Keep track of stock

Inventory is one stock list for Personal or the selected team. Each item is a kind of thing you keep, such as a 330 ml can of cola or a bag of flour, and its stock is recorded in pools.

Inventory is separate from the stock of Store's products. To sell Inventory stock in Store from one count, link the product; see Sell Inventory stock in Store.

Pools

A pool is a place or a purpose stock is kept for: the café, the back store room, the online store. The same item can have stock in several pools, so 30 cans of cola for the café and 30 for the online store are two balances of one item. Moving stock between pools is recorded as a move.

Inventory starts with one pool, Main stock, the first time someone who can record stock opens it. A team admin can rename it like any other pool.

Pools are listed in Settings under Pools, where team admins add them. A pool's page lists what it holds and what is running low there, with Count this pool and Receive a delivery. Team admins change its name and description on the page, and archive it with More, then Archive pool. An archived pool keeps its history and is no longer offered when stock is recorded; Restore pool brings it back. A pool that still holds stock, has open orders or has Store products linked to it cannot be archived.

Add an item

On Items, choose Add item, then give its name and the unit it is counted in:

• each for things counted one by one, such as cans or boxes;
• a weight, such as g, kg, oz or lb, for things weighed;
• a volume, such as ml, L, fl oz or gal, for liquids.

Stock is shown in that unit. You can change the unit later, under Shown in, to another of the same kind, such as from grams to kilograms. You cannot change an item from counted to weighed once stock or pack sizes are recorded; add a new item instead.

On the item's page, set its category, SKU, barcode, tags and notes. A category groups items for browsing and counting (see Categories below); tags are free labels, and an item can have several. Type a tag and press Enter or a comma to add it; each change to the tags is saved at once. Add Pack sizes such as Case holding 24 each, with the barcode on the outer pack if it has one, so stock can be typed in cases.

Categories

Each item can be in one category, for browsing Items by category and for counting one category at a time. Team admins, and you in Personal, add categories:

• On an item's page, open Category and choose Add a category… at the end of the list. Enter the name and choose Add category. The category is added and the item is put in it.
• In Settings, under Categories, choose Add category. You rename and archive categories on the same page.

A name that a category already has, in any capitals, uses that category, and restores it if it was archived. Other members choose from the team's categories; while the team has none, an item's Category says that team admins add them in Settings.

An item in an archived category keeps it until you change the item. Its Category shows the name with (archived), and other items are no longer offered it.

Find an item

Items lists every item with its usable stock across the pools. Search finds names, SKUs and barcodes. The filters narrow the list to one pool, category or tag, and the list can be sorted by name, usable stock or most recently changed. Running low lists what needs ordering (see Order from suppliers and receive deliveries), and Archived lists archived items.

To stop using an item, choose More, then Archive item on its page. Its stock and history are kept, and it is no longer listed or offered when stock is recorded. Restore item brings it back.

Record stock

On an item's page:

• Record opening stock sets what is in a pool when you start using Inventory. Optionally enter what it cost, which sets the item's average cost.
• Add or remove stock changes a pool's stock with a reason: a correction, stock found, a sample or tasting, staff use, or another reason with a note.
• Waste records stock that was lost, with a reason such as expired, spoiled, damaged, dropped, or lost or stolen. History lists it as Wasted. Waste logged in Daily Operations is recorded the same way.
• Move to another pool takes stock from one pool and adds it to another.
• Hold back or release keeps stock in its pool but stops it counting as usable, for a suspect delivery or a recall. Held-back stock is listed on the item.

Deliveries from suppliers are recorded with Receive a delivery; see Order from suppliers and receive deliveries. A full count is recorded under Counts; see Count stock.

Unless a team admin turns on Allow stock below zero in Settings, a change that would take more than a pool holds is refused, and the message says how much is there. Store sales are always recorded.

Lots and expiry dates

Turn on Lots or batches for an item to record a lot code with each delivery, and Expiry dates to record when each delivery expires. The item's page lists each lot in each pool with its expiry date.

Running low

Set a Minimum and an Order-up-to level for an item in each pool on the item's page. Running low on Items lists every item below its minimum in a pool, counting what is already on order, with an order that brings it up to its order-up-to level from its usual supplier. Tick the items and choose Draft orders; see Order from suppliers and receive deliveries.

History and reversing a change

History lists every stock change, newest first, with who made it, a page at a time. Filter it by pool or by kind of change, such as Received, Moved or Wasted. An item's page lists its own latest changes. Open a change to see each line, with a link to the delivery or count it came from, or to Store or Daily Operations.

A team admin can reverse a change once, with More, then Reverse this change, and a reason. The reversal records the opposite of every line, and both stay in the history. A reversal cannot itself be reversed; record the change again instead. Changes are never edited.

Costs, value and export

An item's average cost comes from deliveries and opening stock entered with a cost. The item's page shows what its usable stock is worth at that cost. Download stock (CSV) on Items lists every item in every pool, with each lot and held-back quantity on its own row, its quantity and its value.

Costs, prices, order totals and values are shown to people who can change Inventory. Members of a team whose members can only view do not see them, in Inventory or in the CSV.

Settings

Settings in Inventory applies to Personal or the selected team. Team admins change it; other members see what is set.

• Allow stock below zero: see Record stock above.
• Review counts that differ by: see Count stock.
• Categories: add, rename and archive the categories items are grouped by; see Categories above.
• Pools: see Pools above.
• Currency: the currency of prices, costs and the value of stock. Inventory uses US dollars until a team admin chooses another. Amounts already recorded are not converted.
• Orders that need approval: see Order from suppliers and receive deliveries.

Who can do what

Team admins, and you in Personal, can do everything, including settings, pools, categories, approvals and reversing a change. Other members can record stock and orders when the team's members can edit, and can only read Inventory, without costs, when they can view.

For questions about stock records, contact Contact support.