by Anyone who works with fresh meat knows that no two cuts are alike. Whether it’s a cut of steak or a shoulder of lamb, the unique size and shape of every piece is what makes them special.
However, the same thing that makes fresh meat so great also makes it hard to manage, especially as your business grows. Catch weight items have variable weights — and selling them to customers in person or online can add complexity to your daily operations.
That’s why many independent meat producers use meat catch weight software. This software tracks meat inventory by weight and cut to give you an accurate view of your stock. But there are many catch weight management solutions out there and not all of them will be a good fit for your business.
This article highlights why specialized meat catch weight software benefits farms and meat producers. We also recommend three different providers based on your business type.
Related Read: Catch Weight vs. Fixed Weight: What’s the Difference?
Why Meat Catch Weight Software Is Important for Farms and Meat Producers
Imagine you want to sell a pork butt roast. You take it out of cold storage, cut it into pieces, and a customer selects their portion. You then weigh it, price it, print a label, and ring it up.
It sounds easy right? It is — but only if your technology is equipped to handle catch weight management.
Without a system designed to track variable weight items, you won't know the weight of individual cuts compared to the total weight of the pork butt in storage. This means you can't accurately determine how much is left based on what was sold.If your scale isn’t integrated with your label printer, you’ll have to calculate the cost manually when selling it. Later, you’ll have to spend time and effort reconciling the amount you sold with the amount you have left. 
Many farms and meat shops use popular point of sale (POS) systems that are intended for general retail. While these solutions might seem simpler on the surface, systems that aren’t built for your industry can add extra work and potential headaches.
Using meat catch weight software provides a few distinct benefits:
- Real-time view of inventory: As you sell different portions of your products, the system automatically updates your stock. It then compares the weight you sold with what's left in storage.
- Easy cost adjustments: With a meat catch weight solution you can simply adjust the price of a given cut in the backend and those changes will be reflected throughout the process.
- Better compliance and transparency: A solution with built-in sell by weight features gives you better visibility over every cut from butchery to your customer, helping you comply with USDA regulations.
- Easy order fulfillment: Catch weight solutions simplify the process of preparing subscriptions and other orders. Both are essential for keeping customers happy.
- Online sales support: An increasing number of meat sellers are offering online sales to reach new customers. Catch weight support lets you seamlessly offer online sales without adding complexity to your processes.
- Increased profitability and waste reduction: Optimizing catch weight inventory reduces the risk of overstocking, spoilage, and other issues that eat into your profits.
While adopting new software might seem intimidating, the benefits of using catch weight software far outweigh any temporary disruptions.
Meat Catch Weight Software Providers: Our 3 Top Picks
There’s a growing number of technology providers that include catch weight support, but not all solutions are created equal. Many general retail POS systems and even some enterprise-level solutions only include variable weight support as a paid add-on or integration.
We always recommend using an industry-specific solution with core functions like sell by weight built-in to reduce complexity. This is especially true for independent or smaller businesses that can’t afford a dedicated IT department.
At GrazeCart, we believe strongly in working with businesses that are a good fit for our solution — and we acknowledge that not everyone is a good fit. Your ideal meat catch weight software should be based on your challenges, goals, and size.
Here are three providers to consider:
H3: 1. GrazeCart
GrazeCart is our top-rated POS, inventory management, and e-commerce solution built for independent farms and meat markets. Our solution was built by farmers to give small businesses an easier way to stay competitive.
Best for: Small- to mid-size family farms and meat markets looking to simplify selling products to customers.
Standout Features
- Sell by weight: Variable weight management is built-in, making it easy to update actual weights before shipment, automate receipts, and make quick adjustments to your pricing if needed.
- Website builder and online store support: To help businesses reach more customers we offer simple website-building tools that let you build a fully functional e-commerce site without the need for code or IT expertise.
- Simple subscriptions: You can offer subscriptions for whatever items you choose. To simplify the process, we collect and validate customer payment information without a deposit, then charge the amount based on actual weight when the order is prepared.
