Hardware Store: Contractor accounts, special orders and stock by the foot for hardware stores

BridgeERP runs the hardware counter with barcodes and items sold by the foot, charges contractors at trade prices to their account, and orders the next season's stock ahead.

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BridgeERP for hardware store: Contractor accounts, special orders and stock by the foot for hardware stores

At the counter, by the piece and by the foot

Barcoded tools and supplies go through the till with chain cut to length, and sales tax is added at checkout.

BridgeERP point of sale till at a hardware store: a drill kit, glue, WD-40 and 12 feet of chain sold by the foot
Point of Sale

A drill kit and 12 feet of chain

Tomasz Nowak bought a DEWALT drill kit, a tape measure, glue, WD-40 and 12 feet of chain; sales tax of $24.04 brought the total to $258.45.

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BridgeERP hardware product sold by the foot
Inventory

Sold by the foot

Campbell galvanized coil chain is sold by the foot at $2.20 before tax, and each foot costs the store $1.26.

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By the numbers

What ships inside

Counted in the product.

26
units of measure in six groups ship ready to use, from feet and pounds to gallons and square feet
3
ways a price rule sets a price for a customer: a fixed price, a discount or a formula
4
levels a price rule can apply to: all products, a category, a product or a single variant
2
ways a reordering rule runs: automatically, or when a buyer orders from the replenishment list

Inside the app

What is inside

The apps a hardware store runs on, and what each does for the day.

  • Barcode counter sales

    Tools, fasteners and supplies are scanned by their barcodes and rung up at the counter.

  • Sold by the foot

    Chain, rope and tubing are sold in feet or other units, and stock is counted in the same unit.

  • Contractor pricing

    Trade customers get their own price list, applied to the order when they are chosen at the counter.

  • Charge to account

    Contractors take the goods now and the amount goes on their account, to be settled later.

  • Special orders

    An item that is not in stock is sold now and delivered when the distributor ships it.

  • Reordering rules

    Minimum and maximum levels per item bring low stock back onto the replenishment list.

  • Seasonal buying

    Winter and summer stock is ordered months ahead, with the date each delivery is due.

  • Sales by department

    The sales analysis shows what each department sold, from power tools to paint and sundries.

Step by step

From the distributor to the job site

How stock moves through a hardware store in BridgeERP, and which app does each step.

  1. Step 1

    Buy

    Purchase orders go to the distributors with prices, quantities and the date each delivery is due.

    Purchase
  2. Step 2

    Receive

    Deliveries are received against the order and go straight onto the shelves.

    Inventory
  3. Step 3

    Sell

    The counter sells to walk-in customers and to contractors at their own prices, on account.

    Point of Sale
  4. Step 4

    Reorder

    Items that fall below their minimum come back on the replenishment list with the quantity to buy.

    Inventory
  5. Step 5

    Close

    At closing the cash is counted, the day posts to accounting and contractor balances are updated.

    Accounting

Contractor accounts at trade prices

Contractors buy at their own prices, take the goods and settle their account later.

  1. Point of Sale

    A price list for contractors

    The contractor price list sets trade prices on ten staples, from screws and joist hanger nails to paint, brushes and work gloves.

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    BridgeERP contractor price list for a hardware store
  2. Point of Sale

    Picked up now, paid later

    Northpoint Remodeling Co. placed a $455.79 order at 07:45 on Saturday and charged the whole amount to its customer account.

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    BridgeERP hardware store order charged to a contractor account
  3. Accounting

    What contractors owe

    The aged receivable report shows what each contractor owes: $455.79 for Northpoint Remodeling, $419.63 for Okafor Builders and $191.28 for Brightline Electric.

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    BridgeERP aged receivable report of contractor accounts

Sold now, delivered when it arrives

The customer pays at the counter and the delivery waits for the distributor's stock.

BridgeERP hardware store pre-order paid in full
Point of Sale

A snow blower, paid in September

On 14 September at 16:30, Maria Gonzalez paid $638.35 for a Troy-Bilt Squall snow blower: $579.00 plus $59.35 sales tax.

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BridgeERP delivery order waiting for a pre-ordered snow blower
Inventory

Waiting for the winter stock

Maria Gonzalez's snow blower waits as a delivery scheduled for 21 October, with the stock expected on 20 October.

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Winter stock, ordered in September

Seasonal orders go to the distributors early, with the day each delivery is due.

BridgeERP winter stock purchase order for a hardware store
Purchase

Due on 20 October

Ice melt, snow brushes and furnace filters were ordered from Lakeshore Hardware Wholesale on 14 September, $3,215.40 due on 20 October.

