Comparison / competitors
BSimple and Katana: an honest comparison
Both are cloud inventory systems with production features — so the comparison comes down to where each is built, what sits on the record, and how the accounting handoff works. Here is the honest frame.
The key facts
- The overlap: both are cloud systems serving makers and manufacturers — recipes/BOMs, production, stock, orders.
- BSimple's shape: Australian-built; one record for inventory, production, wholesale portal and invoicing; Xero/MYOB handoff; from $180/month (AUD).
- No invented specifics: we do not quote competitor pricing or feature matrices here — they change; check them at the source.
- The honest method: run both trials on the same real products and compare the record, not the brochure.
- The full picture: how the inventory record works is the hub page for everything above.
- 01The key facts
- 02Where the two overlap — and how to compare there
- 03Where they differ in origin and emphasis
- 04The evaluation that settles it
Where the two overlap — and how to compare there
Katana is a cloud inventory platform aimed at makers and manufacturers; BSimple is business management software for wholesale, manufacturing, distribution and trade. The overlap is real: recipes or bills of materials, production runs consuming inputs, batch tracking, live stock, and orders. When both products serve a job, brochures sound identical — so compare on the checks that do not fit in a brochure:
- The record. Are quantities the sum of recorded movements with an audit trail, or editable fields? The tracking test applies to both.
- The wholesale side. Do wholesale customers order through their own portal with their own pricing, on the same record? Or is B2B a bolt-on?
- The accounting handoff. Invoices pushed and payment status mirrored — to which systems, described how precisely? BSimple pushes to Xero and MYOB; that boundary is documented, not aspirational.
- Traceability. Batch lots both directions — inputs to outputs, outputs to customers — where certification or recalls matter.
Where they differ in origin and emphasis
BSimple is Australian-made, priced in AUD from $180/month (AUD) with every feature in the core plans — no manufacturing module surcharge — and is built for the small-to-medium operations layer: multi-location stock, purchasing from reorder levels, the customer portal, recipes and traced batches, stocktakes from any phone browser, and the accounting handoff. We do not claim MRP scheduling, HR or payroll, and we do not claim US payroll or full ecommerce storefronts — Shopify imports, not a storefront.
We will not characterise Katana's current feature list or pricing here — those change and belong to Katana's own pages. What we can say honestly: how reviewers and aggregators frame the inventory category is a starting point, the manufacturing comparison evaluates the category, and the production-side details show what BSimple does on recipes, runs and batches.
The evaluation that settles it
The only comparison worth trusting is the one you run: the same five products, the same one recipe, the same test order — into both trials. Receive, produce, sell, trace, invoice. Whichever record reads clean at every step on your products is the answer, and whichever makes you re-type or reconcile is not.
BSimple's trial is the full product with no card to start. Bring your real BOM and one real customer order; an afternoon in both trials beats a month of comparison articles, including this one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is BSimple the same kind of product as Katana?
There is real overlap — cloud inventory with production features for makers. BSimple is the operations-first, Australian-built option: one record covering stock, purchasing, the wholesale portal, production and invoicing, with the Xero/MYOB handoff.
Which is cheaper, BSimple or Katana?
We will not quote Katana's pricing — it changes and belongs to Katana. BSimple starts at $180/month (AUD) with all features in the core plans, no production module surcharge. Compare totals on equal footing: your volumes, your users, your features.
Does BSimple integrate with the same accounting systems?
BSimple pushes approved invoices to Xero and MYOB with payment status mirrored back; US accounting integrations are rolling out. Verify any competitor's accounting story with the same precision — the handoff is where integrations succeed or quietly fail.
How do I choose between them?
Run both trials on the same real products and one real order end to end. Compare the record (transactions, audit trail), the wholesale portal, traceability and the accounting handoff — then keep the one that reads clean. Start here.
BSimple