A baker knows how much flour is left by opening the bag. But what does a baguette really cost her, what is the stock in the back room worth, and when should she reorder before running out? Those answers usually live in a spreadsheet nobody remembers to update.
AngelStart tracks what you buy, what you make and what you sell, in the same place as your quotes and invoices. Your stock stays up to date with every action, and the maths is done for you.
Your items, with their real stock
The Production section sorts your items into two families:
- raw materials, what you buy to produce, and consumables, what keeps the workshop running (packaging, supplies);
- finished goods, what you make, and resale goods, what you sell on as is.
For each item, you see the quantity in stock in its unit (piece, kilo, litre…) and what it is worth. For what you sell, you also get the selling price, what the stock would bring in once sold, and the margin. A product sold at a loss stands out straight away.
Stock value follows a simple rule: each delivery keeps its purchase price, and whatever goes out comes from the oldest batches first, like a shelf where you always take what arrived first. So your stock is worth what it actually cost you.
Recipes, and production runs in a few clicks
For a finished product, you set its composition: the materials and quantities needed to make one unit. AngelStart derives its unit cost price from your material prices.
Then you produce. Enter a quantity and a date. Before anything is saved, you see what the run will use up, the stock that will be left, and what it really costs, at the price of the batches used. Once you confirm, the finished product goes into stock and the components come out, on the same date.
If a material is missing, AngelStart tells you, and lets you produce anyway if you decide to. A run dated in the future plans ahead without touching today's stock. And if you make to order, components can come out of stock directly when you invoice.
Stock follows your invoices
When you sell, the invoiced items leave your stock. On the purchasing side, no more copying out deliveries. In your purchase invoices, tick the invoices concerned and Angel reads their lines. Reading takes a minute or two; you can close the window and the lines will be waiting for you.
For every line it cannot match with certainty, Angel asks you a simple question:
- which item from your catalogue is it, or is it a new one?
- what do you use it for: making things, reselling, keeping the workshop running?
- how many did you receive, in the unit you count it in? Your item card counts bottles and the invoice talks about cases: you enter the number of bottles that arrived.
A summary shows you what is going into stock, and you confirm. A line you have matched once is recognised next time, and a line you set aside is not asked about again.
Reorder in time, and no nasty surprises on a quote
Give an item a minimum threshold and a suggested reorder quantity. As soon as it drops below the threshold, it joins the "To reorder" list, with what is missing and how much to bring back in. One click to add it to stock, or to start producing a finished good.
And when you prepare a quote, AngelStart checks the stock: if an item is short, including a material that goes into a finished product, a banner tells you. You can still issue it: stock never blocks a sale.
A stock count that sets the record straight
Breakage, theft, a missed entry: one day, the stock you count no longer matches. A stock count compares what you counted with AngelStart's stock, and records the difference.
Two ways to count:
- type in the quantities on screen, item by item;
- drop a two-column file, item and quantity, saved from your spreadsheet. Angel reads the file and matches each line to your catalogue, then you check.
Nothing is overwritten: each difference is added to the history, and a stock count can be cancelled. An item you did not count stays as it is.
That history is the stock movement log. For each item, you see every entry and every exit, dated, with where it came from: an invoice, a purchase invoice, a production run, a stock count, or an entry of yours with its reason (breakage, gift, internal use…). Stock is corrected with a movement, never by retyping the figure.
In practice, a brew from start to finish
A brewer receives his malt invoice. He ticks it in his purchase invoices: Angel reads the lines, asks him two questions, and the malt goes into stock at its price. He then starts a 200-bottle brew. Before confirming, he sees what the run will use up and what it will cost. The malt, hops and caps come out, the bottles go in. A few days later, the caps drop below their threshold: they show up in "To reorder", with the quantity to order.
On the Production pages, Angel knows his stock. The brewer asks how much hops is left, and Angel answers with his real figures. It can also create an item, record a delivery, set a composition or prepare a production run. Nothing is saved without his go-ahead: he approves every action.
You only sell services? The Production section stays hidden. It appears as soon as you track a first item in stock, or when you switch it on from your product catalogue, company by company. And in your tracking tables, the value or quantity of your stock can be followed month after month.
