We were trying to use the inventory part of quickbooks to keep track of everything, but it doesnt seem to work well for what we do. So i was curious as to what everyone is using to keep track of things like Cake drums, sps plates, boxes, fondant, things like that. Especailly since the amounts needed seem to change all the time (like how often do you need an 8 inch cake drum? or a 24 inch cake drum?) I dont like to keep too much inventory onhand and I buy in bulk online, there is nobody local to get this stuff if you run out. I would love to link every item needed to the order (such as I need a 6, 8 and 10 inch SPS plate with this cake and a 20 inch drum, things like that)
Currently I have cards taped to my shelving space and cross off as I take an item off the shelf and reorder when I get low. But man its a pain!
I made an excel program and listed everything there, how many I have and the value.
Everyone should have an inventory of everything they use. You need it for bookkeeping as well as insurance purposes.
I have three different inventories:
stuff I sell in the shop (fondant, tools, colors, etc), I have two different values on this, both in and out
stuff I use in the bakery - everything from toilet paper to pecans to flour to pastry boxes and ribbon
fixtures: shelves, ovens, tools I use, espresso machine, cash register, fridges, freezers, dishwasher, etc.
My husband designs computer databases and I asked him about your question. He said that a program could be designed but in order to keep track of all of your inventory you would have to fill in a very detailed order form, for example you would have to fill in how much fondant you are going to use on the cake, including how much of each color, each part of your order form would have a drop down box and you would have to select size and quantity for each item. It sounds like to fill out an order would take forever. Thankfully I have a local supplier and ony have to take inventory once a month. If you are still interested in haveing a program created PM me and I will ask my husband to e-mail you with what the cost would be to create you a database.
I was pretty sure I saw that feature on Quickbooks when I was playing around with it. Good to know in case I need it for the future.
It sounds like you have things figured out but...
My father had Quickbooks set up with barcodes. It's a auto shop, so the mechanic doing the job just scans the code for every part they used on the job. It adds the price of the part to the order (so he can charge the client) and then also makes notes on the master inventory list, where he can print reports so he can place orders. It seems like it would be quite similar with a bakery. I am not sure which version of QB he has but I am sure if you call Intuit they can help you!
I was pretty sure I saw that feature on Quickbooks when I was playing around with it. Good to know in case I need it for the future.
It was pretty easy...we created a sepearate company so the assets won't go into our taxes (things like drums and such that aren't taxable)
Good luck!
I have never used quickbooks or any such program, is it pretty easy to figure out? I am considering either buying cakeboss OR quickbooks (as I cannot afford two 150.00 programs!) Wondering which is the best way to go???
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