Best moving box label and inventory apps for art and craft fair vendors in 2026

Compare moving box label and inventory apps for art and craft fair vendors setting up and breaking down at shows.

By CleverDings · 2026-10-30

CleverDings is published by the makers of Benefit Buddy, Postal Buddy and Packing Buddy, which are compared here alongside other apps.

Art and craft fair vendors pack stock, displays, and tools into boxes, travel to shows, set up fast, and take down again. Tools in this group help label boxes, list what is inside, keep track of inventory by location, scan codes, and print labels.

Option	Main type of help	Cost information
Packing Buddy	Lists box contents from photos and gives each box a code like K-03. ^[1] ^[1]	Free for 10 boxes and 25 AI reads with a free account; Plus is $12.99 a month or $59 a year for 100 boxes; Pro is $19.99 a month or $99 a year. ^[1] ^[1]
Sortly	Inventory management software for small businesses that tracks physical inventory. ^[2]	Price not listed on the page.
Scanlily	Pro plan for homes, collectors, and solo professionals; Ultra plan for teams that lend, move, and track equipment. ^[3] ^[3]	Pro is $9 USD a month; Ultra is $35 USD a month; Premium is $75 USD a month. ^[3] ^[3] ^[3]
Avery Design & Print	Blank labels to print yourself and free templates and designs. ^[4] ^[4]	Prices not published; free shipping applies when the cart reaches $75. ^[4]
Encircle Contents	Contents inventory features with AI descriptions and packouts. ^[5]	Price not listed on the page.

What art and craft fair vendors need from moving box label and inventory apps

Art and craft fair vendors live in a rhythm of pack, travel, set up, sell, tear down, and repack. A show may run a few days, and a trailer or van is filled with stock, display props, tables, and tools. Boxes that are not labeled make set up slow and make a lost item hard to find. The main job of a label app is to mark each box and say what sits inside it. The main job of an inventory app is to know how much of each item exists and where it should go. Vendors work in a browser, on a phone while loading, and sometimes in a low-signal corner of a fairground. A label that can be scanned with a phone camera saves a search through stacks of boxes. A list that shows which box holds a sold piece helps pack the return trip. A vendor should check how an app handles printing, since printers are not always near the phone. The right choice depends on whether the main need is clear labels, an inventory list, or both.

Packing Buddy for art and craft fair vendors

Packing Buddy is made by the team that publishes this site. A vendor takes photos of what goes into a box, and AI lists the items and picks the room. ^[1] Each box can get a code like K-03, printed on its label. ^[1] Scanning a box's QR code with any phone camera opens that box in the browser, with no app needed. ^[1] The app and its AI box lists are available in 30 languages. ^[1] A vendor can search the boxes to find which box an item is in. ^[1] Share links let a partner, friends, or movers join by typing their name, with no account needed. ^[1] It runs on phones and in a web browser. ^[1] The web app is live, and on a computer a vendor can choose photos already taken with nothing to install. ^[1]

Sortly for art and craft fair vendors

Sortly describes itself as inventory management software for small businesses. ^[2] Sortly provides an in-app barcode and QR code scanner. ^[2] Sortly lets users upload an existing inventory list. ^[2] Sortly supports organizing inventory folders by location and type. ^[2] Sortly lets users export custom PDF or CSV reports. ^[2] Sortly provides low-stock alerts. ^[2] Sortly says more than 15,000 businesses trust it to track inventory. ^[2]

Scanlily for art and craft fair vendors

Scanlily's Pro plan is described as best for homes, collectors, and solo professionals. ^[3] Scanlily's Ultra plan supports multiple sites and locations for picking, sending, and transferring stock. ^[3] Scanlily's Ultra plan includes equipment booking for checkouts, reservations, and pickups. ^[3] Scanlily allows users to download all their data, images, and attachments anytime without subscription lock-in. ^[3] Scanlily offers annual billing with two months free. ^[3]

