Managing inventory can be a challenge to track inside QuickBooks financial software, for both online and offline sales, whether it is online or desktop. The ultimate goal would be tracking your inventory in an integrated way while streamlining your process.
Here is a common challenge:
“I have a retail client who recently opened a physical location. They are using QuickBooks Online, but have never set anything up to track inventory. They are using Square for in-person and vendor show sales and use Shopify for their online store. They need to set up an inventory management system and track style, sizes, and dozens of patterns and colors.”
What do you suggest?
For Tracking In-Person and Mobile Sales:
Currently using: Square for in-person sales and mobile sales, e.g. vendor or trade shows.
Pros: Fast and easy to apply to get started. You can use a phone or tablet for sales in-store or on the go.
Cons: It does not track inventory or style/sizes. When connected to QuickBooks Online, the sale comes out the net of the merchant fee. Reconciliation of the bank account has become a challenge.
Recommendation: Purchase QuickBooks Point of sale Professional edition with integrated QuickBooks Payments. The Payments account includes GoPayment when used with QuickBooks Point of Sale, where you can then create a mobile inventory solution.
For Tracking Inventory for Online Store:
Currently using: Shopify for online sales.
Pros: Easy to add on to your existing website and get started.
Cons: They have their own merchant service account with high rates. Their monthly subscription has hidden fees and costs, which will increase significantly over time. Using their merchant account makes reconciliation of the bank account a challenge. As of the writing of this article, the integration has terrible reviews.
Recommendation: Subscribe to Webgility to connect the website to QuickBooks. Webgility can bring over the details, which makes reconciling the bank account streamlined.
Implement the solution that works for you
As you look at your entire solution, you need to ask yourself, “would this save me time, streamline my process, and save money?”. By having accurate inventory reports, you can make better business decisions. Our goal is to avoid adding apps without a full solution in mind. These solutions that lack integration will end up being a Frankenstein, all pieced together and being hard to manage. Instead, we want to help create a streamlined solution.
If you would like to schedule an evaluation of your current system to give you recommendations, schedule an appointment so we can learn more. Alternatively, you can complete this needs analysis form and we will reach out to you.