Notes from the Fishbowl trenches
How-tos, field reports, and the things we actually run into on engagements: reconciliation, inventory accuracy, reporting, and integrations.
All posts
Setting and enforcing boundaries with AI models
A model that politely refuses one request will quietly try the same thing when you word it differently. Here's what we found running 13 AI models against our Fishbowl connector, twice, and why the boundary that stops them lives on our server, not in the model.
October 30, 2026 · 5 min →Connect ILC MCP to Fishbowl and ChatGPT
Connect ChatGPT to your live Fishbowl data with ILC MCP: add a custom MCP server under Plugins, sign in with your own Fishbowl login, grant read-only scopes, and ask questions in plain English. Here's every step.
October 28, 2026 · 4 min →Connect ILC MCP to Fishbowl and Claude.ai
Connect Claude to your live Fishbowl data with ILC MCP: add a custom connector, let Claude auto-detect OAuth, sign in with your own Fishbowl login, and grant read-only scopes. Claude asks before each query. Here's every step.
October 28, 2026 · 4 min →Connect ILC MCP to Fishbowl and Claude Code
Connect Claude Code to your live Fishbowl data with ILC MCP from the terminal: add a remote HTTP MCP server with claude mcp add, authenticate over OAuth with your own Fishbowl login, and query read-only. Here's every step.
October 28, 2026 · 3 min →Connect ILC MCP to Fishbowl and Gemini
Connect Google's Gemini to your live Fishbowl data with ILC MCP: add a custom app under Connected Apps, point it at your MCP URL, and link it with your own Fishbowl login over OAuth. Here's every step.
October 28, 2026 · 3 min →Connect ILC MCP to Fishbowl and OpenCode
Connect OpenCode to your live Fishbowl data with ILC MCP: add a remote MCP server to opencode.json, authenticate with your own Fishbowl login over OAuth, and query read-only from the terminal. Here's every step.
October 28, 2026 · 3 min →What happens between your AI chat and your Fishbowl database
When an AI assistant asks your Fishbowl a question through ILC MCP, the request passes six checks and then runs under row, time and size limits. Here's each one, what it stops, and what you control.
October 27, 2026 · 6 min →Am I faster than an AI at Fishbowl SQL?
I've written Fishbowl SQL for 18 years. I raced Claude Haiku, Sonnet and Opus on three questions I hadn't seen, with and without ILC MCP. I was the slowest every time, but the interesting part is what the AI needed to get it right.
October 20, 2026 · 5 min →How to write 4 reports with AI in Fishbowl
A live demo: one chat with Claude and ILC MCP builds an open picks report as a Data module query, a CloudPage, a Jasper report and a BI Report, installs each one in Fishbowl, then puts a dashboard on a TV.
October 20, 2026 · 4 min →Can an AI assistant build a Fishbowl BI Report?
Fishbowl's BI Report module shows web reports inside Fishbowl with no plugin to install. With ILC MCP, an AI assistant builds a BI Report the same way it builds a CloudPage report, previews it on your data, and installs it when you say so.
October 19, 2026 · 3 min →Can an AI assistant build a Fishbowl CloudPage?
CloudPages are pages that open inside Fishbowl. With ILC MCP, an AI assistant drafts one from a chat, previews it on your live Fishbowl data, fixes the problems the preview reports, and installs it when you say so.
October 19, 2026 · 4 min →Can your AI assistant run your Fishbowl Data module queries?
Many Fishbowl teams already have useful queries in Fishbowl's Data module. With ILC MCP, people can find and run them from their AI assistant, and the AI can save new ones into the Data module.
October 19, 2026 · 3 min →Can an AI assistant build a Fishbowl Jasper report?
Jasper reports are Fishbowl's original printed reports. With ILC MCP, an AI assistant drafts one from scratch or from an existing report, tests the query, compiles it on the JasperReports version Fishbowl runs, and installs it where you choose. A browser editor lets a person adjust the layout alongside it.
October 19, 2026 · 5 min →What is an MCP Query?
An MCP Query is a Fishbowl query an admin approves once and saves in ILC MCP. Your team runs it from their AI assistant, each person can see only their own rows, and every change is a version you can roll back.
October 19, 2026 · 4 min →Can an AI assistant build a Fishbowl report and install it?
