How to deal with "Bargain Bin"/Discounted Items

[lennys26]

I have a retail food shop. When certain items go past their "Best Before" date, I put them in a 'bargain bin' and apply an automatic discount in the register. In order to keep my inventory counts logical, I remove these items from the inventory count so that know to reorder the product when needed.

This is working fine when ALL of any given product is in the bargain box and NONE are available at regular price. However, when the product is available in both, I am stuck, because basically I need inventory tracking for the good version, but not on the expired one.

I tried to resolve this by creating a 'variation' for the expired item (thus allowing for separation of inventory count), however since website product visibility is by product (including all variations), I cant do this, because these 'bargain box' items should not be available/visible online.

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions on how to deal with my situation?

Bonus points for any suggestions on how to deal with expiration date tracking.

[rtfulk]

@lennys26 Do you need to use the same barcode or can you change the barcode for the bargain  bin items? If you use a different barcode, then I would suggest making an item called Bargain Bin and then putting the variations of the different items you have in that section, then you can scroll down and turn your website under the where it's sold section. It will only be visible on your POS.

As far as expiration tracking, maybe someone that has a restaurant can give advice on that, we sell clothing and thankfully they don't have an expiration date.

[lennys26]

Thanks @rtfulk. I do use the same barcodes. 😞

Before I started this business I didnt realize how dificult it would be to track dates. I have yet to find a good solution (other than sell, sell, sell before the dates arrive!)

[rtfulk]

@lennys26 It would be tough using the same barcode. If you have a dymo printer, you could print barcodes but it can be time consuming.

Since we don't have any items with expiration dates, I asked Chat GPT and this is the reponse I got.

Using Square Inventory Management:
1.You can add expiration dates as a variation or description for products.
Track stock manually and remove expired items.

2. Third-Party Integrations:
Use apps like MarketMan or Yellow Dog Inventory, which integrate with Square and offer expiration tracking.
These tools allow you to set alerts for upcoming expiration dates.

[lennys26]

Yep -- re-barcoding everything is a bit overkill (purchase printer, rethink inventory/add 'new' items, etc.). And variations wont work really.

I also 'reached out to' ChatGPT and got similar ideas, however what I am going to do is just write my own code, pulling data out of Square using APIs and query/display it externally to Square. Although it will require work, I will enjoy it....and if it works, I will share my results here.

[RobynR]

Hey @lennys26, that’s a great question! The best way to manage this while keeping inventory accurate is by creating two separate items, one for the regular-priced version and one for the bargain bin version, instead of using variations.

I understand you mentioned developing your own code, but if you're interested in exploring third-party integrations, you can find more information in our Square App Marketplace.

Thank you for your insight and advice, @rtfulk.

I will also tag additional Square Champions in the Food & Beverage industry to gather any tips and tricks they may have.

@MAXSDELI  @Lovewell @GourmetOnWheels @ryanwanner @TheRealChipA