PepStock

Stock you don't have, in the hands of people who owe you

Consignment breaks ordinary inventory maths, because stock you no longer physically hold is still yours until it sells. Count it as sold and your profit is a fiction; count it as gone and your stock value is wrong.

The four numbers per reseller

• Holding — units with them, valued at the rate they owe you
• Sold, not yet paid — they've taken the money, you haven't
• Advance on deposit — money down against future stock
• Due now — sold minus advance, which can be negative when you are holding their money

That last one catches people out. A reseller who paid $800 up front and has sold $388 is not in your debt — you owe them product. Reporting it as revenue makes a month look good that is actually a liability.

What a reseller should never see

Your costs, your margins, your suppliers and your other resellers' figures. Not hidden behind a setting — never sent to their device. Their app shows their stock, their clients and their own selling prices, and their receipts carry their business name.