If you operate a retail or wholesale business, you could assuredly benefit from inventory management and accounting software.
When you’re able to take full control of your inventory and finances, you’ll be well on the right path to optimizing your business performance and profits.
Just what are inventory management and accounting software and how can they help your business? Let’s take a look.
What is Inventory Management & Accounting Software?
Inventory management and accounting software are vital components of a high-performing retail or wholesale business. Those that have them installed already know, but those that don’t yet will wonder what they’ve been waiting for.
Your inventory management software will track how much product you have on your warehouse shelf, in your store, or sitting with other retailers and distributors. When you know your stock amounts, you ensure you have the right number of units in the right place, at the right time, for the right price.
Effectively tracking and controlling your physical inventory helps you know when you’re running low on certain items and replenish your stock in order to keep sales moving. Busy business owners need to be able to do this at a quick glance, or better yet, with automated software that does it for you. That’s what inventory management software does.
Meanwhile, full-featured accounting software integrated with your CRM and ERP handles many business owners’ least favorite task — working the books. Accounting software allows you to track a sale from the lead to the balance sheet without duplicate data entry.
Accounting software defines the current standing of your business while inventory management maintains your inventory health. You can see why each is a must for a business of any size. They will give you a competitive edge, minimize risk, save your money and make your business more efficient, smart, and profitable.
Here are seven ways how:
1. Maintain The Proper Stock
When you optimize your inventory, you can maintain customer satisfaction and avoid wastage. When you have too much stock, excess inventory will become costly as it becomes outdated or obsolete. Excess inventory costs your business money just by sitting there. Likewise, a shortage leads to missed sales opportunities and disappointed customers. This can be harmful to both your bottom line and business reputation.
Inventory management and accounting software will maintain accurate inventory by providing accurate, up-to-date counts at all times. You can use data to make sales forecasts to help predict when you require more or less stock to avoid running into any shortages or overages.
2. Eliminate Missed Sales
You never want your business to lose a sale because you don’t have the item in stock. An accurate inventory report helps you never run out of products and miss out on sales. Clearly, it’s a much more efficient system than relying on your memory or a warehouse visit to determine what you need.
Your inventory management software will allow you to set minimum inventory levels for each item, automatically generating purchase orders for more when you hit the determined threshold. You’ll always be on top of what you need before you need it!
3. Use Your Money Wisely
Having the right amount of inventory is essential for retail success. Remember, your inventory is an investment, and buying the right quantity of each product ensures you keep sales going and avoid outages. It also ensures that items don’t just sit on the shelves and increase carrying costs.
Accurate inventory reports help you quickly identify slow-moving products, mark them down, and clear them out to free up cash and make room to invest in new products, marketing efforts, or whatever else your business may require.
4. Catch Problems Early
When you have inventory management software, you’ll always have an eagle eye on your inventory levels. This enables you to catch problems immediately rather than months later during your annual inventory counts. By then, the discrepancy may have already cost your business a lot of money!
Sometimes, steps in the warehouse process can be missed or errors have been made on sales orders. You need to catch these errors as quickly as possible so they don’t become bigger problems. Bullet-proof inventory management is the way.
5. Make Your Customers Happy
When you have exact inventory reports, you can provide better customer service. How?
Let’s say a customer claims they haven’t received a product they ordered. Rather than just checking in with your supply chain management, you can check your inventory report and see whether or not you have one sitting in the warehouse. You’ll also be able to catch incorrect shipments sooner.
When you’re up to date with your purchase orders, you can sell customers on the products they need because you’ll know inventory is on the way. That kind of upfront communication gives your customers confidence that they can trust you, an incredibly valuable asset for any business.
6. Reduce Your Costs
Labor and warehouse expenses can add up quickly. Relying on staff to manually keep track of your inventory is a costly and time-consuming endeavor. When your inventory management software handles it, it saves you loads of time and money.
And when your staff isn’t wasting time counting your inventory, they can be grabbing product and shipping it out your door, bringing more sales revenue into your business. Accurate inventory levels and accounting software help you optimize your warehouse and reduce labor costs.
7. Provide More Accurate Reports
All businesses must check their inventory stock with accounting data to avoid discrepancies. Your stakeholders and investors rely on you to provide accurate reports and accurate financial statements for tax purposes. When discrepancies become the norm, it tells your stakeholders that you aren’t running a tight ship.
You also need to be able to manage your balance sheet and have a good handle on your cost of sales. These will be vital to management decisions. Accounting software removes complications and helps you provide the accurate reports you need.
Summary
When you’re able to automate each of the above processes, your business will operate much more efficiently. Your staff will be freed up to work on other more important tasks, and your business will always have accurate inventory and accounting numbers.
This is why integrated inventory management and accounting software is so important for the performance and health of your business. They’ll help you assess your needs, optimize your sales, make smart decisions, and make plans for future growth.
Ready to get started? Then see how aACE can streamline your business today!
