How to effortlessly manage inventory and taxes with POSable

by POSable Support Team | January 8, 2026 12:30 pm

Yes. POSable updates your stock every time you make a sale on the Android or Windows till.

You can:

• get low-stock alerts on your phone
• order from suppliers and receive deliveries by scanning barcodes
• count stock on the shop floor from a phone
• track ingredients and recipes for food and drink
  

For tax, you set your Standard and Reduced VAT rates once and tag each product as Standard, Reduced, Zero Rated or Exempt. POSable then works out VAT on every sale. Accounts reports show gross, net and VAT figures and export to CSV or Excel for your accountant.

Why inventory and tax control increases profit

• Fewer missed sales. Low-stock alerts and suggested reorder quantities help you avoid running out of your best sellers.
• Less waste and cash tied up in stock. Valuation, wastage and expiry reports show where money is being lost.
• Accurate VAT with less admin. VAT is calculated on every sale, so you don’t have to rebuild figures at the end of each quarter.
• Faster stock jobs. Scanning deliveries and counts on a phone replaces clipboards and spreadsheets.
  

Product and category management

• Products have a price, cost price, VAT class, barcode and stock quantity. Product attributes add options such as size, milk or extras, and each variant can have its own SKU (product code) and stock level.
• Categories have their own colour and icon, so staff can find items quickly on the till.
• Archiving. Archive seasonal or discontinued products and categories without losing their sales history, then reactivate them when needed. For example, bring your Christmas range back every November.
• Shelf labels. Design labels with the product name, price and barcode, then print them straight from the dashboard.
  

Real-time stock tracking and low-stock alerts

• Stock goes down automatically with each sale on the till. In API Settings → Stock and Inventory you can turn stock tracking on, choose whether to allow overselling, and switch on stock valuation.
• Each product or variant can have its own Low Stock Threshold. If you don’t set one, POSable uses 10.
• When stock hits the threshold, POSable sends an alert to your Telegram channel. You can also exclude products you don’t want alerts for, such as made-to-order items.
  

Shop Floor stock app for staff

Staff open the Shop Floor stock app by scanning a QR code and signing in with their usual 6-digit till PIN. From a phone or tablet they can:

• Scan a product to check stock, adjust the quantity or add it to a supplier order
• Quick count an area, review any differences and apply corrections
• see Low stock items with suggested reorder quantities based on recent sales, case size and lead time
• Receive deliveries by scanning warehouse barcodes
• review stock movement history

In Shop floor → Product settings, managers set the minimum stock, ideal stock, shelf location, case size and lead time for each product. These can be bulk-edited across many products at once.

Suppliers, ordering and warehouse receiving

• Suppliers. Keep a list of your suppliers and link products or inventory items to each one.
• Supplier Ordering. Build an order, email it to the supplier, then click Receive when the stock arrives. The stock is added without you entering it twice.
• Warehouse. Link a case or pack barcode to a product, for example “1 case = 24 units”. Scanning one case then adds the correct number of units to stock.
  

Ingredient inventory and recipes.

Cafés, bars and restaurants can track ingredients as well as finished products:

• Inventory items are measured in ml, g or individual units (“each”), with an average cost, a reorder level and an optional supplier code.
• Recipes deduct ingredients automatically when you sell a product. For example, a latte uses 18 g of coffee beans, one cup and one lid. Options can change what’s used, such as oat milk instead of dairy or a medium size using double. You can also save recipes as templates to reuse.
• Batch production records prep runs, such as making sauces or dough, and turns raw ingredients into prepared stock at the correct cost.
• Expiry and batch tracking uses stock with the earliest expiry date first (first-expiry, first-out, or FEFO).
• Stocktakes and adjustments record counted quantities and log losses with a reason: spillage, waste, damage, theft, expired or stock correction. Every change is recorded in a read-only history.
• Inventory reports cover:
  • low stock
  • stock valuation
  • reconciliation (checking recorded stock against the movement history)
  • wastage cost
  • batches that are about to expire
  • a usage forecast that suggests order quantities and can create draft supplier orders in one click
    

VAT and tax configuration

1. Set your rates. Go to API Settings → Currency and Taxes and enter your Standard VAT rate (for example, 20%) and Reduced VAT rate (for example, 5%).
2. Tag each product with its VAT class when you add or edit it: Standard, Reduced, Zero Rated or Exempt.
3. Enter prices excluding VAT. For Standard and Reduced products, POSable adds VAT automatically. Zero Rated and Exempt products are stored without VAT.
4. Sell as normal. VAT is recorded on every sale, ready for reporting.
   

