Inventory Module Add-On
Updated
by Tyler MacDonald
ShopVOX offers a robust inventory feature, allowing you to efficiently monitor inventory within your Pro account without the need for redundant data entry in external inventory programs or spreadsheets. Below, we address frequently asked questions from individuals considering the addition of inventory tracking to their accounts.
For further inquiries about the suitability of the ShopVOX Inventory add-on for your specific requirements, please feel free to contact us at billing@shopvox.com. If you have not yet subscribed to the Pro plan, kindly reach out to your dedicated sales representative. We are here to assist you.
Determine the need for Inventory Control
Determining the necessity of inventory control involves addressing specific challenges you aim to overcome with inventory management. Ask yourself: Are you seeking to avoid shortages of essential materials? Is there another compelling reason driving your interest in inventory control? If these concerns resonate with your business needs, implementing inventory control is likely beneficial. However, if your vendor can reliably supply most of your inventory within a short time frame, the need may be less pronounced.
In essence, inventory control is about precisely understanding the whereabouts of crucial items and ensuring accurate accounting to address challenges related to their utilization.
Advantages of Inventory Management
Here are a few advantages, among others:
- Time Efficiency: Streamline your purchase order (PO) creation process by checking your stock levels before placing an order with a vendor. This helps save valuable time by ensuring you have the necessary materials in stock.
- Cost and Stress Reduction: Prevent stockouts and potential customer losses by identifying reserved inventory (allocated for other orders). Easily monitor materials that fall below their reorder points (ROPs), allowing proactive ordering and avoiding disruptions.
- Inventory Updates: Save time on inventory management within shopVOX with user-friendly tools and interfaces, making the process of updating inventory more efficient.
Leveraging shopVOX Inventory can enhance your operational efficiency, reduce costs, and contribute to a more organized and stress-free workflow.
How to update Inventory
How does shopVOX update inventory? There are three methods by which shopVOX maintains your inventory counts and levels. You have the flexibility to choose which products or materials you wish to track inventory for.
- Manual Update: A dedicated button appears on sales orders, invoices, purchase orders (POs), and material receipts. Pressing this button triggers an instant update of inventory levels.
- Auto Update: shopVOX offers the option for automatic inventory updates upon the creation of a sales order, invoice, PO, or material receipt.
- Manual Adjustment: This feature enables you to manually check items in or out of a specific location. Additionally, you can make adjustments to the on-hand quantity by adding or subtracting units, with all modifications logged for accountability.
While Manual Update is always available, requiring the manual pressing of a button before inventory is updated, Auto Update can be toggled on or off based on your preference. Although Manual Update cannot be turned off, both Manual and Auto Update functionalities can be utilized simultaneously. The third method, Manual Adjustment, is a separate process managed outside of regular transactions.
Management of inventory in Quickbooks?
You can manage inventory in QuickBooks; however, it's important to note that there is no bidirectional synchronization of inventory levels with shopVOX. To enable this functionality, you need to set the QuickBooks item type to an inventory item. It is crucial to familiarize yourself with QuickBooks' inventory management procedures. Additionally, please be aware that Bill of Materials (BOM) items do not synchronize with QuickBooks. Generally, QuickBooks is best suited for managing inventory categorized as "Product" rather than "Materials."
Managing inventory for apparel catalogs
shopVOX now enables tracking of apparel down to specific styles, sizes, and colors. For instance, you can precisely monitor quantities like 30 XS, 20 S, and 5 L for a particular item such as the Gildan 2000s. This meticulous tracking is facilitated through custom apparel catalogs, proving especially advantageous when creating a material requisition by providing visibility into unit quantities before generating purchase orders.
Does shopVOX track inventory for parts and raw materials?
Absolutely! You have the flexibility to track inventory at both the product and material levels. However, most businesses prefer tracking at the material level, where materials represent the raw goods utilized in the production of finished goods.
Does shopVOX track inventory for finished products?
Yes, shopVOX does track inventory for finished products. Although it's worth noting that many businesses don't typically maintain significant stock levels of finished products, as these are often bespoke items tailored to individual customers. shopVOX identifies the quantity of specific finished products without distinguishing between variations like a red banner and a blue banner—it simply registers that you have, for example, 2 banners.
