Help
Everything you need to run Shelfbuzzer. Can't find it? Email hello@shelfbuzzer.com.
Getting started
Sign up, name your workspace and pick what kind of place it is. Shelfbuzzer fills in a starting list of storage areas, suppliers and common items for that kind of place, which you then adjust.
- Fix the quantities on hand: the quickest way is a count of each storage area (Count).
- Set each supplier's delivery days and order cutoff (Suppliers).
- Invite your team (Settings, Team) and print shelf tags for everyone else (Shelf tags).
Par and fill-to
Par is the level that triggers a reorder. Fill to is the level you order back up to. With par 12 and fill-to 20, at 9 on the shelf Shelfbuzzer suggests ordering 11.
Seasonal par (Team plan and up): open an item, Edit, and tick "Different par in some months" to use another par for chosen months, like ice melt in winter.
The order-by countdown
For each supplier, Shelfbuzzer knows the delivery days, how many days ahead you have to order, and the cutoff time. It counts down to the next cutoff and works out, from how fast you use each item, whether anything will run out before the next delivery if you miss it. Those suppliers turn red on Today.
Usage is learned from the last 4 weeks of uses, waste and shelf-tag scans, so it gets better as your team records what they take.
Recording uses, deliveries and waste
Open any item and choose Used, Received, Wasted or Set count. On Received, enter the price you paid (or read the invoice) to keep price watch accurate, and a use-by date if the item tracks dates. Batches are used oldest first.
Reading an invoice
On Items or Reorder, tap Read an invoice and pick a PDF or take a photo of the paper invoice. Shelfbuzzer reads it on your own device (the file isn't uploaded), finds each line's quantity and price, and matches the lines to your items.
- Choose The delivery came to add the quantities to stock with the prices, or Just update prices to only record what you'd pay now.
- Lines it isn't sure about are yellow: pick the right item, or "Skip this line". It remembers your choice for that supplier, so the next invoice matches by itself.
- For a clear photo: lay the invoice flat, fill the screen with it, and avoid shadows.
When receiving an order, tap Read the invoice to fill in the quantities and prices that came.
Price trends
Each item shows whether its price is going up, down or holding steady compared with what you paid on recent deliveries (a change under 3% counts as steady). Reorder shows the trend next to each line before you send, and Today flags any price 8% or more over usual.
Prices at your suppliers
Shelfbuzzer keeps the latest price of each item at each supplier: from deliveries, from invoices you read (under the supplier on that invoice), or a quote you type in (open the item, Prices at your suppliers).
When another supplier you already buy from has an item for at least 3% less (from prices seen in the last 6 months), Reorder shows it under the item with what you'd save on this order. Tap Switch to order it from there, or Buy them at the cheaper supplier to switch them all. You can switch back from the item any time.
Trying it with sample data
Want to look around first? Try the demo: pick a kind of place and you get your own private workspace full of sample data. Change anything; it's deleted after two days. To keep your work, sign up for your own workspace.
Counting and blind counts
Count walks one storage area at a time. With blind count on, the person counting doesn't see the expected number. When they finish, you see every difference in units and dollars; missing stock adds up in Reports.
Ordering, approvals and receiving
Reorder lists everything below par, grouped by supplier in order of whose cutoff comes first. Adjust quantities, untick anything you don't want, and tap Send order. Then email it to the supplier from Shelfbuzzer, open it in your own email, or copy it.
Approvals (Business plan): set an amount in Settings, Workspace. Orders over it from team members wait for an admin to approve.
When the delivery comes, tap Receive, fix any quantities that came in different, and enter prices.
Sites, storage areas and moving stock
A site is a building, kitchen or store; each has storage areas. Add them in Settings, Sites and storage (more than one site needs the Business plan). Pick a site at the top left to see only that site.
To move stock, open the item and tap Move. Reorder also suggests borrowing before you buy when another storage area or site has more than it needs.
Team roles
- Owner: everything, including billing.
- Admin: everything except billing, plus approvals and settings.
- Team member: counts, uses, receives and orders.
- Viewer: can look, can't change anything.
Importing a spreadsheet
Settings, Import and export: paste cells from Excel or Google Sheets (with the header row) or upload a CSV. Columns it understands: Name, Site, Location, Category, Unit, On hand, Par, Fill to, Unit cost, Supplier, SKU.
Plans and billing
Every workspace starts with 3 months free and every feature. Choose a plan any time in Settings, Plan and billing (the owner does this). Choosing during the trial doesn't cut it short: your card is first charged when the trial ends. We email a reminder a week before and the day before it ends.
- Change plan: pick another plan on the same page. The difference for the rest of the period is added to or taken off your next bill.
- Card, invoices, cancelling: tap "Cards, invoices and cancelling". If you cancel, the plan keeps working to the end of the period you paid for; "Keep my plan" undoes it.
- A failed payment: we email you and try again; the workspace keeps working meanwhile.
After the trial or a plan ends, the workspace turns read-only; nothing is deleted.
Your account, and deleting things
Settings, Your account: change your name, email or password, and leave a workspace someone else owns.
- Hand over a workspace: the owner can tap "Make owner" next to someone on the Team tab. They take over billing; you become an admin.
- Delete a workspace: the owner, at the bottom of Settings, Workspace. It's deleted for everyone and its plan stops right away.
- Delete your account: at the bottom of Settings, Your account. Workspaces you own are deleted with it.
Still stuck?
Send us a message or email hello@shelfbuzzer.com. A person answers, usually within one business day.