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 by email, to your Telegram channel, or both, depending on what you’ve set up in API Settings.
  

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.
  

Processing Fees & Surcharges

POSable does not add any further fees or surcharges when processing payments. This is all handled by the card payment provider you have selected to process your card payments.

If processing card payments in the US with Gravity Payments can elect to have surcharging for purchases using credit cards enabled on their account. In order to do so discuss with Gravity Payments support. POSable does have a toggle in API Settings to turn on and off surcharging. This is only for the display messaging and does not control if surcharges are applied to the sale.

POSable can never adjust or allow the adjustment of the surcharge being taken. This is a fee calculated and added by Gravity Payments and displayed on the payment screen for you to relay to the customer making the purchase.

Examples

• Convenience shop: a threshold of 12 on milk and bread ttriggers a low-stock alert by email or Telegram. 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.
  

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 by email, to your Telegram channel, or both, 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

• How to manage products[1]. Reason: stock levels, VAT class, barcodes and archiving.
• How to streamline stock ordering with supplier management[2]. Reason: supplier orders and receiving.
• How to set up business details, tax and core settings (API Settings)[3]. Reason: stock alert, Telegram and VAT settings.
• How to create shelf labels[4]. Reason: print price and barcode labels.
• Can I export data for my accountant?[5]. Reason: Accounts Reports exports in detail.
• Does POSable support different languages and currencies?[6]. Reason: currency and VAT for other countries.

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

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