Consignment

Admin

Consignment allows you to sell products on behalf of third-party suppliers (consignors) without purchasing the inventory upfront. The consignor retains ownership of the goods until they are sold, at which point you remit the consignor's share and keep your commission.

Feature flag required

Consignment is only available when Enable Consignment is enabled in your store settings. Navigate to Settings > Edit Settings > Operations tab and toggle on Enable Consignment.

---

How Consignment Works in Brother POS

1. Receive consignment stock -- A consignor delivers products to your store. You record the receiving without a purchase cost.
2. Sell normally -- Consignment products appear on the POS register alongside regular inventory. Budtenders do not need to know which items are consigned.
3. Track sales -- Brother POS tracks which consignment items are sold and calculates the consignor's share.
4. Process payouts -- Periodically, you generate a payout report and remit the consignor's share.

---

Accessing Consignment

1. Log in to the Admin Panel.
2. Navigate to Consignment (accessible from the admin panel when consignment is enabled in Settings).
3. The consignment dashboard loads.

---

Managing Consignors

Adding a Consignor

1. Click Consignors tab.
2. Click Add Consignor.
3. Fill in:

Name -- The consignor's business name.

• Required: Yes

Contact Name -- Primary contact person.

• Required: No

Email -- Contact email address.

• Required: No

Phone -- Contact number.

• Required: No

Notes -- Additional notes about the consignor (e.g., payment terms, special arrangements).

• Required: No

Active -- Whether the consignor is active. Inactive consignors are hidden from selection lists.

• Default: Active

4. Click Save Consignor.

Editing a Consignor

1. Click the consignor name.
2. Update any fields.
3. Click Save.

---

Receiving Consignment Inventory

Consignment items are received from within the consignor detail page via the Receive Consignment button, not from a separate receiving page.

Receiving Process

1. Navigate to Consignment and click on the consignor.
2. Click the Receive Consignment button on the consignor detail page.
3. Add items to the receiving:
   • Search for an existing product or create a new one.
   • Enter the Quantity received.
   • Enter the cost per unit -- the amount owed to the consignor per unit when sold. This is not the selling price.
4. Review the items and quantities.
5. Confirm the receiving.
6. Stock levels are updated. Products are marked as consignment inventory internally.

---

Consignment vs. Regular Inventory

Aspect	Regular Inventory	Consignment
Ownership	You own it	Consignor owns it
Purchase cost	Paid upfront	Paid after sale
Risk	You bear it	Consignor bears it
POS display	Normal	Identical (no difference to cashier)
Reporting	Standard cost/margin	Consignment payout reports
Returns	You absorb	Returned to consignor's balance

On the POS register, consignment products look and behave identically to regular products. The distinction is tracked internally for financial reporting.

---

Tracking Consignment Sales

Sales tracking is shown on the consignor detail page. Navigate to the consignor and view their active items to see how many units of each product have been sold.

Active consignment items are also displayed on the consignor detail page, showing current stock, quantities received, and quantities sold.

---

Processing Payouts

When it is time to pay a consignor for their sold inventory:

Payments are recorded via a simple form with the following fields:

Field	Description
Amount	The payment amount
Payment Method	How the payment was made
Reference Number	Transaction or check reference (optional)
Notes	Additional payment notes (optional)
Paid At	When the payment was made

To record a payment:

1. Navigate to the consignor detail page.
2. Record the payment with the form fields above.
3. The payment is saved and linked to the consignor.

Payouts are records, not payments

Brother POS records the payout as a financial event but does not process actual payment. You must transfer funds to the consignor separately (e.g., via bank transfer, cheque).

---

Handling Returns on Consignment Items

When a consignment item is returned:

1. Process the return normally on the POS.
2. The consignment sale is reversed automatically.
3. The consignor's payout balance is reduced accordingly.
4. Stock is added back to consignment inventory.

---

Unsold Inventory Returns

Returns are handled per-item via the Return button on each active consignment item row on the consignor detail page. Click Return on the item you want to send back, confirm the action, and stock levels are adjusted accordingly.

---

Best Practices

• Set clear terms upfront -- Agree on commission rates, payout schedules, and return policies before accepting consignment goods.
• Receive accurately -- Double-check quantities during consignment receiving. Errors compound in payout calculations.
• Process payouts on schedule -- Stick to the agreed payment terms to maintain good consignor relationships.
• Separate accounting -- Keep consignment revenue and payouts clearly separated in your accounting system.
• Review slow-moving stock -- Consignment products that do not sell take up shelf space. Return slow movers to the consignor.
• Document everything -- Use the notes field on receivings and payouts for additional context.

---

What's Next?

• Activity Logs -- Track consignment-related actions.
• Audit Trail -- View the change history on consignment records.
• Managing Products -- Manage consignment products alongside regular inventory.