Consignment & Purchase general overview
What is Consignment & Purchase?
Consignment & Purchase enables you to automate your consignment and resale business. This includes managing: consigned items, purchased items, settlement with your consignors, item returns, and more.
Entering and settling consignments and purchases
Batch mode
The batch consigning and batch purchasing options allow you to quickly and efficiently receive into your inventory one or more items that you are consigning or purchasing outright. For example, if a consignor drops off a bag of girls clothing, you can use the batch function to add the entire bag at one time and automatically assign SKU numbers for the items. You can then print labels for the items you added. Tri-Tech recommends using the batch entry and purchase options if you are a consignment and resale store.
The batch settlement option allows you to quickly handle the settlement of multiple consignor accounts at one time. You can then choose to print checks or apply credit to the consignors' accounts for later purchases.
Legacy mode
AIMsi's legacy consignment and legacy purchase functions allow you to receive into your inventory an item with an associated SKU and serial number. This is the traditional method and preferred if, for example, you are a music store with established serial numbers for specific items.
The legacy settlement option allows you to settle with one consignor at a time by entering the consignor account number and printing a check, giving cash or a gift card, or applying credit to the consignor's account for later purchases.
Editing and transferring consignments
Occasionally you may need to make changes to your consigned inventory or transfer consigned inventory from one consignor to another. Both of these tasks are accomplished with minimal steps in AIMsi.
Uploading your consignments
You may also take advantage of AIMsi's seamless integration with Active-e and upload your consignment inventory to a website. From there your consignors can log in and view the status of the inventory they have consigned with your store and their current balances.
Refunding consignment credits
In the event that you have settled with a consignor for store credit, and later the consignor would like to receive that credit, or a partial amount of the credit, as cash, you can refund the credit as cash, a check, or other form of payment.
Inventory categories
You can set up any number and type of inventory categories and subcategories that suit your business needs. You will use these categories and subcategories to
- run inventory and sales reports,
- monitor your stock and how well certain categories are selling in your store(s), and
- perform searches of your inventory, for example, if a customer calls looking for a certain brand or type of clothing.
You can also set up a list of common manufacturers, or brands, for your store that you can select from when you receive inventory into AIMsi. This also allows you to easily search AIMsi for certain items in your inventory, such as all Hanna Andersson dresses or all Chicco toys.
Buyer fees
You can set up buyer fees to cover any administrative costs on the Consignment Buyer Fees window. These fees are either a flat rate or percentage of the selling price added to an item's selling price. For example, if you set up a flat rate buyer fee of $.50, and set the price of a shirt at $5.00, the tag and receipt will show a price of $5.50 (to the buyer). In AIMsi, the item's selling price is recorded as $5.00 with an additional buyer fee of $.50.
As you set up your buyer fees, you can determine if that number should be rounded up or down, or always end in a specific number (for example, if you want all fees to end in 9, such as $.49 or $.69). You can further define the fees by consignor, item type, and item cost. If necessary, the established buyer fees can be overridden for individual items.
Processing fees
You can use system variables to set up processing fees to charge a consignor for selling their items. The ConsigmentDefaultProcessFee variable establishes a default fee to charge for processing checks when you settle a consignment with a consignor. The
System variables for consignment
AIMsi uses system variables to determine how information is used and displayed. Consignment & Purchase has a specific set of variables all beginning with the word Consignment. Tri-Tech recommends reviewing these variables on the Application Variables window and updating them as necessary for your business. Be sure to set up the IndustryType variable (value Consignment) to include four consignment buttons on the Main button bar for entering batch consignments, entering batch purchases, settling consignments, and refunding deposits and credits.
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