Inventory Counts - Using a Group Source FAQ

Overview:

The two standard options for an Inventory Count Valuation in COGS-Well are to list the items by Category or by Storage Location on the Count Worksheet and Count Entry display. For many customers, this is all the flexibility that is required.

However, If you want to enter separate Valuation Counts for the same date, and increase control over how the items are listed, then you can create an Inventory Group using an Inventory Department, Category, or Storage Location as the "Source" for the items.

A common example is a desire to enter and manage separate counts for the restaurant versus the bar. A "Bar Inventory Count Group" using either Departments, Categories, or Storage locations associated with the bar can be created and the same can be done for a "Restaurant Inventory Count Group". Count Worksheets and Count Entry for the bar and restaurant can then be managed separately.

Why use Group Sources for Counting?

Group Sources allow for one count worksheet to be generated for selected Inventory Departments, Categories, or Storage Locations. This results in fewer worksheets needing to be generated. If you have a kitchen manager and bar manager counting, you can generate a count worksheet for each one.

Group Sources also better facilitate separate valuation counts for the same day to be entered at the same time. One count can be entered for the restaurant and a separate one for the bar if the groups are flagged as used for valuation counts.

Finally, reports that provide an option to report for a selected Inventory Group, such as the Extension or Usage Reports, can be run for any Group or Groups that have a Source.

Setting Up Group Sources:

Navigate to Inventory>Setup>Inventory Groups

Select to add a new group from the Setup Grid:

Below we are looking at an Inventor Group we set up for Bar Counts. The Source field defaulted to Items, but for this example, we want to select from either Inventory Departments, Categories, or Storage Locations:

Example Using Departments: For this example, we have selected Inventory Departments because we can use them to separate the inventory items that are in the bar from the ones that are in the restaurant.:

Once we have selected to use Inventory Departments, we can move to the tab for Departments that will be added to the display to select the departments. Below we are looking at the Departments that were selected from the dual list box for Bar Counts (Liquor, Beer, and Wine):

If we save the above example, when the Bar Inventory Count Group is selected, the count worksheet and count entry display will list the inventory items assigned to each selected department and alphabetically within each department.

Example Using Storage Locations: In the below example, we have set up an Inventory Group for Restaurant Inventory Counts using Storage Locations as the Source:

In the below example, we moved to the Storage Location tab and selected the Storage Locations associated with the restaurant:

If we save the above example, when the Restaurant Inventory Count Group is selected, the count worksheet and count entry display will list the inventory items assigned to each selected storage location and in the sort order they were assigned.

Summary:

The reason to set up Inventory Groups with a Source other than Items is to provide more flexibility and control for taking and reporting inventory counts.

The two primary advantages that setting up groups with a source provides are more control over count worksheets (separate bar versus restaurant worksheets) and the ability to enter and report separate valuation counts for each source (even on the same day).

If you have questions or would like additional guidance, please don't hesitate to contact us at support@cogs-well.com.