Purchase and Transfer Stock

Purchase or Transfer Stock for your Location Inventory

As part of managing inventory in a cosmetic clinic, it’s essential that stock is purchased and properly set up before it can be used in treatment notes and Point of Sale (POS). This is also essential for tracking and management of regulated medicines used in many treatments. If stock has not been purchased, these functions will not operate correctly. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of purchasing stock, ensuring that the necessary steps are followed for smooth operations at your clinic.

Prerequisites: Setting Up Suppliers and Products

Before you can purchase stock, suppliers and products need to be set up in the system. If you haven't done this yet, it’s important to return to the Product Management section of the guide to complete these steps. Setting up suppliers allows the system to know where the stock is coming from, and setting up products ensures the items are available for purchase and use.

If you're part of a multi-location clinic or franchise, stock is added at the business level, making it available to all locations. This ensures consistency and access to products across all your clinics.

Important Notes for Multi-Location Businesses

If your clinic or salon is part of a franchise or multi-location business, a location such as the head office can be assigned as the Lead Group (LG). The LG will act as a supplier, making it easier to transfer stock between locations. Business Admins (BA) at different locations can purchase from the LG, or the LG can transfer stock to the BA. For more information on Lead Groups, refer to the article on Franchise Management to understand how this process works and how stock can be efficiently shared across multiple locations.

Step-by-Step Guide to Purchasing Stock

To purchase stock and add it to your inventory, follow these steps:

1. Access the Stock Management Section

• On the left-hand menu, navigate to Stock. Here, you’ll see two dropdown options: Levels and Manage.
• Select Manage to begin the process of purchasing stock for a specific location. This will allow you to view and manage previous transfers and purchases.

2. View Previous Transfers and Purchases

• When you select Manage, a list of previous stock transfers and purchases will be displayed. The most recent orders will appear first. You can filter this list by Date and Status (e.g., Purchases Not Received, Transfers Not Received, Audit in Progress, Completed Orders).
• Click Show Orders after applying the relevant filters to view the filtered list of orders.
• Select View under the Action column to drill down into the details.

3. Select Purchase Stock

• In the top right-hand corner, you’ll see three options: Audit Stock, Transfer Stock, and Purchase Stock.
• Choose Purchase Stock to initiate a new stock order.

4. Enter Purchase Order Details

• On the right-hand side, under Purchase Details, the Date will default to today's date, and the Created By field will automatically display the person logged in.
• Select a Supplier from the dropdown menu. If you’re running a multi-location business, you’ll also need to select a delivery location from the dropdown to designate where the stock will be delivered.

You can also Add any Comments if needed for reference.

5. Add Products to the Order

• Under Purchase Order Items, click Add Item to begin adding products to your order.
• A list of available products associated with the selected supplier will appear. These products are pre-set in the system, so only those products linked to the supplier will show.
• Add the quantities of the products you wish to purchase. Pay attention to the unit of measure for each product. For example, Botox may be set up as "Botox unit," so you should purchase quantities of 100 or 50 units (depending on the vial size) instead of purchasing by the vial itself.

Tip: If you’re purchasing different brands under the same supplier, these can be included in the same order (eg. Botox and Juvederm). However, if you’re purchasing from a different supplier, you’ll need to create a new order.

6. Review and Confirm the Order

• Once you’ve added the necessary products and quantities, review the order to make sure everything is correct.
• After reviewing, click Save and Purchase to proceed.
• A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm the purchase. Click Confirm to finalise the order.

7. Receiving the Stock

• The purchased order will now appear in the list of orders, but the stock will not be available for use until it has been Received. This could be done as one process, but it is recommended to create the purchase order when ordering with the supplier and then receiving when you physically Receive the stock.
• Once the stock arrives at your business location, go back to the Manage screen, and you will see the order listed. Select Receive to start the receiving process.
• Review the order details to ensure the physical stock matches what was ordered.
• Once everything matches, select Save and Receive to complete the process. The stock is now officially added to your inventory and available for use in treatments and POS.

8. Completed Orders

• After you’ve received and saved the order, it will be marked as Completed in the system, and the stock will be fully available to use.

Transferring Stock Between Business Locations

Transferring stock between business locations is a common practice for multi-location/franchise operations. This process ensures that inventory is properly shared across locations, allowing you to maintain the right stock levels where needed. It works similarly to placing an order, but with the focus on moving stock from one location to another rather than purchasing.

This guide will walk you through the process of transferring stock. If your business has separate financials for each location, a Purchase should be made between a Lead Group (LG) and a Business Admin (as mentioned in the Franchise Management article).

How to Transfer Stock Between Locations

1. Access the Stock Management Section

• On the left-hand menu, navigate to Stock. Here, you’ll see two dropdown options: Levels and Manage.
• Select Manage to begin the process of transferring stock between locations. This will allow you to view and manage previous transfers.

2. Select Tranfser Stock

• In the top right-hand corner, you’ll see three options: Audit Stock, Transfer Stock, and Purchase Stock.
• Choose Transfer Stock to initiate a new stock order.

4. Enter Transfer Order Details

• On the right-hand side, under Transfer Details, the Date will default to today's date, and the Created By field will automatically display the person logged in.
• Select a Location from the dropdown menu for Transfer From and Transfer To. 
• Select Auto-Fill Transfer if you want the transfer to take place immediately. If you wish to do this in a two step process, for example if a location calls to request stock and you first need to pack it before they pick it up, don't select this tick box.

You can also Add any Comments if needed for reference.

5. Add Products to the Transfer Order

• Under Transfer Order Items, click Add Item to begin adding products to your order.
• A list of available products in the Transfer From location's inventory will appear. Only those products available at the location will show.
• Add the quantities of the products you wish to transfer. Pay attention to the unit of measure for each product.

6. Review and Confirm the Transfer

• Once you’ve added the necessary products and quantities, review the transfer to make sure everything is correct.
• After reviewing, click Save and Transfer to proceed.
• A pop-up will appear asking you to confirm the transfer. Click Confirm to finalise the transfer.

7. Receiving the Transfer

• If Auto-Fill Transfer was selected, the transfer should be automatically received. If not, the transfer will now appear in the list of transfers, but the stock will not be available for use until it has been Received. 
•  Select Receive to start the receiving process.
• Review the transfer details to ensure the physical stock matches what was tranferred.
• Once everything matches, select Save and Receive to complete the process. The stock is now officially added to your inventory and available for use in treatments and POS.

8. Completed Orders

• After you’ve received and saved the transfer, it will be marked as Completed in the system, and the stock will be fully available to use.