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Reordered before the shelf runs out

Every staple has a minimum and a maximum, and the replenishment list shows what to buy.

BridgeERP replenishment list for a hardware store
Inventory

What to order after the weekend

Seven staples are below their minimum after the weekend, each with the quantity to order; the warning on furnace filters flags the winter receipt already due.

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A Saturday at the counter, closed and counted

The session keeps the float, the orders and the payments, and the analysis shows what each department sold.

BridgeERP closed hardware store point of sale session
Point of Sale

Saturday at the counter

Saturday's session opened at 07:00 with a $200 float and closed at 19:10 after 58 orders and $3,408.85 in payments.

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BridgeERP hardware store sales analysis by department
Point of Sale

Four days by department

Paint and sundries sold the most over the four days, ahead of power tools, fasteners and chain, plumbing and electrical, hand tools and winter goods.

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Who uses it

Who uses it, and what they see

One system for the owner, the counter, receiving and the books.

  • Store owner

    Sets the contractor prices and the reordering levels, and places the seasonal orders with the distributors.

  • Counter staff

    Scans the items, cuts chain to length, takes card or cash and charges contractors to their account.

  • Receiving

    Checks distributor deliveries against the purchase order and puts the stock on the shelves.

  • Bookkeeper

    Follows what each contractor owes and sees each day's takings posted to accounting.

In your country

Your currency, payments and taxes

Set to the country the store trades in.

  • Company currency

    Shelf prices, distributor costs and daily takings are kept in the currency of the company; the demo store trades in USD.

  • Tax added or included

    Sales tax can be added at checkout, as the 10.25% rate is on the demo, or VAT can be included in the shelf price.

  • Accounting by country

    Accounting packages for more than 100 countries set up the chart of accounts and the taxes for the store.

Getting started

Getting started

How a hardware store moves onto BridgeERP.

  1. Load the catalogue

    Import items with their barcodes, units of measure, shelf prices, costs and distributors.

  2. Open the counter

    Create the till with card, cash and customer account, and allow orders to be delivered later.

  3. Set contractor prices

    Build a price list for trade customers and make it available on the till.

  4. Set reorder levels

    Give each staple a minimum and a maximum so low stock comes back on the replenishment list.

Questions

Questions about Hardware Store

Not covered here? Contact us.

Can we sell chain, rope or tubing by the foot?

Yes. An item can be sold in feet or another unit of measure, the till takes the length as the quantity, and stock is counted in the same unit.

Can contractors buy at their own prices?

Yes. A price list for trade customers sets their prices, and it applies when the contractor is chosen on the order at the counter.

Can contractors charge purchases to an account?

Yes. The customer account payment method puts the amount on the contractor's balance, and the aged receivable report shows what each one owes.

Can we sell an item that is not in stock yet?

Yes. The order is paid at the counter and delivered later, and the delivery waits for the distributor's stock to arrive.

Can sales tax be added at checkout?

Yes. Shelf prices can be shown before tax with the tax added at checkout, or with VAT already included, depending on the country.

How do we know what to reorder?

Each item can have a minimum and a maximum; the replenishment list shows what has fallen below its minimum and how many to order.

Tax compliance

Invoices your tax authority accepts

In Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Zambia, each invoice, receipt and stock movement goes to the tax authority's own system when you post it. Ghana and Pakistan come next, and we connect 73 more countries on request.

  • KenyaReady

    eTIMS KRA

    Invoices, credit notes, POS receipts and stock movements

  • UgandaReady

    EFRIS URA

    Invoices, POS receipts and stock

  • RwandaReady

    EBM RRA

    Invoices, POS receipts, stock and imports

  • BurundiReady

    EBMS OBR

    Invoices, POS receipts, stock and manufacturing

  • ZambiaReady

    Smart Invoice ZRA

    Invoices, POS receipts, stock and imports

NextGhana GRA E-VATPakistan FBR Digital InvoicingAll 80 countries

Hardware Store, app by app

One connected flow instead of separate systems — the work moves from one team to the next without re-typing anything.

Every stop is a real app in your plan, and the hand-offs between them are the product.

  • Customers & sales
  • Operations
  • Finance
Stage 1 of 5 · Customers & sales

Point of Sale

Touch till, offline mode, sessions, cash control and receipts.

Point of Sale →
Till at a hardware store in BridgeERP Point of Sale, ringing up a sale

Ready when you are

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