As the owner of a music store, the musical instruments you sell are your livelihood. But are you getting the most value out of your inventory?
Your inventory levels are constantly changing. As you sell items, fulfill online orders, place orders, rent out items, or even do repair work, your inventory count changes.
And with so many business operations to manage, the days of keeping inventory counts with a pen and paper have passed. You need a robust inventory management system for your music store — which is often included with a quality point of sale (POS) system.
A solid point of sale system helps you automate the many tasks retail business owners used to do by hand, streamlining the process of inventory management and making your life easier. In this blog, we’ll discuss the inventory management features you need for your music store, and the top point of sale providers who offer these features.
Retail point of sale systems offer a variety of features to help small business owners run their business more efficiently. Some of these features can help music store owners with the unique tasks they manage at their stores.
To manage the day-to-day operations of your music store, you need reliable numbers. Inventory management software provides you with up-to-date inventory numbers at the touch of a button.
Whether a customer buys a guitar, violin, or trumpet, inventory numbers will automatically adjust after a sale. Counts will remain in sync whether a purchase occurs online or in store, and the same is true when you place an order for new inventory.
You can also see accurate and complete sales reports. Understanding revenue and profit totals is essential to keeping your business afloat, and seeing what instruments and accessories are selling will inform your ordering strategy.
Related Read: Improving Inventory Turnover Rate for Music Stores: 5 Ways
Inventory management software makes ordering new inventory a breeze. You’ll have access to the catalogs of a variety of music suppliers — straight from the system. If a product is a hit, you can even set an automatic reorder point, allowing the system to keep your shelves stocked for you.
If your store offers instrument rentals, it’s important to keep an accurate and complete record of who has your rented instruments, the length of the rental period, and the fees paid by the customer. Many inventory management systems for music stores have features that accommodate this, giving you all the information you need at the touch of a button.
Related Read: A Guide to Online Rental Software for Music Stores
Instrument maintenance and repair can be a meticulous process, and while some repair jobs can be completed quickly, others take days or weeks. Music inventory management software simplifies this process by giving you a clear record of what instruments you have, what repairs need to be done, and how much the customer is being charged. It also helps you track progress and keep the customer updated.
Inventory management systems for music stores help you offer consignment services, which is when you’re provided an instrument to sell and the original owner makes a sales commission. The system connects you to vendor catalogs to help you decide how much an item is worth, facilitate the transaction, and calculate the original owner’s sales commission.
You can also manage trade-ins with a POS system, in which a customer is offered store credit rather than a sales commission for an instrument they provide.
Point of sale systems help music store owners with their day-to-day business operations. These are our top picks for POS systems that can help you manage your inventory as the owner of a small music store.
Best for: Retail music stores
Shopify is a general POS platform designed to support businesses of all sizes. Small business owners can easily set up an online store through Shopify that allows them to sell in a variety of outlets, including web, mobile, social media, and more.
Key inventory management features:
Pricing: Shopify offers several different plans, ranging from $29 per month for basic businesses to $2,300 a month for more complex businesses, plus processing fees.
Best for: Mobile stores and remote locations
Square is another general POS platform designed for small businesses like restaurants and retailers. Square has a simple, user-friendly design, and can be customized to serve a variety of businesses, including music stores.
Key inventory management features:
Pricing: The only cost of a basic Square system is the processing fees charged when you take payments. A premium account charges a custom monthly rate.
Best for: Customized reports
Lightspeed is a point of sale platform designed for specialty retailers of various sizes. It offers a wide range of features, including customizable reports that offer real-time insights into business metrics.
Key inventory management features:
Pricing: A basic Lightspeed plan for a retail business starts at $89 per month, plus processing fees. The advanced plan is $239, and a custom quote is required for more complex businesses.
Best for: Specialty retailers
AIMsi Tri-Tech Retail POS is designed to accommodate specialty retail businesses, including music retailers. AIMsi has been around for decades, and has continually evolved and added new features.
Key inventory management features:
Pricing: AIMsi Tri-Tech offers custom quotes for pricing.
Best for: Music and instrument retailers
Music Shop 360 is an all-in-one point of sale system designed specifically for music stores. Its wide range of features accommodates the unique needs of music store owners, including selling high-quality musical instruments, instrument maintenance, scheduling music lessons, and more.
Key inventory management features:
Pricing: Music Shop 360 offers custom quotes for pricing.
Related Read: What Is the Best Music Shop POS System? 5 Top Providers
Running a music retail store can quickly become a complicated process. But with the help of a point of sale system with inventory management software, you can simplify the process and lighten the load of running your business.
Music Shop 360 is a cloud-based system designed with music stores in mind. Within the system, you can see real-time inventory and sales metrics, easily place orders, and manage rental and consignment services.
The system’s automated processes save you time and money — and help you provide a better experience for your customers. To learn more, request a demo today!