Be An Expert - Keeping Track - Inventory Management

Etsy recently added some changes to Shop Manager. A couple of these help with inventory management - keeping track of what you have in stock. See more about these changes here: https://www.etsy.com/uk/seller-news/new-tools-for-managing-your-inventory?ref=vision_nav

Variations: Firstly, if you have variations of an item, for example a handbag which is available in blue, black, or brown material, you can now add quantities to each of these variations. You used to only be able to set a quantity for the listing, which would cause problems if you had enough materials to make 5 blue bags, but only 1 black. You'd have to set the quantity to 1 just so the customer couldn't order more than that of black, but then they wouldn't be able to buy 2 blue bags if they wanted to. The only way around it was to list the different colours as separate listings. Now you can set the quantity for each variation, so your stock is reflected more accurately. Yay!

SKU: Secondly, you can now add SKU numbers to your listings. Creating SKU (stock keeping unit) numbers for your items can help you recognise your items across different shops, or help you organise your storage system for your inventory. See here for more information on using SKU numbers: https://www.etsy.com/help/article/91384772093?ref=listing_manager_edit 

Both of these changes will be editable under the 'Inventory and Pricing' section when editing a listing (it may not have rolled out to all shops yet, but it should arrive soon if you don't have it at the moment). 

How do you keep track of what you have in stock? Do you use an excel spreadsheet or an online program like Quickbooks (https://quickbooks.intuit.com/inventory-management/)? Do you have any tips you can share with the team? Here's 4 tips from the Etsy seller handbook: https://www.etsy.com/uk/seller-handbook/article/stay-on-top-of-your-shop-4-inventory/22452002386