Calculate Wholesale Inventory Value by Manufacturer

Understanding the wholesale value of your inventory by manufacturer is essential for cash flow management, vendor negotiations, and strategic purchasing decisions. PayHelm automatically calculates inventory values based on your cost data and provides flexible reporting to view this information by manufacturer, brand, or supplier.

How PayHelm Calculates Inventory Value

PayHelm determines wholesale inventory value using the following data:

Cost Data Sources:
• Product cost/wholesale price from your ecommerce platform
• Purchase order costs from integrated systems
• Manual cost entries in PayHelm (if cost data isn't available from your platform)
• Average cost calculations for products with varying purchase prices

Stock Quantity:
• Real-time inventory levels synced from your ecommerce platform
• Multi-location inventory (if you have multiple warehouses or stores)
• Available inventory (excludes items in open orders, if configured)

Calculation: Wholesale Inventory Value = Quantity on Hand × Wholesale Cost per Unit

This calculation runs automatically and updates based on your data sync frequency (typically every 1-4 hours).

Viewing Inventory Value by Manufacturer

Method 1: Inventory Dashboard

The fastest way to see inventory value by manufacturer:

1. Navigate to the Inventory section from the main navigation
2. Look for the "Inventory Value" widget or summary card
3. Click the Group By dropdown and select "Manufacturer" or "Brand"
4. The display will update to show:
- Manufacturer name - Total units in stock - Total wholesale value - Percentage of total inventory value

You can sort by value (high to low) to quickly identify which manufacturers represent your largest inventory investments.

Method 2: Inventory Reports

For detailed analysis with additional metrics:

Creating an Inventory Value Report:
1. Go to Reports → Create New Report
2. Select "Inventory Valuation" from the report templates
3. In the Group By section, select "Manufacturer"
4. Choose your desired metrics:
- Total Wholesale Value - Total Units - Average Cost per Unit - Number of SKUs - Percentage of Total Inventory Value
5. Apply date filters if analyzing historical inventory values
6. Save the report for regular use

Additional Filters: You can further segment your inventory value report:
• By product category (e.g., "Electronics" inventory value by manufacturer)
• By warehouse location (for multi-location businesses)
• By inventory status (in-stock, low stock, overstock)
• By product performance (fast-moving vs. slow-moving inventory)

Method 3: Custom Inventory Metrics

For businesses with specific inventory valuation needs:

Creating Custom Inventory Value Calculations:
1. Navigate to Settings → Custom Metrics
2. Click "Create New Metric"
3. Define your calculation, for example:
- "Inventory Value as % of Monthly Revenue" = (Inventory Value / 30-Day Revenue) × 100 - "Manufacturer Inventory Days" = (Inventory Value / Average Daily COGS) filtered by manufacturer - "Dead Stock Value" = Inventory Value for products with no sales in 90+ days
4. Set dimension to "Manufacturer"
5. The metric will appear in all reporting tools

This is particularly useful for:
• Calculating inventory turnover by manufacturer
• Identifying slow-moving inventory investments
• Planning purchasing budgets by vendor

Exporting Inventory Value Data

Export to Google Sheets

For financial planning and buyer analysis:

1. Create your inventory value report (Method 2 above)
2. Click Export → Google Sheets
3. Choose export frequency:
- One-time snapshot - Daily automated export (for real-time financial tracking) - Weekly summary
4. Data appears in Google Sheets with manufacturers as rows

This allows you to:
• Create financial models and forecasts
• Compare against purchase order budgets
• Share with finance teams or external accountants
• Build custom visualizations

CSV Export

For importing into accounting or ERP systems:

1. From your inventory value report, click Export → CSV
2. The file includes all selected metrics by manufacturer
3. Import the CSV into your accounting software for reconciliation

Understanding Your Inventory Value Data

How manufacturers are identified: PayHelm uses the vendor, manufacturer, or brand field from your product catalog. Products without this field will appear as "Unassigned" in reports. To fix this:
• Update product data in your ecommerce platform
• Data will sync to PayHelm within 1-4 hours
• Bulk updates can be done using your platform's product import/export features

Cost data accuracy:
• If cost is $0 or missing, PayHelm will show $0 value (update costs in your ecommerce platform)
• For products with multiple purchase prices, PayHelm uses average cost by default
• You can configure to use FIFO, LIFO, or weighted average in Settings → Inventory Valuation

Multi-currency handling:
• All values are converted to your base currency using current exchange rates
• Historical reports use exchange rates from the report date
• Currency conversion settings are in Settings → Currency

Best Practices for Inventory Valuation

Maintain accurate cost data:
• Ensure all products have wholesale costs entered in your ecommerce platform
• Update costs when you receive new purchase orders at different prices
• Review and reconcile cost data quarterly with your accounting team

Regular monitoring:
• Review inventory value by manufacturer monthly
• Compare current values to previous periods to track inventory growth
• Set alerts for when a manufacturer's inventory exceeds a threshold amount

Strategic decision-making:
• Use this data to negotiate payment terms with manufacturers representing large inventory investments
• Identify manufacturers where you're over-invested (high value, low sales)
• Plan purchasing budgets based on inventory value distribution
• Calculate inventory turnover ratios by manufacturer to optimize stock levels

Using Inventory Value for Financial Planning

Cash flow management:
• High inventory value by manufacturer indicates cash tied up in stock
• Compare manufacturer inventory value to their sales contribution
• Prioritize inventory reduction for manufacturers with low turnover

Purchasing optimization:
• Manufacturers with low inventory value but high sales may need increased purchasing
• Those with high value but low sales may indicate overbuying or slow-moving products
• Use the data to set manufacturer-specific reorder points and quantities

Troubleshooting

If inventory values appear incorrect:
• Verify product costs are entered correctly in your ecommerce platform
• Check that inventory quantities are syncing properly (Settings → Integrations)
• Ensure your cost calculation method (average, FIFO, LIFO) is configured correctly
• Allow 1-4 hours after updating costs for values to refresh in PayHelm

If manufacturers are missing or showing as "Unassigned":
• Products need manufacturer/vendor/brand field populated in your ecommerce platform
• Update product data and allow time for sync
• Use bulk product edit features in your platform for efficient updates

Next Steps

Once you have inventory value tracking by manufacturer:
• Set up automated weekly or monthly inventory value reports sent to your email
• Create custom dashboards combining inventory value with sales performance by manufacturer
• Use the data in vendor negotiations to discuss payment terms and volume discounts
• Implement inventory level alerts when a manufacturer's stock value exceeds your comfort threshold