Inventory Control
POSIM is renowned for it's ease-of-use, which makes it's full-featured inventory control capabilities even more rewarding.
In fact, POSIM makes it easy for a retail owner to handle the inventory functions that make it possible to manage a busy, successful store.
These functions include purchasing and receiving, printing barcodes, tracking profitability, analyzing inventory turns and return on investment, evaluating best (and worst) sellers as well as optimum inventory levels, vendor analysis, physical inventory, etc.
Password Privileges allow you to control which functions are accessible to each member of your staff.
Item Records
Everything in your store--and thus in POSIM--revolves around the merchandise that you carry...items are purchased and received; customers buy them; the maintained margin of each sale contributes to your profitability; some items sell better than others; some merchandise categories sell thru faster; etc.
Every item in POSIM inhabits it's own 'Item Card' which identifies that specific SKU:
> What is your retail price
> What department and sub-department does that item belong to
> How many pieces of the SKU do you currently have on-hand, and how many on order with that vendor
> What is the vendor's UPC code that you will be scanning [or your own code if POSIM will be printing the barcodes for you]
> What is the vendor's cost on your PO, and what is your true 'landed' cost (including freight)
Keeping this SKU detail is what allows you to maintain total inventory control and to know your profitability on every item and group of items. It also allows POSIM to provide you with instant inventory reports, recommended reorders; etc.
The Item ID can be automatically assigned by POSIM, or you can assign your own Item ID to it (A). 'Intelligent' ID's are popular because they allow you to identify and classify that item simply by looking at the Item ID.
The Description (B) should identify that specific SKU so that you will know which item it is when you see it listed on your reports, or when you go to apply the barcode label to the product (and thus know which product each label should be applied to), or when your customer looks at their sales receipt.
If your vendor prints UPC codes on their products, you would include that 12-digit UPC code in the UPC field (C). Since POSIM recognizes barcodes for both the Item ID and the UPC field, this allows you to use both the UPC code AND the Item ID in identifying the product.
The Department field (D) allows you to classify your merchandise into primary segments so that you can easily evaluate their performance. The remaining three Misc fields (E) allow you to categorize your merchandise into Sub-Departments and other key segments to further analyze their contributions to your bottom line.
In the Vendor area on the Item Card, you identify your Primary Vendor (F) for that item. You also identify the Vendor's Cost (which will drop into your PO's) as well as the Vendor Item Number for that SKU.
For "basic stock" items, the Maximum Stock/Reorder Point levels (G) are crucial...they allow POSIM to tell you when you need to re-order your items AND they allow POSIM to actually generate the proper order for you.
The item can also be a 'non-inventoried' item that you sell...like a service or freight. You want to track sales on those, but not count them during a physical inventory.
For a fashion item, as shown here, you will undoubtedly want to include the season, style, color and size (H) so that POSIM can provide the appropriate reports for you.
Vendor Records
A vendor is identified for each item so that POSIM can create your PO's with your Cost and the Vendor's Item Number, etc.
If you fill out the appropriate fields on the Vendor Card, POSIM can warn you if you haven't met a minimum order requirement on your PO's (A), as well as drop in your Terms (B) into each PO that you create.
Including the contact information (C) for that vendor makes it simple to look up a phone number or email address.
POSIM can also handle multiple vendors for the same item, tracking the dfferent cost from each vendor.
Barcoding
POSIM gives you the choice of using existing barcodes that are pre-printed on your merchandise, or printing your own barcodes. As long as the data is filled out properly on the Item Card, POSIM will recognize both barcodes when selling the item or during the physical inventory process.
If you choose to print your own barcodes, you can include your store name and phone number on the label as well as the price. Other information (like your Style Number or Vendor ID) can be included too if desired.
You can print a combination of letters and numbers as your barcode. You can choose from three options when you print your barcode labels: (1) for all items on a PO; or (2) for all items on a Receiving Log; or (3) for one item at a time. The third option is ideal for filling in if a tag drops off a garment or if you change your retail price; the PO and Receiving Log options are obviously the quickest and easiest way to print the majority of your barcodes.
Standard labels are white and measure 2.25"W x 1.25"H. Split labels are white and measure 1.125"W x 1"H. Obviously, you can fit more data on the Standard label than you can fit onto the Split label.
Three sample barcodes are shown here...two Standard and one Split. We have outlined them in blue for size reference (the labels themselves are all white with no outline).
The scanned picture of the labels shown below is significantly less crisp than the actual printed copy.
And, as noted above, this scanned picture of the labels is significantly less crisp than the actual printed copy.
Additional label sizes--as well as hang tags--are also available. However, if you want to include your store name, these two sizes are the best option to ensure that you have space on the label to include them.
Purchasing
By using POSIM's purchasing function, you gain several enormous advantages:
(1) You have instant access to all open orders, and their scheduled arrival dates. Need to find overdue shipments of merchandise that is time-sensitive? Need to review your anticipated payables for the next month? These are instantly accessible in the On-Order Report.
(2) You can print barcodes for all the items on each PO, and have the barcode labels waiting for the merchandise to hit the store (A).
