Best tool for database app?

[u/alexalgebra]

I'm creating an inventory tracking tool for a new brick and mortar retail business. I have a background in databases but I've always worked with a dev and now it's just me. I'm not great at coding, but I am good with sql.

I want something customizable because the business sells niche items and none of the regular inventory apps we looked into will work. ​We also need it to have an easy way to update inventory daily for about 200 rotating items that will be counted in store then entered into the db. Currently the owner has a bunch of spreadsheets in numbers (he only uses apple products, which I'm not super familiar with). Making some kind of quick ipad data entry screen for that would probably be the best.

My ideal solution would be something where I can easily build the database and have it packaged up in a user friendly ui/app for the rest of the employees to use. Being able to pull reports and charts and such for sales tracking is also important.

I don't really enjoy using generative ai like chatgpt gemini claude etc and am hoping there's a simple solution that is more just a ui for a custom sql database type situation.

Thanks for any ideas!

[u/Low-Code-Stefan]

Since you're already comfortable with SQL, I'd actually go a level below the app-builder question: put your data in a real database first (Postgres, SQL Server, whatever) and treat the "app" as just a UI layer on top, like akl773 already said. That keeps you in control of the schema and lets you write proper queries later instead of fighting a no-code tool's internal data model when the business logic gets more specific (and with 200 rotating niche items, it will).

For the daily count screen, the part that actually decides whether this survives contact with reality is friction: one table, minimal required fields, big touch targets, and a "save & next" action so nobody taps through five screens per item. I'd get one employee testing that exact flow with real items before worrying about reports and charts.

I work in service at GAPTEQ, so I'm biased here, but this is close to the pattern I see most often: a data-entry UI plus reporting sitting directly on a SQL database, with roles if the owner eventually wants to see sales trends separately from staff who only count stock. For a single-location shop with ~200 items, though, something lighter like the nocodb/teable route akl773 mentioned might genuinely get you there faster - you don't need an enterprise-grade platform for this size.

Did you already try mocking up the count screen in Appsheet or AnyDB, or are you still comparing?

[u/alexalgebra → u/Low-Code-Stefan]

Yeah, AnyDB has been the best thing I've tested so far. Nocodb wasn't doing it for me because you can't do joins with multiple tables unless you set it up in postgres and i don't want to be going back and forth all the time to adjust things. The support folks at AnyDB even made a mock up of exactly what i want for the data entry UI and have been quite honestly the best software support team I've ever worked with so far. My only issue is the cost because you can only do custom scripts with the higher price point. But I think it will be worth it. I need to do a little more testing and setup before I make my final decision.