Inventory Manager

What is Inventory Manager?

Inventory Manager tracks physical copies: where you shipped them, what you are owed, and whether you have been paid. Mark an order paid and the sale is logged to Sales Tracker. The order's history shows the location and the revenue.

Getting started with Inventory Manager

Inventory Manager keeps track of the physical copies you send out to bookstores, shops and events: what you sent, what it cost you, what you'll be paid, and whether you've been paid yet. It also shows the stock you're holding yourself. Before you start Shipments are made of books from your Book Library, so add your titles there first. If a book's formats are set up in Book Library, only those physical formats are offered when you log a shipment. Set up and log your first shipment 1. In the left sidebar, click Inventory Manager. 2. Click Locations. Type a store, shop or event name into Add a location… and click Add. Add as many as you need, then click Done. 3. Click + New Shipment. 4. Choose the Location and the Shipped Date. 5. Under Books, choose a book and its format, then enter Qty, Cost/copy (what each copy cost you) and Payout/copy (what the location will pay you per copy). Click + Add another book for more titles. 6. Optionally enter a Shipping cost and Tax, and tick the boxes to add them to the shipment's cost. 7. Leave Paid unticked if you haven't been paid yet. 8. Click Add Shipment. When you get paid Click the Unpaid badge on the shipment so it changes to Paid. The payout is added to Sales Tracker as a Physical Store sale, so you don't need to log it there yourself. What you'll see The shipments table shows each shipment's Location, Shipped date, Books, Units, Cost, Payout and Paid status, newest first. Below it, On Hand lists the copies you're holding yourself. Use the book filter, the Pen name filter (shown when you have two or more pen names) and the All time, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year and This year buttons to narrow the list. Tip: click How do I use this tool? under the page title for a guided tour with example data.

How do I add, import or archive inventory locations?

Locations are the places you send physical books to, such as a bookstore, a gift shop or a convention. You need at least one active location before you can log a shipment. Add a location 1. In the left sidebar, click Inventory Manager. 2. Click Locations. 3. Type the name into Add a location… and click Add. 4. The window stays open so you can add the next one. Click Done when you're finished. Import a list of locations If you already keep your stockists in a spreadsheet: 1. Click Locations, then Import CSV. 2. Choose a CSV, TSV, TXT or Excel (XLSX or XLS) file. The file needs just one column of location names. If a column header contains the word "name", that column is used. Otherwise the first column is used, so a plain list of names with no header works too. Names that already exist (ignoring capitals) and repeated names in the file are skipped. A message tells you how many were added and how many were skipped. Rename a location 1. Click Locations. 2. Click the pencil icon next to the location. 3. Change the name in the box at the top and click Save, or click Cancel to stop editing. Renaming doesn't change the location name on shipments you've already logged. Archive or restore a location Click the archive icon next to a location to archive it. Archived locations aren't offered when you log a new shipment, but their past shipments stay in your list. To bring one back, tick Show archived and click the restore icon next to it. Locations can't be deleted, only archived.

How do I log a shipment of books to a store or event?

A shipment is one batch of physical books you sent to a location. It can include several books and formats. Log a shipment 1. In the left sidebar, click Inventory Manager. 2. Click + New Shipment. If the button is greyed out, add a location first (see below). 3. Choose the Location and the Shipped Date. 4. If you use pen names, check the Pen name. Sales from this shipment are filed under it when it is marked paid. 5. Under Books, for each title: 1. Choose the book from your Book Library. 2. Choose the format, such as Paperback, Hardcover, Hardcover w/ Dust Jacket or Limited Edition. If you've set up formats or your own editions for the book in Book Library, only those are listed. 3. Enter Qty, Cost/copy and Payout/copy. 6. Click + Add another book for each extra title or format. Use the trash icon to remove a line (a shipment always needs at least one). 7. Optionally fill in the costs section (see below). 8. Tick Paid only if you've already been paid. Ticking it adds the sale to Sales Tracker, so don't also log it there. 9. Add any Notes, then click Add Shipment. eBooks can't be added to a shipment, because a shipment is for physical copies. Shipping and tax - Shipping cost is what it cost to get the books to the location: postage, courier or freight. - Tax is sales tax or VAT you paid on the shipment. Each has a tick box, Add shipping to this shipment's cost and Add tax to this shipment's cost. When ticked, the amount is included in the shipment's Total cost. When unticked, it is recorded but shown as "not included". The summary at the bottom shows Cost of books, any shipping and tax, and the Total cost. Where these costs show up In the table, the Cost column shows the total cost and notes any shipping or tax. In Book Library, a book's costs can include the copies sent in shipments, plus its share of any shipping and tax you added to them. There's a tick box there to leave them out if you already entered those printing costs yourself. Edit or delete a shipment Click the pencil icon on a shipment to change it, then click Save Shipment. Click the trash icon to delete it. A message with Undo appears after either change. Amounts in Inventory Manager are shown in US dollars.

