Tracking inventory means always knowing how many of each product you have, where it is, and what it's worth. Done well, it tells you what to reorder before you run out, shows you what's been lost or damaged, and gives you the stock value your accountant asks for at year end.
The secret is not counting more often. It's letting every sale and every delivery change the count for you, so the number stays right between counts.
1. Set up your items
Each thing you sell is an item, with its price, its cost and a category. Products you keep stock of have Keep count of its stock ticked; services like repairs don't.
Give each item a cost: it's what makes your stock value and your profit right. If you buy by the case and sell by the bag, set the case up to break down into bags, and each bag takes its share of the case's cost.
Moving from Shopify? Import your products and stock instead of typing them.
2. Count everything once
Your first count sets the starting point. Open Counts, choose the location, and type what's on the shelf. You can count one category at a time; only the boxes you fill in are saved. See Count your stock.
3. Let sales and deliveries do the work
From then on, the count follows what happens:
- Sales take stock out at the location they came from, at the counter or on an invoice.
- Deliveries you receive against a purchase order put stock in, and each item's cost follows what you paid.
- Moves between locations, such as the shop and a storage unit, take it from one and add it to the other.
Every change is kept in the item's History, with the reason, so when a number looks wrong you can see why.
4. Count again, a little at a time
Things still go missing, get damaged or turn up. Rather than shutting the shop for a full count, count a shelf or a category every week. The difference from what IAPZ had is recorded with a reason, such as Damaged or Lost or stolen. See How to do a stock count.
5. Know what to reorder
Give each item a low-stock level. Its stock then shows red when it's at or below that level, and amber when it's running low. The Reorder report lists what's low, grouped by supplier, with how many to order, and starts the purchase order for you. See Stock reports.
6. Know what it's worth
The Value report shows your stock at cost, in total, by category and by location: the figure for your books.