Can I set up Reorder Points (ROPs)?
Certainly. You can manually establish Reorder Points (ROPs) one by one. It's important to note that ROPs must be configured manually by users and do not have an automatic creation feature.
shopVOX Inventory tracking
shopVOX Inventory tracks the following key fields, each serving a specific purpose in managing and monitoring your materials and products:
- Location: Identifies the physical location where the product is stored.
- Reorder Point: Indicates the threshold quantity at which the material or product should be reordered to maintain adequate stock levels.
- Qty on Hand: Represents the total quantity of the material or product available on hand, inclusive of quantities on sales orders.
- Calculation: Qty on Hand = Qty Available + Qty Reserved
- Qty Available: Specifies the quantity of the material or product that is available for new orders.
- Qty On PO (Purchase Order): Reflects the quantity currently listed on an outstanding 'Open' purchase order that has not yet been "Received."
- Qty Sold: Tracks the cumulative total quantity sold since the inception of tracking.
- Qty Reserved: Represents the quantity of the material or product that is "Reserved" for other open sales orders.
- Avg. Cost (Average Cost): Indicates the average cost of the products or materials based on quantities on hand.
- Total Value: Represents the total cost of the quantities on hand, providing an overview of the overall inventory value.
How does shopVOX manage inventory within a sales order?
Inventory in a sales order can be automatically consumed or manually adjusted based on your preferences. This flexibility is crucial, especially when modifications are made to a sales order by the customer. For instance, if you allocate a quantity of 1 for material ABC and 2 for material XYZ, the system adapts accordingly.
What if a mistake is made
In the event of an error in entering inventory data, you have the option to manually adjust the inventory to rectify and reconcile the mistake.
Can inventory be tracked with different Units of Measurement?
Certainly. We refer to this as "Buying Units," which can differ from the Unit of Measurement (UOM) used for selling the product to the end customer, known as "Selling Units." For example, if you sell vinyl by the square foot but purchase it by the roll, this distinction can be accommodated.
Can I monitor ink as inventory?
While it is possible to track ink as inventory, it's important to note that the accuracy might be limited, as only a printer can precisely measure ink levels. However, this feature is useful for obtaining rough estimates of ink consumption to determine when it's time to replenish and maintain fresh ink supplies.
Can I include scrap or wastage in inventory?
Automatically tracking scrap or wastage is not supported; manual adjustments are required for this purpose. You can precisely monitor total consumption through manual adjustments or automate the process by utilizing quantities derived from a product pricing template applied to an order or invoice—typically representing the same quantity charged to the customer.
Can it facilitate cycle counts?
While there isn't a specific "cycle count" report, shopVOX allows easy cycle counting directly from a smartphone or tablet, providing flexibility in managing inventory counts efficiently.
Can it do bar-code scanning?
You cannot connect a bar-code scanner to shopVOX directly. Check out our API documentation to see if there is anything you can do there.
What kind of reports can I pull?
Currently, our inventory reports offer fundamental information without incorporating advanced visualizations. Here are the available reports:
- Materials by Location:
- Provides details on materials, quantities, locations, check-out information, creators, updater, and associated sales orders with line items.
- Products by Location:
- Presents information on products, quantities, locations, check-out details, creators, updater, and associated sales orders with line items.
- Inventory Dashboard:
- Allows easy visibility of products below their Reorder Point (ROP) directly from the inventory dashboard.
- Export Reorder Points (ROP), Quantities, and Average Costs:
- Facilitates exporting ROPs, quantities, and average costs from the inventory dashboard in CSV format.
Is your inventory management foolproof?
No inventory management system is foolproof. It's crucial to recognize that the effectiveness of inventory control systems relies heavily on the accuracy of the data input. Mistakes, such as entering 50 instead of 500 when creating or receiving a purchase order, can lead to significant discrepancies. Therefore, regular cycle counting is an essential practice for any successful inventory system in any company. This ongoing verification process helps catch and rectify discrepancies, ensuring the integrity and reliability of the inventory data.
Screenshots of the Inventory Module:
Material Setting: You'll see something similar for products.
Inventory Dashboard:
