How To Use Fabric Store Inventory Software [+Top Providers]

As a fabric store owner, inventory management is one of your most important tasks. Unfortunately, it can also be one of your most difficult, time-consuming tasks.

With so many varieties, colors, and styles of fabric and other materials, it can be nearly impossible to keep track of your inventory levels by hand. Determining which products are selling and which products to order can be a complicated, meticulous process — especially if you’re selling both online and in store.

Luckily, a robust point of sale (POS) system with integrated fabric store inventory management features can simplify this process — but deciding which one to use and learning how to use it can seem daunting.

In this blog, we’ll explain how to use fabric store inventory software, along with our top four picks for providers. Once you understand how these systems work, you’ll be empowered to integrate a system in your store, saving you time and making your life easier.

How To Use Fabric Store Inventory Software

Point of sale systems are packed with features, many of which are designed to help you manage your inventory. Learning how to use a system may feel overwhelming at first, but once you understand how to use these features, you can put the system to work for you. Let’s explore the most useful features offered by point of sale systems, their benefits, and how they work.

Access Vendor Catalogs

Ordering inventory from suppliers is a breeze with fabric store inventory software. From a software’s interface, you can browse the catalogs of a wide variety of vendors and place orders. Direct access to the product offerings of so many vendors allows you to expand your fabric store’s selection and test different products to find what your customers best respond to — all from a single, convenient location.

Adding products from preloaded vendor catalogs to your inventory eliminates the need to manually enter the information into your system, saving you time and improving accuracy. You’ll also be able to simplify your pricing process by preloading pricing details that can be automatically updated across your system.

Add Custom Products

Fabric store inventory software allows you to catalog your entire inventory. When you order items from a vendor through the software, the product is automatically added to your inventory. If you obtain the product independently of the software or make your own product, you can add custom entries, including titles, images, and descriptions — and then add these entries to your inventory record.

Remember to include detailed information about your products in your online catalog and showcase their best qualities. You’ll have a variety of fields to fill in to describe a diverse range of fabric, sewing, and quilt products. Providing as much information as possible in your digital inventory record is helpful for you as you manage your inventory, and is beneficial for customers as they browse your catalog online.

Search and Complete Transactions

Although capable of many other tasks, the central function of a point of sale system is to facilitate sales transactions. Inventory management software simplifies this process by giving you access to your entire inventory — with the associated costs — at the click of a button. This allows you to ring customers up quickly and give them a hassle-free shopping experience.

Having quick access to your inventory and the ability to accept various forms of payment saves you time compared to completing transactions by hand. During busy store hours, these quick transactions help diminish long lines and crowded store space.

Manage Inventory and Use Automatic Reordering

The purpose of fabric store inventory software is to automate your inventory management, while giving you the option to manually adjust inventory levels if necessary. While systems are designed to maintain accuracy, discrepancies that surface from time to time can be easily taken care of.

For products that are routinely purchased, your software can be programmed with an automatic reorder point. This means that when stock falls below a certain threshold, the system orders more for you. This lightens the burden of replenishing your stock and gives you assurance that your shelves will stay full and your customers can find what they need.

When you do need to place an order manually, the system tells you which products you’re low on.

Keep Online and Offline Sales in Sync

One of the most important functions of inventory software is to keep your records up to date and to minimize errors. With quality point of sale software, each product goes through the system so there are no units unaccounted for.

When you place orders, add products to your online store, and sell products, your inventory records are updated seamlessly. This way, you can easily determine which products are selling and which aren’t — and update your strategy accordingly.

Fabric inventory software allows you to offer your products both in store and online. This expands the market you can serve and allows more customers to find you.

Populate your online marketplace with a variety of products. Whether it’s fabric, thread, tools, or one-of-a-kind handmade items, you can source your inventory from online supplier catalogs, work with local artisans, or even create items yourself. Offering your customers a wide selection encourages continued browsing. A positive experience on your website can also draw people into your physical store.

Assemble Kits

Assembling kits with various included products or bundling products together for a discounted price is a common practice at fabric and sewing stores. For example, you can combine all the materials a customer needs to make a quilt, including a pattern and the various fabrics included in the design. You could also create a kit with various threads and tools for sewing.

Fabric store inventory software allows you to combine these products within the system, avoiding issues with inventory counts. Customers enjoy kits that provide them with all the materials they need to complete a project. Bundling products together can also increase the value of a purchase, making customers more likely to buy.

Fabric Store Inventory Software Providers

Here are four of our picks for POS providers with integrated fabric store inventory software.

1. Rain POS

Rain is focused on unique retail businesses, like independent craft stores, boutiques, consignments, and outdoor retailers. Rain’s system is designed to make life easier for the owners of specialty retail businesses and offers targeted customer remarketing.

The Rain system allows you to use customer data to send texts and emails with coupons and discounts, as well as request Facebook and Google reviews. This helps you retain customers by keeping your business top of mind.

2. POSIM

POSIM is designed for small to mid-sized retailers in a variety of industries, like general retail, clothing, shoes, accessories, quilt and fabric, needle art, craft, and more. The system is equipped with a wide array of useful features, including multi-site capabilities.

POSIM’s MultiSite extension is built for businesses with multiple locations, and offers management and reporting tools for both individual stores and the entire business. You can quickly check quantities at individual stores and easily record inventory transfers between stores, allowing you to maintain accurate information, even for a complicated business.

3. Square

Square is designed for general retail and restaurants and can be configured to serve many businesses in various industries. Their system offers payroll services, banking services, and a customer directory.

Square’s staffing features allow you to calculate and pay your employees right from that app, as well as manage their shifts, communicate with them, and control their access to company information.

4. Like Sew

Like Sew is designed specifically for sewing, fabric, and quilt stores with features that accommodate the unique needs of the industry. For example, the LikeSew system allows for fractional yards and precuts, simplifying price calculation.

Sewing and quilting projects can get messy and complicated — and customers often require very specific measurements of fabric. While more generic systems may require you to work with set prices based on quantity, Like Sew allows you to specify precise measurements of fabric and calculates a total automatically, leading to easier checkouts and happier customers.

Manage Your Fabric Store Inventory With Like Sew

Fabric store inventory software automates processes you used to do by hand, making your life easier and freeing up your time. With features that simplify the ordering process, keep your inventory count consistent and in sync, and expand your market, you can let the system do the heavy lifting.

If you think these features will help you improve your fabric store’s business operations, look no further than LikeSew. Our all-in-one cloud-based POS system is equipped with all of these features, and has been designed specifically for sewing, fabric, and quilt stores — so you can efficiently manage your inventory and take your fabric store to the next level.