Open to Buy

Access in-depth analytical data for fresh insights into your inventory and valuable information to inform your purchasing decisions in WorkstandIQ.

 

Overview

In the Open to Buy report, you can view historical sales, forecasted sales, and various inventory analysis metrics. This detailed analytic information allows you to improve the performance of your business and make educated decisions about buying products.

Getting Started

  • In WorkstandIQ, go to Inventory > Open to Buy.
  • To choose a specific location, select the location dropdown at the top of the page and select the appropriate location.
  • The "Snapshot" dropdown allows you to select a few different various views for viewing the information.
  • The "Actions" dropdown allows you to print out reports of the information.
  • The "Include Incoming POs in QOH" checkbox allows you to toggle on/off the purchase order information from your Point of Sale (POS) to be included/excluded in the "QOH @ Cost" Column.

Mix Score

  • A quick glance indicator to easily see the current health of subcategories.
  • Think of the score as a grade out of 100. 
  • It is a score of how good you are at staying between the Minimum and Maximum inventory suggestions for the subcategories. 
  • The score will go down if you are either below or above the recommendations.

Min/Max Score

  • A quick glance indicator to easily see the current health of the main categories. 
  • Think of the score as a grade out of 100. 
  • It is a score of how good you are at staying between the Minimum and Maximum inventory suggestions for the main categories. 
  • The score will go down if you are either below or above the recommendations.

Prev 365d Margin

  • The previous year's margin for the specific category or subcategory, expressed as a percentage. 
    • Margin is the difference between how much the product was bought and then sold for.
  • The percentage displayed is clickable and will show you the details of what was sold in the last 365 days.

Prev 365d COGS $

  • The previous year's Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for the specific category or subcategory, expressed as a dollar amount.
  • The dollar amount displayed is clickable and will show you the details of what was sold in the last 365 days.

R12 Turns

  • The turn rate for the previous 12 months for the specific category or subcategory. 
    • The turn rate is how fast the inventory is being moved, or turned over.
  • Additional turn rate periods can be enabled in the Inventory Settings.
  • For new connections to WorkstandIQ the 12 Month Turn Rate will not be able to display until the POS has been connected to IQ for 12 months because your POS system does not store all of the metrics needed for the turn rate to be fully calculated.  
  • Shorter turn rate periods can be enabled in the Inventory Settings.

GMROI

  • The Gross Margin Return on Investment for the specific category or subcategory.  It is basically for each dollar you spend on inventory, how much money are you getting back.
  • For new connections to WorkstandIQ, the GMROI will not be able to display until the POS has been connected to IQ for 12 months because your POS system does not store all of the metrics needed for the GMROI to be fully calculated.

Adjusted Future Forecast Period

  • Expected sales for the period specified for the specific category or subcategory. 
  • 90 Days is the default forecast period, and this can be adjusted and additional custom forecast periods can be set up in the Inventory Settings.

365d Trend

  • The sales trend for the previous year for the specific category or subcategory expressed as a percentage. 
  • If there is an up arrow to the left of the number then sales are up by that percent. 
  • If there is a down arrow to the left of the number then sales are down by that percent.  
  • This can be changed to a 90-day period in the Inventory Settings.

Quantity on Hand (QOH)

  • The current inventory for the specific category or subcategory.
  • The number displayed is clickable and will show you the specific products that are in stock.

Category

  • The categories and subcategories as set up in your Point of Sale. 
  • Click on the plus to the left of the category to see the subcategories.
  • If the category structure in your Point of Sale was recently changed then the categories may need to be re-imported.  Find out more information in this Help Center article.

Min

  • The current suggested minimum inventory level for the specific category or subcategory to satisfy sales forecasts. 
  • If the current inventory is below this level then you may run into a situation where the product is selling faster than it can be stocked which can lead to empty shelves and your customers going elsewhere for their cycling needs.
  • The default turn rates this number is based on can be adjusted in the Inventory Settings.
  • After one year of being connected to WorkstandIQ the Dynamic setting can be activated which will automatically adjust the turn rates for you.

QOH @ Cost

  • The current level of inventory that is currently in stock, expressed as a dollar amount.
  • Ideally, this number is somewhere between the Min and Max columns.
  • Toggle on/off the "Include Incoming POs in QOH" box at the top of the page for purchase orders that are in your Point of Sale to be included/excluded in this number.
  • The number displayed is clickable and will show you the specific products that are in stock.
  • IQ uses the average cost of a product to determine cost. Your point of sale may allow for other options (First in, First Out) that could be higher than this number.

Max

  • The current suggested maximum inventory level for the specific category or subcategory to maximize GMROI. 
  • If the current inventory level is above this level then you may run into a situation where there's too much product, it can't be sold fast enough and money is tied up.
  • The default turn rates this number is based on can be adjusted in the Inventory Settings.
  • After one year of being connected to WorkstandIQ the Dynamic setting can be activated in the Inventory Settings which will automatically adjust the turn rates for you.

$ Over/Under MAX

  • Quick reference number showing either how much under the suggested minimum or over the suggested maximum the current inventory levels are for the specific category or subcategory.
  • If a green "OK" is displayed then the current inventory is between the suggested minimum and maximum.
  • If the number is red then the inventory is over the suggested maximum by the amount shown.
  • If the number is blue with a negative sign then the inventory is below the suggested minimum by the amount shown.
  • The shipping truck icon will display a pop-up window showing the inventory levels at each location and potential inventory transfer opportunities between locations.

Adjusted Fill-in $ Amount

  • If inventory is being ordered right now, this is the suggested amount of inventory to order for the specific category or subcategory.

Adjusted Approx. # of Units

  • The above fill-in amount expressed as units instead of a dollar amount, based on the average unit price.

% QOH older than 90d

  • The percent of inventory that is older than 90 days for the specific category or subcategory.