Questions, answered before you pay
Including the answers that lose sales. A refund costs more than an honest paragraph.
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Is this a subscription?
No. You pay once. The licence is perpetual for the 1.x version line, which means you keep using what you bought for as long as you like and every 1.x update is included. A future major version may be a paid upgrade.
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Can I try it before paying?
No. The installer is free to download, but right after the first-run setup the application asks for a licence key and waits there — there is no trial mode and no read-only mode. What you can do before buying is read this site: the feature pages, the comparison and the list of what the application deliberately does not do are as specific as they are precisely so nobody buys the wrong thing.
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Does it work without internet?
Yes. Your data is a local database and every screen works offline. Two things need a connection: the update check, and the AI assistant if you choose to configure one. Neither is required to use the application.
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How many computers does one licence cover?
One computer, plus a second installation on a device used only by you — a laptop, say — as long as both are not in use at the same time. That is the whole rule; it is in the licence terms.
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Is it multi-user? Can two people work at once?
No. BasicInventory runs on one computer for one person at a time. There is no server, no network mode and no shared database. If several people need to write to the same stock simultaneously, this is not the right tool.
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Where is my data, and can I get it out?
In a single SQLite file under %APPDATA%\BasicInventory. Back it up in one click to any folder you like, restore it from inside the application, and export any list to CSV that opens in Excel. Nothing is held hostage.
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Do you see my inventory?
No. There is no account, no telemetry and no server: the application never sends your data anywhere. The only exception is the AI assistant, and only if you set one up — then your questions and the rows needed to answer them go to the provider whose key you entered.
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Do I need an OpenAI key?
Only if you want the assistant. It is off until you add a key from OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini or OpenRouter, and the cost lands on that account, not on us. Everything else works untouched.
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Windows only?
Yes — Windows 10 and 11, 64-bit. There is no macOS or Linux build, and Windows on ARM is not supported.
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Windows says the publisher is unrecognised. Is that normal?
Yes, for now: the installer is not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen warns. Every release publishes the SHA-256 of its installer so you can verify the download before running it. A signing certificate is on the list.
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How do updates work?
They are offered, never imposed. A new version shows as a strip at the top of the window; you can read what changed, install it when it suits you, or skip that version. Settings can always check again.
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What happens to my data if I uninstall?
Uninstalling asks whether to delete it, with “keep” preselected — so a reinstall picks up exactly where you left off. Your backups folder is never touched either way.
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I lost my licence key.
Ask through the store you bought from; your order is there and the key can be reissued. Restoring a backup also carries the licence with it, so moving to a new computer usually needs nothing.
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Does it print labels, handle barcodes or track sales?
No. It holds no prices, no invoices and no customers, and there is no barcode scanning or label printing. It is stock control: what you have, where it is, and what moved.
Still not answered?
Ask in the public repository — the discussions are open and the answer helps whoever asks next.
Ask a questionBuy it once. Use it for as long as it is useful.
The price rises every five licences sold and never comes back down. Whatever you pay today is what this copy cost, for good.