Real‑time Stock on Hand Tracking with Ferbz Boosts Checkout Speed and Seasonal Prep

Below is a step‑by‑step walkthrough of how a typical shop owner—let’s call him Ramesh Patel, who runs Patel’s General Store in Indore—sets up and uses the stock‑on‑hand feature day after day. The description follows the exact navigation labels used in Ferbz.

1. Initial inventory upload

   • From the main dashboard, click the Customers tab (the CRM).
   • On the left sidebar select Import CSV.
   • Choose a CSV file that lists every SKU, its purchase price, GST rate (0 % for loose wheat, 5 % for packaged biscuits, 12 % for kitchen appliances, etc.) and the opening quantity.
   • After uploading, Ferbz shows a confirmation screen with a preview of the first 10 rows; click Confirm. The inventory is now stored centrally and will be referenced on every New Sale.

2. Creating a new sale (order)

   • On the top navigation bar, click Billing → New Sale.
   • In the “Customer” field, type Rohit Singh (a regular who buys groceries weekly). If the customer does not exist, Ferbz creates a new profile automatically.
   • In the “Add Items” section, start typing Rice; select “Loose Wheat – 1 kg bag (0 % GST)”. Enter 2 in the quantity box. The line automatically shows the unit price, GST amount and total.
   • Add another line: Detergent Powder – 500 g (5 % GST), quantity 1.
   • As each line is added, the Stock on Hand column beside the item name updates in real time: the system subtracts the entered quantity from the master balance and shows the new figure (e.g., Wheat drops from 120 bags to 118).

3. Completing the order

   • Review the receipt; the bottom of the screen shows the grand total, GST breakdown, and the automatically generated PDF receipt link.
   • Click Checkout. Ferbz instantly creates the PDF, stores it in the customer’s profile, and marks the order as Completed.

4. Automatic enrollment in a low‑stock automation

   • Because Ramesh has previously defined an automation under the Automation tab called “Low‑stock alert for staples”, the moment the order completes Ferbz checks the trigger conditions.
   • The trigger is “Days until due = 0” combined with “Stock on Hand ≤ 10” for any SKU in the Staples category.
   • Wheat now sits at 118 bags, so no alert is sent, but the system still evaluates every line. If the stock of Detergent Powder had fallen to 9 units, Ferbz would have enrolled the store owner’s WhatsApp number into the journey, scheduling a message after 0 days: “⚠️ Detergent Powder is low (9 left). Order now to avoid stock‑out.”

5. Viewing the reminder on the Reminders board

   • Click the Reminders board from the left menu.
   • The newly created low‑stock reminder appears under “Scheduled”. Its status shows Pending → Sent → Delivered → Read, updated in real time as the official WhatsApp Business API (via Gupshup) pushes the message.

6. Seasonal preparation with a broadcast

   • Ahead of the festive season (Diwali), Ramesh wants to push a special “Buy 2 kg rice, get 500 g free” offer.
   • He goes to Broadcasts, selects New Broadcast, and filters the audience: Customers who bought rice in the last 30 days (filter uses the “days since last order” automation field).
   • He composes the WhatsApp template (already approved by WhatsApp Business) and schedules the send for 2 days before the festival. The broadcast consumes 1 credit per message sent; the cost is deducted from his prepaid wallet.

7. Checking reports

   • After a week, Ramesh clicks Reports → Inventory.
   • The report shows Opening Stock, Sold Quantity, Closing Stock for each SKU, and highlights items that fell below the low‑stock threshold.
   • He also sees a separate tab for Messaging Effectiveness, where the low‑stock reminder shows a 78 % read rate and a 12 % click‑through to the supplier’s order link (the link is embedded in the WhatsApp template).

8. Re‑ordering stock

   • Using the low‑stock reminder, Ramesh opens the WhatsApp message on his phone, clicks the supplier link, and places a purchase order. Because the inventory numbers are accurate, he orders exactly 50 kg of wheat and 30 units of detergent, avoiding both over‑stock and stock‑out.

Worked Example – Full Flow

• Business: Patel’s General Store, Indore
• Opening stock (Monday): Wheat 120 bags, Detergent 15 units, Sugar 50 kg
• Tuesday order: 2 bags wheat, 1 unit detergent → Stock after checkout: Wheat 118, Detergent 14
• Automation trigger: “Detergent ≤ 10” → not met yet.
• Wednesday order: 4 bags wheat, 4 units detergent → Stock: Wheat 114, Detergent 10
• Automation fires: Low‑stock reminder sent to Ramesh’s WhatsApp at 10:02 am, status moves from Scheduled → Sent → Delivered → Read within 30 seconds.
• Thursday: Ramesh clicks the supplier link in the reminder, orders 30 units detergent. The order is recorded in his external accounting but Ferbz does not need to track it; the important part is the accurate stock figure that prevented a stock‑out on Friday’s rush.

Through these steps, the store owner experiences a single, unified workflow: sales entry, instant stock deduction, automated reminders, and clear reporting—all inside Ferbz’s dashboard.

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Time saved – Before Ferbz, Ramesh wrote down every sale on a paper ledger, then manually subtracted quantities at the end of the day. That took roughly 12 minutes per shift. With real‑time stock on hand tracking, the same action is completed in under 30 seconds per order, a reduction of 96 % in manual effort.

Revenue recovered – In the month prior to using Ferbz, Patel’s General Store lost an estimated ₹4,800 in sales because staple items ran out unnoticed for an average of 3 days per month. After enabling the low‑stock automation, stock‑outs dropped to 0.4 days per month, recapturing roughly ₹4,200 in missed revenue (based on an average basket value of ₹250 and 17 customers per day).

Fewer manual steps – The CSV import eliminates the need for a separate spreadsheet. Each new sale automatically updates the inventory, creates a PDF receipt, and triggers WhatsApp reminders without any extra clicks. The total number of distinct actions per transaction falls from 7 (paper ledger, manual stock log, receipt hand‑write, phone call to supplier, etc.) to 3 (select customer, add items, checkout).

Accurate GST compliance – Because each SKU carries its GST rate in the inventory file, the receipt generated by Ferbz always reflects the correct tax (0 % for loose wheat, 5 % for packaged biscuits, etc.). This reduces the risk of GST filing errors for shops that cross the ₹40 lakh turnover threshold.

Seasonal readiness – During Diwali, the ability to filter customers who bought staples in the last 30 days and broadcast a targeted offer increased the store’s festive sales by ₹9,350 compared with the previous year, where a generic flyer yielded only a 3 % lift.

Overall, the combination of instant stock deduction, automated low‑stock alerts, and integrated WhatsApp messaging turns a chaotic, paper‑driven process into a data‑driven, time‑efficient operation that directly protects repeat‑customer revenue and keeps the shop ready for seasonal spikes.

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Ready to see real‑time stock on hand tracking in action? Sign up for a free trial, top up your wallet with as little as ₹99 (100 credits), and start importing your inventory today. All the modules you need—Billing, Customers, Automation, Reminders, and Reports—are available in one dashboard, and every WhatsApp reminder or broadcast draws from the same prepaid credit pool.

Visit the trial portal at https://dashboard.ferbz.com/, or email support@ferbz.com for a quick walkthrough. With Ferbz, your checkout becomes faster, your shelves stay stocked, and your repeat customers stay loyal—without a monthly subscription or separate software licences.