(3) POSIM helps you to manage Special Orders and customer backorders via the Reorder Report. When you place these orders, POSIM reminds you to allocate quantities of the order needed for them.
In addition, POSIM can easily create re-orders for basic stock merchandise. The Maximum Stock and Reorder Points for each item --in addition to the quantities already On-Order in the system--allows POSIM to create the recommenced PO for you. Naturally, you can override the recommended quantities when you finalize the PO.
Receiving
Receiving merchandise into POSIM is easy...you simply go to the Processed Purchase Order and tell POSIM that you are ready to receive quantities from that order. POSIM creates a Receiving Log with all the items that it knows you are waiting to receive. This Receiving procedure activates several crucial functions:
(1) It updates your landed cost in POSIM, including freight...after all, this is the actual cost that you pay to carry the product. POSIM allocates the freight among the merchandise that you are receiving (A). This allows POSIM to report on your REAL cost and maintained margin when you sell the item.
(2) It updates your On-Hand quantities so that you instantly know the units and dollar value of every SKU in inventory.
(3) Partial quantities not received on the order (B) remain as Open Orders, and continue to appear on the On Order Report (only the quantities not yet received) until all merchandise is received through subsequent Receiving Logs, or until you cancel the balance of the order.
(4) You can print barcodes for all the items that you are receiving within that Receiving Log (C). For retail environments whose vendors ship partial shipments or cancel backorders, this is usually the preferred option for printing barcodes.
(5) POSIM notifies you when Special Orders and customer backorders are waiting for the merchandise that you are receiving, and creates a Working Invoice for you (in the sales module).
You can receive your merchandise by scanning it in (D). This is a great time-saver for retailers whose merchandise is pre-barcoded by the vendor.
Reports
There are two reporting categories in POSIM's Inventory area: (1) Standard Reports, found in the Inventory module; and (2) Custom Reports that you can create yourself, found in the Define-A-Report module (an add-on module).
Standard Reports
These standard reports are the ones that have been in demand for the vast majority of retail environments.
The five most frequently accessed on a daily/weekly basis are:
ON-HAND REPORT...Instant access to your inventory levels and value for any specific date. This report lists all inventory on-hand, along with quantities, cost and retail values and totals; the On-Hand Report can also be run for smaller segments of your inventory (i.e., all items in one Department, or from one Vendor)
ON-ORDER REPORT...Listing of all open orders, including partial backorders that have not yet been received. Great for identifying overdue orders (so that you can follow up on them) as well as anticipated payables that will be due to your vendors
REORDER REPORT...POSIM can recommend reorders that you need to place, and then actually create these PO's for you. The Reorder Report lists all items that need to be ordered (based on the Maximum Stock levels and Reorder Point levels that you set, and also taking into account open orders that already exist). Are your customers tired of hearing "Sorry, we're out of stock on that."? This will help you avoid out-of-stock situations that can cost you customer loyalty
SALES REPORT...Instant sales and profit analysis for any date range. You can have the Sales Report sort by SKU, by Department, by Vendor, by Style, or by a variety of other groupings. It shows the maintained profit margin earned for all sales during that period, as well as the maintained profit margin of each group. It also lists what percentage of total store sales each group represents. The report includes the number of units sold as well as the retail and cost value
SALES TAX REPORT...As it's name implies, this report provides information on total pre-tax sales dollars, taxable vs non-taxable sales, and sales tax collected
Additional standard reports include:
BEST CUSTOMER REPORT...This report identifies your highest volume (retail $'s) and/or most active (number of sales) customers. In addition to the providing dollars spent and number of transactions, the report also allows you to generate mailing labels. And, while created to identify your best customers, this report also allows you to identify your least active customers too.
BEST SELLER REPORT...This report provides your top sellers. You decide how many items you want to appear in the report (Top 10? Top 25?), and whether you want the report to rank them by unit sales, by dollar sales, or by profit dollars earned. You can run the report for one Department at a time; one Vendor at a time; or on a storewide basis
COMPARATIVE SALES REPORT...This report allows you to compare your sales and profit margins for two periods of time. Since you can sort this report by Department, by Vendor, by Style, or by a variety of other categories, the Comparative Sales Report provides all retail environments with the ability to analyze their sales performance over time
ITEM ANALYSIS REPORT...This report is ideal for tracking the influence of promotional or 'loss leader' items and see if they have achieved the desired effect. The Item Analysis Report identifies the number of invoices sold that contain the specific promotional item(s) and their average dollar per invoice, and compares it to the performance of all invoices for that period
MARKETING ANALYSIS REPORT...If you are using POSIM's Marketing Query function (a customer survey function that allows you to collect specific demographic data that you want to track...like zip codes; gender; and marketing source for how the customer found you), the Marketing Analysis reports on the results of those survey answers. It tells you how many invoices each response furnished, and how many sales, profit dollars, and markdown dollars were attributable to each response
MERCHANDISE MANAGEMENT REPORT...An excellent analytical tool for all businesses, the Merchandise Report is especially beneficial for fashion retailers. It allows you to compare the unit and dollar performance of your merchandise, including how many you received, how many you sold, and how many you still have on hand and on order. Since you can sort-and-subtotal by SKU, by Department, by Vendor, or by Style, it provides the total merchandise status and performance that you need to evaluate your products
SALESPERSON PERFORMANCE REPORT...Ideal for evaluating salesperson performance, this report provides the retail and profit dollars achieved by each salesperson and how they compare to your other salespeople during that timeframe. The report also includes each salesperson's average sale, average items per sale, and average price per item
TURN RATIO REPORT...This report provides the annualized inventory turn rate, subtotalled by the parameter that you select--by individual SKU, or by Style, by Vendor, etc. The Turn Ratio Report also allows you to compare the inventory rate rate between two time periods
Custom Report Writer
POSIM gives you access to write your own reports using it's Define-A-Report module (an add-on module). By accessing all the files and fields, you can build your own reports and save the parameters so that you can run them at any time without having to re-create the report definition.
