There are two expensive inventory mistakes and every online store makes both. Selling something you do not have, and holding cash in stock that nobody wants. Good inventory management is mostly about seeing each one early.
Accurate stock starts with recording movement
Stock is not a number you set. It is the result of movements, and every one of them should be recorded:
- Stock in — purchases received from suppliers
- Stock out — orders shipped
- Returns — items coming back into sellable stock, or into damaged stock
- Adjustments — damage, loss, counting corrections, samples given away
When adjustments are recorded with a reason, the monthly pattern becomes visible. Most stores discover that "missing" stock is actually damage during packing, which is a fixable process problem.
The four numbers to watch
- Available stock — what you can sell right now
- Low stock — items below their reorder point
- Out of stock — items customers are currently unable to buy
- Stock value — cash sitting on your shelves at cost
That last one surprises people. Owners usually know their revenue and rarely know how much money is locked in unsold inventory.
Set a reorder point per product, not a global rule
A fast-moving item with a two-week supplier lead time needs a high reorder point. A slow accessory needs almost none. A single "alert at 5 units" rule for the whole catalogue produces alerts nobody reads.
Reorder point is roughly: average daily sales × supplier lead time in days, plus a small safety buffer. Set it once per product and let the system raise the alert.
Purchases and suppliers belong in the same system
A purchase order should record the supplier, items, quantities, unit cost and expected delivery date — and when it arrives, receiving it should update stock automatically. If your purchase records live outside the system, your stock value and your cost of goods will never be right.
Supplier records also give you the comparison that saves real money: what each supplier charged for the same item over the last year.
Count physical stock on a rotation
Full annual stock-takes are painful and often postponed. Counting a small section of the catalogue every week is easier and keeps the numbers honest. Record each count as an adjustment with a reason so the history stays clean.
What good inventory management prevents
- Overselling and the refunds that follow
- Emergency purchases at bad prices
- Dead stock discovered a year too late
- Best-sellers unavailable during your busiest week
- Profit calculations built on guessed cost prices
See the inventory module
EbBzar tracks stock in, stock out, adjustments, purchases and suppliers, with low-stock and out-of-stock alerts and stock value reporting across the catalogue.
Demo: https://ebbazar.ronginbangla.blog/
WhatsApp: 01736699819
Message us if you want the inventory screens walked through with your own product range.
