Retail audits are here, and they’re here to stay.
Fortunately, they have nothing to do with the IRS but they are still critically important to get right for your business.
Processes, operational protocols, brand standards and compliance are the usual culprits and are what business owners look to improve by adopting retail audit software.
You can have the newest store in the coolest neighborhood - and that too, in the nicest building. But if items are strewn about or placed inconsistently, or there’s a new way to do the same task each time, you’ve got yourself a problem.
In this post, we'll take a close look at the 10 best retail store app online platforms poised to make waves in 2024.
10 Best Retail Audit Software For Businesses In 2024
Before we talk about some of the basic concepts associated with retail auditing, and the application POV of retail audit software, it's important to see how these tools work in real-life use cases.
Below is the list of the best retail audit apps that we have selected for you to streamline end to end processes.
Take a look.
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1. Xenia - Overall No. 1 Best & Free Online Retail Audit App
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The best option for teams both big and small, Xenia comes in as our no. 1 pick for best retail audit software.
With an easy-to-use application on desktop, mobile and tablets (available on both Android and Apple products), Xenia can handle any retail audit you throw at it.
For as long as process optimization, streamlining retail store audits and such activities are concerned, Xenia helps standardize everything so you aren’t left wondering if the team at a certain retail store branch is doing anything differently than other branches.
Owing to different feature-centric solutions, the platform enables standardization through solutions such as checklists, SOPs, fully customizable retail audit operation templates, work orders etc.
For instance, retail store managers can have a clear view of on-site inspection audits, any due or ongoing maintenance/management activities and safety procedures through work orders.
These can be assigned to a single assignee or managers can engage multiple assignees at the same time.
Furthermore, Xenia enables real-time updates as each procedure goes through multiple stages of completion, enabling frontline personnel to upload and share photos; use the chat feature for back-and-forth communication with their respective managers, and checkmark any processes along the way.
Should a retail audit require any review or approval, the work orders and processes can be stage-gated for approval, so that pencil-whipping instances can be eliminated - further enabling process efficiency and due diligence.
Here are some of the main highlights of this retail audit app.
Key Features:
- Inspections: Audits and inspections go hand-in-hand with brand compliance, and Xenia has an answer for that too.
- Perform inspections on mobile, view an end-to-end audit log for accountability, and get a company-branded report sent right to your inbox.
- With the ability to take pictures, add notes, and create corrective actions immediately during an inspection, this is one feature you can’t miss when evaluating retail audit software.
- Work Orders: Tracking work has never been simpler. You can create, assign and manage work orders across any number of teams all from the same dashboard.
- With real-time notifications and updates, you are always in the know, without having to ask. When you’re all done, review and analyze the results and share them with the team via a combination of PDF, CSV, or URL exporting.
- Corrective Actions: Make inspections and audits more effective with instant tasks created from a failed step.
As mentioned earlier, you can get a full view of those corrective actions on your dashboard to track the status of the pending work. Combined with the smart logic automations, you can trust that there is no weak link in your CAPA process.
- Asset Management: Any asset (and sub-asset!) you’d like to keep a record of can be done within Xenia.
- Preventive Maintenance: Schedule, assign, and manage comprehensive maintenance schedules across your entire organization.
Pricing:
- Free Forever: Free for up to 5 users with access to task & work orders, parent assets, internal chats, template builder etc.
- Starter: $99 / month for 15 users and comes with work calendar view, work and template reports, sub assets and sub-locations.
- Premium: $199 / month for 15 users and offers unbound access to all the core features.
- Custom: Need something tailored to your organization?
Available for up to 5 users
Premium for $99/month for the first 20 users (with free trial period)
Available on iOS, Android and Web
2. CAREweb
CAREweb is a holistic and seamlessly integrated Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) platform with roots dating back to 1997.
Not for the faint of heart, CAREweb is a sophisticated solution. Its structure revolves around four primary modules; together, these modules form a robust framework, empowering businesses to navigate the complexities of governance, risk, and compliance with accuracy and ease.
Key Features:
- Enterprise risk management
- Risk-based internal audit
- Operational risk management
Pricing:
- Free Trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Not listed.
3. Paragon Audit
Optimize your decision-making process with Paragon, where audits seamlessly evolve into actionable insights.
Say goodbye to laborious hours spent typing reports, sifting through handwritten notes, and managing Excel spreadsheets – Paragon streamlines it all in a matter of seconds.
Their unique approach converts audits into a PDCA cycle, simplifying tasks for every audit stakeholder.
Key Features:
- Internal database on FDA food code that updates automatically when changes to the food code are made
- On-demand professional food safety consultants to help clients with their inspections
- Customizable checklists to fit different settings such as hospitals and schools
Pricing:
- Free trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Not listed.
4. Pro-Inspector
Pro-Inspector is a user-friendly digital auditing platform designed to assist companies in achieving compliance with standards such as IATF 16949, ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001.
With features like online audit scheduling, mobile checklists, photo evidence capture, non-conformance tracking, real-time analytics, and streamlined approval processes, Pro-Inspector helps improve efficiency and ensure adherence to regulatory requirements. Simplify auditing & enhance compliance with this solution.