- Built-in POS system: Unify your in-person and online sales with a fully functional point of sale system that works for retail locations and farmers markets.
- Robust inventory management: Have full control of your inventory, including the ability to make batch updates to orders, sort items by bin IDs to simplify picking, and customize stockout reports to keep an eye on what’s low.
- Custom reporting tools: While things like sales and inventory reports might seem complicated or unnecessary for a small business, they’re actually an incredibly useful tool to help understand your customers’ preferences, inventory churn, and more.
Pricing
We offer several pricing tiers and customized options to fit your business’ size and needs. We also offer a free 14-day trial so you can see the product in action before you buy.
H3: 2. Acctivate
Acctivate builds inventory management solutions that integrate with QuickBooks to allow businesses of all kinds to customize and grow their operations. Acctivate’s sophisticated inventory and catch weight management solutions are largely built with enterprise-scale food manufacturers and distributors in mind.
Best for: Enterprise-scale food producers and distributors that need robust inventory support for wide-ranging operations.
Standout Features
- Large-scale catch-weight support: Acctivate can handle large and highly variable catch weight products in a single system, simplifying operations for nationwide or international food suppliers.
- Multi-channel order support: You’ll have maximum flexibility when fulfilling orders, with support for warehousing, order management, sales teams, e-commerce, and more.
- Full QuickBooks support: Acctivate is designed to allow businesses that rely on QuickBooks to continue doing so without adopting a much more costly and complex Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
- Sophisticated CRM: Acctivate includes a comprehensive view of customer data in a customer relationship management (CRM) system. This can be essential to avoiding issues when dealing with thousands of customers in different locations.
Pricing
Acctivate offers annual plans starting at $5000/year (~ $417/month), plus a one-time $5,995 license fee.
H3: 3. Farmbrite
Farmbrite creates comprehensive farm management software for growing farms. Focusing on logistical tools for crop and livestock management outside of sales alone, FarmBrite is helpful for farms looking for a bird’s eye view of their entire operation.
Best for: Rapidly growing farm operations that need e-commerce as well as tools to track livestock, crops, tasks, and other aspects of farm management.
Standout Features
- E-commerce support: Farmbrite supports e-commerce with third-party payment processing in over 135 currencies. With Farmbrite you can set variable wholesale and retail prices, and easily sell by weight.
- Streamlined livestock management and crop planning: Farmbrite includes integrated livestock record-keeping and harvest planning functions to help streamline reporting and understand your return on investment (ROI). Farmbrite also provides tools for tracking livestock sales.
- Comprehensive inventory management: Track all inputs for equipment, retail stock, and more in one place.
- Specialized farm accounting software: Farmbrite offers add-on plans for farm accounting software built to help farms scale and improve profitability.
Pricing
Farmbrite has multiple pricing tiers. Their most popular plan costs $79/month and supports up to 2,000 active animal sets and up to 10 custom data fields.
Simplify Your Meat Sales With GrazeCart’s Catch Weight Software
Powerful meat catch weight software is a must for making the most out of your meat sales, but that doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated. When assessing different options, look for technology providers that are:
- Collaborative: Some large-scale companies set you up and leave you on your own. Find a technology provider with ongoing support and training.
- Intuitive: All the advanced reports and functions in the world won’t matter if they aren’t easy to use. Get a demo of every solution and ask them questions about common situations you face every day to make sure the software is a good fit for you.
- Flexible: In small business, change is certain and flexibility is a must. Find a software solution that evolves with your business.
- Customer-friendly: Whether you sell meat online or in person, make sure any solution you choose is frictionless and easy for the customer to use.
GrazeCart is proud to support local farms and meat sellers across the country with our industry-specific solution. You’ll be fully equipped to maximize your profits and scale your business.
Try our 14-day free trial or watch a demo to see how GrazeCart can help your business thrive.