Stock and waste
Choosing a stock and cost app: 10 questions to ask
By Emre BarışPublished 14 min readShort answer
The right stock and cost app is the one that gets used at the counter every day. First check it fits how you work: shop, appointments or memberships. Then ask: how long does an entry take, does it work offline, can staff record without seeing money, does it cost recipes and flag price rises, does it value waste and count gaps, and are your data and pricing clear?
Key points
- First pin down the kind of software you need: accounting, invoicing, a till, ERP and a stock and cost app do different jobs.
- Three questions decide daily use: does it fit your work, how long does an entry take, does it work offline.
- On costs, look for unit cost from recipes, the products a price rise hits, and the money value of waste and count gaps.
- Ask up front what the free version covers, whether your data is sold and whether you can delete your account.
- Decide with a real one-week trial that includes your busiest day, not with a demo.
In this guide
- What kind of software do you actually need?
- Does the app fit your working day?
- Can your team use it without seeing the money?
- Does the app really work out your costs?
- Will you be able to read the reports?
- What should you ask about your data and the price?
- How do you test an app in one week?
- Who is Çetele for, and who isn't it for?
- Frequently asked questions
What kind of software do you actually need?
A stock and cost app doesn't issue invoices, keep official books or print receipts at the counter. Compare apps without knowing what you need and you'll look in one for a job another does well; sort your needs by type first.
| Your need | Kind of software to look at | What it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Official books, tax returns, financial statements | Accounting software | Keeps the records the law requires; usually run by your accountant. |
| Issuing invoices, customer and supplier balances | Pre-accounting / e-invoicing software | Sales and purchase invoices, running balances, payments in and out. |
| Fast sales at the counter, barcodes, receipts | POS / till software | Takes the sale on the spot, scans barcodes, takes payment and prints a receipt. |
| Several branches, warehouses, purchasing and production planning in one system | ERP | For larger businesses with several departments; needs setup, training and settled processes. |
| What materials cost you, what a product costs, when stock runs out, what losses cost | Stock and cost app | Works out unit cost, stock and losses from purchases, batches, sales, waste and counts. |
| Customers booking their own appointments online | Online booking system | A calendar open to customers, automatic confirmations and reminder messages. |
In a small shop, two tools often work side by side: a till that takes the sale and a stock and cost app that shows what you earn. Your accountant keeps the books; you record what happens on the shop floor. The ten questions below help you choose that last kind.
Does the app fit your working day?
Three questions decide it: does it fit how your business works, how many seconds does an entry take, and does it work without internet. If any of the three is a “no”, the app will most likely be dropped within a month, however clever it is.
1. Was it made for a business like yours?
A workshop that buys materials and makes products doesn't need what a salon that works by appointment needs. The workshop wants recipes, batches and waste; the salon wants services, time slots and no-shows; a pilates studio wants packages, class credits and a register. See whether the app asks what you do at setup and whether its screens use your words. Appointment tracking and membership and package tracking are problems of their own; they shouldn't be squeezed into a program made for shops.
2. How many seconds does one entry take?
The longer an entry takes, the more it gets put off, and a record put off gets forgotten. Try entering a purchase, a sale and some waste yourself, and time it. How many screens open, how many fields are required, and does the app remember the details the second time you enter the same item?
3. Does it work without internet?
The signal drops in storerooms, basements, market stalls and fairs. Ask: can you enter a record without a connection, where does it wait, does it go out by itself once you're back online, and can you see which records are still waiting? An app that tells you to “try again when you're online” has just lost that record.
Can your team use it without seeing the money?
They should be able to. In a good app, staff enter records but don't see the till, the profit or what you pay for goods; that takes separate roles and permissions.
4. Are there roles, and can staff record without seeing amounts?
With a single-user app, either everyone uses your phone or all the recording falls to you. With a multi-user app, ask: are there separate permissions for owner, manager and staff? Do staff see amounts when they enter quantities? Is adding a team member paid, and from when?
Does the app really work out your costs?
Counting stock is half the job; the real question is what a product costs you. An app without unit cost from recipes, price-rise alerts and the money value of losses is just a digital count sheet.
5. Does it work out unit cost from recipes?
A product's cost is the sum of each ingredient's quantity times that ingredient's unit price. The app should work this out from your purchase records itself; if it makes you type unit prices by hand, you'll be updating the whole list after every price rise.
Product cost = Sum of (Quantity × Unit price) for each material ÷ Expected output
Unit price = Total paid ÷ Quantity bought. Cost worked out from the latest purchase prices shows what it would cost to make the product again today. More in recipe costing.
The best test is to work out one product's cost by hand first, then compare it with the app's answer. Here is a single jar candle from someone making candles at home; the recipe is for one jar, so the expected output is 1:
Amber-scented candle · one jar
- Soy wax (5 kg for ₺1,300.00 → ₺0.26 per g)
- 180 g × ₺0.26 = ₺46.80
- Jar (24 for ₺840.00 → ₺35.00 each)
- ₺35.00
- Wick (100 for ₺220.00 → ₺2.20 each)
- ₺2.20
- Fragrance oil (100 ml for ₺100.00 → ₺1.00 per ml)
- 12 ml × ₺1.00 = ₺12.00
- Cost of one candle
- ₺96.00
6. Does it tell you which products a price rise hits?
When you enter a new purchase, the app should compare the price with the previous one, tell you the percentage and list the products that use that material. Try it on the candle: this time 5 kg of soy wax cost ₺1,430.00. The price per kg went from ₺260.00 to ₺286.00: (286 − 260) ÷ 260 × 100 = a 10% rise. That's 180 g × ₺0.026 = ₺4.68 more per candle, for a new cost of ₺100.68. If the app you're trying tells you both numbers without being asked, you're on the right track.
