When your customers start a new project, they expect your small business to provide the most reliable tools, the best quality building materials, and the most trustworthy guidance to get them started.
But meeting your customers’ hardware needs depends on having the right items in stock whenever they visit your store.
That’s where hardware store inventory software comes in. In this blog, we’ll explore how this powerful tool can keep your customers happy and your profits high, plus the top four features to keep in mind as you hunt for the right hardware store inventory software solution.
Why You Need Hardware Store Inventory Software
Inventory management is an essential building block of any successful small business, allowing you to keep your store well-stocked and your costs as low as possible.
For hardware stores in particular, inventory management can be a challenging task.
With everything from expensive power tools to thousands of individual nuts and bolts on your shelves, you can’t rely on time-consuming and inaccurate manual processes to keep track of your stock levels.
Fortunately, hardware store inventory management software can help. This powerful tool tackles the complexities of hardware store inventory management, helping you maintain the perfect balance of stock, avoid costly stockouts, and prevent inconvenient overstocking.
Let’s explore four key ways hardware store inventory management software can streamline your operations, boost your profits, and give you more time to spend helping your customers.
1. Track Your Hardware Store’s Inventory Levels in Real Time
One of the main benefits of hardware store inventory software is that it allows you to keep a close eye on your store from anywhere, at any time.
This tool automatically tracks each item in your inventory from the minute it hits your shelves to the moment your customer takes it home — meaning that you can see an accurate, real-time overview of your stock levels at a glance.
Having access to real-time inventory records means that you’ll be able to reorder the right items in the right amounts at the right time, helping you keep your hardware store well-stocked.
2. Print Custom Barcodes for Your Hardware Store Items
Being able to create and print barcodes for each of the items you carry in your hardware store is critical for effective inventory management.
For example, if you sell a leaf blower that doesn’t come with a barcode on the box, your hardware store inventory software will generate a label with a barcode including the item’s information and pricing. Then, instead of manually entering this item during the inventory count or checkout processes, your team can simply scan the barcode.
This feature eliminates time-consuming and often error-prone manual data entry processes and ensures that all of your items will always be reflected in your inventory records.
3. Manage Inventory On the Fly With a Mobile Inventory Device
Your hardware store inventory software should make it easy to view and manage your stock from anywhere, whether you’re in the back office, on the sales floor, or at the checkout counter.
A mobile inventory scanner gives you a convenient way to handle tasks like stock counts, price lookups, and inventory adjustments on the go.
With so much information at your fingertips, you’ll also be able to provide stellar customer service, helping your shoppers find exactly what they’re looking for in your store.
4. Optimize Your Hardware Store Inventory With In-Depth Reporting
The right hardware store inventory software should do more than just track your stock levels; it should also give you insights into how you can better meet your customers’ needs and boost your profits.
Your hardware store inventory software should generate reports to show your sales trends, inventory turnover, and bestselling products to help you understand your customers’ shopping habits and preferences.
This data is particularly useful when it comes to the seasonal fluctuations that affect hardware store sales. For example, your hardware store inventory software might show that your sales of garden hoses start to rise in the earlier months of spring, then start to drop off again as it gets colder.
These insights will help you tailor your store’s offerings to your customers’ wants and needs, increasing your customer satisfaction and your sales.
Streamline Your Operations With the Best Hardware Store Inventory Software
Ready to supercharge your small business’ inventory management process? Then you need a powerful hardware store inventory software solution at your side.
Comcash is an all-in-one point of sale (POS) and inventory management system designed with small business owners just like you in mind. Equipped with real-time stock tracking, custom barcode printing, a mobile device, and advanced reporting and analytics, Comcash has everything you need to keep your hardware store’s shelves perfectly stocked, your customers happy, and your profits high.
Schedule a live demo today to see Comcash in action, or use our build and price tool to create a custom solution for your hardware store.