Introduction
In a small retail or service business, tracking your inventory can be a daunting task. Incoming inventory can be improperly received. The wrong item could be marked as sold or a new product could be exchanged for an old without a note being made. Our client discovered that left uncorrected, the task of getting inventory back in order can be very overwhelming.
Story
As a reputable service business with a small store front, our client met their goal of expansion to a new location. Along with increasing their service area, the retail space was also quadrupled. Product lines could now be showcased and demonstrated, increasing over the counter sales.
Previously having a small store front with little inventory on-hand, our client did not employ an inventory management system. Their inventory was used most in service and rolled into the cost for each job.
After relocating, it became rapidly apparent that inventory management was absolutely necessary. Retail inventory grew to over 300 products quickly and it was going out the door as soon as it came it. Service work was being delayed due to inventory shortages. Control had to be taken.
How We Helped
Recognizing the benefit of a seamless interaction between the service and retail operations, we implemented a multi-client installation of Quickbooks Point of Sale. This allowed full communication and live inventory between the retail shop and service department.
Along with setup of the retail interface, we also customized the software to be utilized for work orders and customer data management. This allowed seamless transactions, inventory accounting and sales reports for the entire business which resulted in a much smoother and more professional customer experience.
After deployment, supplier data was imported into the system and we performed a full physical inventory to ensure complete accuracy of the data file. Processes were then established to ensure inventory was properly accounted for when used by the service department or in other scenarios.