Product Inventory Tracking

Learn how to automatically track stock levels for retail products sold through your POS system.

Quick Start

1. Go to Products → Add Product (or edit existing product)
2. Toggle "Track Inventory" ON
3. Enter your current stock level (e.g., 50 units)
4. Set a "Low Stock Alert" threshold (e.g., 5 units)
5. Click Save Product
6. Stock automatically decreases when you sell via POS

What is Inventory Tracking?

Inventory tracking prevents you from accidentally overselling products by:

• Counting stock automatically - Reduces stock level when items are sold
• Warning when low - Shows alerts when products need restocking
• Preventing overselling - Blocks sales if insufficient stock
• Tracking sales - Shows stock movement in transaction history

When to Use It

✅ Enable tracking for:

• Physical retail products (serums, creams, supplements)
• Limited stock items
• Products with expiry dates
• High-value inventory

❌ Disable tracking for:

• Digital products (e-books, online courses)
• Services packaged as products
• Unlimited stock items
• Items you don't want to count

Setting Up Inventory Tracking

Step 1: Create or Edit a Product

To add a new product:

1. Click Products in the sidebar
2. Click + Add Product button
3. Fill in basic details (name, price, category)

To edit an existing product:

1. Go to Products
2. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) next to the product
3. Scroll to "Inventory Management" section

Step 2: Enable Tracking

In the Inventory Management section:

1. Toggle "Track Inventory" ON

   • This activates automatic stock counting
   • When OFF, you can sell unlimited quantities

2. Enter "Current Stock"

   • How many units do you have right now?
   • Example: 50 (you have 50 units in stock)

3. Set "Low Stock Alert"

   • When should you be warned to restock?
   • Default: 5 units
   • Example: 10 (warn when you have 10 or fewer units)

Example Setup:

Product: Vitamin C Serum
Price: £45.00
Track Inventory: ✓ ON
Current Stock: 50
Low Stock Alert: 5

Step 3: Save Your Product

Click Create Product (or Update Product if editing).

Your product is now tracking inventory! 🎉

How Stock Tracking Works

Automatic Stock Deduction

When you sell products through POS:

Before Sale:

Vitamin C Serum: 50 units in stock
Customer buys: 3 units

System Checks:

• ✅ Is tracking enabled? YES
• ✅ Enough stock? 50 >= 3? YES
• ✅ Sale approved!

After Sale:

Vitamin C Serum: 47 units in stock
Transaction created
Receipt generated

Insufficient Stock Protection

If a customer tries to buy more than you have:

Example:

Retinol Cream: 2 units in stock
Customer tries to buy: 5 units

System Response:

❌ Error: Insufficient stock for Retinol Cream
   Available: 2 units
   Required: 5 units

The sale is blocked until you:

• Reduce quantity in cart to 2 or less, OR
• Restock the product

Low Stock Warnings

When your stock reaches the threshold:

Stock Level: 5 or below

• 🔴 Red "Low Stock" badge appears next to product name
• Badge shows in both product list and POS checkout
• Time to reorder!

Stock Level: Above threshold

• No warnings shown
• Business as usual

Viewing Stock Levels

In Product List

Navigate to Products to see:

Desktop View: | Product | Category | Price | Stock | Status | |---------|----------|-------|-----------|--------| | Vitamin C Serum | Skincare | £45.00 | 47 | Active | | Retinol Cream 🔴 Low Stock | Skincare | £38.00 | 2 | Active | | Generic Moisturizer | Skincare | £25.00 | - | Active |

Mobile View: Each product card shows:

• Product name
• Current stock level (if tracked)
• Low Stock badge (if applicable)
• "-" if tracking is disabled

In POS Checkout

When adding products to cart:

• Stock level displays next to product name
• Low stock items show warning badge
• Out of stock items can't be added (if tracking enabled)

Restocking Products

Currently Available Method: Database Update

To add more stock when you receive a delivery:

Option 1: Manual Database Update (requires technical access)

UPDATE products
SET stock_level = stock_level + 50
WHERE id = 'your-product-id';

Option 2: Edit Product Page

1. Go to Products
2. Click Edit on the product
3. In "Current Stock" field, enter the new total
   • If you have 2 units and receive 50 more
   • Enter: 52 (not +50)
4. Click Update Product

Note: A dedicated restocking interface is planned for a future update, where you can simply add quantities without calculating the total.

