The Complete User Guide to Inventory 360: Fast POS, Multi-Outlet Stock, Auto-POs & Local Data Protection

Welcome to Inventory 360 — an enterprise-grade, local-first inventory management and Point of Sale (POS) platform engineered for maximum operational throughput, 100% offline uptime, and absolute data sovereignty.

Unlike traditional cloud SaaS ERPs that freeze during network latency or demand hundreds of dollars in monthly subscription fees per register, Inventory 360 runs directly within your web browser using high-performance IndexedDB storage:

                       [ INVENTORY 360 PLATFORM ARCHITECTURE ]
                                          │
    ┌───────────────────────┬─────────────┴─────────────┬───────────────────────┐
    ▼                       ▼                           ▼                       ▼
[ SELL POS ENGINE ]   [ INVENTORY HUB ]         [ AUTONOMOUS POs ]      [ COMPLIANCE & LOTS ]
├── Sub-15ms Barcodes ├── Multi-Branch Stores   ├── Dynamic ROP Alerts  ├── FEFO Batch Rotation
├── Camera QR Scanner ├── 3-State Escrow Transfer├── Vendor Grouping POs ├── Expiry Proximity Flag
└── Driverless Print  └── Cycle Count Audits    └── 1-Click Receiving   └── 1-Click Quarantine

Getting started with Inventory 360 requires zero credit cards, zero server provisioning, and zero database configuration:

1. 1Option A: Test Drive with Pre-Populated Demo Data:
   • Open [Settings > Data & Backup](/).
   • Click Load Demo Dataset to immediately populate 10+ retail products, sample customer records, active branch stores, and historical sales transactions.
2. 2Option B: Start with a Fresh Commercial Clean Slate:
   • Click Reset to Clean Slate to purge sample data and prepare the database for your real catalog.
3. 3Configure Store Profile & Local Currency:
   • In [Settings > Store Profile](/), enter your business name, street address, commercial tax ID (GSTIN / VAT / EIN), primary currency symbol ($ / € / £ / ₹ / ¥), and default receipt footer disclosures.

The [Sell POS](/) module is built for rapid customer checkout throughput (read our in-depth Local-First POS Guide):

[ Hardware Barcode Scan / Search ] ➔ [ Sub-15ms B-Tree Lookup ] ➔ [ Instant Line Item Render ]
                                                                             │
                                                                             ▼
[ 1-Click Print Receipt (80mm/58mm/A4) ] ◀── [ Multi-Method Tender ] ◀───────┘

Step-by-Step Checkout Workflow:

1. 1Adding Items to the Register:
   • Hardware USB/Bluetooth Scanner: Point and shoot your laser scanner at any product barcode; items appear in the register in under 15 ms. See our Barcode & Label Printing Guide.
   • Integrated Camera Scanner: Click Camera Scanner to use your device's built-in webcam or tablet camera to scan 1D Code 128 barcodes or 2D QR codes in real-time.
   • Instant Text Search: Type any product name, SKU code, or category in the top search bar.
2. 2Cart Modifications & Customer Assignment:
   • Click any cart line item to adjust quantities, override prices on the fly, or apply custom item-level discount percentages.
   • Select an existing customer profile from your CRM directory or click + New Customer to log loyalty purchases.
3. 3Tender Selection & Automated Change Calculation:
   • Select payment tender: Cash, Credit/Debit Card, Digital Wallet (Apple Pay / UPI), or Store Credit.
   • When Cash is selected, enter the physical cash amount received; the terminal calculates the exact change due instantly.
4. 4Driverless Thermal Printing:
   • Click Complete Sale & Print Receipt. The system renders high-contrast typography formatted for 80mm Standard Thermal, 58mm Mobile Bluetooth, or A4 Tax Invoices without requiring third-party print drivers. Learn more in our Thermal Receipt Printing Masterclass.

Navigate to [Catalog](/) on the primary navigation menu:

• Create New Product SKUs: Click + Add Product to configure Product Name, Unique SKU, Barcode String, Category, Preferred Supplier, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), Retail Price, and Starting Stock Levels.
• Granular SKU Tax Overrides: Assign specific tax rate overrides per SKU (e.g. 0% for tax-exempt fresh groceries, 18% for consumer electronics) overriding default store tax policies.
• Bulk Data Import & Export:
  • Click Import CSV to batch import your existing catalog from Shopify, Square, Lightspeed, or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.
  • Click Export CSV anytime to download your catalog for external spreadsheet analysis.

