Inventory Management FAQ – Common ShelfyAI Questions

ShelfyAI is an AI-powered inventory management tool built for small businesses. It helps product-based businesses — bakeries, coffee shops, handmade goods sellers, restaurants, Etsy shops, and more — track their stock in real time, get low-stock alerts before they run out, and update their inventory from photos or supplier URLs in seconds. No spreadsheets, no manual counting, no guesswork.

ShelfyAI is built for small and growing product-based businesses that are tired of managing inventory manually. If you sell handmade products, run a food business, manage a small shop, or fulfil orders through platforms like Etsy — and you're tracking stock in a spreadsheet or from memory — ShelfyAI was made for you. It's designed to be simple enough to use from day one, without any training or technical setup.

Spreadsheets are static — they only know what you tell them, and they don't update automatically. ShelfyAI tracks your inventory in real time, alerts you automatically when stock runs low, and lets you update your inventory from a photo or URL instead of typing everything in manually. It saves time, reduces errors, and gives you accurate data you can actually trust when making purchasing decisions.

ShelfyAI uses AI to read product information from photos, invoice screenshots, and supplier URLs. Instead of typing in product names, quantities, and prices manually, you upload an image or paste a link — the AI extracts the details and pre-fills everything for you. You review the result and confirm before anything is saved, so you're always in control.

Yes. You can upload a photo or screenshot of a supplier invoice or delivery note and ShelfyAI will automatically extract the product names, quantities, prices, and dates. This works for both physical receipts you've photographed and digital invoice screenshots. It's one of the fastest ways to keep your inventory current without manual data entry.

AI scan limits depend on your plan and reset every day at midnight:

• Free: 5 AI scans/day
• Starter (€9.99/mo): 25 AI scans/day
• Pro (€19.99/mo): 50 AI scans/day

Most small businesses find the Free or Starter plan more than enough for their daily volume. You'll see a notification in the app when you're getting close to your limit.

Every item in your inventory has a minimum stock threshold you set yourself. When your stock drops to or below that level — through a sale, a fulfilled order, or a manual adjustment — ShelfyAI sends you an automatic alert. You'll see it in the notification bell in the app. From there you can view the item or add it to your shopping list for reordering. The goal is that you never discover a stockout when a customer is asking for something.

Yes. When you link your products to their components (ingredients, materials, or parts) in ShelfyAI, recording a sale or fulfilling an order automatically deducts the right quantities from your stock. No manual counting after every sale. Your inventory stays current without extra effort.

Yes. ShelfyAI includes expense tracking so you can log supply purchases, packaging, equipment, and other costs. When you log a supply purchase, you can sync the quantities directly to your inventory stock — so your expense records and your stock levels stay in sync. Starter and Pro users can export their expense data for tax purposes or to share with their accountant.

Yes — ShelfyAI has a free plan with no credit card required. The Free plan gives you unlimited products, unlimited records, and 5 AI scans per day. It's a fully functional starting point for small businesses just getting their inventory under control. Paid plans unlock higher AI scan limits, bulk upload, the full order dashboard, and advanced expense tracking.

ShelfyAI has two paid plans. Starter is €9.99/month and includes 25 AI scans per day, bulk upload, the full order dashboard, and expense tracking. Pro is €19.99/month and includes 50 AI scans per day and larger bulk upload batches — built for higher-volume operations. Both plans are available at 20% off on annual billing (€99/year for Starter, €199/year for Pro). You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time.

Yes. Starter and Pro users can export sales reports, expense records, and inventory data as CSV or PDF files. CSV exports are easy to import into accounting software or share with your accountant at tax time. The Shopping List can be exported as a PDF at any time, on any plan.

Most users are up and running in under 10 minutes. After you sign up, the Operations Hub walks you through the four setup steps: add your products or ingredients, set up your product recipes, log an expense, and record your first sale. There's no lengthy onboarding, no CSV import required, and no technical knowledge needed.

No. ShelfyAI runs in your browser on any device — phone, tablet, or desktop. You can also add it to your home screen like a native app: on iPhone, tap Share then "Add to Home Screen." On Android, tap the install prompt that appears in your browser. Your data syncs across all your devices automatically.

Yes. All your data is stored in a secure, encrypted database with strict access controls — only you can see your inventory, orders, and expenses. We never sell your data to third parties or use it for advertising. Your business information stays yours.