ILC MCP now lets an AI assistant build MCP Queries, Data Module Queries, CloudPages, BI Reports and Jasper reports for Fishbowl. The AI drafts and checks each one, asks before it installs, and keeps every version so you can roll back.
October 18, 2026 · 4 min →When AI makes things up in Fishbowl, and the limits that catch it
In our test of 19 AI models on a Fishbowl database, models invented tables, faked tool results, and one changed our server's settings without being asked. Here is what those hallucinations look like in practice, and why the connection to Fishbowl needs its own limits.
October 7, 2026 · 5 min →Do you need the most expensive AI model for Fishbowl questions?
We connected 19 AI models to a Fishbowl database and tracked what each answer cost. Asked directly, seven budget models found the right stock every time, at $0.002 to $0.10 an answer. The premium models earned their price when the question was vague.
October 7, 2026 · 4 min →Ask AI what's in Fishbowl, not how to find it
We connected 19 AI models to the same Fishbowl database and asked about expiring stock two ways. "What inventory expires in the next 30 days?" got the right stock 79% of the time. "How to find" it got 29%.
October 7, 2026 · 4 min →Can you run AI for Fishbowl on your own hardware?
We ran open AI models on one rented GPU and connected them to a Fishbowl database. Qwen 3.8 27B found the right stock in all 8 of its runs, at under a cent an answer. The smaller models didn't, and some failed for reasons a hosted service handles for you.
October 7, 2026 · 4 min →Why does AI make up Fishbowl table names?
We asked 19 AI models which Fishbowl inventory expires in the next 30 days. Answering from memory, 3% of their answers worked. Most gave general steps, and the SQL the rest wrote used tables that don't exist. With read-only access to the database, 79% found the right stock.
October 6, 2026 · 4 min →Why I probably won't write a report ever again
A custom Fishbowl report can be a query, a printed Jasper report, a BI dashboard, or a CloudPage. Here is how to pick the right kind for your team, what ILC MCP does today to get the data right, and what we're building next.
October 5, 2026 · 5 min →Reconciling Fishbowl with QuickBooks or Xero in one AI chat
When Fishbowl and your books disagree, finding why means comparing two systems. With ILC MCP reading Fishbowl and your accounting system's own connector reading the books, one chat can line them up.
October 5, 2026 · 5 min →From idea to app: designing a Fishbowl tool with ILC MCP and CloudPages
Some Fishbowl jobs need a tool your team uses every day, like a packing list printer. ILC MCP can explore your real Fishbowl data and draft the tool with you, and our CloudPages developers build it inside Fishbowl.
October 5, 2026 · 5 min →Multiplayer Fishbowl: working several databases from one chat
If your business runs more than one Fishbowl database, orders between sites and reports across them are mostly manual. With an AI agent connected to each system, one chat can run a site-to-site order flow or compare data across sites.
October 5, 2026 · 5 min →When not to use an MCP: AI agents versus integrations for Fishbowl
An AI agent connected to Fishbowl is good at questions and one-off jobs a person checks. Recurring, unattended data flows need an integration that does the same thing every time. Here is how to tell which one a job needs.
October 5, 2026 · 5 min →You asked AI about Fishbowl and got a wrong answer. Here's why.
General AI chats answer Fishbowl questions from old forum posts and guesses, without seeing your data. Here is why the answers go wrong, and what changes when the AI is connected to your Fishbowl, current documentation, and people who know it.
October 5, 2026 · 5 min →What does an agent-assisted Fishbowl implementation look like?
Most of a Fishbowl implementation is getting data in, in the right order, through imports that reject a whole line over one bad column. Here is how your team could load it by conversation with an AI agent, and what we check along the way.
October 4, 2026 · 5 min →When your Fishbowl database does not spark joy
Units of measure, costs, and old setup can make a live Fishbowl database hard to fix in place, and a clean rebuild is often faster. Here is the before and after of doing it with two AI connectors: one reading the old system, one loading the new one.
October 4, 2026 · 5 min →What is agentic ERP, and what would it look like with Fishbowl?
Agentic ERP means AI agents that read your ERP data, decide on a next step, and carry it out with a person's approval. Here is what the big vendors are shipping, where these projects fail, and how it could work for a business running Fishbowl.
