{"id":1838,"date":"2021-08-25T11:49:58","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T15:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/?p=1838"},"modified":"2025-04-24T10:56:14","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T14:56:14","slug":"8-business-needs-inventory-management-software-satisfy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/8-business-needs-inventory-management-software-satisfy\/","title":{"rendered":"8 benefits of small business inventory management software"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/category\/growth-customers\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Growth &amp; Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t8 benefits of small business inventory management software\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2021-08-25T11:49:58-04:00\">August 25, 2021<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"8 benefits of small business inventory management software\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/8-business-needs-inventory-management-software-satisfy\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/header>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/author\/johannabrown\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/07\/Johanna-headshot2-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Johanna Brown-Lyons<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>How are you currently managing your small business inventory?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many businesses rely on spreadsheets for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/products\/sage-50cloud\/\">stock and inventory information<\/a>. But spreadsheets aren\u2019t really designed for inventory management. For one thing, it requires manual updating \u2013 which is both time consuming and error prone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without real-time inventory data, it\u2019s harder for you to accurately forecast your inventory needs. Getting caught short with stockouts can lead to lost sales opportunities and disappointed customers. Having too much inventory on hand increases capital carrying costs and storage costs as well as erodes profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is where small business inventory management software, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/products\/sage-50cloud\/\">Sage 50cloud<\/a>, can help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to improving forecasting and the order quantity process, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/accounting-software\/inventory-management\/\">inventory management software<\/a> makes it easy to share real-time inventory status with various teams, such as sales and production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Boss your finances with Sage 50cloud<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Enjoy less admin, more automation, simplified payroll, and get paid faster with Sage 50cloud.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/products\/sage-50cloud\/#gate-47450dd8-67ad-4add-a931-3850268e87ad\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-6719\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Take a test drive today!<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1279589946-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"woman putting on headset working on computer\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1279589946-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are eight benefits to consider when evaluating inventory management software for your small business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-connect-front-and-back-end-systems\">Connect front and back-end systems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>How great would it be to give your marketing, sales, finance, and legal teams transparent and up-to-date data about inventory as it relates to each of their functions and each of your customers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inventory management software can do that by displaying information and access points related to your company&#8217;s inventory items. That includes a summary of item information, access to recently used inventory reports, and a graphic analysis of how the cost of sales is trending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, software makes it easy to perform a specific task by displaying a <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/oD0_jv_aLsI\">clear inventory management flow<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-go-beyond-quantities-on-hand\">Go beyond quantities on hand<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many small businesses (especially small manufacturers) need to process large quantities of information about individual inventory items or services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some key tasks inventory management software can help with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Perform quick research and comparisons so you can make good stock-reordering decisions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understand the relationships between quantities, usage, and complex assembly processes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Understand the performance of an item\/service while moving through your sales and purchasing processes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Consider the example cited by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/products\/sage-50cloud\/\">Sage 50cloud<\/a> customer Jeffrey Burgess: \u201cIt\u2019s not enough to know that I have \u2018x\u2019 sheets of laminate or particle board. I need to track what apartment complex bought what color, and what size cabinets the particle board was used to build. I have to have the ability to take the raw materials and turn it into inventory, and Sage 50cloud lets me do that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-accommodate-your-costing-method-of-choice\">Accommodate your costing method of choice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you use inventory management software or not, your business will have selected its costing method, which has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/how-to-choose-an-accountant-for-your-business\/\">crucial tax implications<\/a>. Software should support your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/how-do-you-use-accrual-accounting-effectively\/\">costing method of choice<\/a>, whether it\u2019s first-in, first out (FIFO); Last-in, First-Out (LIFO); weighted average; or specific unit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">A guide to small business finance<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In this guide we&#8217;ll walk you through the financial statements every small business owner should understand and explain the accounting formulas you should know.