| Fishbowl | Lot traceability listed on Scale | Confirm with vendor | $729 per month (Scale) |
| MRPeasy | Lots from Starter; expiry from Professional | Confirm with vendor | $49 or $69 per user per month |
| Katana | Batches, optional expiry | Manual selection | Free tier; Advantage by quote |
What lot tracking software costs
The plan that includes lots is often not the entry plan. Zoho Inventory, SOS Inventory and MRPeasy each put lots or expiry dates above their lowest paid plan, and FEFO enforcement is a further step in Cin7 Core and a SuiteApp in NetSuite.
Budget separately for barcode scanners, label printers and label stock. ERP implementation through a partner is a separate cost. Ask for a fixed quote that names the lot, expiry and warehouse features you need.
Illustrative worked example: a supplier recall
The figures below are an illustration. A supplement distributor receives 1,200 units of lot A2611 on March 3 and 800 units of lot A2702 on March 24. By April 20, 1,440 units have shipped (940 from A2611 and 500 from A2702), and the supplier notifies the distributor that lot A2611 is affected by a recall.
- With lots captured and scan-verified picking, the lot report shows the 940 units of A2611 shipped to 9 customers and 260 units on hand in two bins.
- The team places the 260 units on hold and starts notifying the 9 customers the same morning.
- Without lot records, the distributor would only know that 1,440 units of the item shipped since March 3 and 560 remain on hand. It would have to contact every customer who bought the item and hold all 560 units, including good stock from lot A2702.
Our independent take
Most products here store a lot number and an expiry date. The differences are in enforcement: blocking receipts and adjustments without a lot, allocating by expiry without the picker choosing, and producing a complete trace. Business Central and NetSuite offer the most control but need setup and partner work. Zoho Inventory and SOS Inventory are affordable for lot capture and history, but their documentation does not describe automatic FEFO. No single product suits every distributor; your order volume, shelf-life rules and accounting system decide the fit.
Three buyer scenarios
A small distributor on QuickBooks Online with a few hundred SKUs. SOS Inventory Plus or Zoho Inventory Premium covers lot capture, expiry dates and lot history. If customers impose shelf-life minimums, test how each app chooses lots at picking.
A food or supplement distributor shipping hundreds of orders a day. Shortlist products with documented FEFO allocation, such as Business Central with FEFO enabled, NetSuite with the FEFO Lot Assignments SuiteApp, or Cin7 Core with Advanced WMS.
A small manufacturer that consumes ingredient lots in production. An MRP system such as MRPeasy records lots through production and links them to sales. Confirm which plan includes expiry dates, since MRPeasy places them in Professional.
When you do not need dedicated lot tracking software
You may not need a new product if your current system already supports lot control and you have not turned it on, as with QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise or Business Central.
You also may not need lot tracking at all if your products have no expiry dates, no regulatory traceability requirement and no customer contract that asks for lot records. In that case, extra scanning adds labor without a clear return. Revisit this if a major customer adds lot requirements.
How we researched this
We reviewed vendor documentation and pricing pages for each product named above, FDA regulations on recalls and food traceability in the eCFR and on fda.gov, and the GS1 Application Identifier dataset. We also read the pages that rank for “lot tracking software” today, most published by vendors, to find the gaps. Prices were checked on October 9, 2026. No vendor reviewed this article before publication.
Related guides
- Warehouse Slotting Software: When You Need It (2026)
- Inventory Replenishment Software for Distributors (2026)
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between lot tracking and serial tracking?
Lot tracking assigns one number to a group of units made or received together, while serial tracking assigns a unique number to each unit. Serial tracking suits equipment that needs warranty or service history by unit.
Does QuickBooks have lot tracking?
QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise tracks lot numbers when Advanced Inventory is turned on, and Intuit documents expiration dates in the Platinum and Diamond versions. You can choose serial or lot tracking, but not both. If you use QuickBooks Online, a connected inventory app such as SOS Inventory adds lot control.
What is FEFO and do I need it?
FEFO means first expired, first out: the system allocates the lot with the earliest expiry date first. You need it if your products have expiry dates and you ship enough orders that pickers cannot reliably choose lots by hand. Check whether a product suggests, enforces or only records expiry.
How fast should a lot tracking system produce a recall report?
Requirements vary by industry. FDA’s food traceability rule requires covered food companies to provide traceability records within 24 hours of a request, with enforcement starting no earlier than July 20, 2028. Most buyers should expect a customer list and on-hand balance for one lot in minutes. Test this with a mock recall during selection.
Sources
- GS1, Application Identifiers dataset (AI 10, 15 and 17), no date shown. ref.gs1.org
- eCFR, 21 CFR 7.42 Recall strategy, current as of October 7, 2026. ecfr.gov
- FDA, FSMA Final Rule on Requirements for Additional Traceability Records for Certain Foods, updated October 8, 2026. fda.gov
- Microsoft Learn, Work with serial, lot, and package numbers in Business Central, June 17, 2026. learn.microsoft.com
- Microsoft Learn, Picking by FEFO, May 2, 2025. learn.microsoft.com
- Microsoft Learn, Trace item-tracked items, August 21, 2025. learn.microsoft.com
- Microsoft, Dynamics 365 Business Central pricing, no date shown, checked October 9, 2026. microsoft.com
- Oracle NetSuite Help, Viewing Lot Numbered Inventory Item Records, no date shown. docs.oracle.com
- Oracle NetSuite Help, FEFO Lot Assignments, no date shown. docs.oracle.com
- Intuit, Use serial or lot numbers in QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise, updated August 4, 2026. quickbooks.intuit.com
- Zoho, Batch tracking help, no date shown. zoho.com
- Zoho Inventory pricing (vendor), no date shown, checked October 9, 2026. zoho.com
- SOS Inventory, Features (vendor), no date shown. sosinventory.com
- SOS Inventory, Lots and the Lots list (vendor help), no date shown. help.sosinventory.com
- SOS Inventory pricing (vendor), no date shown, checked October 9, 2026. sosinventory.com
- Cin7, Serial numbers and batch numbers in Cin7 Core WMS (vendor help), no date shown. help.core.cin7.com
- Cin7 pricing (vendor), no date shown, checked October 9, 2026. cin7.com
- Fishbowl pricing (vendor), no date shown, checked October 9, 2026. fishbowlinventory.com
- MRPeasy pricing (vendor), no date shown, checked October 9, 2026. mrpeasy.com
- Katana pricing (vendor), no date shown, checked October 9, 2026. katanamrp.com
- Katana, Basics of batch tracking (vendor help), July 10, 2026. support.katanamrp.com
Sherman Hsieh
Independent analysis of enterprise software — ERP, CRM and more