October 4, 2026 · 6 min →Where does Fishbowl save the QuickBooks Class for scrap and cycle count adjustments?
The QuickBooks Class picked on a Fishbowl scrap or cycle count adjustment is saved to the post table, not any inventory table, which is why no built-in report shows it.
September 18, 2026 · 4 min →Adventures in Accounting: The Two Entries a Fishbowl Credit Return Posts to QuickBooks
Return goods to a vendor in Fishbowl and QuickBooks Online gets a Vendor Credit plus a mysterious $0.00 journal entry. Here's what that second entry is, why it appears whenever the return price differs from your carried cost, and why it's correct.
July 15, 2026 · 5 min →Can Fishbowl print and scan 2D barcodes today?
What Fishbowl's label designer, UPC fields, and scanning clients actually do with QR codes and GS1 DataMatrix — and where the real Sunrise 2027 work is.
July 9, 2026 · 4 min read →GS1 Digital Link vs. your part numbers: keeping GTINs sane in Fishbowl
Sunrise 2027 barcodes carry GTIN, lot, expiry, and serial in one symbol. How that data model collides with Fishbowl part numbers, UPC fields, and tracking, and how to map it without making a mess.
July 9, 2026 · 4 min read →Sunrise 2027: what it actually requires from your Fishbowl implementation (and what it doesn't)
GS1's Sunrise 2027 is a retail point-of-sale initiative, not a warehouse mandate. Who it touches, how it reaches your Fishbowl implementation through trading partners, and what's worth doing about it in 2026.
July 9, 2026 · 4 min read →A 2026 timeline for brands: what to do about Sunrise 2027 this year
Sunrise 2027 is next year. Here's what a small or mid-size brand should actually do in the second half of 2026, in order — and what can safely wait.
July 9, 2026 · 4 min read →2D scanner readiness for the warehouse, not just the register
Sunrise 2027 coverage focuses on retail POS, but 2D barcodes will show up on your inbound cartons too. Here's how to audit your warehouse scanner fleet before they do.
July 9, 2026 · 4 min read →Which 2D scanners to actually buy: Zebra DS models, refurbs, and what the cheap ones can't do
Our standing recommendation for 2D barcode scanners — Zebra DS-series imagers, new or refurbished — and the specific configurability you give up when you buy a $40 scanner from Amazon.
July 9, 2026 · 4 min read →Fishbowl Queries, Part 1 (with Israel, Aleksa, and guest AJ Murrer)
Watch Israel teach a new student, AJ Murrer, the basics of Fishbowl database queries and SQL joins to help with reporting.
April 26, 2021 →Check out the Learn SQL Series on YouTube!
Our Learn SQL Series teaches the basics of SQL and Fishbowl Inventory through clear, informative videos on YouTube.
May 20, 2020 →NetSuite and Fishbowl: Let's Break it Down
A look at NetSuite and Fishbowl for inventory management, comparing the two systems for growing businesses.
April 21, 2020 →Podcast Transcript (Episode 1: Go Live)
Transcript of the first ILC Business Podcast episode, where Israel Lopez and Joshua Klar introduce the show and share their backgrounds.
January 27, 2020 →BI Script For Fishbowl Inventory
An early look at Fishbowl's new BI Script reporting: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript reports replacing iReport, why it changed, and how to prepare.
August 17, 2019 →Fishbowl Inventory: Business Intelligence in 2018
A look at the Business Intelligence options in Fishbowl's 2018.7 release, from Legacy Reports and the Data Module to Excel ODBC, Power BI, Tableau, and BI Script.
August 4, 2018 →Adventures in SSL: TLS 1.2 & Klipfolio
How an old Windows Server 2008 box broke TLS 1.2 and stopped our KExtract tool from publishing data to Klipfolio, and why upgrading was the fix.
March 14, 2017 →Strategies for Inventory Control
A bit of inventory humor after a busy on-site, sparked by a conversation about inventory aging strategies.
February 22, 2017 →Microsoft Dynamics Navision 2017 - Register Interest
We are gauging interest in a Fishbowl to Microsoft Dynamics Navision integration, including a phased path from QuickBooks to full Navision.
February 15, 2017 →Fishbowl 2017 Audit Table List
A reference list of the Fishbowl 2017 audit tables (suffixed with _AUD), plus an example query for reading them.