Want to find all items created in POSIM after 2/20/06? Easy. Identify all discounted sales over a period of time, and the salesperson of record on those sales? Simple. Find all items where you would earn less than a 54% profit margin if it sold at full retail? Again, Define-A-Report makes these very specialized reports easy to create.
And, in addition to the ability to create your own reports, the Define-A-Report module also includes two additional functions as well as two additional reports:
CUSTOMER LABELS...This function allows you to print mailing labels for a group of Customers, or for a single Customer at a time, and supports two of the most popular sizes of Avery Mailing Labels (Avery#5160 in 3x10 sheets, and Avery#5162 in 2x7sheets)
IMPORT MANAGER...This function allows you to 'field map' data from other files to import into POSIM. This is a powerful feature when first setting up your POSIM system if your item and customer information already exists in an accounting package, or if your vendor can provide your item information to you in electronic format
DATED INVENTORY GRID...Especially good for retail environments that re-order the same items again-and-again, the Dated Inventory Grid is a report that provides monthly sales and receipt data (dollars and units) for the range of months that you select. You can run the report for one vendor, or all vendors; for one item, or all items; etc.
ITEM HISTORY...This report provides in-depth analysis of an item's total history in POSIM, and is an excellent tool if you ever question the perpetual inventory status of a specific item. It tells you each time an item was ordered, received, and sold so that you can track every step taken to arrive at that on-hand quantity. This report is run most often to help managers identify PO's that they forgot to enter into the system, or help owners track inventory steps taken by their managers in POSIM
Physical Inventory
Taking a physical inventory in POSIM makes it possible for you to identify your shrinkage AND to update POSIM's on-hand quantities to match the actual quantities counted during your inventory procedure. After the physical inventory process you will have the reports that you need to quantify your shrinkage (A), as well as an on-hand report which reflects the updated on-hand values of your inventory (B).
You can take a complete storewide inventory, or do 'spot' inventories for smaller segments of merchandise. In the example below, we are inventorying only the items that come from our vendor "Star" (C).
So instead of spending days trying to take a physical count, identify the missing items, and quantify the shrinkage, it can be done in a matter of hours.
We can provide the portable barcode device which is programmed to interface with POSIM's inventory function.
Accounting Interface
POSIM integrates with three of the most popular accounting packages on the Windows platform--QuickBooks; MYOB; and MultiLedger.
It generates four accounting files that are pre-formatted to import into these packages: the Sales Journal; the Purchases Journal; the Inventory Adjustment Journal; and the Accounts Receivable Journal.
As a general rule, most retailers run the reports affiliated with their merchandise performance directly in POSIM (sales; inventory; turn ratio; maintained profit margin; customer history; etc.), not their accounting package. This is logical, and is easier since the details of the merchandise performance is stored in POSIM. Then they run their income statement, balance sheet, and payables through their accounting package.
Telling POSIM which accounting package you want it to integrate with--QuickBooks, MYOB, or MultiLedger--is easy; you simply click on the appropriate file in the AIM listing, as shown here to the right.
Of course, the G/L account numbers that you enter into POSIM must match the G/L account numbers that already exist in your accounting package.
POSIM can then create the properly encoded file to send the information to your accounting package.
Again, the G/L numbers shown above are sample ones.
The correct G/L account numbers for each retailer will vary, depending on the G/L account numbers assigned by your bookkeeper or accountant in your accounting package.
As you can see here, if you use Account Groups they break down the standardized accounts--like the Sales account or the Inventory account--into additional, separate groupings.Your decision to use specialized Account Groups will be determined on how your accounting package has been set up.
Tracking serial numbers for specific pieces of inventory is easy in POSIM.
When you receive the serialized merchandise into POSIM via the Receiving Log, POSIM asks you to identify all the serial numbers for the items that you are receiving (you can type them in, or scan them if they are barcoded by your vendor).
POSIM asks you to identify which specific serial number is being sold at that time.
Here, in the grey highlighted area to the right, we are selecting the serial number that is being sold (moving out of inventory)
If you have any questions about POSIM's other inventory management features, please contact us. Or, if you are ready to check out the point-of-sale features in POSIM, click the appropriate button below.
