Getting started - Stock Control
Contents
Summary
The following article explains how to get started with Stock Control.
More Information
Creating Stock Codes
The first thing you need to do is create stock codes.
See Creating a stock item for details.
Stock Quantities
Now you have created stock codes, you will need to enter your current quantities into stock. To make it easy to check the quantities and change them as you go along, setting up an internal purchase order is the easiest way to do this.
See Creating a purchase order for details on how to create a purchase order.
Selling Items
When customers come into the shop and want to buy items over the counter that you have on display, you will use the system to raise an invoice for this. It can be a full A4 size invoice, or a slip receipt.
See Selling parts over the counter for details on how to sell items.
Booking Parts to Workshop Jobs
You will need to book out stock items to Workshop Jobs. You may want to do this where possible in advance, so that the technician can get straight on with the job. Alternatively you can simply pick the parts on demand.
See How do I add parts to a workshop job? for picking the parts on demand.
See How do I create a workshop estimate? for picking parts in advance. Ignore the "Printing the Estimate" section, but use the "Turning the Estimate into an Invoice" section so that any items that are not in stock are ordered automatically.
Taking Orders for Items
Items that need to be ordered can come from a number of different sources. Some of these sources are:
1) Customer order over the counter.
2) Item needed for a workshop job.
See How do I order parts for a workshop job? if you know that you need the item, or How do I create a workshop estimate? if you want to check if you have it in stock, and then order it.
3) Stock quantity below your reorder level.
See How do I Run a Reorder Report?.
Reports
You have a wide choice of standard reports, and there is also a Report Generator for you to design your own reports.
For those reports which have a wide application, see here
Regular Tasks
For procedures that you should carry out on a regular basis to maintain your system, please see Recommended parts, accessories and clothing routines.
Based on our customers' experiences, carrying out these tasks regularly keeps your system tidy and accurate. This means that you can place your trust in the information that it provides, allowing you to drive your customer service levels up and freeing you to focus on increasing sales and managing your parts stock efficiently.
See also
- Recommended parts, accessories and clothing routines
- Selling parts over the counter
- How do I find a stock code?
- How do I find a customer?
- Creating a stock item
- Creating stock groups
- Creating a new stock status
- Creating a new stock analysis code
- What Stock Reports should I run?