February 6, 2017 →Fishbowl 2017: ILC Software Compatibility List
An up to date list of ILC software ready for Fishbowl 2017, with status notes for Beep1, KExtract, and the ShipWorks and ShipRush integrations.
February 6, 2017 →Upgrade Policy for Fishbowl 2017 Integrations
How ILC handles upgrading existing Fishbowl integrations and custom software for the Fishbowl 2017 release, including cost and scheduling policy.
February 6, 2017 →Preparing for Fishbowl 2017
Fishbowl 2017 moves the database engine from Firebird to MySQL. Here is what changes, the risks, and how to prepare for the upgrade.
February 6, 2017 →Adventures in Accounting: Broken and Corrupted QuickBooks Files
Two QuickBooks corruption cases in one week: the errors we saw, how we found them with Verify Data, and how to recover and prevent it.
November 25, 2016 →Automate Paper Invoicing with Lob
How we use Lob to mail paper invoices like a web service: send a PDF and address, skip the print, stuff, and stamp routine, and save staff hours.
November 14, 2016 →Fishbowl 2016.13: Unable to Export/Connect to QuickBooks Desktop
Changes in Fishbowl 2016.13 break the QuickBooks Desktop connection for some users. Here are the symptoms, root cause, and the fix.
November 13, 2016 →Allocated, Committed, Fulfilled Oh My: Explaining Inventory Status in Fishbowl
A simple Excel chart that walks through the inventory status changes a part goes through in Fishbowl, from allocated to committed to fulfilled.
October 21, 2016 →Evaluating the Clover Mini for Fishbowl
ILC is testing a Clover Mini developer kit to bring chip, NFC, and Apple Pay payments into Fishbowl as an integrated point of sale option.
October 19, 2016 →How to Divorce Your ERP Consultant
A real Fishbowl story about migrating off an old ERP, plus five practical steps for leaving your ERP consultant on good terms.
October 16, 2016 →Adventures in Accounting: Where are your backups?
A set of practical questions to ask about your business backups, plus a real QuickBooks crash story from a customer site before a trip to Australia.
September 26, 2016 →Shipping Solutions for Fishbowl
A 2016 review of shipping solutions for Fishbowl: carrier apps, third-party shipping apps, and developer tools, with notes on how each integrates.
September 5, 2016 →Adventures in Accounting: Reconciling Inventory Asset
Why QuickBooks and Fishbowl inventory valuations drift apart, the risks it creates, what causes it, and how to fix it.
August 29, 2016 →Beep1 Hardware: Intermec CN50 Initial Impressions
First impressions of the Intermec CN50, a Windows Mobile 6.1 warehouse computer running Beep1 for inventory management.
August 24, 2016 →Fishbowl and QuickBooks Enhanced Receiving
Why QuickBooks Enhanced Inventory Receiving breaks the standard Fishbowl reconciliation workflow and leaves Inventory Asset unadjusted.
August 23, 2016 →How to make iReport for Fishbowl Faster
Speed up iReport file compilation for Fishbowl by adding only the JAR files you actually need to the classpath instead of all of them.
March 26, 2016 →Reviewing Fishbowl Anywhere
A look at Fishbowl Anywhere, with a walkthrough video and a playlist of real-world tests of the remote Fishbowl client.
January 20, 2016 →Power BI for Fishbowl Warehouse and Manufacturing
A walkthrough video on using Microsoft Power BI for reporting and analytics with Fishbowl warehouse and manufacturing data.
December 20, 2015 →Excel 2016 and Fishbowl: New Query Features
A short video walkthrough of the new query features in Excel 2016 and how they work with Fishbowl Inventory data.
December 13, 2015 →The Dirty Secret of Benchmarks: How Your Server Could Be Holding You Back
Many servers ship in an Eco mode that quietly caps performance. Ask your IT pro whether High Performance is turned on.
November 15, 2015 →Fishbowl 2015.9 Warehouse and Manufacturing: Release Highlights
A walkthrough video covering the highlights of the Fishbowl 2015.9 Warehouse and Manufacturing release.
September 17, 2015 →Klipfolio for Fishbowl: Business Dashboards
How to build cloud business dashboards for Fishbowl Inventory using Klipfolio, including how it works, what it costs, and how to get started.
