Best way to keep inventory for small business

#Best way to keep inventory for small business software#

DonвЂ™t forget to account for the вЂњoverheadвЂќ costs of a pieceвЂ“the stringing thread or wire, small findings, and consumables or tool wear.The database serves as your memory, in both inventory and documenting finished work. Record details that youвЂ™ll want to know in the future, such as what color(s) of seed bead you used in a piece or what artist you purchased a focal bead from.Generally, I estimate my seed bead costs and enter them as a lump sum, while specifically recording only the significant beads in a piece. Prioritize entering and tracking the exact price of those items of highest cost.Record purchases in your database as quickly as possible so you donвЂ™t forget anything.Seems odd to say it, but having the items organized this way actually encourages my creativity, whereas chaos would just stifle it. I know immediately what it cost per unit, where I bought it in case I want more, what itвЂ™s made of, all the important info. Now, each of my bead-storage containers has a tiny stick-on label with a number matching the one assigned by the database.

#Best way to keep inventory for small business software#

Q: How has the database affected your creative process?ДЄ: Having the software and the discipline of entering my stash and the finished works helped me feel a real sense of organization that was lacking previously. Databases are great for doing math for you! Once I had the inventory section done, the pricing of finished works was pretty easy. Q: Sounds like quite the undertaking! How did you decide where to begin?ДЄ: I built the first rough BeadEnCounter system to enter my inventory as I purchased it, and it evolved through my discovering new needs as I went along. I build databases for a living, so naturally my thoughts turned to keeping track of both the inventory and the finished works in a database. вЂњIs this citrine or yellow glass?вЂќ I found myself asking. Almost immediately, I found out that pricing these works for sale was problematic, as I couldnвЂ™t remember the cost of any of the materials for more than a week or two after purchase, or even what they were made of. I started collecting beads, stones, and findings in a systematic way and selling the pieces that I made.

Q: How did you come up with the idea of an inventory database for your handmade jewelry business?ДЄ: A few years ago, I became serious about beading as a way to express my creativity. An interview with Lynn Allen, inventor of BeadEnCounter, an inventory database for labeling and tracking materials.