Taking Inventory Post 3: How Our Company Went from Chaos to Control

It’s all fun and games until you realize you double-sold that one-of-a-kind, obscure stone on your display. You know, the special-shaped import you’ve been begging someone to buy for the past ten years. The one cut from a no-longer-quarried stone that you are confident you can’t even come close to matching. This stone, it’s not just a product, it’s a treasure.

Yep. It’s that one. It’s always that one.

But now, here you are, living the dream! You have finally found not one but two buyers for this random beauty, and you didn’t even know it! It’s a testament to the unpredictability of our industry. Until yesterday, you didn’t realize that both of these families decided to move forward with their purchase. You sealed the deal on the first purchase. But that second family swooped into the store while you were out and finalized with someone else. (That’ll teach you to leave the store!)

You might be a monument builder if you’ve ever lost sleep over a similar stone crisis, the weight of the situation pressing down on you like the stone itself.

No one likes choosing which family to call and break this news to! And once you get your inventory under control, you won’t have to!

Taming the Chaos

By now, you have read all about our company’s inventory re-organization project. If not, you can catch up on this journey by starting here.

My husband and I own Emerson Monument Company in Northwest Arkansas. Like you, we have grown in our understanding, processes and procedures over the years. But inventory has been a continuing nightmare since we bought the business nearly twenty years ago.

As a former auditor, I understand the importance of properly sorting and valuing inventory. But nothing truly prepared me for our specific industry’s unique inventory management needs. And I have been trying to find solutions ever since.

But, fellow monument friends, I have finally found solutions that work for us. I am glad to share how we identify products we have sold.

Ground Zero

Having each inventory item listed in our accounting software is the foundation of all inventory organization. That means every die, base, and elusive marker on our display or yard is listed and accounted for.

We use two systems that integrate.

I like to think of our management programs as building blocks and Quickbooks Online is the foundational block. This robust program is our accounting software. Here, we structure every inventory item by assigning it unique properties such as name, weight, and quantity.

The building block we set on top of our foundational Quickbooks is StoneSpot.

StoneSpot and Quickbooks integrate with one another, which basically means they share data and update one another.

A robust set of systems in place is the first step to taming this inventory beast.

The second step is to setup the inventory items within the system.

The Set Up

The best way to set up the inventory items in any accounting software is to start by thinking through how you talk about inventory. (minus the cuss words, of course!) Then, set up your inventory item codes based on the description.

For example, when discussing inventory in our office, we typically start by describing the granite color. We don’t say, “They bought that P2 die”. Instead, we say, “They bought that Georgia Gray Die.”

Because we describe the color first, our item codes begin with the granite color. Further, because it is a lot to type “Georgia Gray” or “Dakota Mahogany”, we use a system of one to two letters to describe our products.

For example:

• GG = Georgia Gray
• DM = Dakota Mahogany
• B = Black

We next describe the piece the client is purchasing. So it makes sense for that to be the next component of our item code.

For example:

• Die = D
• Bevel Marker = BM
• Flat Marker = FM
• Slant with Nosing= SwN

The next thing we describe is the size of the stone and the polish. We then combine all elements to create an item code.

For example:

• GG-D160618P2SERP = Georgia Gray Die 1-6×0-6×1-8 P2, Serp
• GG-D160618P5SERP = Georgia Gray Die 1-6×0-6×1-8 P5, Serp
• B-FM201004PFTBRP = Black Flat Marker 2-0x1-0x0-4 PFT, BRP

The Sync

Once you get all of your inventory items created, it is time to sync the two systems. If you run StoneSpot, it is important to always remember to sync it to Quickbooks if you are adding an inventory or sales tax item.

Now that your inventory items and their associated quantities are synced between StoneSpot and Quickbooks, it is time to get down to business!

Making It All Work

One thing I love about StoneSpot is how we use it for nearly every aspect of our business. Including our customer orders.

When we take a customer order we type it directly into StoneSpot.

If you already use StoneSpot, then you are familiar with the Stone Sub Order function at the bottom of the screen.

When you click “add stone”, the Stone Sub Order will appear. This is the area that assigns product to the client order.

To assign product, it is important to immediately go to “from inventory” and find the item your client is purchasing.

To find the item I am selling, I start by simply entering the item code. Not only does StoneSpot display my inventory options, but it also displays the quantity I have in stock.

When I select the desired inventory item it will look like this.

I save it and move on to the next piece such as the base and vases.

After setting up the Stone Sub Orders, I save and then I click “Add to Invoice”.

This will automatically add my stones to the invoice I am creating for my client. When I set my inventory items up, I also took the time to enter the associating retail pricing. Because I did that, when I add the Stone Sub Order to my invoice, it automatically updates the price.

Doing it this way removes any risk of input errors occurring while the sales associate is working with a client. It also ensures uniformity in how we describe what the client purchased to the shop team.

The Warning

In the image above, if you look out to the side of the Black turned vase, you will see a little caution symbol. The purpose of that symbol is two fold. It alerts me that the item is out of stock OR that the items I do have in stock have all been spoken for.

This provides me the opportunity to discuss turnaround times with the client while they are sitting with me. It also affords me the reminder to order more if I have not already.

As an added bonus, I can create my inventory order right there and send it to my supplier.

Simple!

The NFC Tag

Sometimes we sell a piece directly off our display. When we do, the StoneSpot process looks just like the process I just described. However, we add an additional step: we add an NFC tag.

To do this we simply link the NFC tag to the client order just like we did in this post. Then we grab a “sold” sticker and place the sticker and the tag on the piece of stone we sold.

Game Changer

Identifying product that has sold in this way has been a game changer. Doing it this way helps us in the following ways:

• StoneSpot identifies the product availability while creating the order with the client
• The sticker visually identifies the product as sold
• The NFC tag quickly communicates which order the stone belongs to

Getting this system put together has taken us years. It did not happen over night and required us to think through what would work for us. With a little patience and a lot of grit, you will find a great inventory system that works for you.