August 19, 2015 →Fishbowl Warehouse & Manufacturing 2015.8 - Release Highlights
A video review of the Fishbowl 2015.8 release, plus a Windows 7 vs Windows 10 font comparison on the Sales Order report with downloadable PDFs.
August 15, 2015 →Fishbowl Warehouse & Manufacturing 2015.7 - Release Highlights
A video walkthrough of the highlights in the Fishbowl Warehouse and Manufacturing 2015.7 release.
July 21, 2015 →Introduction to SQL for Fishbowl Warehouse & Manufacturing - Free!
Announcing a free premium online course on SQL for Fishbowl Warehouse and Manufacturing, free for signups until July 1st.
May 25, 2015 →Fishbowl Warehouse & Manufacturing 2015.5: Dropbox Integration and Shipping Automation
Fishbowl 2015.5 release notes from 5/14/2015: new Dropbox and Magento integrations, Xero accounting options, and shipping carton automation.
May 14, 2015 →Fishbowl Warehouse at 500 Miles Per Hour
Notes from a Fishbowl USA visit and a plan to build resilient Fishbowl Warehouse and Mobile Warehouse solutions for poor connectivity.
May 11, 2015 →Fishbowl Inventory System Administrator Guide - 1st Edition
A one-page guide for the System Administrator or IT company supporting a Fishbowl Inventory deployment, with a downloadable PDF.
May 6, 2015 →Fishbowl Inventory 2015.4: Shipping Invoices and Xero
A walkthrough of the Fishbowl Inventory 2015.4 release, including the new Xero accounting integration and improved shipping invoices.
April 13, 2015 →How to Setup ODBC for Fishbowl Inventory
Walkthrough videos and the Firebird ODBC driver and client DLL downloads you need to connect to Fishbowl Inventory over ODBC.
April 11, 2015 →Becoming a Xero Certified Advisor: Xero Tracked Inventory
Now Xero certified. A quick run through of Xero's new Tracked Inventory feature and where it falls short of Fishbowl Inventory.
March 29, 2015 →How To Create Refreshable Excel Data from Fishbowl Inventory
A short video walkthrough plus the ODBC setup and Fishbowl user group links for building refreshable Excel data from Fishbowl Inventory.
March 29, 2015 →Fishbowl Inventory hints at a Xero Integration?
A new Fishbowl Inventory video mentions Xero, hinting at an integration alongside the existing QuickBooks Desktop support.
March 9, 2015 →Fishbowl Inventory 2015.3: Voiding Shipments!
A walkthrough of the Fishbowl Inventory 2015.3 release, including voiding shipped orders, math in number fields, over picking, and pricing updates.
February 14, 2015 →Why Custom Software is Good For Business
Off-the-shelf software rarely fits a business perfectly. Here is why custom-built software can turn a problem into a competitive advantage.
February 11, 2015 →Fishbowl Inventory 2015.2: Part Tracking and Picking Updates
A look at Fishbowl 2015.2: auto-generated part tracking numbers, a can-I-pick-complete indicator, and pick user assignment in the Pick module.
December 21, 2014 →A Crash Course in iReport
A recorded video answering a common question: what is it like writing reports in iReport?
November 24, 2014 →Fishbowl Inventory 2015.1 - The Update You Have Been Waiting For
A walkthrough of the best Fishbowl Inventory updates in the 2015.1 release: Document Auto Sync, the Data Module, LDAP authentication, and much more.
November 21, 2014 →New Fishbowl Inventory Introduction Videos
Fishbowl released two new videos this month promoting the warehouse and manufacturing sides of their inventory software.
November 21, 2014 →The Fishbowl Open House
Notes from the Fishbowl Inventory open house in Orem, Utah, covering the rewritten persistence layer, UI improvements, and a mid-market focus for 2015.
November 19, 2014 →New Case Study: Stego Industries Now Online
A new case study covering Business Intelligence and Fishbowl work done for Stego Industries is now live on the site.
November 14, 2014 →Just Announced: Fishbowl SQL and iReport Courses
New online video courses for Fishbowl Inventory customers covering SQL, iReport, and best practices, starting January 2015.
November 12, 2014 →A New Way To Price Freight: Freightview
Freightview pulls your real LTL freight rates from major carriers in one place, replacing slow phone and online quote shopping for shippers.
May 22, 2014 →