7. Does it show waste and count gaps in money?
“3 mugs broke” doesn't help you decide anything; “3 mugs at ₺89.00 each broke, a ₺267.00 loss” does. The app should value waste at cost, show the weekly and monthly totals and tell you which item loses you the most. The same goes for counts: the gap between what you counted and what should be there should show up in money, not just in pieces.
Will you be able to read the reports?
A report you can't read is a report you don't have. Look for an app that answers “which product earns, where are the losses coming from” in plain sentences, instead of accounting terms and a wall of charts.
8. Are the reports in plain language, and is the app quiet when nothing's wrong?
In the reports, check three things: can you see the day's, week's and month's till at a glance; does product profitability list the loss-makers too; are alerts limited to things that really need you? Nobody keeps reading an app that sends ten notifications a day. A good alert is one short sentence: what changed and what it affects.
What should you ask about your data and the price?
Get two things clear up front: what happens to your data, and what the free part covers. Finding out after months of records have piled up in the app is the expensive way.
9. Whose data is it?
A free app makes money somewhere: from ads, subscriptions or data. Know which. In the privacy policy, read the parts on advertising, tracking and sharing with third parties. And ask: can you delete your account and all your data yourself, without having to write to anyone?
10. Is the price clear, what stays free, and which phones does it run on?
Find the limit of the free version: number of records, features or time? When a trial ends, can you keep recording, or are your entries locked? Monthly and yearly prices should be visible before you buy. Finally, the platform: does the app run on your phone and on everyone's in the team, and in which languages?
How do you test an app in one week?
With real records, over a week that includes your busiest day. Five minutes with demo data shows you what an app looks like, not whether it fits your work.
- Pick five itemsStart with the five items you use or sell most. Try to enter everything and the trial ends during setup.
- Count what you haveCount those five items once and enter them; you'll compare the end-of-week count against this. Small business stock tracking explains why the opening count matters.
- Enter one purchase from its receiptEnter a real purchase with the amount and quantity on its receipt, then check the unit price the app gives you with a calculator.
- Cost one product by handEnter one product's recipe and work out its cost on paper too. The two answers should match exactly.
- Hand it to staff, switch off the internetHave someone on the team enter sales and waste for a day. Enter one record in airplane mode too, and see whether it goes out once you're back online.
- Count again and read the reportCount the five items again at the end of the week and compare the gap with what the app says. If you can't follow the report on first reading, this app isn't for you.
Who is Çetele for, and who isn't it for?
Çetele suits small shops that buy materials and make products or buy goods and resell them, and small businesses that work by appointment or membership. It doesn't suit you if you're after invoicing, a till or online booking. We're keeping this section honest, because a month spent with the wrong app costs everyone.
When should you look for another kind of program?
- You need to issue invoices: Çetele doesn't issue invoices. Look at pre-accounting or e-invoicing software.
- You want to scan barcodes and print receipts at the counter: Çetele doesn't scan barcodes or replace a till. Look for POS or till software; you can use Çetele next to it for cost and stock, as we describe for grocers using it alongside the till.
- You're looking for official accounting: Çetele isn't accounting software; your books need the accounting software your accountant uses.
- You want customers to book their own appointments online: Çetele has no online booking, no automatic SMS to customers and no deposits. Look at an online booking system.
- You need patient or client files: Çetele keeps appointments, sessions and the till; it isn't a client file. Look for client-records software for that.
- You want a waiting list or automatic package renewal: Çetele's membership side doesn't have these, and nothing is sent to members automatically; you send reminders yourself from a WhatsApp draft.
- Everyone on the team will record, but not everyone has an iPhone: Çetele runs only on iPhone; plan for that up front.
Frequently asked questions
Is a free stock tracking app good enough?
For many small shops it can be; what matters is what the free part covers. Is recording free, or the reports, or everything for a limited time? Does it show ads or share your data? Can you still reach your old records if you don't upgrade? If those three answers are clear, starting free is the cheapest way to find out what you actually need.
What's the difference between stock software and accounting software?
Accounting software is for the official records: books, invoices, the figures that go into tax returns; your accountant usually runs it. Stock and cost software is for the inside of the shop: what's left on the shelf, what materials cost, what a product costs, how much was wasted. One answers to the tax office and your accountant, the other answers to you. Many small businesses use both side by side.
Is a phone app or a computer program better for a small shop?
Look at where your records happen. If goods are sold at the counter, counted in the storeroom and used in the workshop, records should be made there too, and a phone in your pocket is more practical. If you spend the day at a desk issuing invoices and working through long lists, a computer program may be more comfortable. Many businesses use a computer for invoices and a phone for daily records.
Do I need to move my old spreadsheet records into a new stock app?
Usually not. You enter today's quantity of each item into the new app with an opening count, and the sums carry on from there. Keep the old spreadsheet as an archive for looking back. A few weeks of new records build up enough data for sums such as how many days your stock will last, and you don't have to run two systems in the meantime.
How long should I trial a stock app?
A common rule of thumb is at least one full week, because a week takes in both quiet days and your busiest day. In that time you enter real purchases, sales and waste, check one product's cost by hand, have staff enter records and do a count at the end. If the app held up on the busy day and you understood the report on first reading, you know enough to decide.
Which businesses is Çetele not a good fit for?
On its own, Çetele isn't enough for businesses that need to issue invoices, scan barcodes and print receipts at the counter, keep official accounts or let customers book online; those need pre-accounting, POS or online booking software. Çetele runs only on iPhone. It can sit alongside those programs for cost, stock, waste, appointments and packages.
