Master Your Inventory Management

Learn how to manage stock levels, handle deliveries, track inventory movements, and ensure you never run out of popular products. Essential for any retail business in Africa.

What You'll Learn

Understanding your current stock levels
Receiving new inventory from suppliers
Making stock adjustments and corrections
Handling damaged or expired products

Transferring stock between branches
Setting up low stock alerts
Conducting stock takes (physical counts)
Managing seasonal inventory changes

Understanding Your Current Stock

Before making any changes, you need to know what inventory you currently have:

Viewing Stock Levels:

1
Go to Inventory section
Click 'Inventory' or 'Stock' in the main navigation
2
Select your branch
Choose which location you want to view stock for
3
Review stock list
You'll see all products with current quantities and values

Understanding Stock Information

Key Stock Metrics:

Current Stock

How many units you have right now

Low Stock Alert

Threshold when you need to reorder

Stock Value

Total worth of inventory at cost price

Last Updated

When stock level was last changed

Stock vs. Sales Mismatch?

If your computer stock doesn't match what you see on shelves, you may need to do a stock adjustment or physical count. This is normal and happens in all businesses.

Receiving New Stock from Suppliers

When you receive new inventory from suppliers, you need to update your stock levels:

Stock Receiving Process:

1
Physical delivery arrives
Check delivery against your order and count everything carefully

Check: Quantity matches order, products are undamaged, expiry dates are good (for food/medicine)
2
Go to Stock Receiving
Navigate to Inventory → Receive Stock or Stock In
3
Create stock receiving document
Record details of what you received:
- • Supplier name
- • Delivery date
- • Reference number (invoice/delivery note)
4
Add products received
For each product in your delivery:
- • Search and select the product
- • Enter quantity received
- • Update cost price if it changed
- • Note any expiry dates
5
Complete the receiving
Click 'Complete Receiving' - stock levels will update automatically

Dealing with Receiving Problems

Problem: Short Delivery

You ordered 100 units but only received 80

Solution:

• Only record the 80 units you actually received
• Contact supplier about missing 20 units
• Add notes in the receiving document about shortfall

Problem: Damaged Products

Some items arrived broken or damaged

Solution:

• Don't add damaged items to stock
• Take photos of damage for supplier
• Record only good items received
• Request replacement or refund from supplier

Making Stock Adjustments

Sometimes you need to correct stock levels due to counting errors, theft, damage, or other reasons:

When to Make Adjustments

✅ Good Reasons for Adjustments:

• Found more stock during physical count
• Discovered products expired/spoiled
• Items were damaged and can't be sold
• Stock was stolen or lost
• Correction after supplier return
• Computer error correction

❌ Don't Adjust For:

• Normal sales (use POS instead)
• New stock delivery (use receiving)
• Transfers between branches
• Just to 'fix' numbers without reason

How to Make Stock Adjustments

1
Go to Stock Adjustment
Navigate to Inventory → Stock Adjustment
2
Select product to adjust
Search for and choose the specific product
3
Choose adjustment type

Stock In (+): Adding more stock (found extra units)

Stock Out (-): Removing stock (damaged, expired, stolen)
4
Enter quantity and reason
Specify how many units and why you're adjusting (very important for record keeping)
5
Save adjustment
Stock levels will update immediately

Important: Document Everything

Always include a clear reason for adjustments. This helps with auditing, insurance claims, and understanding where stock losses occur. Examples: 'Expired products removed', 'Found extra stock in storage', 'Damaged in transport'.

Transferring Stock Between Branches

If you have multiple locations, you may need to move stock from one branch to another:

Stock Transfer Process:

At the Sending Branch:

1. Go to Inventory → Stock Transfer
2. Select destination branch
3. Choose products to transfer
4. Enter quantities to send
5. Create transfer document
6. Pack items for transport
7. Mark transfer as 'Sent'

At the Receiving Branch:

1. Check transfer notification
2. Verify items received match transfer
3. Count all transferred products
4. Report any damaged or missing items
5. Accept the transfer in system
6. Stock levels update automatically

Transfer Best Practices

Transfer Tips

• Transfer during quiet business hours
• Use secure, reliable transport
• Include transfer document with shipment
• Both branches should verify quantities
• Report discrepancies immediately

Setting Up Low Stock Alerts

Avoid running out of popular products by setting up automatic alerts:

Configuring Stock Alerts

For Individual Products:

1. Go to Products → Product List
2. Click on a product to edit
3. Set 'Low Stock Threshold' number
4. Save the product

What Threshold to Set:

