Hardware and building supplies
Point of sale for hardware and building supply stores
Thousands of items, walk-in customers and contractors on credit. Find any product by code, barcode or name.
A counter with eight thousand items
At a hardware store a customer walks in with a screw in their hand and asks if you have another one like it. Behind them is a builder who needs twenty bags of cement and a plumber who wants the price you always give him. All three wait in the same line.
The catalog is huge and half the parts look alike. You sell by the piece, by the box, by the meter or by the roll. The price changes depending on who is buying, and the contractor who owes you two invoices wants to take material for another job.
Then there's the yard. The customer pays at the register and picks up the rebar out back, sometimes the same day, sometimes the next week. If nobody writes down what was delivered, by Friday no one knows how many bags the job on Hidalgo Street is still missing.
What your counter uses
-
Search however you like
By code, by barcode or by part of the name. Type the quantity and * before the code to add several pieces at once, for example 50*TOR-1/4.
-
Price by customer
Counter, wholesale and contractor prices in separate lists. Each customer buys with their own, and changing the list by hand can require approval.
-
By the piece or by the box
A unit group says a box has 100 pieces or a roll has 100 meters. Each pack size can have its own barcode.
-
The rep builds it, the register rings it up
The floor sales rep puts the order together with the customer and presses Send to the cash desk. The cashier finds it with Ctrl+T or by scanning the sheet.
-
Yard and warehouse
In Goods delivery the warehouse clerk scans what goes out against the order or invoice. Whatever is missing stays pending.
-
Protect your margin
If a line falls below the minimum margin or a discount goes over the role's limit, a supervisor approves it with their PIN.
A Saturday at La Escuadra Hardware
-
7:45
The register opens
The cashier opens her shift at the point of sale, counts the float by bill and coin and starts ringing up sales.
-
8:10
A quote for a job
A builder asks for a price on material for a wall. The sales rep builds the quote with the contractor price list and emails it as a PDF.
-
9:30
A line at the counter
Screws, silicone, a shut-off valve. The cashier scans, changes the quantity with F4 and takes payment with F12, in cash, by card or both.
-
11:00
The material is put on hold
The builder accepts the quote. It becomes an order and he leaves a down payment, which is invoiced on the spot.
-
11:20
First delivery from the yard
Today he takes half the cement and rebar. The warehouse clerk scans what goes on the truck and the rest stays pending on the order.
-
14:00
Minimums
You check purchase suggestions. The items that reached their reorder point show up and you create the supplier orders from there.
-
15:00
Closing
The cashier counts her drawer, Nori tells her if it balances and the Z report prints.
Example
The wall on Hidalgo Street
An example with made-up numbers. A contractor gets a quote for material for a wall at $38,500 with his price list. He approves it and leaves $15,000 as a down payment, which is issued as a down payment invoice.
That day he takes half the material and ten days later he comes back for the rest. When the last of it goes out, you invoice the job. The invoice shows the Customer's down payments section, you apply the $15,000 and, in Mexico, Nori issues the credit note that the SAT (Mexico's tax authority) requires. The contractor has $23,500 left to pay, on credit within his limit.
- total for the job, at contractor prices
- $38,500
- total for the job, at contractor prices
- down payment invoiced the day he approves
- $15,000
- down payment invoiced the day he approves
- deliveries from the yard on the same order
- 2
- deliveries from the yard on the same order
- balance left on credit
- $23,500
- balance left on credit
From quote to invoice
The quote, the order, the delivery and the invoice are linked documents. You copy one into the next and Nori brings over the lines, the customer and the prices. If you changed a promotion after quoting, Apply special discounts recalculates the document with what is current.
Each document prints with your own layout or goes out by email with a PDF and XML. From the customer record you see their statement and aging before you let them take more material.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell cable by the meter and also the whole roll?
Yes. In the item's unit group you say how many meters the roll has. You sell in whatever unit the customer asks for and stock comes off in the base unit.
How do I put material on hold for a customer?
With a down payment. It's invoiced on the spot and later applied to the final invoice (in Mexico, with the credit note the SAT requires). A down payment can be split across several invoices.
What happens if the customer doesn't take the whole order?
You deliver what you have and the rest stays pending on the order. If they no longer want it, you close the order with what's missing and the committed stock is released.
Can I give credit to a contractor who already owes me?
You can require approval when they go over their limit or have overdue documents. You decide this by action and by role, and the supervisor approves from the register with their PIN or from their phone.
Can I print shelf labels?
Yes. You print item labels with the default barcode, for example on 50 × 25 mm labels.
Related guides
- Ring up sales rep orders at the registerThe sales rep builds the order on the floor and sends it to the register. The cashier loads it, takes payment for all or part of it, and invoices a ticket when the customer needs it.
- Down payments: invoice and apply themInvoice the customer's down payment, then apply it to the invoice for the goods with the credit memo the SAT requires.
- Goods delivery with status lights and scannerA board that shows which orders are waiting, picking by warehouse, and handing over goods by scanning against the sales order or invoice.
- Authorizations and supervisor PINChoose which operations need approval, who approves them and how. Approve from the tray, at the register with a PIN, or from your phone.
Want to see it with your products?
We'll show you Nori with a catalog and routes like yours.