Taking inventory in CheckIn is so easy you would want to do it every month!
You can also use the free FileMaker Go app on your iPhone with one or dozens of employees walking around your store using the iPhone and its camera to scan in barcodes and do quick inventory counts as well.
To begin the Inventory process in CheckIn, go to the "Products" dashboard, click on the "More" button in the Task Bar, and select "Adjust." This will open the "Inventory Adjustments" window.
Important: before proceeding, click the "Delete Pending" button to remove any existing records.
To add an item to the "Inventory Adjustments" list, use the "Scan or Type to Add to Adjustment List" field in the top left. You can type in an Item ID, Supplier Code, UPC Code, or you can scan a Barcode. Items will be added to the list. You also have the option of adding an "Adjustment Reason" at this time, or the default will be used.
When each item is added to the list, a small
magnifying glass icon will appear to the left of each Item Name -- click on it to open the Item's Product Card.
(Note that the items you add to this list will remain here -- even if you close this window -- until the inventory count is updated.)
For each item in the list, enter the physical count in the field labelled "Adjustment Number."
An "Adjustment Method" must be selected for each item. There are two options, "Result," and "Adjustment":
- "Result" is for when you want the Adjustment Number to reflect the final Inventory count.
- "Adjustment" is for when you want to add or subtract from the amount already recorded.
For example, let's say you have a records of three Widgets™ in Inventory, and a physical count of five Widgets™. To update the Inventory count, you'd either set the "Result" to 5, or the "Adjustment" to +2.
An "Adjustment Reason" must be selected for each item. The default for this field is set to "Adjustment," though you can enter whatever you prefer. (Note: you must indicate an Adjustment Reason to proceed with posting Inventory.)
When finished entering all items, counts, methods and reasons, click the "Post Adjustments" button at the top right. You will see a dialog box that
says “Items were adjusted” when complete.
Adding items by iPhone or iPad
Once you install and configure FileMaker Go 19, items added by iPhone or iPad will also appear on the "Inventory Adjustments" list. (There is no limit to the number of devices that can be used for this process at any given time.)
Make sure the device is connected to the store's WiFi Network. Download and Install FileMaker Go 19 from the iOS App Store.
Tap the + icon in the top left to add your FileMaker host to the "Hosts" list, and give it a name like "CheckIn POS." You will need the IP Address of your CheckIn Server.
Once the Host Information is entered, tap "Save."
Select the Host Name you entered from the "Hosts" list. You will see two icons: CheckIn (for the main CheckIn Database), and CheckInMobile. Select CheckInMobile.
Note: the first time you use FileMaker Go on a device, you will encounter an "Opening File" window and be asked to enter an initial Account Name and Password. For both fields, enter "user". You'll only need to follow this step once.
At the Login screen, enter your CheckIn credentials. From the screen that follows, tap the "Scan & Count" button.
From this screen, you can enter products to be added to the "Inventory Adjustments" list. If you use your device's camera to scan a barcode, the item will automatically appear in the list. If you enter the Item ID, Supplier Code, or UPC Code manually, tap the "spyglass" icon to prompt CheckIn to search for the product, to add it to the list.
Note that when using a device, you can only enter the count as a "Result," rather than an "Adjustment."
When finished, tap "Done."