Inventory module is a special feature designed to easily monitor the process of mini bar usage from entering products in warehouse to tracking the every day consumption.
Setting up the module
Step 1. - Creating Minibar items
In order to use the Inventory module, mini-bar articles need to be set up.
That is done in the Extras settings, where the mini bar products need to be opened within the Mini bar category.
Step 2. - Activating Inventory module
After that is done, you can activate the Inventory module from All Settings - Marketplace - Inventory
This action will offer you two options for the general setting of the Inventory module:
Auto Fill option:
If set to "Yes": whenever a minibar item is added to a reservation as an extra service used by a guest, the system will automatically take that item from the warehouse inventory and transfer it to room inventory.
If set to "No": whenever a minibar item is added to a reservation as an extra service used by a guest, you would need to go to the Inventory calendar and manually add a new item to the minibar inventory of that room. Only then will this item be deducted from the warehouse inventory.
Status required option:
If set to "Yes": this will allow adding a minibar item to the reservation as an extra service, only if status of reservation is "Arrived" or "Arrived and Paid".
If set to "No": this will allow adding a minibar item to the reservation as an extra service, regardless of reservation status.
You can also tick the box for applying to more properties in case you have a multi-property account.
Note: If Auto Fill option is set to "No", inventory is manually added through the Inventory calendar, which can be found above the main Calendar. It can be filled by clicking on the fill icon (1) or by typing in the number of items that are added to the minibar inventory (2).
Step 3. - Adding inventory to the warehouse and rooms
The items will be shown on the Inventory settings page. The warehouse is the first to be set up with the appropriate quantity for each product. To begin with, the quantity should be equal to the total number of those products in the rooms plus the total number of products in the warehouse. E.g., if there are currently a total of 300 water bottles in rooms, any number that is equal to it (300) or higher than that will be correct.
After the Warehouse is filled, the norm for each room type should be established.
E.g., the norm for Standard double room is 2 for each item.
Lastly, the mini bar for each room is filled according to the norm by clicking the Fill icon, or you can enter it manually per room if needed.
Important: As all the products are taken from the Warehouse to fill the mini bar in the rooms, it is now necessary to go back to the Warehouse and to set up the quantity according to the actual number of products in it, in case it hasn't been done properly at the beginning. If there are fewer items in the warehouse, and you need to adjust the number in the inventory module, you can also enter the "Added quantity" with a negative (-200), so that it is deducted.
Using the mini bar module
The mini bar is used as any other extra service. It can be added to any room through the Desktop version, through the standard Mobile App, or through the Housekeeping App.
If the number of items that are intended for consumption exceeds the actual quantity of that product in the room, the appropriate warning message will appear.
The current state of the mini bar in the rooms is displayed through the following Inventory calendar.
Those items can be filled up manually by entering the new number or by clicking the fill icon, which will fill the number of items to the maximum for the selected room. Those items will be filled from the Warehouse.
Note: Mini bar products can be deleted like any other extra service, by choosing the bin icon; however, there is one additional question to answer. That is whether this action requires returning the mini bar product to the room or not.
If the mini bar was charged to the room by mistake, then OK button should be chosen.
If the mini bar product is consumed, but the decision is not to charge it to the guest, then the Cancel button should be chosen.
Reporting
The inventory report can be found in the Reports section.
It is divided into a few different views.
First shows the current state of the Warehouse:
Second shows the Rooms section for the selected period:
The next two views show the changes made in the Warehouse and in rooms, with the remaining total amount after the change:
The last view shows the summary of changes with a total left in the Warehouse during the selected period:
