Retail
Stock management software for shops
Know how many bottles of oil are on the Newtown shelf, how many are in the back room at the main store, and which staples to order from the supplier before Saturday.
In short
SimpleERP is stock management software for retail shops. Stock is kept per branch and back room at average cost, changes only through posted bills, sales, transfers and counts, and a reorder level shows what to order.
Illustration of stock on hand by warehouse at average cost, with a low-stock row highlighted and a movement ledger.
An inventory day at Harbour Corner Grocers
The main Marrickville store has a back room that doubles as the warehouse for both branches. Supplier deliveries of oil, rice and toiletries arrive there; twice a week a driver takes a few cartons to Newtown in the shop van. Shelves are filled from the back room every morning before the shutter goes up.
Harbour Corner used to count stock only at the end of the financial year. Now each supplier bill adds stock to the back room in SimpleERP, each counter bill takes it off the branch that sold it, and the owner opens the stock list on his phone to see what is running low at either store.
How should a grocery shop set up items and places?
Make the back room, the Marrickville shelf and the Newtown store three warehouses, or keep it to one per branch if shelf and back room share a count. Each item gets one unit, a reorder level and its tax rate.
- Units such as kg, litre and pcs are seeded; add packet or bottle in settings.
- Opening stock per warehouse comes in with the product CSV import.
- Average cost updates with every supplier bill, so margin follows the latest price.
| Product family | Unit | Where it sits | Reorder pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rice, flour, sugar, pasta | kg (loose) or packet | Back room in sacks; shelf in packets | Weekly order; reorder level at four days of sales |
| Cooking oil and spreads | Bottle or jar | Back room, both shelves | Supplier visits Tuesday and Friday; level per size |
| Toiletries and cleaners | Pieces | Shelf only at both stores | Monthly order from the distributor; level kept low |
| Biscuits and snacks | Packets | Shelf, small back-up stock | Fast movers; reorder on each supplier visit |
| Homewares | Pieces | Marrickville only | Slow; reorder after a count, not on a level |
How do cartons go from the main store to the second branch?
A transfer from the back room to Newtown lists the items and quantities. Posting it moves the stock at average cost and prints a transfer note for the van driver, so neither store's figure is a guess.
- Available quantity shows beside each transfer line.
- Movement ledger per item shows every bill, sale, transfer and count with its document.
- Stock list by branch, or summed across both stores.
Illustration of the SimpleERP dashboard for Harbor Supply Co.: sales 20,938, net profit 4,691, 2,441 to collect, a sales versus purchases chart and top products.
How do I fix the shelf figure after a count?
Enter the counted quantity for each item and SimpleERP shows the system figure, the difference and its value. Posting fixes the stock and books the shortage, so breakage and pilferage show up in the books rather than in a notebook.
- Count one shelf at a time; items you do not enter are left alone.
- One reason per adjustment: damaged, expired, lost, found, physical count or other.
- Adjust by a few pieces for a breakage without a full count.
What should I order before the weekend?
Filter the stock list to items at or below their reorder level for either store. Decide the quantities yourself, then turn the list into purchase orders grouped by supplier, each received into the back room.
- Supplier bills add stock at the bill cost into the place named on it.
- Duplicate guard stops the same supplier bill number going in twice.
- Debit notes send damaged goods back to the supplier and take them out of stock.
One system
What it connects to
Supplier bills add stock, counter bills remove it from the branch that sold it, and the stock value follows into the books.
Retail
Counter invoices paid on the spot, stock by store with a low-stock list, and the day's cash and bank.
See howInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
See howAccounting for retail shops
Daily cash and card per store, monthly accounts for regular households, supplier dues and expenses, all in one ledger.
See howPayroll for shop staff
Two shifts, staggered weekly offs, a Christmas bonus and salary advances, paid from one monthly run per store.
See howInventory
Stock on hand by warehouse at weighted average cost, with a movement ledger and a low-stock list.
See how
Honest limits
What SimpleERP does not do yet
- No batch, lot, serial or expiry tracking, and no barcode scanning
- Weighted average cost only; there is no FIFO
- No automatic reorder suggestions: the reorder level shows what is low, you decide what to buy
- No prices including tax: enter the price before tax and the invoice adds the tax on top
- No loose-to-packet conversion: a sack bought in kg and sold in packets needs a stock adjustment on each side
- No weighing scale or barcode label printing for loose goods
Getting started
Start with inventory
Sign up with your email
Name, email and a password. No card for the seven-day trial.
Tell us about the business
Pick your country and, if you are registered, type your tax number. Accounts, tax rates, units, roles and numbering are seeded for that country.
Add products and opening stock
Import items from a CSV file with unit, tax rate, reorder level and opening stock for the back room and each branch shelf.
Post a bill and an invoice
Stock rises on the purchase bill and falls on the invoice, at weighted average cost, with nothing to count by hand.
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can I see stock for each branch separately?
Yes. Each store has its own warehouse, so the stock list shows what Newtown holds apart from the main store. Switch the grouping to see one total per item across both shops.
I buy rice in 25 kg sacks and sell it loose. How do I track that?
Keep the rice in kg. Enter the supplier bill as 50 kg for two sacks, and every counter sale takes off the kilos sold. A monthly count fixes the small difference that loose selling always leaves.
Will it tell me when an item is running low?
Each item has a reorder level, and the stock list flags every item at or below it. SimpleERP does not send alerts or suggest quantities; you open the list, decide what to buy and raise purchase orders from it.
Can I track expiry on packed foods?
No. SimpleERP has no batch or expiry tracking. Shops that need it usually check dates on the shelf during counts and write off expired goods with a stock adjustment marked expired.
Related
Keep reading
Retail
Counter invoices paid on the spot, stock by store with a low-stock list, and the day's cash and bank.
Read moreInvoicing & tax
Tax invoices with VAT, GST or sales tax on every line, numbered by fiscal year and posted in one step.
Read moreAccounting for retail shops
Daily cash and card per store, monthly accounts for regular households, supplier dues and expenses, all in one ledger.
Read more
See how inventory works in SimpleERP for retail
Seven days free. No card. Your first invoice in minutes.