Reserved goods: what to do when an order arrives

A customer writes on Instagram: "I'll take this dress, I'll collect it tomorrow." You answer "Fine" and get busy with other things. In the afternoon another shopper walks into the shop and buys that very dress, because it is hanging on the rail. The next day the first customer arrives and the dress is gone. One of the two customers will certainly be unhappy. To avoid this muddle, goods that are ordered but not yet collected must be set apart as reserved.

What a reservation is and why it matters

A reservation is stock set aside for a customer but not yet sold. It is still in your stockroom or on your shelf, but it cannot be sold to another customer. Without reservations the records say "in stock" when in fact the item is already promised.

A reservation splits the stock balance into two parts: what is physically there and what is open for sale. If the two are not told apart, errors appear in the records and you end up telling customers something untrue.

The rule of three numbers

For every item keep three numbers:

• Total: how many are physically there;
• Reserved: how many are set aside for customers;
• Available for sale: total minus reserved.

Example: there are 10 irons on the shelf and 3 of them are reserved against orders. Available: 10 − 3 = 7. If a fourth customer asks for 8, you cannot accept the order, even though 10 are sitting on the shelf. You tell the customer: "I have 7 now, I will bring the rest in two days."

If in your Excel or Google Sheets table "Total" is in column B and "Reserved" in column C, you only need to write the formula for "Available" once: =B2-C2. It then applies itself to every row.

Setting reservations apart physically

A reservation in the records is not enough. Reserved goods must really lie apart. Set aside a separate shelf, box or bag in your workplace and label it "Reserved". Attach a note to each item: the customer's name or the last digits of their phone number, the quantity, the date the reservation began and the deadline.

Why? Because you are not alone in the shop or stockroom. A helper, a family member or a new employee may sell an item that is hanging on the rail. Goods lying separately with a note on them will not be touched by anyone.

The reservation period

A reservation must not be open-ended. Reservations with no deadline pile up over time and "occupy" a large part of the balance, while sales stall.

Fix the period in advance and tell the customer. For example, an unpaid reservation lasts 24 hours, and for a customer who has paid a deposit it lasts until the agreed date. When time runs out, write to the customer: "The reservation has expired, I am returning the item to sale; if you wish, we can reserve it again." A clear rule like this does not upset a customer; it shows order.

Procedure when an order arrives

1. Check the available quantity: total minus reserved.
2. Give the customer an exact answer: how many, which colour and size, how long the reservation lasts.
3. Write it in the table: date, customer, quantity, deadline.
4. Set the goods apart physically and attach a note.
5. When the customer collects, close the reservation: subtract the quantity from both "Total" and "Reserved".
6. If the deadline passes, cancel the reservation, tell the customer, and the item becomes "available" again.

Most mistakes happen at step five. Subtracting twice, or forgetting to close the reservation, ruins the records. In the end the "Reserved" column fills with goods that occupy space but have in fact already gone.

Common mistakes

• Keeping reservations in your head: "Aziza said she would take two." A week later nobody remembers.
• A reservation with no deadline.
• A reservation exists in the records but the item sits among other goods on the shelf.
• Reserving "just in case" because the customer said "maybe I'll take it". A reservation should start from a firm decision.
• Not recording a partial pickup: the customer took one of three and two are still reserved.

Conclusion

A reservation is a small but important rule: an ordered item must never be sold to two people at once. Three numbers, a separate place, a deadline and tidy closing are all it takes. If reservations and ordinary balances have got mixed up in your table, the Sanab team can count your stock and establish the real balance: you can start your records afresh from that figure.