Fast-moving products:

• Popular items you sell daily
• Set threshold = 7-14 days of sales
• Example: Sell 10 per day → set threshold at 70-140

Slow-moving products:

• Items sold occasionally
• Set threshold = 2-4 weeks of sales
• Example: Sell 2 per week → set threshold at 4-8

Managing Low Stock Alerts

SmartSell will notify you when products hit their low stock threshold:

When You Get Low Stock Alerts:

1. Review the alert list (Products → Low Stock)
2. Check actual physical stock to confirm
3. Contact suppliers for priority items
4. Place orders before you completely run out
5. Consider adjusting thresholds based on experience

Conducting Stock Takes (Physical Counts)

Regular physical counts help ensure your computer records match reality:

When to Do Stock Takes

Regular Schedule:

• Full count: Monthly or quarterly
• Partial count: Weekly (rotating sections)
• High-value items: More frequently
• Problem products: As needed

Special Occasions:

• Before major holidays/seasons
• After suspected theft
• When stock numbers seem wrong
• For insurance or audit purposes

How to Conduct a Stock Take

Stock Take Process:

1
Preparation
- • Choose quiet time (early morning/after hours)
- • Print stock take sheets or use mobile device
- • Organize counting areas
- • Assign staff to different sections
2
Physical counting
- • Count all items systematically
- • Don't look at computer numbers while counting
- • Record actual quantities found
- • Note any damaged or expired items separately
3
Compare with system
- • Enter counted quantities in SmartSell
- • System will show differences
- • Investigate large discrepancies
- • Re-count items with big differences
4
Apply adjustments
- • Adjust stock levels to match physical count
- • Document reasons for major differences
- • Remove damaged/expired items
- • Generate stock take report

Stock Take Benefits

• Accurate inventory records for better decisions
• Identify theft, damage, or process problems
• Improve stock level accuracy over time
• Meet auditing and insurance requirements

Seasonal and Special Inventory Management

African businesses often deal with seasonal patterns and special situations:

Managing Seasonal Changes

Before Peak Season:

• Increase stock levels for popular items
• Adjust low stock thresholds higher
• Order seasonal products early
• Prepare additional storage space

After Peak Season:

• Clear excess seasonal stock
• Reduce stock levels back to normal
• Adjust thresholds back down
• Plan storage for next season's stock

Handling Expired Products

For businesses selling food, medicine, or other perishables:

Expiry Management:

1. Check expiry dates during stock takes
2. Follow FIFO (First In, First Out) - sell older stock first
3. Mark products close to expiry for quick sale
4. Remove expired items immediately from sale
5. Use stock adjustment to remove expired products
6. Keep records for supplier returns if possible

Stock Movement Reports and Analysis

Understanding your inventory patterns helps make better business decisions:

Key Reports to Review

Daily Reports:

• Low stock alerts
• Out of stock items
• Fast-moving products
• Daily stock movements

Weekly/Monthly Reports:

• Slow-moving inventory
• Stock valuation report
• Shrinkage analysis
• Supplier performance

Using Reports for Better Decisions

Smart Inventory Decisions

• Stock more of your best-selling items
• Reduce or stop ordering slow-moving products
• Negotiate better terms with reliable suppliers
• Identify patterns in customer demand
• Optimize storage space allocation

Troubleshooting Common Stock Issues

Stock Doesn't Match Physical Count

Possible causes:

• Sales not recorded properly: Check if all sales went through POS system
• Receiving not entered: Verify all deliveries were recorded in system
• Theft or damage: Investigate security and handling procedures
• Counting error: Re-count carefully in different area
• Data entry mistake: Check recent stock movements for errors

Running Out of Stock Frequently

Solutions to try:

• Lower your low stock thresholds
• Order more frequently in smaller quantities
• Find backup suppliers for critical items
• Track demand patterns more carefully
• Negotiate faster delivery terms

Too Much Dead Stock

Ways to reduce slow-moving inventory:

• Run promotions or discounts on slow items
• Bundle slow items with popular products
• Return to supplier if possible
• Transfer to other branches that might sell it
• Stop ordering items that don't sell

Master Your Inventory!

Good stock management is the foundation of a profitable business. With these skills you can:

✅ Never run out of popular products
✅ Reduce money tied up in slow-moving stock
✅ Minimize losses from theft and damage
✅ Make informed purchasing decisions
✅ Improve your business profitability

Need Help with Inventory?

If you need assistance with stock management, our support team is here to help:

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