Using Square for Consignment Sales

[VBBGallery]

I'd like to be able to track sales by vendor for a consignment shop.  Has anyone used Square to do this?  Maybe create a category which is a specific vendor?  

Any suggestions on how anyone has done it will be a big help.

[Helen]

Hello @JanetC. There isn't a way to manage inventory in consignment without using a workaround. A few sellers have posted how they manage consignment sales in a few different threads but this one - Using Square for Consignment Sales is a good place to start! 

[ConsignConnect]

@JanetC,

If you'd like an integrated solution for tracking consignment with Square, give our software a look. We are the only consignment software that is integrated. We use Square's APIs so that you continue to use your Square point of sale. The big difference is that you enter your inventory on our system and it syncs to Square automatically and sales are imported back into Rose automatically to make paying consignors simple. 

http://www.consignorconnect.com/

We hope to be in Square's app store in the fall but we can still connect you in just a couple minutes. I hope to hear from you!

Our appointment site if you'd like a 15 minute phone call or a screen sharing walk-through of the software.

https://square.site/appointments/book/R0A03JE3NZZME/consignor-connect-llc-ashland-ky

Thanks,

Mike

[7thstreetsalvag]

This may have already been asked, so if so, a link to that thread would be great!

We are opening a second location.  In this new location, we are taking on 20-30 vendors.  These vendors will pay a monthly rent for space, and then we are going to keep a small percentage of their sales.  Because of the large inventory potential, we will be employing a barcode system. Here are my questions:

1. Does square have a vendor management system, where we can have them

a. sign in
b. input their inventory
c. generate barcodes
d. track sales
e. Not have access other vendor databases
f. Allow us to have access to each vendors profile to be able to print barcodes at a later date if the original one becomes unreadable or damaged.

2.  If square does not have a system in place, is their a 3rd party software that would be recommended?

3.  Are there any obstacles or problems that we should be aware of, that you found out once you tried to go down this path?

thanks!
brent

[nika]

Hey @7thstreetsalvag! Great questions! I've gone ahead and moved your post over to a relevant thread that has a lot of really great input from other sellers. Hopefully you can find what you're looking for on this thread. But also feel free to tag others if you'd like to learn a bit more about their set up by using the "@" in front of their Community username.

[TIARAMESUE]

Hi, Bea! 

You moved @7thstreetsalvag to 'a relevant thread'. Could you say which thread that is? I have similar questions. 

[mikesclub]

We are a consignment store, which means we sell thousands of one-of-a-kind items. And we receive a few hundred items each day, which means we have to create that many new items in my Square inventory every day. We put a barcode on each item, then type in the name, price, SKU, and category for every one. 

Square's "create item" screen is not great for fast, repetitive item creation. The fields are not laid out for quick work.

I know I can also use a spreadsheet, but that is slow too. There are too many columns that I don't need to edit, and it's mentally tiring to move within those columns for very long. We end up making mistakes.

Also, the spreadsheet doesn't add items in real time. Quite often we have a customer who wants to purchase a new item we've just put on the shelves, but which is still listed on the spreadsheet which we haven't uploaded yet.

Has anyone found better ways to enter large numbers of new inventory items in Square? Are there ways we can create a barebones version of the standard spreadsheet, for easier data entry but which still include all other fields?

I'm open to any suggestions. Just trying to make life easier for my staff.

[Kassi_]

Hi @mikesclub - 

I merged your post to a board with other consignment Square sellers. Check out the Best Answer mentioned in Helen's post. Also, please see @ConsignConnect's solution for their Inventory. 

You can always message them directly with specific tricks too. 

[ConsignConnect]

@mikesclub 

We own three consignment stores of which 25,000 items are created monthly and automatically (using Square's API) sent to Square for sale. We built our software with speed in mind. We have over 60 businesses now using our software.

While we don't offer a bulk upload, we have built item creation via our Take-In screen with speed and efficiency in mind as we create hundreds of items a day. 

Our website is https://www.consignorconnect.com if you'd like to learn more. You can jump into our chat window on the website and ask questions or even make an appointment with us. 

https://square.site/book/R0A03JE3NZZME/consignor-connect-llc

I hope to hear from you!

