Company Shops - Inventory

commonsku’s Company Shops can carry client-owned inventory items. You can order, track, and sell inventoried products from any new or existing Company Shop.

Adding inventory to your Company Shop allows your client to view and order from the pre-purchased products, makes it easy for you to track what's in stock, and notifies you when items are running low. You can add and edit inventory items, monitor current orders, replenish inventory, and view changes in inventory activity.

On this page:

Update user permissions

Enable inventory

Enter the inventory settings

Add products to your shop

How to order inventory for your client

How to process initial/replenishment inventory orders

How to process your client's orders

Inventory tab: track and manage inventory

Inventory Products

Inventory Orders

Inventory Activity

FAQ

Update user permissions

Before you can enable inventory, you will need to have permission to:

• Create/Modify/Delete Shops
• Manage Inventory

User permissions can be adjusted through your company settings.

Enable inventory

To enable inventory on your Company Shop:

1. Navigate to your Company Shop > click the Settings tab.
2. Scroll down to the Inventory section > click Enable Inventory.

After you've enabled inventory, you can begin to fill out the required inventory settings.

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Enter the inventory settings

Once you click to enable the inventory feature, it will display a red "Not Enabled" warning in the top right corner until all fields have been entered.

These fields include:

• Inventory program number - this identifies the shop/client that owns the inventory. The program number will transfer to the warehouse receivables attachment, so the warehouse knows who owns the stock. The program number will also replace the SKUs on the warehouse's PO(s) when your client orders from their inventory, so the warehouse pulls from the correct stock. 
• Show inventory on shop - select this option to identify which products are in stock on the client-facing shop. If selected, your client will see an inventory icon on the bottom right corner of the product's image and the inventory count of each item.
• Low stock notification contacts - select which team members should receive notifications when items have low stock.
• Warehouse - enter the name of the warehouse that's holding the inventory.
• Warehouse supplier - select the warehouse that's holding the inventory. If the warehouse is not listed, you can add them as a commonsku supplier, then choose them from the dropdown.
• Warehouse Shipping Address - select the warehouse's shipping address. If you cannot select the address, open the supplier's page and ensure the address is designated for "Shipping" or "Both."
• Warehouse Contact - select the warehouse contact to appear as the shipping contact on inventory replenishment orders. If necessary, you can add/edit contacts on the supplier's page.

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Add products to your shop

You will need to source and customize your products before you can add inventory to the shop. Company Shops hold inventory ordered directly from the shop. You cannot manually add or upload existing stock.

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How to order inventory for your client

To order inventory for your shop, click Actions > Order Inventory.

Welcome to your internal inventory shop! From here, you can order products on behalf of your client, ship items to your supplier's warehouse, and drop the stock into your Company Shop. 

To order your products:

1. Select your desired product
2. Click Add
3. Select the sizes and colors you need from the relevant dropdowns
4. Enter the QTY (the product's minimum quantity break determines minimums)
5. Click Keep Shopping to add more items, or click Checkout to complete your order
6. Confirm your client's billing details
7. Confirm your supplier's warehouse shipping details (the contact and address are pre-defined as part of the inventory settings)
8. Click Submit Order

The inventory will now appear in the Inventory tab > Inventory Products. 

Next, you can:

1. Go to the Inventory tab > Inventory Orders
2. Click the hyperlinked project name and number to open the project in a new tab
3. Process the order (see below)

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How to process initial/replenishment inventory orders

The workflow to process an inventory order has six main steps:

• Creating the sales order
• Editing/sending the order for client approval
• Entering the shipping information
• Creating the purchase orders
• Updating the purchase orders
• Invoicing the client and entering supplier bills

Creating the sales order

Start by ordering inventory for your client. Once you place an order, commonsku will automatically create a sales order and drop it in the Inventory tab > Inventory Orders.

Editing/sending the order for client approval

In the Inventory tab > Inventory Orders, click the hyperlinked project name and number to open the project in a new tab.

1. In the sales order, make edits as needed (if you increase/decrease the inventory item's quantity, the new quantity will be used to determine what's On Order)
2. Email the sales order for your client's approval (optional)

Entering the shipping information

1. Click into the project's Shipping tab and enter each product's shipping details

Creating the purchase orders

To generate purchase orders:

1. Open the Purchase Orders tab and select Actions > Create POs

Updating the purchase orders

Changing an inventory PO's stage will affect its status in the shop's Inventory tab > Inventory Products.

To update purchase orders:

1. Submit POs to suppliers as usual and ensure that POs shipping to the warehouse are marked as Submitted; this will update the products to being On Order and send an automatic email to the warehouse contact to expect an inventory order
2. Confirm the POs as usual; the products will still show as being On Order
3. Mark the POs as Shipped or Ready for Billing as products ship to or land at the warehouse; this will update the products to being Available

There are two common approaches to show when inventory products are Available:

• If you want to show products as being Available when they've shipped to the warehouse, then change the PO's status to Shipped when the items are on their way.
• If you want to confirm stock before the products are shown as Available, then change the PO's status to Ready for Billing when you have confirmed the stock.

