How do you track products and stock in a salon?

In three steps: separate the product by its job, take an opened one out of stock the day it is opened, and count at fixed intervals. A product used in a treatment is kept apart from one sold on the shelf; sealed boxes are counted and opened ones tracked on a separate line. The count is compared with the quantity on the record, and if the difference repeats, the interval is shortened.

Do I need to separate the product I use in treatments from the one I sell?

Yes, because they are different jobs for the salon. A product sold from the shelf has its own selling price and puts money in the till; a product used in a treatment dissolves into the service and the client does not pay for it separately. Without the separation, at month end you do not know how much was sold and how much went into treatments.

How often should I do a stocktake?

The product decides the interval; there is no single right frequency. You count a fast-moving product often and a rarely used one at longer intervals. The measure is this: if a product can run out between two counts without you knowing, the interval is too long. Keep the counting day fixed, or two counts cannot be compared.

How do I track how much is left in an opened product?

Do not try to track an opened box as a unit. The practical way is to take the box out of stock the day it is opened and keep open products on a separate line. That way only sealed boxes are counted and the figure is not open to argument. Keeping only one box of the same product open at a time also helps.

When should I place a product order?

Before the product runs out, by as much as the supplier's delivery time. The decision rests on three things: how much is on hand, how fast it goes, and how long the order takes to arrive. Tie the order list to counting day and the gaps are already in front of you. Record the receipt for incoming product the day it arrives; otherwise the box sits on the shelf but never appears in the expense record.

What is the difference between writing stock in a notebook and keeping it on the record?

A notebook is a single copy and usually stays with one person; when they are away nobody knows what is left. On the record the product's name, price and quantity sit in one place and everyone on the team reads the same line. You still do the counting yourself; the record's job is to give you a figure to compare your count against.

Salon stock is only as accurate as the day it was counted.

A product has two separate jobs in a salon: one is used up in treatments, one is sold from the shelf. Until you separate them, no stock figure can be read.

A product's two separate jobs in a salon

Some of the products a salon buys are sold to clients and some are used up during treatments. They arrive on the same invoice and come out of the same box, but for the salon they are two different jobs.

A product that is sold has its own price and money enters the till the moment it sells. A product used during a treatment dissolves into the service; the client does not pay for it separately, and it is written into the cost of the service.

Without that separation the product becomes one pile. At month end you know how much product went, but not how much of it was sold.

A product sold from the shelf has its own selling price
A product used in a treatment dissolves into the service
If the same product is used for both jobs, the two are recorded separately
Without the separation you cannot see which side brings in money

Sealed boxes are counted, open ones are estimated

Counting a sealed product is easy: the quantity either matches or it does not. The hard part is an opened one; an opened box is still one unit, and what is left inside is unclear.

The practical way is to take an opened product out of stock on the day it is opened. The box leaves the record and what remains becomes the working supply in the staff's hands; only sealed boxes are counted at the stocktake.

That takes the argument out of counting. Nobody has to look at a half-empty box and write down a number by eye.

Sealed boxes are counted as units
An opened box comes out of stock the day it is opened
Open products are tracked on a separate line
Only one box of the same product stays open at a time

Who opened it, who used it

When product goes missing the first thought is loss; the real problem is usually that no record was kept at all. If whoever opened the box did not write it down anywhere, the shortfall only surfaces on counting day, and by then nobody remembers who used what.

The rule should be one sentence: whoever opens it writes it down. Date, product and the person who opened it; three pieces of information are enough. This record is not kept to police staff, it is kept to know how much product a treatment consumes.

The record can live on paper or on a screen. What matters is that the rule is the same for everyone; a new member of staff learns the same thing on day one.

Whoever opens the box makes the record the same day
The record holds the date, the product and who opened it
The record is for seeing consumption, not for supervision
New staff learn the same rule on their first day

The product decides the counting interval

There is no single right frequency for stocktaking; it depends on the product. For something that runs down fast and is ordered often the interval shortens; for something rarely used it stretches.

