Setting up inventory items is quick and easy. Item numbers and barcodes may be manually entered or assigned automatically. When a new item is added, much of the basic information may be copied from another item to help reduce errors and speed up the entry process, or a template item may be defined.

The Enterprise edition supports multiple stocking locations. Locations may be reported separately, together, or in location groups. An unlimited number of locations and location groups may be defined, and each group may have an unlimited number of locations. Location groups can be used for reporting and merchandise allocation.

Each item number identifies a unique inventory item with an associated description, category, price, barcode, and other information.

CounterPoint supports normal inventory items, as well as gridded (apparel color/size) items.

An item may be defined as an Inventory, Non-Inventory, Service, or Discount item. CounterPoint tracks on-hand quantities for Inventory-type items.

You can easily remove inactive items from CounterPoint. Inactive items are those that have no quantity on-hand, no quantity committed, and no sales activity after the specified cutoff date. CounterPoint retains sales history for items that were removed.

Item Information

An item may also have:

• Unlimited barcodes, a stocking unit, and up to five alternate selling units (e.g., EACH, BOX, CARTON).
• Up to 20 user-defined profile fields for collecting and displaying additional item information.
• Images, sounds, or video clips that can be displayed during item Zooms, or auto-displayed in Regular and Touchscreen Ticket Entry.
• A weight assigned.
• Unlimited substitute items that can be viewed during Item Zooms.
• A primary vendor and an unlimited number of alternate vendors. For each vendor/item combination, CounterPoint tracks the purchasing costs, the vendor's item number, and other valuable information.

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Look ups

Customize LookUps by setting the order in which the records display or by specifying which fields display (item number, category, vendor, etc.). You can filter LookUps so that only items that match specific criteria will display. For example, you could define a Filter that displays only those items that have the word Club in the description, a primary vendor of Acme, and that are in the Golf category. You can save named LookUps for future use. Custom Filters are automatically saved with your LookUp.

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Zoom

You can easily view details of an item whenever you look up or view an item. Item Zooms display information about the item (price, category, extended description, etc.), the inventory (location, cost, quantity available, etc.), recent sales history, vendors for the item, open purchase orders, monthly history, substitute items, serial numbers, open transfers, images, and item notes. You can customize the format and the fields that display in the Zoom.

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Barcodes

Barcodes may be manually entered or automatically generated by CounterPoint. Both manufacturer and in-house barcodes are supported. Barcodes may be printed on labels and used for automated scanning during Point of Sale checkout, when taking a physical count, and in other functions.

Random-weight barcodes allow for variable weight items, such as meat or produce. Ticket Entry recognizes random-weight barcodes and automatically calculates the correct quantity (weight). Weight scales and tare weights (container weights) are also supported.

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Notes

An item may have unlimited pages of notes. These notes may be viewed, printed on forms when the item is sold, and even be set to automatically display when the clerk sells the item (valuable for power-selling related items). Notes use rich text format (RTF) for bolding, underlining, etc.

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Pricing

An item may be priced by its stocking unit or by alternate units (up to five alternate units per item). For example, you may stock golf balls by the EACH, and sell them at one price by the BOX and at another price by the SLEEVE.

Each item may have up to three price levels for the item's stocking unit and for each of its five alternate units (or six levels with the Advanced Pricing Option).

With the Advanced Pricing Option, you can have up to six price levels

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Pricing Rules

The calculated price can be based on a price level, a discount percentage/amount off of a price level, a markup percentage/amount from cost, or a fixed price determined by user-defined pricing rules.

Pricing rules provide flexible pricing options, including Promotional, Contract, and Special pricing:

• Promotional—Sale prices typically have starting and ending dates (and times). Discounts may be defined for specific items or entire categories or subcategories. Multiple sales may be defined in advance using Planned Promotions.
• Contract—Customer-specific prices may be defined for specific items or entire categories/subcategories of merchandise and have optional starting and ending dates (and times).
• Special—Special prices may be defined for general pricing policies or for particular groups of customers and typically don’t have starting or ending dates.

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Valuation Methods

Inventory valuation is provided by stocking location using the Average Cost method. With the Enterprise edition, you can use the Retail Valuation method to track your inventory based on its presumed selling price. For example, if you receive two shirts priced at $10 each, you have increased your inventory value by $20. If you later mark down those shirts, you have reduced your inventory value, even though you have not received or sold any merchandise.

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Commissions

Each sales rep can be assigned a commission code, and commissions can be calculated on selling price or on gross profit. Different commission rates may be used for different sales reps. Commissions are described more fully under Sales History.

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Markdown Tracking

Whenever Price-1 is changed, CounterPoint automatically tracks that change as a markdown. For example, if you reduce a shirt’s price from $10 to $9 and you have two shirts on hand, the change is recorded as a $2 markdown. CounterPoint retains a detailed history of all markdowns.

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Transfers

For businesses with more than one store, transfer documents can be completed at the main office or at the other stores.

The Transfer Advice report provides a list of suggested transfers using either the maximum-quantity or the replenish sales calculation method. The Transfer Advice report can automatically create transfer transactions, which may be reviewed and edited prior to finalizing the transfer-out documents. Miscellaneous charges, such as freight, can optionally be added during the transfer.

You can also use "Quick Transfers" to transfer inventory in a single step.

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Reports

• Inventory Status report and Stock Status report provide valuable and concise views of your inventory levels.
• Valuation report shows your current inventory position from different points of view.
• Inventory Analysis report includes Top X and Bottom X reporting based on quantity on-hand, profit value, sales, quantity sold, etc.
• Inventory History report provides a detailed transaction log of historical inventory activity.
• Committed Inventory report provides details of quantities committed, on order, on backorder, on layaway, and in transit.
• Price reports list the current selling prices, including Price-1 values, sale prices, etc.
• Transfer Advice report suggests transfer amounts and can create transfers.
• Transfer Status report provides details of all inventory transfers.
• Six Week Item History report evaluates item performance to help you spot sales trends, based on a user-selected reporting date.

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Merchandise Analysis

Analyze merchandise at the item level, or get the bigger picture by grouping inventory by vendor, category, subcategory, etc.

With hot/cold reporting, you can show, for example, the "hottest 40 items based on quantity sold" or "the coldest 20 items based on turn rate."

Merchandise Analysis includes pre-defined reports:

• Sales is a high-level view of your performance.
• Inventory Performance measures the performance of a particular item, category, or subcategory.
• Sales/Returns evaluates returns in relation to sales.
• Vendor Comparison compares each vendor's sales performance against your investment in that vendor’s merchandise.
• Retail Vlue History provides an in-depth or summarized analysis of inventory changes at the retail value within a selected period.
• Sales Analysis shows the retail and off-retail values so you can compare discounts and profits.

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