Invoicing the client and entering supplier bills

• Invoice your client for the inventory, then export the invoice to your accounting platform and receive payment as usual.
• Enter supplier bills into the project or Supplier Billing Report, then export the bills as usual.

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How to process your client's orders

Your client's shopping experience will be very similar to other commonsku Shops, but there are a few differences if you've opted to "Show inventory on shop," including:

• The shopper will see an inventory icon on the bottom right corner of any inventory item's image.
• The shopper will see inventory counts when they click an item and when they begin to add an item to their cart.

The workflow to process your client's order has six main steps:

• Creating the sales order
• Editing/sending the order for approval
• Entering the shipping information
• Creating the purchase orders
• Updating the purchase orders
• Invoicing the client and entering supplier bills

Create the sales order

Like all commonsku Shops, your client's shop order will automatically create a sales order in commonsku, which you can find in the shop's Orders tab.

Edit/send the order for your client's approval

1. In the Orders tab > Inventory Orders, click the order to open the project in a new tab
2. In the sales order, make edits as needed*
3. Email the sales order for your client's approval (optional)

*There are a few things to note about inventory increases and decreases:

• You cannot increase an inventory item's quantity by more than the stock that's Available in the shop; the number will revert to the original order amount.
• If you decrease the inventory quantity, the amount you reduced will move from Reserved to Available.
• If you then increase the inventory quantity, the amount you added will move from Available to Reserved.

Enter each product's shipping details

1. Click into the project's Shipping tab and enter each product's shipping details

Create the purchase orders

To generate purchase orders:

1. Open the Purchase Orders tab and select Actions > Create POs

Update the purchase orders

Changing an inventory PO's stage will affect its status in the shop's Inventory tab > Inventory Products.

To update purchase orders:

1. Submit and confirm POs with suppliers as usual; the products will still show as being Reserved
2. Mark the POs as Shipped or Ready for Billing as products ship to or land with your client; this will remove the products from the Inventory Products tab since they are no longer in stock

There are two common approaches to show when inventory products are no longer Reserved:

• If you want to remove products from the Inventory Products tab when they've shipped to your client, then change the PO's status to Shipped when the items are on their way.
• If you want to remove products from the Inventory Products tab when they've landed with your client, then change the PO's status to Ready for Billing when the items have landed.

Invoice the client and enter supplier bills

• Invoice your client for their order, even if the invoice is $0, then export the invoice to your accounting platform and receive payment as usual.
• Enter supplier bills into the project or Supplier Billing Report, then export the bills as usual.

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Inventory tab: track and manage inventory

Company Shops hold merchandise ordered directly from the shop. You must enable and order inventory before you can manage stock through the Inventory tab. You cannot upload existing inventory.

The Inventory tab has three separate sections:

• Inventory Products - use this tab to track inventory items, edit availability, and set notifications.
• Inventory Orders - use this tab to view and process your initial inventory and replenishment orders.
• Inventory Activity  - this tab acts as a general ledger and provides a complete history of inventory changes.

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Inventory Products

You can use the Inventory Products section to:

• View product details
• Track a product's status (On Order, Available, Reserved)
• Edit product availability
• Set low stock notifications

Product details

The Inventory Products tab displays each products':

1. SKU and name
2. Warehouse code - this includes the warehouse from the inventory settings, the shop number, and a unique order number.
3. Size and color - each size/color variant has a line.
4. Status - On Order, Available, or Reserved.
5. Low stock notification alert
6. Inventory cost - what your client paid per item.
7. Inventory price*
8. Edit button - used to adjust available inventory and set the threshold for low stock notifications.

How to track a product's status

There are three different products statuses:

1. On Order
2. Available
3. Reserved

On Order

Products will move to the On Order status when:

• The inventory order has moved into production (PO is created)
• The PO(s) shipping to the warehouse have been submitted/confirmed (the PO has a stage of Submitted or Confirmed)

Products will not show as being On Order if:

• The inventory order has not moved into production (PO is not created)
• The PO(s) shipping to the warehouse are newly created or have been closed (the PO has a stage of Created or Closed)

Available

Products will move to the Available status when:

• The inventory order has moved into production (PO is created)
• The PO(s) shipping to the warehouse have been marked as Shipped, Ready for Billing, or Billed

There are two common approaches to updating the inventory POs stage:

• If you want to show products as being Available when they've shipped to the warehouse, then change the PO's stage to Shipped when the items are on their way.
• If you want to check stock before the products are shown as Available, then change the PO's stage to Ready for Billing when you have confirmed the stock.

Reserved

Products will move to the Reserved status when:

• Your client has ordered inventory from their shop (sales order is created)
• The warehouse's PO(s) have been submitted to or confirmed by the warehouse (the PO has a stage of Submitted or Confirmed)

Products will not show as being Reserved if:

• The warehouse's PO(s) have been marked as Shipped, Ready for Billing, or Billed (the items are no longer in inventory)

How to edit a product's availability 

To edit a product's availability:

1. Hover over the product and click the Edit button
2. Increase the product quantity as needed (up to a maximum of 10% of the original quantity)
3. Click Done

How to set a low stock notification

To set a low stock notification:

1. Hover over the product and click the Edit button
2. Enter the minimum threshold that must be met for low stock notification contacts to receive an alert
3. Click Done

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Inventory Orders

You can use the Inventory Orders tab to:

• View and search for initial/replenishment inventory orders
• Export a CSV with each order's details
• Access an inventory order

The Inventory Orders tab displays the:

• Date - the order's creation.
• Project - the project's number and name.
• Total - the subtotal of the sales order.
• PO Status - the PO's status(es).