Key Features:
- Temperature records
- HACCP logs
- Mobile app available
Pricing:
- Free trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Not listed.
5. BPAQuality365
BPAQuality365 is an innovative software for integrated quality, risk and compliance to run in your secure Office 365 environment.
The app runs on your preferred Microsoft tools, like Teams or SharePoint.
The audit Power Apps, ready to install on any tablet, simplifies audits and inspections, including photos and recordings. Shift to Quality 4.0 with BPA and Office 365.
Key Features:
- Supplier management
- Process management
- Easily integrates with MS Office suite
Pricing:
- Free trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Not listed.
6. VComply
VComply is a Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) management platform that helps you implement compliance programs, assign and track compliance tasks, monitor and measure the success of your GRC programs, and assess and mitigate risks in real time.
VComply is a no-code workflow solution that automates compliance processes, helps build robust internal control frameworks, implements policies, assesses risks and strengthens governance within your organization.
Key Features:
- Recipes
- Inventory management
- Analytics
Pricing:
- Free trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Not listed.
7. Virtual PA by Inform People
Moving on with our best retail audit software, we’ve got Inform People’s Virtual PA app on the list.
It’s a dedicated compliance and performance management software; an entirely online solution for enterprise businesses with many locations and even more people.
The platform offers multiple features, such as paperless auditing, learning, event management, and insight reporting that help utilize one company-wide solution.
Furthermore, as one of the best retail audit software, Virtual PA helps hospitality, retail, and entertainment industries develop the foundation of their health and safety programs.
Key Features:
- Knowledge base
- Auditing
- Event management
Pricing:
- Free trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Not listed.
8. 21RISK
As a retail audit app online 21RISK offers a bunch.
Maybe not 21 different features, but a good amount.
Empowering and improving audits is their focus. Use a pre-built checklist or use one of your own. Track issues and keep them centralized in one place.
Then, share the results of these inspections with your team. Simple to read, hopefully easier to use - we didn’t see much in the way of a free trial but reach out to the time to find out.
Key Features:
- PDF and Excel reports
- Batch reporting
- Mobile app available
Pricing:
- Free trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Based on number of users.
9. Audit Analytics
Audit Analytics is a digital platform whose mission is to support companies in conducting audits.
It specialises in the automotive industry, franchises, banking, restaurants, supermarkets, fashion, industry, and hotels sectors, with modules adapted to the needs of each of them.
Audit Analytics comes with intelligent verification and inspection forms to automate all the necessary processes in an audit and facilitate the task avoiding the use of paper.
Key Features:
- Template library
- Completely digital workflows
- Online databases covering a wide range of audit topics
Pricing:
- Free trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Priced per module - see site for more info.
10. AssurX Audit Management
AssurX Audit Management software automates and streamlines your entire audit process.
This versatile program allows you to easily plan, schedule, conduct, and document audits of any kind; process and track the resolution of findings, and identify and track trends across your organization.
As a digitized solution, AssurX tracks and delivers live, detailed visibility into audit activities, metrics, and trends to help you manage risks across the business - all while meeting and maintaining regulatory compliance.
Key Features:
- Mobile ready views
- Risk management
- EHS incident management
Pricing:
- Free trial?: Not listed.
- Pricing: Not listed.
What Should I Look For In The Best Retail Audit Software?
If you’re asking that question about what to look for in the best retail audit software online, you’ve come to the right place.
There is no shortage of retail audit apps out there, and it seems that all of them claim to be the “best,” or “number one.”
While we plan on creating this write-up to be as broadly encompassing as possible, the truth is there is only so much progress you can make by reading about these tools.
Whenever possible we suggest trialing or demoing a piece of software, after you’ve taken some time to educate yourself on its offering via articles, videos, or from someone in your network.
That being said, with the deluge of information you’re about to take on it might be best to standardize your evaluation process.
Below is a list that should help with making sense of everything you’ll read later on. Think of each bullet as an operational challenge you might look to solve with this new software.
- Time-Consuming Manual Processes: Finding the proper (up-to-date) forms. Printing them out. Grabbing another form to gather the errors or corrective actions for follow-up. Scan it and send it to your boss. No, thank you - doing work before you can do your work is what we’re trying to avoid here.
- Cost Factor: Doing inspections manually eats up time, and time is money. How much does it cost you to drag your feet through a dozen store audits each month?
- Complexity and Customization: Most solutions, off-the-shelf, won’t do exactly what you need them to do. It’s critical that whatever you end up picking can grow and evolve with you (and the business).
- Integration Challenges: If you have any sort of existing software that you use on your team, I can almost guarantee someone is going to ask about integrating the two. Sometimes it makes sense, other times it doesn’t - I’d recommend deferring to a professional on a case-by-case basis.
- Real-Time Data and Analytics: You can’t make good decisions without good data. In today’s world that means ingesting as much as you can, as quickly as you can, and transforming that into actionable advice for your team.
- User-Friendly Interface: Simple - if you don’t like how it looks or feels, you’re not gonna use it. And the team of yours that just wants to get through their shift? Even less likely. Avoid turning a cultural staff change into an uphill battle, and get the app that everyone likes using.
We have explored the aforementioend tools in detail. Still, if you feel that your desired retail execution software isn't mentioned in there, feel free to reach out to us.
Try Xenia, or Try them All to Find the Right Fit for Your Team.
Feel free to play around with the tools listed above.
As we mentioned at the beginning of this post, each solution is different from the last, and it’ll be up to your own evaluation to determine which is the right fit.
Having an easy-to-access free trial, starting with Xenia is as quick as clicking here. You can also get in touch with our team to schedule a free demo.
We hope this post will help you make that final decision when it comes to picking the right restaurant inspection software.
Good luck.
Retail Audit Software | Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is retail store audit software?
Retail store audit software is a powerful tool that helps retail businesses streamline and manage their operations.
It allows users to conduct comprehensive audits of their stores, tracking inventory, sales, and other key metrics to ensure accuracy and efficiency in their operations.
With retail store audit software, businesses can easily monitor and track inventory levels, ensuring they always have the right products in stock. It also helps identify any discrepancies or issues in stock levels, allowing businesses to take immediate action and avoid potential losses or customer dissatisfaction.
Okay… why do I need it?
The same reason you invest in new tech in any other part of your life - it makes things easier.
Customer safety and satisfaction should always be your top priority, and giving yourself the time and energy to focus on that (instead of chasing down an inspection form from 3 months ago) is the way to grow.
Unify Team Operations, Maintenance and Safety Compliance with Xenia
Xenia unifies daily operations, maintenance management and quality assurance to help ensure teams and facilities are effective and efficient.
Our customers love Xenia's robust use cases including:
Operational Execution
✔️ Checklists & SOPs
Create checklists, SOPs, Inspections and Data Logs to power accountability, training and staff clarity on every task.
💪 Team Task Management
Assign work digitally to defeat pencil whipping and disorganized teams. Complete tasks, chat with teams on any device, track time, collect photos, and ensure high quality work.
📆 Recurring Tasks
Create recurring schedules for daily opening and closings, performance review meetings, inspections, cleanings and more.
📲 Chats & Announcements
Centralize team communications with in task chats, one-on-one chats, team messages and company wide announcements
📊 Team Performance Reporting
Use Xenia's analytics dashboards to view staff work reports. Filter by asset, location, category or due date and export the report in PDF or Excel
Maintenance Management
🛠️ Work Orders
Create work orders with associated team, asset, location, priority, category and due date. View live progress reports on each work order, chat with teams, and review resulting template submission, images and notes to improve operations.
🧰 Preventive Maintenance
Create a preventive maintenance calendar to ensure asset uptime is not compromised. Attach images, templates, videos and notes to every task and assign to a team or individual for completion.
📲 QR Codes
Generate and attach QR codes to equipment and facility locations to enable fast and accurate inspections and data logs.
⚙️ Work Order Requests
Receive, approve and assign work order requests from tenants, regular customers and vendors. Enable requesters to submit, track, and communicate with your team, without access to operations templates or unrelated work orders.
📁 Equipment Work History
View work history for every asset and sub asset in Xenia. Review performance data and enable corrective actions to improve your operation.
Safety Compliance & Quality Assurance
👍 Concrete Brand Standards
Put your brand standards in a clear and operational checklist to be attached to work assignments.
🔎 Smart Inspection Workflows
Xenia's operations template builder has built in conditional logic into each step. This allows you to trigger actions based on a form response such as creating a corrective action on a failed inspection step, sending a notification to management for out of range meter readings, and much more.
✨ Corrective Actions
Operationalize inspections with fast work order assignment arising from a failed inspection step. All corrective data is stored in the checklist submission for auditing and accountability.
📋 Analytics and Reports
View live dashboard summaries of tasks, employee performance, template submissions and more. Filter, organize and export compliance reports to PDF and Excel formats to simplify compliance management.
Unify Your Retail Audit Activities With Peace of Mind & Efficiency
Streamlining chaotic retail audit operations, inspection audits and procedures isn't easy.
We get it!
Xenia unifies everything with the help of dedicated inspection tools to maintain a consistent quality needed for your on-site assets.
Our customers love Xenia's robust use cases including:
Operational Execution
✔️ Checklists & SOPs
Create checklists, SOPs, Inspections and Data Logs to power accountability, training and staff clarity on every task.
💪 Build Inspections, SOPs and Logs Within Minutes!
Take the lead on your church facility management activities by creating detaild templates with unlimited steps and diverse reponse times.
📆 Plan Ahead With Scheduled & Recurring Tasks
Create recurring schedules for daily opening and closings, performance review meetings, inspections, cleanings and more.
📲 Dedicated Mobile App
Download and install Xenia's official iOS and Android app on your smartphone to centralized your on-site facility management activities.
📲 Chats & Announcements
Centralize team communications with in task chats, one-on-one chats, team messages and company wide announcements
🛠️ Work Orders Management
Create work orders with associated team, asset, location, priority, category and due date. View live progress reports on each work order, chat with teams, and review resulting template submission, images and notes to improve operations.
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