What does stock control software do?
Stock control software tracks what you have, where it is and what it is worth, by recording every movement in and out. In Wave POS, the till, purchases and the stock screens all write to the same ledger, so the figure on screen is the result of things that happened, not a number someone typed over.
If your stock lives in an exercise book or a spreadsheet today, the guide to moving from Excel shows how to bring your products across.
A stock ledger for every branch
Each branch has its own stock, and every change to it is a line in that branch’s ledger, with who made it and when. Sales and returns at the till, voids, goods received from suppliers, transfers in and out, approved adjustments and stock takes all appear there.
So when someone asks why the Nakuru branch has 30 packets of 2 kg sugar when it had 60 on Monday, the ledger answers it. In short:
| Movement | Quantity | Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Monday opening | 60 | |
| Sold at the tills, Monday to Wednesday | −40 | 20 |
| Received from the supplier, Wednesday | +24 | 44 |
| Sold at the tills, Thursday | −10 | 34 |
| Damaged, approved by the manager | −4 | 30 |
The stock movements report shows the same story for every product over the dates you choose.
Average cost: what your stock is worth
Stock is valued at average cost, and every purchase you receive updates it. Say you have 10 tins of 5 litre cooking oil that cost KSh 1,200 each, worth KSh 12,000. You receive 20 more at KSh 1,260, worth KSh 25,200. You now have 30 tins worth KSh 37,200, so the average cost becomes KSh 1,240 a tin.
The stock value report multiplies what each branch has by that cost. Profit on each sale is measured against the item’s cost at the time it was sold, so a dearer delivery next month does not rewrite last month’s profit. Purchases start as a draft and post into stock at cost when the goods are received; see purchasing and suppliers.
Batches and expiry dates
Products that need them can carry batch numbers and expiry dates, recorded when the goods are received. This suits chemists, agrovets and shops selling food or drinks with a shelf life, where the batch and the expiry date matter. Pharmacies and agrovets use it most.
Adjustments, transfers and stock takes
Every way stock changes outside a sale or a purchase has its own record, and none of them lets one person change the figures alone.
Adjustments wait for approval
Damaged goods, breakages and corrections are entered as adjustments, and they wait for a manager’s approval before they change stock. A stock clerk can report six broken bottles; only a manager can write them off. That stops quiet write-offs that hide theft.
Transfers between branches
A transfer is sent from one branch and received at the other, and the stock moves at its average cost. If the Nairobi branch sends 50 packets of maize flour to Thika and only 48 arrive, Thika receives 48 and the missing 2 are recorded as lost in transit, not silently absorbed. More on running several shops in branches.
Stock takes
Count one category or a whole branch. Each count is compared with the stock at the moment it is entered, so sales made while you count do not throw the figures out, and the differences post only when a manager completes the stock take. The stock take guide walks through a count from start to finish.
Low stock and negative stock
Low stock and negative stock show on the dashboard and have their own reports, branch by branch.
- Low stock is your list of what is running out, to order from your suppliers.
- Negative stock means the tills sold more than the records showed. Usually a delivery has not been received in the system yet, or an earlier count was wrong. Seeing it early lets you fix the cause rather than live with wrong figures.
Wave POS does not place orders with suppliers or reorder for you. When the goods arrive, receive them as a purchase and the stock and average cost update straight away.