-Mike

[crsween12]

When I use the spread sheet I have specific days new items can be added by vendors which is Wednesday and Sunday they send me the list and I copy and paste in to the spreadsheet  once you know which lines you need I just put them in its pretty easy. doesn't help if your doing it when customers are around so maybe say inventory has to be in at certain times 

[BelleCapelli]

I have noticed that Rose integration allowed for consignment shops to have an easier time using square but is there any software integration for the Vendors in the Consignment market? I have many Consignees that I would love to keep track of their inventories and sales so that I could easily calculate their commission. I am having a very tough time finding software that integrates with square that does this. Is anyone else having this issue?

[Kassi_]

Hey there, @BelleCapelli - 

I have moved your post to a thread where other sellers have voiced some similar questions. This is a great place to look through the tips and tricks they have mentioned. 

Thank you! 

[ConsignConnect]

@BelleCapelli,

Whether you call them consignors or vendors, Rose will help you determine how much money you own them from their sales. We send inventory created through Square's API. This allows us to track those sales and make sure you can easily track their commission. If that's what you are asking. We have a chat window on our website if you want to reach out for more info.

www.consignorconnect.com 

Thanks,

Mike

[ConsignConnect]

@BelleCapelli 

Rose also gives vendors their own portal that they can see their sales, inventory and if you give them the ability, they can add and edit their own inventory through the Vendor Portal. Right now you would need to print their pricing labels for them but we are working on making that more accessible, although I don't have a timeline on it yet.

[GretchenT]

We opened a pontoon boat rental business and we are allowing vendors in with lake themed items to display them in our shop. I need to be able to link a sale to each vendor. Keep in mind, there will only be 4 vendors. 

[JustinC]

Heyy @GretchenT - Thanks for posting. Square's software doesn't offer a perfect solution for vendor/consignment sales, but this thread offers a workaround. Moved your post over to it. 

[Talkingwalls]

I am not a consignment shop but I do have a few vendors who are consignments and I use square. I just list them as a category then at the end of the month when I do my reports. I do go into reports click Item Sales on the left side of the page, then go to Filter by at the top, last section and choose Item Category. You will see all Categories, click on that and your category list will appear, choose the category you want. I print an items sold for inventory purposes and then to the right side in your items sold list on the computer you will see a little (+) sign. Click on that and it pulls a drop down menu I uncheck all but items sold, unit sold, discounts & comp, and net sales. I print that out and deduct my percentage from the net sales for the month and then cut them a check on the first day of the following month, because you can always have someone come in on the last day at the last minute and buy something and then you have to rewrite the check if you already wrote it. 

[Country2020]

I've used square for awhile, you can do anything invoice, inventory, payroll ECT... In that website. You can take very detailed inventory, put your prices in just anything. I learned all that by just playing around with the website.

[NikkiHobson]

Create a category for that specific person who is on consignment with you. Your reports will pull up category sales report and you can track their sales and items that way… no? I am wanting to start consignment sales and just researched how i could track everything and even tag them that way to read initial and price on tag if no sku system is being used ..???? I don’t want to have to invest in another system so I think this will work.

[Fletch0515]

Hello, I run a retail store in Central IL using Square. We have similar need to have Sales reports based on different artists/vendors. In this case vendors are not what how a typical vendor acts in Square. A typical vendor is where the retail store buys wholesale product (unit cost) from a company or individual then sells that product (for a Price) to customers for profit. The inventory reporting available using Square for Retail does great for the typical vendor reporting. However the inventory reporting for consignment artist/vendors where you need to have detail sales reporting is not there. To answer, the best way to solve the problem is to create Categories for the consignment vendors. Then you can use items and variations for categories. 

Hope this helps, Fletch

[Fredandfred9193]

I see this is an old question but someone might find it useful for what I do. I use QuailHQ for a flea market. It allows you to connect a Square terminal for your card sales. Works perfect. 

[Creationsbyjay]

I use Square most at the vending events that I do on the weekends. I use the Square online store to mark my items. I also use to add a category online. I think you can track the items on the square that you sell online also. I use the contactless square device and the magstripe reader.  It has never failed me. the customers love that I can take all credit cards.  I also use the Square checking account debit card. I love that I get paid at the point the customer pays.  beautiful Square feature to have. I try to use Square Everything so I know where my money is. customer service is also a great feature, especially on the weekends when I have a question.  It took me a hot minute to learn how to add a category online and track it.  but if you call customer service they can walk you through it. I don't know if I answered your question, but I hope this helps.