Why stock figures drift
In most systems, the quantity on hand is a single number that gets edited. A sale reduces it, a delivery increases it, and when it is wrong somebody types in the right figure. The problem is that the correction destroys the evidence. You are left with a number that is right today and no way to find out why it was wrong yesterday.
Do that a few hundred times and the figure becomes a rumour. Staff start checking the shelf instead of the screen, which is precisely the work the system was supposed to remove.
A ledger, not a number
PlanIt EPOS records stock as an append-only ledger. Every event — a sale, a delivery, a transfer between branches, a return, a write-off, a stock take correction — is written as its own movement, with a quantity, a reason, a timestamp and the user responsible. The quantity on hand is the sum of those movements.
Nothing is ever overwritten. If a figure looks wrong, you open the movement history and read what happened to it. That single design decision is the difference between a stock figure people trust and one they do not.
What this makes possible
- A discrepancy can be traced to the movement that caused it
- Stock valuation can be reported at a point in time, not just today
- Sales made while offline post in order when the till reconnects, without double counting
- Corrections are visible as corrections rather than disguised as reality
Multiple locations
Merchants rarely keep stock in one place. There is what is behind the counter, what is in the racking, what is outside, what is on the van, and — once you grow — what is at the other branch. A single total for all of that is not useful when somebody is standing at the counter asking whether you have it.
PlanIt EPOS holds quantities per location within a branch, and per branch across the group. Transfers are recorded as movements out of one location and into another, so both ends agree and the group total never changes by accident.
Knowing before you run out
Minimum stock levels raise an alert when a line drops below the quantity you want to hold. That is the simple case, and it works well for lines with steady demand.
For everything else, PlanIt EPOS calculates a reorder point from actual behaviour: demand over the last four weeks, the supplier’s lead time, and a safety margin. It then suggests an order quantity that gives you a defined period of cover. Each suggestion explains itself in plain English — how many are moving per week, how long the supplier takes, how much cover is left — so you can judge it rather than take it on trust.
Purchase orders and goods received
Stock arriving is where most inaccuracy is introduced, usually because the delivery does not match the order and the difference gets absorbed rather than recorded.
In PlanIt EPOS, goods are received against the purchase order they belong to. Partial deliveries are normal rather than exceptional: you record what actually arrived, stock rises by that amount, the outstanding quantity on the order reduces, and the order stays visibly part-received. Costs update from the delivery, so margins reflect what you actually paid.
Stock takes and adjustments
Counting still has to happen. What matters is what the system does with the result. Every adjustment in PlanIt EPOS carries a reason — damaged, miscount, write-off, found — and is recorded as a movement rather than an overwrite.
Over time that gives you something more useful than a corrected figure: a pattern. If the same category is repeatedly short, that is a signal about how it is being handled, sold or received, and it is visible in reporting rather than buried.
Valuation and reporting
Stock value is reported at cost across the business, by branch, by location and by category. Because the ledger is append-only, valuation can be reported as at a date rather than only as at now — which matters at year end.
Alongside valuation, the reports merchants actually use are available directly: lines below minimum, stock on order, slow movers with no sale in ninety days, and margin by product so you can see which lines are working and which are occupying space.
Selling in units you did not buy
A large part of merchant stock is bought in one unit and sold in another — cable off a drum, lengths cut from a bar, loose items from a box, weight from a bag. PlanIt EPOS lets a product be stocked in one unit and sold in another, reducing the ledger by what was actually taken, so a part-used drum is not counted as a whole one.
The sale unit can carry its own barcode and price, which keeps the counter fast without compromising the stock figure.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a stock ledger better than a quantity field?
A quantity field is overwritten when it is corrected, which destroys the evidence of what went wrong. A ledger records every movement as its own entry, so the quantity is the sum of what happened and any discrepancy can be traced back to the event that caused it.
Can we track stock in more than one location?
Yes. Quantities are held per location within a branch — counter, racking, yard, van — and per branch across the group. Transfers are recorded as movements at both ends so the totals always agree.
How does it know when to reorder?
A reorder point is calculated from demand over the last four weeks, the supplier’s lead time and a safety margin, then a suggested order quantity gives a defined period of cover. Each suggestion explains its reasoning, and nothing is ordered until you create the purchase order.
Can we receive part of a delivery?
Yes. Goods are received against the purchase order and partial deliveries are normal. Stock rises by what actually arrived, the outstanding quantity reduces, and the order stays visibly part-received until it is complete.
What happens to stock when the till is offline?
Sales are queued locally and post to the ledger when the connection returns, in order and once each. Because every sale carries its own identifier, a reconnect cannot double-count movements.
Can we value stock as at a past date?
Yes. Because the ledger is append-only, stock valuation can be reported as at a date rather than only as at today, which is what you need at year end.
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