The last one sold twice
On Saturday morning a customer bought the last of the hand-thrown mugs from the window display. At lunchtime an online order came in for the same mug. On Monday you are writing an apology email and refunding the order, and wondering how many other things on the website are showing stock you no longer have.
It happens most with exactly the items you are proudest of: one-offs, small batches from local makers, the last few of a range you will not reorder. These are the items the website is supposed to sell.
Two systems each think they own the stock
Many independent shops started with a till system for the shop and added a website later, often on Shopify, WooCommerce or Squarespace. Each keeps its own count. Somebody updates the website by hand when they remember, usually at the end of the day or the end of the week.
- Sales at the till do not reduce stock on the website.
- Online sales do not reduce stock on the till.
- Deliveries are booked in on one system and typed into the other.
- Products are named slightly differently in each, so matching is by eye.
- Some tills and online shops have a built-in link that is only partly set up.
Several till systems now offer a proper link with an online shop, and if yours does, turning it on may be all you need. We look at that first.
What double selling costs a small shop
Every oversold order means a refund, an apology and a customer who is less likely to try your website again. For a small shop with a loyal local following, that disappointment is personal.
The hidden cost is caution. Worried about overselling, many shops keep their website stock artificially low or leave unique pieces off it altogether, so the website sells less than it could.
How we connect the till and the website to one count
- We match every product on the till to its listing on the website, using barcodes or SKUs where you have them and a one-off matching exercise where you do not.
- We decide with you which system holds the master count, usually the till, since that is where deliveries and most sales happen.
- Every till sale reduces the online stock within moments, and every online order reduces the till stock, through the APIs of both systems.
- Deliveries booked in on the till appear online, and new products are flagged for a website listing rather than appearing half finished.
- One-off items can be set to come off the website as soon as they sell anywhere, with a small buffer for fast-selling lines if you want one.
- A daily check compares both counts and lists any mismatches for a person to look at.
| Event | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Sale at the till | Website unchanged | Website stock reduced |
| Online order | Till unchanged | Till stock reduced |
| Delivery booked in | Typed into both | Booked in once |
| Mismatch | Found when a customer complains | Listed on the daily check |
Stock counts are only as good as what goes through the till. Items given away, broken or used for display still need recording, and the daily check helps you spot where that has slipped.
A Saturday with one stock count
When the last mug sells at the counter, it disappears from the website before anyone else can order it. Online orders show up on the till so the staff know which items are spoken for. You stop typing deliveries twice, and you can put one-off pieces online with confidence.
The weekly job of checking the website against the shelves goes away, replaced by a short daily list of anything that does not match.
Signs your shop has this problem
- You have refunded an online order because the item sold in the shop.
- Somebody updates website stock by hand.
- Deliveries are entered twice.
- You keep unique or last items off the website to be safe.
- Your till and website call the same product different things.