Inventory app for service vans
Know what is in every van, for installers and service technicians
With Inventory Management you keep track of stock in service vans by setting up each van as a storage location, next to the locations in your warehouse. Stock goes into a van with a move, and the technician books out the parts used at a customer on their own phone. The overview then shows what is in which van at any moment.
Why stock in service vans goes missing
For a plumber, electrician or HVAC company, much of the stock is not in the warehouse but in the vans. A technician loads fittings, cable or filters in the morning, uses some at a customer and keeps the rest on board. The warehouse figure still counts those parts, the van has no figure at all, and nobody knows what was used where. The result is parts ordered twice and extra trips to the wholesaler for something already in another van.
How it works in the app
In Inventory Management a storage location does not have to be a rack. A van is simply a location, for example VAN-01, next to the shelves in your warehouse. Loading a van is a Move from the warehouse location to the van: the total stock stays the same, only its position changes. At the customer, the technician opens Outbound on their own phone, scans the barcode or types the product ID and enters the quantity. If the product also sits in the warehouse or another van, the app shows how much is in each location, so they take it from their own van. Every movement is stored with the product, location, quantity, moment and device, so you can see afterwards which van used which parts.
Setting up your vans in five steps
You can do this yourself in an afternoon, without a consultant.
- Create a location per van — Open Locations and add one location for each van, with a name everyone recognises, such as VAN-01 or the technician's name.
- Add a device per technician — Enter your company ID on each technician's phone. The app runs on Android and as a web app on iPhone.
- Register what is already on board — Scan in the current contents of each van on its own location. Products are created the first time you scan them in.
- Book out at the customer — The technician registers used parts as outbound from the van on the spot, so the figure is right before the next job.
- Count and top up — Count a van at a quiet moment, correct what differs, then top it up from the warehouse with a move. Counting and replenishment are part of Premium.
What does it cost for a team of vans?
You pay per device, not per user or per van. A device is one phone, tablet, scanner or browser logged in to your company account. A company with four technicians on their own phones plus one browser in the office has five devices. On Basic that is 5 times 12,50 euro, or 62,50 euro per month, with unlimited transactions and Move included. On Premium, which adds counting and replenishment, it is 5 times 25,00 euro, or 125,00 euro per month. The free plan has no Move and a limit of 100 transactions per month, so it is enough to try the idea, not to run several vans.
When it is not the right fit
The app needs a connection. Every device works on the same live stock, so a technician in a basement or an area without mobile coverage cannot book until the phone is back online. In practice they register the parts right after the job instead. If your technicians regularly work for days without coverage, this is the wrong tool. It is also not a vehicle tracking system: it knows what is in a van, not where the van is.
The facts, in short
- Runs on Android phones and tablets, on Android barcode scanners, in a desktop browser, and on iPhone and iPad as a web app.
- The app and this website are available in four languages: English, Dutch, German and Spanish.
- Every stock movement is stored with five details: the product, the storage location, the quantity, the moment and the device that registered it.
- The Premium plan contains 17 built-in analyses, from stock value and location fill rate to dormant stock and busiest hours.
- There is a free plan with 100 transactions per month. Basic costs 12,50 euro per device per month or 134,99 euro per year. Premium costs 25,00 euro per month or 274,99 euro per year.
- Every plan starts with one free month. No credit card is needed to start.
- The app is hosted on European servers at Scaleway. Stock data can be exported as a CSV file on the Premium plan.
Checked against the app on
Frequently asked questions
Does every technician need a paid licence?
On Basic and Premium every device that is logged in counts, so one phone per technician means one licence per technician. Colleagues who share a device cost one licence. The free plan allows unlimited devices, with 100 transactions per month shared across the company.
Do we need barcode scanners in the vans?
No. The camera on an ordinary phone reads the barcodes printed on packaging. For the few bookings a technician makes per job, the phone they already carry is usually enough.
What happens to parts that come back from a job?
Unused parts stay on the van location until you move them. If they go back to the warehouse, book a move from the van to a warehouse location. The total stock does not change.
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