IMPORTING INVENTORY INTO VEND: BEST PRACTICES AND POTENTIAL PITFALLS

Whether you’re using Vend right now or considering Vend as your retail point of sale software, you likely have a need to track and manage your inventory. If you’re stumbling upon my blog, you probably already know how great Vend is and how easy it is to use. But, even the most user-friendly software can cause a few headaches here and there.

As a certified Vend Expert, MPI Point of Sale understands our customers and their experiences. Our goal is to help our merchants get up and running smoothly, quickly, and with the least amount of stress possible.

One of the most common issues new customers face is with Importing inventory into Vend. It is worth mentioning that Vend has an excellent walkthrough of the import process. You can view it here.

However, some customers still have trouble with the process. You’re probably wondering, “if it is so easy, then why are merchants having trouble”? Great question. Although the process is straightforward and well-documented, there are often nuanced parts of the process outside of Vend that can cause issues. Maybe you’ve seen this message come up:

Matching up your columns from your original inventory export to the Vend system is crucial to the import’s success. That’s just a small part of it.

For example, inconsistencies between your exported inventory SKUs and your actual product SKUs, will cause issues. We’ve seen this issue come up over and over, especially with exports from legacy point of sale software like QuickBooks Point of Sale. You’ve probably heard of the “garbage in, garbage out” principle. That clearly applies to data in your point of sale system. If your legacy system says that an item SKU is 012340, however, the actual SKU is 12340, your imported data is going to be “garbage in”. The MPI Point of Sale team is here to help you. We’ve fixed our merchants data, when appropriate, so that their Vend inventory and actual inventory are perfectly matched.

Want to avoid falling into the pit of “garbage in, garbage out”? Here are some suggestions:

  1. Spot check your data before importing. Compare your exported inventory SKUs to a few actual product SKUs. Do they match? If they do not, note the inconsistency (ex: extra digit)

  2. Make sure your data is housed in a format that doesn’t truncate (abbreviate) your data Ex: Google Sheets often drops the ‘leading 0’ for SKUs

  3. Purchase your hardware from a certified Vend Expert. Don’t make the mistake of saving a few dollars and essentially trading the savings for a huge headache. When you invest in your point of sale hardware from a company that knows exactly what to provide, how to configure and how to use the equipment with Vend, you save yourself time and money. Ex: Bluetooth barcode scanner – improper configuration can lead to failed scanning, automatic character added to SKU, improper mode setting. All Vend hardware can be purchased directly from MPI POS at www.mpipos.com

  4. Work with a certified Vend Expert to accurately import your inventory into your software. Your partner will ensure a smooth transition and will be able to provide your business with prompt support if necessary. Consider calling the MPI POS team for a consultation. We can be reached at 877-508-2831.

Vend – Vend is the world’s leading cloud-based point of sale software for retail businesses. Vend makes it easy to manage your business remotely, whether it is checking your sales in real time, updating your inventory or connecting with your customers. Vend integrates with best-in-class software such as QuickBooks, Shopify and Timely. Please check out Vend at https://www.vendhq.com.

QuickBooks – QuickBooks is the #1 accounting software for small businesses. QuickBooks keeps your information organized and centralized. Built for small businesses, QuickBooks provides powerful invoicing tools, integrates with popular point of sale software products like Vend, and connects to your bank account to automatically import and categorize transactions. You can see more about QuickBooks at https://quickbooks.intuit.com.

MPI Point of Sale – MPI Point of Sale provides credit card processing, payroll solutions, gift/loyalty and point of sale services. MPI works with small businesses, restaurants, hotels and seasonal merchants to enhance their operations using technology and by providing top-notch customer service. For more information, please visit our website http://mpipos.com.