No one ever said running your own business was going to be an easy task. However, anyone that’s ever tried to run a business from home already knows the value of quality tips for managing a home business inventory. Avoid turning your home into an inventory disaster area with these tricks big businesses have used for years.

Tips for Managing a Home Business Inventory

Balance the Incoming Inventory With the Outgoing

One of the hardest things for new business owners to realize is that more items don’t always mean more sales. Having a well-stocked inventory is important but it’s essential to know when to stop. For instance, finding great deals on wholesale used clothes is key to running a quality resale shop. It’s easy to get carried away and instead hoard items to the point where it’s no longer manageable to upload stock online. Avoid burying yourself in a tidal wave of items you might sell and instead focus on customer needs and regularly sell items.

Make Your Inventory Searchable

One of the worst things any businessperson can do is answer vaguely when a customer asks if an item is available. If the owner doesn’t know about the items in stock, then who does? That’s why employees in big business are trained to answer with action.

They do this by having the ability to instantly check their inventory and show the customer. While the average home entrepreneur likely can’t afford an SKU system, there’s no reason they can’t make their inventory information available with the press of a button. A simple list of items and quantities in a spreadsheet program is a great and free—way to start.

Track All Changes To Inventory

Once the inventory list begins to take shape, employees and the owner will have an easier time updating stock. The inventory list can be used to keep the numbers accurate throughout the day with notes about the subtracted quantities of what sells. 

Then, sold items can be consolidated into a new list, and the master list can be updated so they’ll be accurate for tomorrow.

Take Storage Tips From the Pros

The average home isn’t set up in the same way as most warehouses. However, that doesn’t mean warehouses don’t have tips for managing a home business inventory—they do. Namely, find a spare room that will accept an orderly array of shelves. Mark the shelves by section and row so that you can pinpoint the location of items quickly. Lastly, if you’re using a searchable system, it’s a good idea to add a note of the box number, section, and row to make recovering items a breeze.

Carefully pack items into storage containers and do your best to keep like items in the same sections. Finally, if you still have a little spare space, consider setting up a packaging area to help you move items from storage to the post office in one smooth motion.