Products and variants
One product with its sizes, colours and options, each variant with its own SKU, barcode, cost and price. Bundles and kits are possible where you sell them.
Retail × Custom ERP
One stock count that the shelf agrees with.
Stock across the shop floor, the stockroom and the website in one place, with sizes and colours handled properly, barcode scanning for counts and receiving, and reorders raised before the shelf is empty. A custom ERP module for retailers whose stock stopped fitting in a spreadsheet and doesn’t fit in a till.
Sound familiar?
The till says three. The shelf has none.
A small shop has a till, a website and a spreadsheet, and each holds a slightly different version of what is in stock. A size medium sells in store at noon and again online at one, and the second customer gets an apology. Reorders happen when someone sees a gap. A stock take takes two staff a weekend, and the result is out of date by Monday. With a handful of staff, every hour of this counts.
- Shop and online stock are counted separately, so you oversell the last item.
- Sizes, colours and styles are rows in a spreadsheet that nobody trusts.
- Reordering is based on a feeling, not on sales speed and supplier lead time.
- Stock takes close the shop or run over a weekend.
- Margins and slow movers are invisible until year end.
What gets built
The parts, shaped to you.
Pick the ones you need. Each is built around how your team already works, then joined up on one set of data.
Stock by location
Shop floor, stockroom, second shop or warehouse, each with its own level, and transfers between them recorded, so a move from the stockroom to the shop is a scan, not a guess.
Barcode receiving and counts
Receive a delivery against a purchase order by scanning, and count a shelf with a phone. Differences against the expected figure are shown at once.
Reorders and suppliers
Reorder levels based on how fast an item sells and how long the supplier takes, with purchase orders drafted for you to approve and send. Supplier prices and lead times live on the product.
Stock takes without closing
Cycle counts by shelf or category on a rolling schedule, so the whole shop is counted over a few weeks without ever shutting for a weekend.
Batches and expiry
Where your products need it, batches, dates and supplier lot numbers, with a list of what to mark down before it expires.
The online shop
Shopify, WooCommerce or a custom store reads the same stock. See Shopify stock sync for how that works, and the Shopify page for the integration itself.
Reports
Best sellers, slow movers, stock value and margin by product and category, live, so buying is based on what sold.
A good fit if
- You sell in a shop and online, and stock levels drift apart.
- You carry variants (sizes, colours) or batches that a spreadsheet can’t track.
- Reordering and stock takes cost real staff hours.
- You want a back office that feeds the website instead of competing with it.
Not the right call if
- You sell a small fixed range, only on Shopify. Shopify’s own inventory is built for that and will serve you well.
- You need a point-of-sale replacement with fiscal receipts on day one. I’d connect to your till first and see whether it needs replacing.
Proof
Built before, running now.
I haven’t built a till-connected inventory system for a named retailer yet. These are the same building blocks, running live elsewhere. The warehouse side, with QR labels and per-customer stock, is in the Storex case study.
Second-hand retail · Built & deliveredSecondhand Malta
A storefront with Stripe checkout and an existing stock sheet and photo folders imported from Google Drive. Built and delivered for a second-hand retailer.
Read the case study Retail · LiveChefWorksA chef apparel retailer moved onto Shopify with colour and size options, a sizing chart and custom embroidery.
Read the case study Water filtration · LiveilmaaPureA data-driven catalogue where 43 products are defined once and generate cards, navigation and pages in English and Italian.
Read the case studyHow it runs
From first call to daily use.
The same five steps on every project, sized to yours.
- 01A short call or the quote builder
Tell me how the business runs today: the tools, the workarounds, the bit that drives you mad. The quote builder takes about five minutes and gives me a scoped brief.
- 02A fixed quote, in phases
I reply with a fixed price and a phase plan. The must-haves go first, so you are using the system while the rest is still being built.
- 03Previews as it’s built
You see the real system on a private link while it is being built, with your own data in it as early as possible. Changes are cheap at this stage, so this is where we make them.
- 04Your data moved across
Spreadsheets, an old system, email threads: the data comes with you, checked against the source so nothing is lost on the way.
- 05Launch, then care
Your team gets a walkthrough, and I stay on for fixes and new features, either on a monthly support plan or pay as you go.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Do I need to replace my till?
Not necessarily. If your till can export sales or connect through an API, it can feed the system. If it can’t, replacing it becomes part of the plan, and I’d tell you that before quoting rather than after.
Can it handle sizes and colours?
Yes. Variants are first-class: each size and colour has its own stock, barcode and price, and the stock take counts them by variant. It’s the part spreadsheets are worst at.
Is a custom system better than Shopify’s inventory or an off-the-shelf stock app?
If one of them covers how you work, use it. Custom makes sense when you have several locations, batches or suppliers, when stock also needs to drive invoices or a portal, or when you’ve outgrown per-user pricing. See custom versus off-the-shelf.
Can I import my current stock?
Yes. Products, variants, costs and current counts come across from your spreadsheet, the till export or the shop, and are checked against the source before you switch.
How long does it take?
A focused first version with products, locations and receiving is typically a few weeks. Stock and orders is roughly 50 to 110 build hours, plus 30 to 50 hours of shared groundwork, and the shop sync is an extra 20 to 40.
Go deeper
Read next, then decide.
ServiceCustom ERP
Quotes, stock, staff, jobs and invoicing on one shared set of data.
IndustryRetail & e-commerceStock across shop and online, orders, suppliers and fast AI-assisted listing.
SystemShopify stock syncTwo-way Shopify stock and order sync with your shop, reconciliation and alerts when they disagree.
SystemAI product listingPhoto in, draft listing out: item identified, copy drafted, price researched, staff approve.
IntegrationShopifyShopify orders, stock and customers synced with a custom back office or ERP.
ComparisonCustom vs off-the-shelfWhen to buy a product, when to build one, and when to do a bit of both.
GuideData migration checklistA checklist for moving data to a new system: mapping, cleaning, duplicates, test imports and cut-over.
Case studyStorexA storage and logistics company’s whole operation in one custom system: quotes, clients, invoicing, the warehouse and the crew in the field.
Often built together
Related systems.
Custom ERP
Quotes, stock, staff, jobs and invoicing on one shared set of data.
Retail & e-commerceStock across shop and online, orders, suppliers and fast AI-assisted listing.
IntegrationsWix, Shopify, Gmail, WhatsApp, Stripe, calendars and accounts, synced both ways.
Websites for systemsFast, search-ready sites with forms, calculators and bookings wired into your system.
How pricing works · Digitalise Your SME grants · All case studies
Start here
Get a fixed quote.
The quote builder opens with the parts on this page already switched on. Add or remove what you like, and I reply with a fixed quote.