Accounting Software for Wholesale Distribution

Wholesale distribution is an inventory-based business that sells fast-moving or consumable goods to other business users or resellers. This type of business requires establishing a relationship with manufacturers, acquire or lease a warehouse in different locations as long as they are strategic and close to end-users.

A typical example of a wholesale distributor is the FMCG distributor of Nestle or Coca Cola products.

One key area that differentiates a wholesale distributor is its high concentration on inventories which means, you must have efficient accounting and inventory management software on the ground to help automate certain processes, like stock up, sales, adjustments, reconciliation and reporting. And if you manage inventories at different locations, you’d need to track inventory transfers between locations.

This is where QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions, robust inventory management and accounting software for multi-users in a shared network, comes in.

There are three (3) versions of QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions – Silver, Gold and Platinum – Of all these categories, the Platinum is the best suitable for wholesale distribution with multiple locations and barcode scanning.

Multi-user Access

Before we share the core features of this version of QuickBooks and how it increases efficiency, reduce cost and save time on financial reporting, it’s important you select the choice of users connectivity; remote access via a virtual server or in-premise access via a local area network.

The remote access lets you deploy a cloud server that could be powered by QuickBooks, via its partner network or a professional hosting company. This option gives you a dedicated IP address, user access and secured password. The advantage of remote access is that approved users aren’t restricted by location; they can work from anywhere and generate real-time inventory and financials. Sometimes, it could be pricey.

The In-premise model explores your local area network and is only accessible within the office environment. As you might have thought, it’s highly restricted.

Which of these platforms is better? Well, it depends on your business needs and whether you want to run it from anywhere.

Inventory Management

In the entire supply chain of every wholesale distribution business, inventory is one area that requires the full attention it needs or else, you may lose control of your business processes, including cash flow.

The first stage to be in control of your inventories is to initiate a fresh count, add a barcode to all existing units to make subsequent count easier. This exercise will help you arrive at the on-hand quantity that will be uploaded as opening balance in the QuickBooks software.

Do this at various locations to have a complete record of inventories at single/multiple locations.

When you buy new inventories into your stores, QuickBooks lets you post the transactions via Enter Bill or Write Cheque, depending on whether its credit or cash transactions and add relevant details like the name of the supplier, date of supplies, list of inventories received, quantity, unit cost and value. And if there is a need to refill certain locations that are out of stock, you can either receive the new orders into these stores or transfer from the central store to the branches.

You’d also need to have a proper inventory counting to ascertain the actual quantity of your inventories at the end of the week or month, depending on your inventory policies and if these are differences, QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions lets you adjust the on-hand request and write off the differences to their relevant account heads, which could damage, lost-in-transit, promo, etc.

Customers and Receivables:

While you have to try to account for the inventories at the store, don’t also forget the fact that some of them might have been distributed or sold to business clients which leads us to the next category of account to track; customer receivables.

QuickBooks lets you see all recent sales to new and existing customers in various locations and how they intend to settle their obligations; cash or credits. With the former, you can select the bank from a list of all available options, including the actual amount received while the latter creates a receivable ledger in the name of the customer for future reference.

Vendors and Payable

Your inventory suppliers are as important as your customer, that’s why you need to have an accurate record of all your purchase orders, receipt and payment to them. In a situation where you receive your supplies on credit, QuickBooks has a Bill window that lets you enter the full details of every transaction including the list of inventories, quantity received unit cost and the amount payable. And every time you settle your debt, the Write Check window is there to record all-cash payment, either as bank transfer, credit transfer, to your vendor.

Banking and Multi-currencies

For wholesale distributors that import their inventories from abroad, and settle their bills in foreign currencies, you can activate the multi-currency feature in QuickBooks, choose the home currency of conversion, upload all foreign currency bank accounts and track your forex transactions. In addition to that, the software automates the computation of gains or loss arising from fluctuations in rates and post them to profit or loss account.

The banking section is designed to help you track daily, weekly or monthly fund flows between local and forex accounts with room to run reconciliations in case there are differences in end of the month balances.

Financial Report

The accuracy of your financial reports largely depends on the data you have keyed into the software. This implies that business owner that wants to see a detailed report of inventories on hand and a summary of how it was received in store, sold or transferred to other locations must also ensure that all transactions that are tied to these activities are not just tracked but promptly posted by users of the system, you will find this on Inventory report.

The same also applies to other important reports that will aid swift decision making; receivables, payables, banking, profit or loss, balance sheet, cash flow, etc

While these tips can help you choose the best accounting software for your warehouse distribution business, you can connect with the support centre for inquiries about specific areas you’d want to prefer solutions to.

Email us at bigresourcessolutions@gmail.com,  info@accountingsoftware.com.ng or call 08105090001