Multi-Outlet Sales in POS - Stock Management Issue

1

Hello,

I’m experimenting with setting up a multi-outlet sales scenario which uses POS.

What I’ve done

  1. Created a Warehouse for each Outlet- Outlet 1 and Outlet 2
  2. Created Items - each item does not have a “default warehouse” since they can be at either outlet. I’m not worried about manufacturing or WIP so that simplifies things.
  3. Added Stock of items into each outlet using a Stock Entry
  4. Created a Default Customer for each outlet - “Customer Outlet 1” and “Customer Outlet 2”
  5. Created a POS Profile for a User - on any given day, the user can be at either outlet, so I have not set a default warehouse for the user.

The problem I’m running into is the following. Since neither Item nor POS profile has a default warehouse, I can’t use the POS (warehouse is required for items sold through POS). Workarounds I thought of were the following.

  1. Create an Item for each warehouse/outlet (Item A Outlet 1, Item A Outlet 2) so I can set a default warehouse at the item level. Some downsides are that this doesnt scale, you cant easily get consolidated item sales, and you can’t easily get item stock across warehouses, user has to select the correct item in POS or things will get messed up, among other things. This isn’t really a feasible solution.
  2. Create a user account for each outlet for each user (User 1 Outlet 1, User 1 Outlet 2). Then I can set warehouse at the POS profile level. this is feasible, but requires users to have multiple email accounts, at the very least.
  3. Create a single user account for each outlet, and users just share accounts. This would be the easiest, but it’s bad practice.

Proposed Solution: Allow the ability to create multiple POS Profiles per user, and the user selects the profile they want to use when they open the POS.

Are there any other ideas?

1 Like
2

Hello Felix,

Thanks for elaborating your query. The suggestion #2 is the cleanest. Please create two User ID for each outlet.

If you wish to have single User for both the outlet, then before creating POS Invoice, allow User to set Default Warehouse in the POS Profile.

1 Like
3

Hi Umair,

I think there is a little miscommunication

  1. I think you mean to say solution 3 is the cleanest. When you say “suggestion 2 is the cleanest”, this means that a single user has two ID’s. This means if there are 4 POS users and 2 outlets, there would be 8 logins - each user would have a login for each outlet. And if you add another outlet to make the total outlets 3, then there would be 12 IDs (3 logins for each user).If you use option 3, there is a single ID per outlet shared by multiple users. So, if there are 2 outlets, there would be 2 total logins for POS users. POS users would have to share passwords for the logins. If there are 3 outlets, there would be 3 total logins for all POS users to share.
  2. When you say “if you wish to have a single User for both the outlet” - if going this route and specifying warehouse in the POS profile, that means that Stock cannot be managed per outlet.

Basically, the following given isn’t possible in a good way right now

  1. Multiple Outlets
  2. Manage Stock per Outlet
  3. Users that need to work at both outlets
  4. One login per POS user

In my opinion, a better way to do this would be to allow multiple POS profiles per user, and then have the user select a profile when they start the POS. If a user only has one profile, then there would be no need to select a profile when the POS starts up - it would pull the only profile applicable to the user. This allows for complex scenarios (even beyond what I explained above) and is completely transparent to users who don’t need the complex scenario - a win-win.

If there’s a better way to do this, please let me know.

If this is correct, and you would like me to create a github issue, I can also do that.

Thanks

PS: As an aside, the new POS is great! Great work Rohit and team

4

So ok, am also stuck on this issue .

I have a Retail prospect with three sales outlets.

Sales associates can move around outlets to make sales, not frequently but regularly enough.

Having several user profiles for one user is not an ideal option .

The ideal option is to change the default warehouse for that user profile when she is transfereed, but if admin forgets to do this ,the user can be making sales in the new branch but affecting inventory in the old branch, too high a risk.

A solution that sounds interesting to me is the ability to make sure a user cannot access the system outside a defined location/system . Using IP address will not work for me. Any one with another way of achieving user access restriction in this way ? If I can achieve this, the worst that can happen is that the user gets to the new branch and is not able to use the system. This will alert the admin who would be forced to do the needful.

Any ideas ?

Regards

Regards

5

Hello Dear,

How can we allow user to set Default warehouse?

By allowing them full rights to make changes to the pos profile forms.

I dont think Cashier at the POS need to know all this level of changes, as We have seen they will purposely mess it up.

Any way to select Warehouse to be used when the user opens POS ?

6

Users can now be assigned to multiple POS profiles.

  1. Create two pos profiles. Assign a warehouse in each profile.
  2. assign a user to both profiles
  3. when user logs in, they will be given the option to choose which profile they want to use.
7

Doesnt Seem to work.

I created 2 POS Profile and added myself to both without keeping any as default - This doesnt let me in the POS. Throwing an error "
Message
POS Profile is required to use Point-of-Sale"

When I make one default then it logs in to the POS with the default Warehouse.

8

If you are using online PoS I think you .ca n change Profiles at PoS if you have multi profile set up

9

Oh So only for online pos.

I will try and check

Edit:
I see there is a Change POS Profile.
Why cant we add same thing in Offline?