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-07b2de02-834c-45aa-9ed4-8042b04893e9\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1327779575-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1327779575-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-offer-robust-reporting-capabilities-including-templates\">Offer robust reporting capabilities, including templates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Keeping track of the amount and cost of inventory is a key functionality of any software, so any system you choose should have a strong roster of reporting templates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examples of industry-specific reports include assembly planning, production schedule, and component pick list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-easily-record-inventory-adjustments\">Easily record inventory adjustments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Occasionally, you may need to record adjustments to on hand quantities of inventory items. Software should make it easy for you to make these adjustments and track them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-set-up-and-execute-quantity-discounts\">Set up and execute quantity discounts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Software should let you set up your inventory so that when a customer purchases a specified amount of an item, its sales price is discounted by a percentage or a set amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, you could give customers a 10% discount if they purchase 50 or more of a certain inventory item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-establish-multiple-price-levels\">Establish multiple price levels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><br>Software should let you set up price levels that charge different prices to different customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, a regular customer who buys large quantities of an item may get a better price than the occasional customer who only buys one of that same item.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-be-easy-to-use-and-deliver-strong-return-on-time-invested\">Be easy to use and deliver strong return on time invested<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In terms of the effort, you or your staff need to invest before you begin to see results, inventory management software should give you a big payoff from minimal effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among the other functions it performs, Sage 50 adjusts inventory levels each time you post a purchase or sale of an inventory item. It also tracks the cost of each item on a daily basis, based on the transaction date and item class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-take-control-of-your-inventory-management-with-sage-50cloud\">Take control of your inventory management with Sage 50cloud<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"video-container-wrap -mode-full\"><div class=\"video-container\"><video\n\t\t\t\tclass=\"sage-video video-js vjs-default-skin \"\n\t\t\t\twidth=\"640\"\n\t\t\t\theight=\"360\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-setup='{ \"controls\": true, \"aspectRatio\" : \"16:9\", \"poster\": \"https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/oD0_jv_aLsI\/hqdefault.jpg\", \"techOrder\": [\"youtube\"], \"enablejsapi\": 1, \"origin\": \"https:\/\/www.sage.com\", \"sources\": [{ \"type\": \"video\/youtube\", \"src\": \"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oD0_jv_aLsI\"}], \"youtube\": { \"ytControls\": 0, \"cc_load_policy\": 3, \"modestbranding\": 1, \"hl\": \"en_US\", \"playsinline\": 1 } }'\n\t\t\t\tcrossorigin=\"\"><\/video><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/products\/sage-50cloud\/\">Sage 50Cloud<\/a>, getting to the point where you can track inventory in these ways is basically a three-step process:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Enter the item information, including sales account, inventory account, and cost-of-sales account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use item codes when entering purchases and sales.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enter adjustments, if necessary, through an inventory-adjustments feature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Ready to learn more? Take a test drive of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/products\/sage-50cloud\/\">Sage 50cloud<\/a> today.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"gate-ab515c6e-7e90-4c2f-a67e-113872516e8b wp-block-sage-subscription-form\"><div class=\"gcdc-loader gcv2-loader\"><\/div><\/div> \n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Say goodbye to unpaid invoices<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Download our\u00a0 guide for 7 tips to get your invoices paid faster.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-9b2a69dc-e10f-4dbf-b0ce-54a1fa05ac69\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Download Now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1064\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/1675w-x-1275h_0017_Layer-4-1064x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/07\/1675w-x-1275h_0017_Layer-4-1064x810.jpg 1064w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How are you currently managing your small business inventory? Many businesses rely on spreadsheets for stock and inventory information. But spreadsheets aren\u2019t really designed for inventory management. For one thing, it requires manual updating \u2013 which is both time consuming and error prone. Without real-time inventory data, it\u2019s harder for you to accurately forecast your [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":795,"featured_media":3485,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[299,19],"business_type":[40],"lilypad":[],"context":[102],"industry":[56,53,55,54],"persona":[96,97],"imagine_tag":[230],"coauthors":[645],"class_list":["post-1838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","tag-cash-flow","tag-inventory-management","business_type-small-business","industry-ecommerce","industry-manufacturing","industry-professional-services","industry-retail"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-us","author_name":"Johanna Brown-Lyons","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2018\/02\/GettyImages-534561699_medium.jpg","imagine_tags":{"230":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice US","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/795"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1838"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/3485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-us\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}