Common Scenarios

Scenario 1: New Product - No Tracking

Setup:

Product: Generic Face Wash
Track Inventory: OFF

What happens:

• ✅ Can sell unlimited quantities
• ❌ No stock warnings
• ❌ Stock level never changes
• 💡 Good for: Digital products, unlimited items

Scenario 2: New Product - With Tracking

Setup:

Product: Vitamin C Serum
Track Inventory: ON
Current Stock: 50
Low Stock Alert: 5

Sales over time:

Day 1: Sold 3 units → Stock: 50 → 47 ✅
Day 2: Sold 10 units → Stock: 47 → 37 ✅
Day 3: Sold 35 units → Stock: 37 → 2 ✅
       🔴 Low Stock warning appears!
Day 4: Try to sell 5 units → ❌ BLOCKED
       Error: "Insufficient stock. Available: 2, Required: 5"

After restocking:

Receive 50 units → Update stock to 52
🔴 Low Stock warning disappears
Can sell normally again ✅

Scenario 3: Temporarily Disable Tracking

Situation: You have 2 units left but need to sell 5 today

Quick fix:

1. Edit the product
2. Toggle "Track Inventory" OFF
3. Save
4. Process the sale (no stock check)
5. Later: Re-enable tracking and update stock level

⚠️ Warning: This bypasses stock protection. Use carefully!

Tips & Best Practices

💡 Start Conservative

Set higher low stock thresholds for:

• Popular products (threshold: 10-15 units)
• Products with long delivery times (threshold: 20+ units)
• High-margin items you never want to run out of

Set lower thresholds for:

• Slow-moving products (threshold: 2-3 units)
• Products you can quickly reorder
• Seasonal items

💡 Regular Stock Checks

Schedule weekly reviews:

1. Go to Products
2. Filter by category
3. Look for 🔴 Low Stock badges
4. Place restock orders

💡 Track High-Value Items Only

Don't track every product:

• ✅ Track: £20+ products, popular items, limited stock
• ❌ Skip: £5 samples, unlimited items, digital products

Tracking fewer products = less admin work

💡 Use SKU Codes

When adding products, use the SKU field:

Product: Vitamin C Serum 30ml
SKU: VITS-C-30

Benefits:

• Easy to identify in stock checks
• Matches your supplier codes
• Helps with barcode scanning (future feature)

💡 Plan for Stockouts

What to do when a product sells out:

Option A: Deactivate Product

1. Edit product
2. Toggle "Active" OFF
3. Product disappears from POS (but stock level saved)
4. Reactivate when restocked

Option B: Keep Active

• Leave product visible in POS
• System blocks sales if stock is 0 and tracking enabled
• Customers see it's available but out of stock

Troubleshooting

Issue: "Product shows in stock but won't sell"

Possible causes:

1. Product is Inactive

   • Solution: Edit product, toggle "Active" ON

2. Product is in a different business

   • Solution: Check you're logged into correct business account

Issue: "Low stock warning won't go away"

Cause: Stock level is still at or below threshold

Solution:

1. Edit the product
2. Update "Current Stock" to above threshold
3. Example: If threshold is 5, set stock to 6 or higher
4. Save product

Issue: "I sold items but stock didn't decrease"

Possible causes:

1. Track Inventory is OFF

   • Solution: Edit product, toggle tracking ON

2. Sale was made outside POS

   • Manual database entry won't trigger stock updates
   • Solution: Always use POS checkout for automatic tracking

3. Transaction failed

   • If payment failed, stock shouldn't decrease
   • Check transaction history to confirm sale completed

Issue: "I can't sell anything - all products say insufficient stock"

Possible causes:

1. Stock levels are actually 0

   • Solution: Restock products or update stock levels

2. Track Inventory enabled on wrong products

   • Solution: Review products, disable tracking on unlimited items

Common Questions

Q: Can I track partial units (e.g., 2.5 bottles)? A: No, stock tracking uses whole numbers only. Round up to nearest unit.

Q: Does stock track batch/lot numbers? A: Not in the inventory system. Use the separate Batch Tracking feature for injectables and products requiring UK legal compliance.

Q: Can I see a history of stock changes? A: Currently, view transaction history to see sales. A dedicated stock movement log is planned for a future update.

Q: What happens if I delete a product with stock? A: Product is deactivated (soft delete). Stock level is preserved in case you reactivate it later.

Q: Can team members adjust stock levels? A: Yes, all team members with access to Products can edit stock levels. Activity is logged for audit purposes.

Q: How do I handle returns/refunds? A: Currently, manually update stock level. Example: If 3 units returned, add 3 to current stock.

Next Steps

Set up your first tracked product:

• Add a new product with inventory tracking

Start selling:

• Process a POS checkout and watch stock decrease automatically

Track expiring products:

• Set up batch tracking for injectables (UK legal requirement)

View sales reports:

• Transaction history shows all product sales

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Need help? Contact support at support@aestheti.cc or check our troubleshooting guide.