[RetailEdge Moderator]

We periodically get questions about using RetailEdge point of sale software for just inventory management or customer management. This can be because someone already has a point of sale system that does not track inventory (although I find it hard to believe that these days these types of systems would be kept separate) or customers.

We do have customers that use our retail point of sale software in ways that we could never imagine. However, when you are talking about using the program for just inventory management but using some other program for the point of sale, we typically don't recommend using RetailEdge in this way.

This is because when you are using RetailEdge the typical flow is that you would:

1. Get inventory into the program
a. Create a purchase order for the items you are ordering (you can also add them directly to inventory and receiving).
b. Receive the goods as they come in.
c. Print barcode labels for the items
d. Update your inventory with the quantities being received

2. Remove inventory through the sales process.

This is all done automatically as you receive and sell items. So if you are not using the RetailEdge POS sales functions you will have to manually adjust the inventory (which can be easily done through the Physical Inventory Control (PICs) system). But this makes the process less automated.

The one exception to this rule might be when a someone is using the program to move inventory from:

1. One vendor to another. You can then using the receiving process in reverse (negative receiving) to move items into and out of inventory.
2. One location to another. You can then use the transfer mechanism to move items to and from other locations.