Inventory tracking is the way Retail POS automatically maintains accurate and up-to-date product stock levels as products are sold and ensures these are replenished when required.
Your products are constantly moving — they’re sold to customers, arriving from your suppliers, or being moved around different outlets. Inventory tracking allows you to know what you have, how many, and where.
It also allows your customers to know what is available through your e-Commerce platform and ensures that you don’t oversell an out-of-stock product accidentally.
Equally important is that inventory tracking allows Retail POS to generate reporting around best-selling products, where they are selling the most, how much replenishment is required, and when.
To learn how to set up and use inventory tracking, click the drop-downs below:
Information your product(s) need to track inventory
In order to make the most of inventory tracking, there are a few information points your products require. Refer to the below list for what they are.
All of this information is contained within each individual product, which you can find by navigating to Catalog > Products > Edit product.
| Information | What it does |
|---|---|
| "Track inventory for this product" enabled |
The Track inventory for this product checkbox within each product is the most critical setting for tracking inventory. Without it, the product will display an infinite stock level and allow it to be sold regardless of stock availability.
|
| SKU (stock-keeping unit) code |
The SKU is the unique identifier for a product's stock item. It can be a code you make up and use yourself, or it could be an existing code belonging to the product already, such as the barcode. Retail POS will automatically generate a unique SKU code for a new product. However, if you already have an existing SKU/barcode for the product, you can choose to enter the SKU manually.
|
| Supplier |
The name of your supplier used to differentiate between multiple suppliers. |
| Supplier code |
An optional unique identifier. This can be a supplier's internal SKU/barcode for the product used to help them identify the product when re-ordering.
|
| Supplier price |
The Supplier price is important for generating reports once you start selling, and we highly recommend inputting this for each product if available.
|
| Current inventory |
The quantity that is currently in stock at each outlet. See the Important note below for more. |
| Re-order point | The minimum Current inventory quantity at which the product will be re-ordered once reached. This is not an automatic refill value. Learn how it is used in our How To Order Stock guide. |
| Re-order quantity | How many items will be re-ordered when the Re-order point is reached. This is not an automatic refill value, learn how it is used in our How To Order Stock guide. |
Important
While you can add your Re-order point and your Re-order quantity, it is recommended you leave the Current inventory levels blank when adding a product.
Inventory should be added through the Order stock function for your reporting purposes.
Learn how to order stock with our How to order stock guide.
Integrating inventory tracking with e-Commerce
With all e-Commerce integrations (Lightspeed eCom, Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce), inventory is synced between the platforms, and inventory tracking is maintained within Retail POS.
You can learn more about integration-specific settings by clicking the integration you're currently using below:
How inventory tracking feeds into reporting
Using Retail POS inventory reports will help you answer the most important questions about your products: what you have, what you need, and what makes you money.
Navigate to Reporting > Inventory reports. If you have our advanced reporting, you can access three different reports:
- Summary report: Overview of the inventory you have available to sell.
- Replenishment report: For products you reorder regularly, this helps you make quick decisions about what to order and how much you need.
- Performance report: Dig deeper into your products, categories, and outlets to understand what is performing well and how to improve your profitability.
For more on why you should use Inventory reports, refer to our guide here.