Avery Design & Print for art and craft fair vendors

Avery's page says it offers blank labels that customers print themselves. ^[4] Avery provides free templates and designs. ^[4] Avery has no minimum orders, and its page says: “No Minimum Orders Go tiny or go huge.” ^[4] Avery offers custom sheet labels for products, packaging, or passion projects. ^[4] Avery's page says free shipping applies when the cart reaches $75. ^[4] Avery says its labels are made of top-quality materials. ^[4]

Encircle Contents for art and craft fair vendors

Encircle Contents offers contents inventory features with AI descriptions and packouts. ^[5] Encircle Contents offers field documentation features including photos, videos, and notes. ^[5] Encircle's page says of its Scope to Estimate product, "Your field data already told the story." ^[5] Encircle says its Scope to Estimate product can create an IICRC-aligned scope and review-ready Xactimate estimate from field data. ^[5] Encircle says the platform is one app covering field documentation, floor plans, mitigation, and contents. ^[5] Encircle is trusted by more than 3,000 restoration shops. ^[5]

Matching the tool to the job

When the main job is a clear, scannable label on each moving box, Packing Buddy gives each box a code like K-03 and lets anyone open the box in a browser by scanning its QR code. ^[1] ^[1] When the job is knowing what sits inside each box, Packing Buddy turns photos of box contents into a list of items. ^[1] When the job is an inventory list of stock with folders by location, Sortly provides inventory folders by location and type, plus an in-app barcode and QR code scanner. ^[2] ^[2] When the job is tracking across more than one site or show, Scanlily's Ultra plan supports multiple sites and locations for picking, sending, and transferring stock. ^[3] A vendor who wants to print their own box labels can turn to Avery's blank labels and free templates. ^[4] ^[4] Encircle Contents pairs an item list with AI descriptions for restoration work. ^[5] A vendor can line up each option against the exact job that causes trouble, such as an unlabeled box, an unpriced item list, or stock spread across shows.

Questions to ask before you choose

Ask whether the tool is for labeling moving boxes, for keeping an inventory list, or for both. Ask how labels are made, whether they print from a home printer, and how they are attached to a box. Ask what happens at a show with a weak or no phone signal. Ask how a second person, such as a helper or a partner, gets a view of the same boxes. Ask whether an item can be found by name once the box is sealed. Ask how stock moves between a table, a storage bin, and the trailer, and how the app reflects that move. Ask about trial periods, ongoing costs, and what a monthly fee includes before choosing.

Frequently asked questions

Can Packing Buddy print moving box labels for art and craft fair shows?

Labels print from a home printer on store-bought Avery 5163 or compatible sheets, or on plain paper you cut out and tape on. ^[1] On Pro, Bluetooth label printers work in the phone app, not in the browser. ^[1] A vendor whose printer is not nearby could compare how each label option is printed before choosing.

Can Packing Buddy find which box holds a sold item at a fair?

Packing Buddy lets a vendor search the boxes to find which box an item is in. ^[1] Each box can get a code like K-03, printed on its label. ^[1] So a seller can name an item and see which box holds it. ^[1]

Can Sortly track inventory across several craft fair shows?

Sortly supports organizing inventory folders by location and type. ^[2] Sortly provides an in-app barcode and QR code scanner. ^[2] A vendor can compare whether folders by show, table, or trailer match the way stock is actually set up.

Can Scanlily handle stock moved between a vendor's sites?

Scanlily's Ultra plan supports multiple sites and locations for picking, sending, and transferring stock. ^[3] Scanlily allows users to download all their data, images, and attachments anytime without subscription lock-in. ^[3] A vendor moving stock between a studio and a show could ask how a transfer is recorded.

What can Avery Design & Print do for a craft fair vendor's box labels?

Avery provides blank labels that customers print themselves and free templates and designs. ^[4] ^[4] Avery has no minimum orders. ^[4]

Free: 3 test boxes per device without an account; with a free account, 10 boxes, 25 AI reads and up to 4 photos a box. ^[1]

Try Packing Buddy