Windward Insider Blog

Barcodes: An Essential Small Business Inventory Software Feature

Barcodes: An Essential Small Business Inventory Software Feature
Small business inventory software programs are helping business owners optimize their stock levels for maximum profitability.

Small business inventory software is an important part of success for many retail companies. It helps you know which product is coming into your store, which product is leaving it, and how much money you’re making (or losing) on those items.

When it comes to physically tracking your stock, it’s a good idea to develop a system that’s fast and efficient. This is where barcode scanning comes into play. When paired with the right industrial software, it can become a huge time-saver for your business, no matter what type of inventory you maintain:

  • Retail
  • Raw materials
  • Finished product
  • Tools
  • Parts
  • Supplies

Three Key Components of Inventory Management

The logistics involved in managing your inventory—from the time you receive product to when it ultimately ends up in your customers’ hands—can actually be a fairly complex process. With small business inventory software, it doesn’t have to be.

In particular, there are three main areas where barcode scanning can help you stay on top of your inventory:

1. Stock room: You need a place to store your product. Depending on the size and nature of your business, it could include any of the following:

  • Warehouse
  • Back room of your business
  • Storage container
  • Other satellite location

Barcode scanning helps by providing accurate stock levels so you know exactly what you have on hand, what needs to be ordered and what you have too much of.

2. Shipping/receiving: This is the entry point for inventory coming into your business. Where it comes from can vary greatly:

  • Distribution center
  • Warehouse
  • Manufacturer
  • Other supplier

Having small business inventory software with barcode functionality lets you quickly enter incoming product into the database. Once entered, it can be easily tracked and reported so managers can measure business performance.

3. Point of sale: When product is sold to a customer, the transaction needs to be accurately recorded and stored. With real-time inventory control software, stock levels are instantly updated when a barcoded item is scanned and sold. 

One of the main benefits of barcoding is it speeds up transaction times at the checkout counter, or on the shop floor if your business utilizes mobile POS software. Other advantages include:

  • Instant and accurate stock checks
  • Reduced data entry errors
  • Simplified reordering procedures
  • Knowing product location (warehouse, on display, back room etc.)
  • Easily export data for back-end accounting

To learn more about the benefits of having handheld POS devices for your business, check out our post: Why More Companies Are Including Mobile POS Systems for Retail.

Reporting on Your Business

Small business inventory software that features barcode functionality doesn’t just let you track your inventory, it provides you with up-to-date reports about stock levels, usage and reorder times. With this information at your fingertips, you’ll be able to make informed decisions that will drive profitability.

Are you looking for reliable small business inventory software to help manage your company? Windward System Five is a fully integrated business management system designed to help you control every aspect of your operations. Call us to learn how we can simplify the way you do business.

Follow Windward on

See What's New in Windward

new feature roundup


Latest Posts

Categories

see all

Archives

see all

Try out Windward Business
Management Software for yourself!

Request a Live Demo

Want to know more?

Give us a Call
1 (800) 663-5750


Send Us
A Question


Book a System
Demonstration