Tax and stock reporting

Open Advanced Reports in the dashboard:

• Accounts Reports can be searched by date. They show total sales, net, VAT, cost, gross profit, net profit, average sale and average profit on return (POR), and export to CSV or Excel for your accountant or accounting software.
• Sales Reports compare this year with last year, including tax.
• Item and Category reports show what’s selling so you can plan stock.
• Inventory → Reports covers valuation, wastage, expiring stock and usage forecasts.
  

Examples

• Convenience shop: a threshold of 12 on milk and bread triggers a Telegram alert. Staff check the Shop Floor app’s suggested reorder quantities and send the supplier order from the stockroom.
• Coffee shop: recipes deduct beans, milk and cups with every sale. The wastage report shows £40 a week lost to spilt milk, which gives the manager a clear training target.
• Gift shop: the Christmas range is archived in January and reactivated in November, with all of last year’s sales history intact.
• Café with mixed VAT: hot takeaway food is set to Standard, cold takeaway food to Zero Rated and children’s car seats to Reduced. The quarterly Accounts Report export gives the accountant everything needed for the VAT return.
  

Inventory Management and Tax Configuration with POSable

POSable offers comprehensive features to streamline your business operations, particularly in inventory management and tax settings.

Inventory Management Capabilities

• Stock Tracking: Monitor stock levels in real-time to ensure optimal inventory control.
• Low-Stock Alerts: Receive notifications when stock quantities fall below predefined thresholds, enabling timely replenishment.
• Product and Category Creation: Easily create and organize products and categories, enhanced with color-coded backgrounds and icons for quick identification within the POSable app.
• Archiving Functionality: Archive outdated or seasonal products and categories, facilitating data retention while keeping the active inventory current. Archived items can be reactivated as needed, such as seasonal lines like Christmas collections.
  

Tax Configuration Features

• Automatic Tax/VAT Rates: Set appropriate tax or VAT rates directly within the admin dashboard, tailored to your country’s regulations.
• Multiple Tax Rates: Configure different VAT or tax rates for various product categories or regions, providing flexibility in compliance.
  

Data Export Options

• Sales Data Reports: Export detailed sales reports, including tax information, in multiple formats such as CSV and Excel from the Accounts Reports section of the dashboard. This facilitates accurate record-keeping and financial analysis.

You can access all these reports in the POSable Backoffice. Click the menu dropdown option ADVANCED REPORTS and then the link for the report that you wish to view from there.

Sales Reports – A full comparison for the current year vs the previous year complete with stat cards, tax and more.
Accounts Reports – A date searchable report page showing sales, net, gross, tax and por. All downloadable as accounting software friendly CSV.
Employees Reports – A list of your employees and their performance statistics.
Device Reports – See how your device placement is performing. A handy insight into how your customer queues are being handled or how multi-locations are performing.
Item Reports – Clear reporting on what items and services you are selling. Reporting by month and other date ranges enabling you to forecast what you need when you need it.
Category Reports – Reporting on entire category of products enables you to investigate what areas need to be improved and what is your best lines.
Payment Type Reports – A record of what is the customers preferred payment method implements decision making on device and hardware decision making.
Health & Saftey Reports – Reporting for businesses that need to track temperatures of equipment.
Loyalty Reports – Track your loyalty retention and how the offers you are creating are performing. See how many customers you reach and who keeps coming back for more!

Frequently asked questions

Does POSable update stock automatically when I sell?

Yes. Stock is deducted with every sale on the Android and Windows tills. If you use recipes, ingredients are deducted too.

How do low-stock alerts work in POSable?

Set a Low Stock Threshold on each product, or leave it blank to use the default of 10. POSable sends alerts to your Telegram channel, and the Shop Floor app lists everything below its minimum.

Can I use different VAT rates for different products?

Yes. Each product is Standard, Reduced, Zero Rated or Exempt, and you set the Standard and Reduced percentages in API Settings.

Do I enter prices with or without VAT in POSable?

Without. POSable adds VAT automatically for Standard and Reduced products.

Can I export VAT figures for my accountant?

Yes. Accounts Reports export to CSV and Excel, with net, VAT and gross figures for any date range.

Can I count stock from my phone?

Yes. The Shop Floor app lets staff scan products, run quick counts and apply corrections from any phone or tablet.

Related Guides

• Can I export data for my accountant?[1]
• How to manage food allergens[2]
• What hardware do I need?[3] (label printers, scanners)
• Does POSable support different languages and currencies?[4]

Source URL: https://posable.co.uk/posable-docs/can-i-manage-inventory-and-taxes-with-posable/

---