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<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> Navigation: MLS 2026 Operations & Reference Guide > Inventory > Top 10 Inventory Mistakes To Avoid |
Inventory control is one of the most important financial management tools within MLS 2026.
Poor inventory procedures can result in:
•lost profits
•excess stock
•missing parts
•accounting discrepancies
•incorrect pricing
•unnecessary purchases
•poor cash flow
The following are the most common inventory mistakes, and how to avoid them.
One of the most common mistakes is directly changing:
•stock quantities
•costs
•pricing
inside the Inventory Editor instead of processing parts through:
👉 Stock Input
Manual adjustments bypass:
•average cost calculations
•purchasing history
•accounting updates
•vendor tracking
•inventory statistics
Always receive parts through:
👉 Purchase Orders and Stock Input
whenever possible.
Phone orders and handwritten notes create:
•missing parts
•forgotten orders
•vendor confusion
•duplicate purchases
•inaccurate on-order quantities
Use the Purchase Order system consistently so:
•orders are tracked
•quantities are controlled
•pricing history is maintained
•backorders are visible
Slow-moving inventory ties up:
•cash
•shelf space
•purchasing power
Many businesses accumulate large quantities of parts that rarely move.
Regularly review:
•Holdover Reports
•Sales Summaries
•Below Minimum Reports
Return or discontinue slow-moving items whenever practical.
Sales representatives are valuable resources, but their goal is:
👉 selling inventory.
Not every “special purchase” is actually beneficial to your business.
Use:
•actual sales history
•lost sales data
•usage reports
•turnover statistics
to determine what should be stocked.
Descriptions such as:
•Oil Filter
•Oil Filt
•OIL FILTER
•Oil Filter Large
make searching and reporting difficult.
Develop standardized naming conventions for:
•descriptions
•manufacturers
•type codes
•location codes
Consistency dramatically improves:
•searches
•reports
•ordering
•employee efficiency
Without organized locations:
•parts become lost
•duplicate purchases occur
•technicians waste time searching
Assign clear location codes to:
•shelves
•bins
•storage rooms
•warehouse areas
Maintain location accuracy whenever inventory is moved.
Computer records eventually drift from reality due to:
•damaged parts
•misplaced inventory
•entry errors
•theft
•unbilled usage
Perform regular:
👉 Stock Balancing
using physical inventory counts.
Small regular reconciliations are much easier than major corrections later.
Random manual pricing changes often create:
•inconsistent profits
•underpriced items
•customer pricing confusion
Use:
👉 Pricing Tables
to maintain consistent markup policies across inventory.
Review pricing regularly as vendor costs change.
Unreturned cores create:
•lost credits
•unnecessary expense
•cluttered storage
•accounting confusion
Run:
•Outstanding Core Reports
•Core To Return Reports
regularly and process returns quickly.
Deleting parts removes:
•sales history
•pricing history
•vendor information
•inventory statistics
Very little storage space is required for inactive records.
Keep inventory history whenever possible.
Instead of deleting parts:
•mark them inactive
•reduce stocking levels
•leave them available for historical reference
Changes are not retained until:
👉 Save
is selected.
Manual edits after posting can affect:
•inventory quantities
•accounting
•reporting accuracy
Repeated lost sales indicate:
👉 possible stocking opportunities.
Open backorders create:
•incorrect purchasing totals
•inaccurate on-order quantities
Vendor costs change constantly.
Failing to update pricing gradually reduces profitability.
•Use Purchase Orders consistently
•Receive parts through Stock Input
•Reconcile inventory regularly
•Maintain organized locations
•Standardize descriptions and codes
•Use Pricing Tables
•Review sales history frequently
•Monitor lost sales carefully
•Process cores quickly
•Preserve historical inventory records
•Train all employees on workflow procedures
•Audit inventory reports regularly
For more detailed procedures, review:
•Inventory Editor
•Purchase Orders
•Stock Input
•Pricing Management
•Stock Balancing
•Core Processing
•Returns Processing
•Inventory Utilities
•Inventory Reports
•Non-Stocking Parts
•Cross Reference System
•Location Assignment
These sections together provide a complete inventory management system within MLS 2026.Enter topic text here.