Managing a Product Inventory

Inventory management goes hand in hand with setting up your Online Shop (Product Sales).

In this article, we cover:

• Creating an inventory
• Restocking or distributing (losses) inventory
• Deleting an inventory
• Recording an inventory in accounting later
• Alternative approach to inventory management

Creating an inventory

Create an inventory

To create an inventory, go to Forms > Product Sales and open the "Inventory Management" tab.

To manage inventory, accounting must be enabled (Settings > Feature Selection) and configured (with an open accounting period).

The inventory creation page is also accessible from Accounting > Book Entry → Inventory Management. If you haven't created a form yet, a message on the Forms > Product Sales page lets you create an inventory directly in accounting.

On the inventory creation page, click "New" on the right side of the page.

You'll land on the inventory creation page. Fill in the following fields:

• Inventory name;
• Quantity;
• Unit value of the product;
• Date.

Once checked, fill in the accounting account, payment method, and bank account. You can also attach an invoice, add free-text notes, and indicate a deferred payment (optional).

Edit an inventory

Once your inventory is created, you can edit it (date, quantity, and unit value) or delete it from the edit page, accessible via the pencil icon.

Clicking the eye icon in the "Accounting" column lets you edit or delete the accounting entry and payment details for that inventory.

Restocking or distributing (losses) inventory

"Distributing" means recording losses from your inventory.

After taking stock, if 2 units are missing, you can record that loss by clicking the "Distribute" button.

Similarly, clicking "Restock" lets you add units to your inventory.

The process for restocking or distributing inventory mirrors the initial creation: enter the quantity, unit value, and date. If you want to record this movement in accounting, also fill in the accounting details (account, payment method, bank account).

Deleting an inventory

Standard case

Go to Forms > Product Sales → Inventory Management to view your inventory list. Click the Detail (pencil icon) for the inventory you want to delete.

The Delete option will then be available.

Special cases

In some cases, you won't be able to delete an inventory directly. For example, if it's linked to an accounting entry, you'll need to delete the entry first, then delete the inventory.

If additional inventory movements have been recorded, you'll need to delete the restock/distribution movements before you can delete the original inventory.

If a sale linked to an inventory has been refunded, this generates a restock movement that isn't visible in the interface. In that case, you won't be able to delete the original inventory.

Recording an inventory in accounting later

If you created an inventory without recording it in accounting right away, you can do so at any time — especially to include it in your inventory valuation at the end of your accounting period.

Go to your Inventory Management page, accessible via any of the following paths:

• From Accounting > Closing: on the closing page, under the "Value your inventory" section, click Continue.On the valuation page, a message will notify you of any inventories not shown because they haven't been recorded in accounting. Click "Edit inventories";
  
  
• From Forms > Product Sales > Inventory Management tab;
• From Accounting > Book Entry > Inventory Management.

On the inventory list page, click the eye icon (Detail) for the inventory you want to update.

On the detail page, if the inventory hasn't been recorded in accounting, the "Accounting" column will be empty — as shown below. If it has been recorded, an eye icon will appear.

Click the pencil icon to edit the inventory.

On the inventory edit page, check "Record in accounting". You can then fill in the accounting account, payment method, and bank account or petty cash account, as described above.

All other payment-related fields can also be filled in — provided you've enabled them in your Settings — including: attaching an invoice, adding notes, indicating a deferred payment, and VAT.

Once all fields are filled in, click Save.

Alternative approach to inventory management

You can manage the number of available products (or spots) without creating a formal inventory. To do this, go to step 2 - Products and pricing in your form.

For each item, you can cap the available quantity. Enable this option in your form settings (go to Settings > Forms and ticketing, under the "Registrant control" section): Limit the number of participants for a specific rate / package.

Once enabled, go back to your form configuration at step 2. For each product and/or rate, click the "+ options" button to set the maximum number of sign-ups for that rate.

Check the "Maximum available quantity" box and fill in the "Max quantity" field, then confirm the rate. Save your form to publish the changes.

To learn more about controlling the number of registrants for a rate or form, check out our dedicated article: Controlling the number of registrants on forms and ticketing.