Inventory Tracking & Reorder Report

Enable inventory tracking on individual items to be able to track their quantity on hand as they are sold and returned. After setting up inventory tracking, learn how to check item quantities from BackOffice or at the register, view items that need to be reordered, and see how item quantities change over time.

To track the specific components used to make items, such as cup lids or burger buns, use Raw Goods.

Table of Contents

Set Up Inventory Tracking

By enabling inventory tracking, a business can enter an item’s initial quantity, set a ‘Reorder Trigger’ and ‘Recommended Order’ to see when it starts running low, and track the quantity on hand of the item as it is sold and returned at the register. The steps to set up inventory tracking are different for basic items and items with variants.

Tracking can be set up one item at a time (as shown below) or multiple items at once using Bulk Edit. For large inventories, use Bulk Management to modify all items at once.

For Basic Items

  1. From the Item List, click 'Add New' to create a new basic item or select an existing basic item to edit.
    • For new items, visit the Add a Basic Item article for a complete item creation walkthrough.
    • Existing basic items have no arrow icon next to the item name.
    Click to Enlarge
  2. Toggle on 'Track Quantity on Hand'.

    If this is already enabled, skip to the next step.

    Click to Enlarge
  3. If adding a new item, enter its 'Current Quantity'.

    This is the total amount currently in stock. An item’s quantity automatically decreases when it is sold and increases when it is returned. This field only appears if Track Quantity on Hand is enabled.

  4. (Optional) Enter a 'Reorder Trigger' and 'Recommended Order'.

    These fields only appear if ‘Track Quantity on Hand’ is enabled.
    Reorder Trigger | Low-quantity amount. When an item’s current quantity reaches the trigger or goes below it, the item will automatically be added to the Reorder Report.
    Recommended Order | Quantity of the item that is considered to be fully stocked. This appears on the Reorder Report.

    Click to Enlarge
  5. Select a save option to save changes.
  6. If editing an existing item, adjust the item's quantity to its physical quantity on hand.
  7. (Optional) Repeat steps 1 - 6 to enable inventory tracking for additional basic items.
For Items with Variants

  1. From the Item List, click 'Add New' to create a new item with variants or select an existing item with variants to edit.
    • For new items, visit the Add an Item with Variants article for a complete item creation walkthrough.
    • Existing items with variants are identified by an arrow icon next to the item name.
    Click to Enlarge
  2. Toggle 'Track Inventory' on.

    If ‘Track Inventory’ is already toggled on, skip to the next step.

    Click to Enlarge
  3. If adding a new item, enter a 'Quantity' for each variant.

    This is the total amount currently in stock. A variant’s quantity automatically decreases when it is sold and increases when it is returned. This field only appears if Track Inventory is enabled.

  4. (Optional) Enter a 'Reorder Trigger' for each variant.

    Reorder Trigger | Low-quantity amount. When a variant’s current quantity reaches the trigger or goes below it, the variant will automatically be added to the Reorder Report. This field only appears if Track Inventory is enabled.

    Click to Enlarge
  5. Select a save option to save changes.
  6. If editing an existing item, adjust each variant's quantity to its physical quantity on hand.
  7. (Optional) Repeat steps 1 - 6 to enable inventory tracking for additional items.

Check Quantity on Hand

With inventory tracking set up, check an item’s quantity on hand (QoH) either from BackOffice or the Retail POS (S-Series) app to see how much is in stock.

From BackOffice
Note: This method requires BackOffice access as a Business Owner or BackOffice Manager.

  1. Search for an item on the Item List.
  2. Look at the ‘Quantity’ column for the item’s total quantity on hand.

    Items without inventory tracking enabled will have a quantity of 0.

    Click to Enlarge
  3. (Optional) For items with variants, click the arrow icon to see individual variant quantities.
    Click to Enlarge

    (Optional) To show or hide variants for every item on the list, click ‘Expand all’ or ‘Collapse all’.

    Click to Enlarge

From the Register
To learn how to check an item’s quantity on hand on the Retail POS (S-Series) app on The Mini or The Station, visit our help article here.

  1. Search for an item.
  2. Tap the blue ‘i’ to view the item’s quantity.
    Click to Enlarge
  3. Review the quantity on hand, then tap ‘Done’ to return to the transaction.
    For basic items, the total quantity for that one item is displayed.
    Click to Enlarge
    For items with variants, the total item quantity is shown along with a breakdown by individual variant.
    Click to Enlarge

Inventory Reorder Report

The Reorder Report shows which items, variants, and raw goods to reorder when running low. Items with inventory tracking enabled appear on this report once their quantity has sold down to their Reorder Trigger.

NOTE: This feature is only available for Lightspeed Retail merchants on select pricing packages.

  1. Click 'Reports' and select 'Reorder Report'.
    Click to Enlarge
  2. Click any table header to sort ascending or descending.
    Click to Enlarge

    Supplier | Name of the supplier from whom the item is acquired as it is currently entered in BackOffice.
    *To see which suppliers sell the most items, run the Sales by Supplier report.
    Supplier Code | Any reorder code linked to the item that makes reordering it easier.
    Store Code | Lightspeed Retail generated barcode for label printing. Also known as ‘SKU’.
    Description | Name of the item as it is currently entered in BackOffice.
    QoH | The quantity of the item currently on hand.
    Reorder Trigger | Low-quantity amount that prompts the item to appear on the report.
    Rec Order | The quantity of the item considered to be fully stocked.
    Cost | Current cost of the item calculated as a weighted average.
    *Don’t want to use weighted average cost? Follow these steps to disable it.
    Last Cost | Per-unit cost of the item at the time it was last received.
    Last Sold | Date when the item was last sold.
    Sold (Last Week, Month, etc.) | How much of the item was sold during the specified period.

  3. (Optional) Click one of the buttons to view the report for Variants or Raw Goods.
  4. (Optional) Click 'Download' to export the report as a spreadsheet.

Missing some items from the Reorder Report? Visit our troubleshooting guide for help.

Quantity History Report

The Quantity History Report shows how an item’s quantity on hand changes over time. See when an item was sold, returned, added, received, removed, and adjusted and how these actions affected its quantity.

The Quantity History Report can also be run for all items in inventory by accessing it from the ‘Reporting’ sidebar menu. For more information, visit our Quantity History Report article.

  1. Select an item from the Item List.
    Click to Enlarge
  2. Click the button to view the Quantity History report.

    The Quantity History report is only available for items with inventory tracking set up.

    For basic items, click ‘Quantity History’.

    Click to Enlarge

    For items with variants, click the Actions arrow next to a variant and select ‘View history’.

  3. (Optional) Select a number of weeks from the drop-down to change the report's time frame.

    The Quantity History report displays sales, returns, adjustments, and receiving events.

    *For receiving events, this report displays the per-unit cost at which an item was received.

    Click to Enlarge

Have questions about managing your inventory? Visit our Inventory FAQ for help.