The [Inventory Hub](/) gives retail managers unified control across multiple store branches and distribution warehouses (see our Multi-Location Inventory Routing Guide):

1. Real-Time Valuation Audits:

• View total stock quantities, cost valuation (COGS), and projected retail sales valuation categorized by store location.

2. Physical Cycle Count Adjustments:

• Reconciling physical shelf counts against ledger records? Click Adjust Stock, choose between a Delta adjustment (+10 or -3) or an Exact Count Override (150 units), and select an audit reason code (Physical Stocktake Reconciliation, Damaged Goods, Breakage, Internal Use).

3. 3-State Inter-Branch Transfers:

• Click Transfer Stock to route merchandise between outlets.
• The system enforces a 3-State Escrow Protocol (Transfer Initiated ➔ In-Transit Escrow ➔ Inbound Receiving Confirmation), ensuring inventory is never double-sold while aboard delivery vans.

Eliminate manual purchase order creation and stockouts (explore our Dynamic Reorder Point Formulas and Inventory Turnover Ratio Guide):

1. 1Automated Low-Stock Thresholds: As items are rung up at POS registers, the system continuously audits on-hand balances against dynamic Reorder Points (ROP).
2. 21-Click Purchase Order Generation: In [Inventory > Low Stock Alerts](/), click Generate Purchase Orders. The procurement engine automatically groups all low-stock items by preferred vendor.
3. 3Official PDF Purchase Orders: Export and email print-ready, branded supplier PO slips with wholesale cost breakdowns, vendor shipping addresses, and authorized signature lines.
4. 4Dock Receiving Inspection: When freight shipments arrive at your loading dock, open the PO and click Receive Inbound Stock to verify received quantities and instantly increment physical store inventory.

For businesses selling perishable foods, beverages, dietary supplements, and cosmetics (learn more in our Batch & Expiry Date Tracking Guide):

• Assign Batch & Expiration Metadata: Attach Lot/Batch identifiers and expiration dates during receiving intake.
• Automated Expiry Warnings: The system color-codes inventory batches nearing expiration:
  • 🟡 Warning: Expiring within 90 days (promote to front shelves for First-Expired, First-Out rotation).
  • 🔴 Critical: Expiring within 30 days (immediate liquidation markdown).
• 1-Click Surgical Recall & Quarantine: If a manufacturer issues a health recall, locate the affected lot number and click Quarantine Lot. The system instantly locks all remaining units across all branch registers, rendering them impossible for cashiers to accidentally scan or sell.

The [Channels & Orders](/) suite consolidates multi-channel commerce into a single operational pipeline (see our Omnichannel Fulfillment Guide):

1. 1Omnichannel Order Aggregation: Monitor open customer orders across your physical counter POS, Shopify storefront, Amazon marketplace, and WooCommerce store.
2. 2Consolidated Warehouse Batch Pick Lists: Click Generate Pick List to aggregate 20, 50, or 100 open orders into a single consolidated warehouse picking manifest sorted by aisle and SKU, eliminating wasted warehouse footsteps.
3. 35-Stage Order Progression: Advance fulfillment status through Pending ➔ Picking ➔ Packed ➔ Shipped ➔ Completed, assign shipping carriers (FedEx, UPS, DHL, USPS), and attach tracking numbers.

The [Reporting](/) suite provides deep executive visibility into your business health (learn about ABC Stock Classification):

• Executive Financial Dashboard: Track Gross Revenue, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), Gross Profit Margins, and Average Order Value (AOV).
• Inventory Velocity & Turnover: Monitor Daily Sales Velocity (DSV) and Days of Inventory Remaining (DIR) to pinpoint stagnant capital.
• Tax Liability Reports: Audit taxable subtotal vs. sales tax collected for effortless quarterly sales tax filings.
• 11-Language Translated PDF/Excel Exports: Export official invoices, pick lists, and valuation ledgers translated natively into English, Spanish, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese, Italian, and Russian.

Protect your commercial records from ransomware, hardware burnout, and cloud downtime (read our Offline Data Sovereignty Guide):

1. 1W3C File System Background Auto-Save: In [Settings > Data & Backup](/), click Select Backup Folder and select any local folder on your computer, external SSD, or network-attached storage (NAS). The system silently writes complete timestamped JSON database backups at your selected interval (1h, 6h, 12h, 24h).
2. 2Manual Encrypted JSON Snapshots: Click Export Full JSON Snapshot anytime to create an air-gapped backup file before major inventory adjustments.
3. 360-Second Disaster Recovery: If a register laptop suffers a physical hardware failure, open Inventory 360 on any replacement computer, click Import JSON Backup, and restore your entire store catalog, historical receipts, and open POs in under 3 seconds.