Notes for people who run a business
Practical guides for people who run a small business: stock control, reordering, VAT and paperwork, from the people who build Osmuch.
- How to do a stock take without closing for the day
A practical way for a small business to count its stock accurately, one area at a time, and correct the figures as you go.
- Reorder points: how to set a minimum stock level that works
A simple way to work out when to reorder each product, from how quickly it sells and how long your supplier takes to deliver.
- Selling by the metre, litre or hour: part quantities explained
Why cable, sealant and labour need stock and quotes that handle part quantities, and what quietly goes wrong when they don't.
- Tracking stock across a shop, a yard and a fleet of vans
How to keep one accurate count when stock lives in several places, including the vans your team drive around every day.
- VAT on deposits: when it's due and how to invoice it
A deposit creates its own tax point, so the VAT on it belongs in the return for the period you took it. How to invoice deposits and the final bill without charging VAT twice.
- Making Tax Digital for VAT: what a small business needs in place
Every VAT-registered business has to keep digital records and file its VAT returns through compatible software. What that means day to day, and where Osmuch fits today.
- Barcode labels for a small business: what you need and what you don't
You don't need a warehouse scanner or paid-for retail barcodes to scan your own stock. A phone camera and printed labels will usually do.
- Serial and batch numbers: when you need them, and when a count is enough
Most stock only needs a count. Some needs tracking unit by unit or batch by batch, for warranties, recalls or expiry dates. How to tell which.