Methods for Tracking Consigned Inventory

A consignment agreement is when one person gives his unwanted but useable items to another person who will sell them at, among other sites, a resale or consignment shop. There is no upfront payment due when you turn your items over to the seller. You get paid a pre-set percentage of the sale price after the item is sold. When you sell your products via consignment, there are a number of details to follow, including how to keep track of the inventory and payments due. If your items are on sale at several consignment shops, it is even more important to find a tracking system with which you are comfortable..

When you bring your unwanted items to a consignment seller, bring a receipt book with you to keep a written record of each transaction. When you receive payment from the seller, you can then mark the "invoice" as paid. Keep the receipts in a file cabinet and assign each seller to a folder. This method can be cumbersome to manage, but it does allow you to keep a running list of consigned products and payments in a format that you can access easily.

One of the easiest ways to keep track of your consignment inventory is with a computer spreadsheet. You can create a new worksheet for each store and then list the details of each item on its own row of the sheet. For instance, you can name the columns "Date," "Product," "Quantity Extended," and "Date Paid." Be sure to place the store name, contact and address information somewhere within the spreadsheet so that you can refer to this information quickly. Use this sheet to keep track of the inventory that sells, payments received and products that are sitting on the shelves for too long.

While money management software programs like Quicken and Microsoft Money were designed to help keep track of your bills and deposits, you can also use them to keep track of your consigned inventory. Set up a separate "account" for each seller and enter information regarding each item. For instance, you can record each payment that you receive, existing consigned inventory and newly consigned products.