How to search for initial/replenishment inventory orders:

1. In the Inventory tab > Inventory Orders, use the "Inventory Product, "Start Date," and "End Date" filters to narrow down your search

How to update/remove filters:

• Remove the "Inventory Product" filter by clicking the X on the right side.  
• Remove the date filters by highlighting and clicking your keyboard's Delete or Backspace button.

How to export a CSV with each order's details

To export a CSV with each order's details:

1. In the Inventory tab > Inventory Orders, click the Export button

The CSV export will contain each order's date, project number, project name, total, PO status.

How to open an inventory order

To open an inventory order:

1. In the Inventory tab > Inventory Orders, click the hyperlinked project name and number to open the project in a new tab

From here, you can view and process the order.

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Inventory Activity

The Inventory Activity tab shows the entire history of all inventoried products in your shop. 

It displays each product's:

• Date - the date the activity occurred.
• Name - the product's name.
• Warehouse code - the unique warehouse code 
• Activity
• Status - On Order, Available, or Reserved.
• Inventory cost - what your client paid per item
• Source - the sales order

How to search the Inventory Activity tab:

1. In the Inventory tab > Inventory Activity, use the "Inventory Product, "Start Date," and "End Date" filters to narrow down your search
2. Click the Get Activity button

How to track product activity

There are five types of Inventory Activity:

• Purchase - identifies the initial/replenishment inventory purchases. This activity is triggered when the warehouse's PO is set to Submitted or Confirmed.
• Sale - identifies client orders from the shop.
• Adjustment - identifies manual adjustments made in the Inventory Products tab.
• Receive Shipment - identifies when the warehouse's initial/replenishment inventory PO is set to Shipped, Ready for Billing, or Billed.
• Fulfilled - identifies when POs of items your client ordered from the shop are set to Shipped, Ready for Billing, or Billed.

How to export a CSV of the activity details

To export a CSV with each product's activity:

1. In the Inventory tab > Inventory Activity, use the "Inventory Product, "Start Date," and "End Date" filters to narrow down your search
2. Click the Get Activity button
3. Click the Export button

The CSV export will contain each line item's date, product name, warehouse code, activity, product status, inventory cost, source, and source link.

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FAQ

• Can I have inventoried and non-inventoried items in the same shop?
• Can I sell distributor-owned inventory?
• Do any other shops allow for inventoried items?
• What happens if I delete an inventory sales order/PO/project?
• Am I charged a transaction fee on inventory orders?
• Why can't I change a product's availability?
• Why can't my shopper add an inventoried item to their order?
• Why would I create a $0 invoice when my client orders from their inventory?

Can I have inventoried and non-inventoried items in the same shop?

Yes! You can have as many inventory and non-inventory items as you need in the same company shop.

Can I sell distributor-owned inventory?

No. At the moment, Company Shops only allow for client-owned inventory.

Do any other shops allow for inventoried items?

No. Currently, inventory is only available in Company shops.

What happens if I delete an inventory PO/sales order/project?

If you delete an inventory PO:

• The Inventory Activity will show a "Purchase (Revert)"
• The Inventory Orders will show the order's PO status is No Purchase Orders

If you delete an inventory sales order:

• The Inventory Activity will show a "Purchase (Revert)"
• The Inventory Orders will show the order's PO status is No Purchase Orders and that there is a $0 Total ($0 order subtotal)

If you delete an inventory project:

• The Inventory Activity will show a "Purchase (Revert)"
• The order will be removed from the Inventory Orders 

Am I charged a transaction fee on inventory orders?

Shop's 2.5% transaction fee is based on the final invoice(s) subtotal, including additional product and service changes and excluding any credit card fees. For inventory orders, the cost is based on the subtotal of initial/replenishment orders as well as your client's orders. If your client's orders are $0 because they already paid for the inventory, the fee would be $0.

Why can't I change a product's availability?

You can increase a product's availability by up to 10%, but there are a few things you cannot do. You cannot:

• Increase availability by more than 10%
• Adjust inventory multiple times within a short timeframe
• Increase inventory from 0 (10% of 0 is 0)
• Upload existing inventory

The best practice is to create a new order anytime you need to increase the inventory substantially. 

Why can't my shopper add an inventoried item to their order?

Your client cannot order inventory items until the order is complete and the products are Available.

Why would I create a $0 invoice when my client orders from their inventory?

Inventory orders are unique since they can also include items that are not held in stock. Reps should always create an invoice and avoid the potential mistake of not invoicing a client for additional non-inventory items. You can export $0 invoices to your accounting platform or export them as a CSV file so they don't land in accounting.

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