When choosing the interval, ask one question: between two counts, is it possible for a product to run out without you knowing? If the answer is yes, the interval is too long.

Fix the day of the count as well. A stocktake done at an unpredictable interval cannot be compared with the previous one; when a difference appears, you cannot tell whether it is a one-off or something continuous.

A fast-moving product is counted more often
The counting day is fixed, not decided on a whim
The count is compared with the quantity on the record
A difference is normal; a difference that repeats is another matter

The age of the product on the shelf

Shelf stock is judged not by quantity but by how long it has been sitting there. Five boxes is not a lot; five boxes that have been there six months is a lot.

For that it is enough to know two dates for each product: the day it went on the shelf and the day it last sold. If the gap between them is widening, do not order more of that product; let the standing quantity run down first.

A cosmetic product's packaging carries storage conditions and date information. That is tracked for shelf stock too; a box that sits long enough eventually becomes unsellable.

The shelf date and the last sale date are kept
No new order for a product that has been sitting a long time
The storage conditions and date on the packaging are tracked
Unsold product takes the place of new product on the shelf

The order goes in before it runs out

An ordering decision looks at three things: how much is on hand, how fast it goes, and how long the supplier takes. If none of the three is known, the order is placed from memory, and memory only remembers what has already run out.

The right moment is before the product runs out, by as much as the delivery time. Tying the order list to counting day makes it easier: on the day you count you already see the gaps, so you produce the list the same day.

Record the receipt for incoming product on the day it arrives too. A box whose receipt is still waiting sits on the shelf but does not appear in the expense record; at month end both the stock and the spending read short.

Quantity on hand, rate of use and delivery time are looked at together
The order list is produced on counting day
Items from the same supplier are collected into one order
The receipt for incoming product is recorded the day it arrives

Frequently asked

How do you track products and stock in a salon?: In three steps: separate the product by its job, take an opened one out of stock the day it is opened, and count at fixed intervals. A product used in a treatment is kept apart from one sold on the shelf; sealed boxes are counted and opened ones tracked on a separate line. The count is compared with the quantity on the record, and if the difference repeats, the interval is shortened.
Do I need to separate the product I use in treatments from the one I sell?: Yes, because they are different jobs for the salon. A product sold from the shelf has its own selling price and puts money in the till; a product used in a treatment dissolves into the service and the client does not pay for it separately. Without the separation, at month end you do not know how much was sold and how much went into treatments.
How often should I do a stocktake?: The product decides the interval; there is no single right frequency. You count a fast-moving product often and a rarely used one at longer intervals. The measure is this: if a product can run out between two counts without you knowing, the interval is too long. Keep the counting day fixed, or two counts cannot be compared.
How do I track how much is left in an opened product?: Do not try to track an opened box as a unit. The practical way is to take the box out of stock the day it is opened and keep open products on a separate line. That way only sealed boxes are counted and the figure is not open to argument. Keeping only one box of the same product open at a time also helps.
When should I place a product order?: Before the product runs out, by as much as the supplier's delivery time. The decision rests on three things: how much is on hand, how fast it goes, and how long the order takes to arrive. Tie the order list to counting day and the gaps are already in front of you. Record the receipt for incoming product the day it arrives; otherwise the box sits on the shelf but never appears in the expense record.
What is the difference between writing stock in a notebook and keeping it on the record?: A notebook is a single copy and usually stays with one person; when they are away nobody knows what is left. On the record the product's name, price and quantity sit in one place and everyone on the team reads the same line. You still do the counting yourself; the record's job is to give you a figure to compare your count against.

This guide describes business practice and is not accountancy advice. The labelling, storage and documentation side of the cosmetic products you sell is a separate matter; ask the company you buy from about your obligations, and your accountant about invoicing and VAT.

So you are not keeping quantities in your head

In Bi'Salon a product sits on its own card like a service or a package: name, description, colour, price, VAT and stock quantity go into the same form. On the Products tab each row shows Name, Stock, Price, VAT and Active; you narrow the list by giving the Stock column a minimum and maximum. What you paid for the product sits on the expense record along with its supplier.

See the product card