How do paid shipments show up in Sales Tracker?

Inventory Manager and Sales Tracker are linked, so you only record a stockist sale once. Mark a shipment paid In the shipments table, click the shipment's Unpaid badge. It turns to Paid, and a message confirms how much was added to Sales Tracker. You can also tick Paid in the shipment's edit window and save. When a shipment is marked paid for the first time: - Each book line becomes a sale in Sales Tracker, under the Physical Store platform. - The amount is Qty × Payout/copy for that line. - The sale records the format and the location as the store name, and the pen name if the shipment has one. - The sale is dated to the month you marked it paid, not the month it shipped. - It appears in Sales Tracker as one import, named after the location, for example "Downtown Books shipment". Click Undo in the message straight away if you clicked by mistake. Mark a shipment unpaid again Click the Paid badge to switch it back to Unpaid. The sales it created are removed from Sales Tracker, and the message says "Marked as unpaid — removed from Sales Tracker". This way an unpaid shipment never leaves revenue behind. Edit a shipment that's already paid If you correct a paid shipment (for example the quantity, the payout per copy, or the location), the matching sales in Sales Tracker are updated to match. They keep their original date. Things to keep in mind - Don't log stockist sales in Sales Tracker as well, or they'll be counted twice. - Sales from shipments are recorded in US dollars. - If you want to delete a shipment that's been paid, switch it to Unpaid first so its sale is taken out of Sales Tracker, then delete it.

How do I track the copies I keep on hand?

Besides stock you send to stores, you probably keep some copies yourself for signings, events and direct sales. Those appear in the On Hand section at the bottom of Inventory Manager. Where the numbers come from On Hand isn't a separate list. It reads the quantities saved on each book's Inventory tab in Book Library, so there's only ever one copy of these numbers. Change them in either place and both stay the same. Only formats with a quantity above zero are listed. The total number of units is shown at the top of the section. Add or update on-hand stock From Inventory Manager: 1. In the left sidebar, click Inventory Manager. 2. In On Hand, click the row for the book. The book opens on its Inventory tab. 3. Update the quantities and save the book. If a book isn't listed yet, it has no on-hand stock recorded. Open the book in Book Library, go to its Inventory tab, and add the quantity there. Filters The book and pen name filters also apply to On Hand. The date buttons don't, because on-hand stock isn't tied to a date. Good to know Logging a shipment doesn't reduce your on-hand quantities automatically. If the books you shipped came from your own stock, update the book's Inventory tab as well.

Troubleshooting Inventory Manager

+ New Shipment is greyed out You need at least one active location. Click Locations and add one. If all your locations are archived, tick Show archived and restore one. If you're a collaborator on someone else's account and every button is greyed out, your role doesn't include edit access to Inventory Manager. If you see No Access, your role doesn't include the tool at all. Ask the account owner. The book I want isn't in the list Shipment lines only offer books from your Book Library. Add the book there first, then come back. The format I want isn't in the list If a book has formats or your own editions set up in Book Library, only those physical formats are offered. Add the format to the book in Book Library. eBooks are never offered, because a shipment is for physical copies. Add Shipment won't let me save The button stays disabled until a location is chosen and every book line has a book selected and a Qty of at least 1. Remove any empty line with its trash icon. I can't change a shipment for an archived location Archived locations aren't offered in the shipment window. Restore the location first (tick Show archived in Locations, then click the restore icon), make your change, and archive it again if you like. A shipment I'm looking for is missing Check the filters. A book, pen name or date filter may be hiding it, and the list will say "No shipments match these filters." The date buttons filter by the Shipped date. Sales Tracker shows the wrong amount or a sale I removed - A shipment's sale is created when it's marked Paid, using Qty × Payout/copy for each line, in US dollars. - Marking it Unpaid removes that sale. Deleting a paid shipment doesn't, so switch it to Unpaid before deleting. - If you also logged the same sale in Sales Tracker by hand, delete the manual one so it isn't counted twice. Locations import added nothing If every name in the file already exists, you'll see "Nothing to import — all … already exist." If the file has no names in the column used, you'll see "No location names found in that file." The column whose header contains "name" is used, otherwise the first column.