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Managing Scout Inventory

Updated over a week ago

Trail’s End uses three types of inventory to help units accurately track products throughout the sale:

  • Unit Inventory – Product owned and managed by the unit

  • Storefront Inventory – Product assigned to a specific storefront

  • Scout Inventory – Product assigned directly to an individual Scout

Most units keep inventory at the Unit level and distribute it as needed. However, some units assign inventory directly to Scouts. This article explains how Scout Inventory works and how to manage it effectively.


How Do I Assign or Adjust Scout Inventory?

Unit Leaders can transfer inventory between the Unit and individual Scouts from the leader portal.

To assign or adjust Scout inventory:

  1. Find the Scout on your Dashboard

  2. Click the arrow next to the Scout’s name

  3. Select Inventory

  4. Enter the quantity for each item:

    • Select From Unit to transfer items to the Scout

    • Select To Unit to return items from the Scout

  5. Click Adjust Transfer


Using Scout Inventory at Storefronts

Understanding How Inventory Is Tracked

When a Scout records sales at a storefront, the system assumes products are coming from storefront inventory.

If your unit assigns inventory directly to Scouts (instead of keeping it at the Unit level), additional steps are required to reconcile inventory after the storefront shift.

If Scouts Bring Their Own Inventory to Storefronts

Follow this workflow:

  1. When a unit order is placed, all inventory initially goes into Unit Inventory.

  2. Assign inventory to Scouts
    Transfer inventory from the Unit to each Scout.
    (See steps above under How Do I Assign or Adjust Scout Inventory?)

  3. Scouts attend storefront shifts as usual
    When recording sales, the app will ask if the sale should be associated with the storefront.

    • We recommend selecting YES

  4. After the shift: reconcile inventory

    • The storefront will show negative inventory for items sold

    • This is expected since there was no inventory assigned to the storefront

  5. Clear the negative storefront inventory

    • Note the quantities sold (use the Sales Transaction Detail Report if multiple Scouts worked)

    • Transfer the sold inventory from each Scout back to the Unit, thus subtracting it from the Scout's inventory.

    • Go to Manage Storefronts™ > Inventory

    • Click Return All Inventory, thus clearing the negatives by transferring inventory from the unit

After this step, the storefront inventory will return to zero.


Understanding Inventory on the Dashboard

What Does the “Has Undelivered” Column Mean?

The Has Undelivered column on the Dashboard is a visual indicator for leaders.

It shows whether a Scout has undelivered Scout (wagon) sales that still require inventory.

  • This helps leaders quickly identify Scouts who need product

  • Use the Undelivered Items by Scout report to see detailed information

Why Are There Red Values in the Inventory Retail Column?

The Inventory Retail column shows the retail value of inventory assigned to a Scout.

  • Red values DO NOT indicate an issue, they simply draw attention to the fact that the Scout has inventory.

  • A negative number means the Scout marked items as delivered that have not yet been transferred to them. This could be an issue, see below.

What does negative inventory mean?

Negative inventory indicates that a Scout marked an order as delivered without the product being assigned to them in the system.

Steps to correct:

  1. Check with the Scout whether they delivered the product or if they accidentally marked it delivered.

  2. If they did deliver, you should transfer the product to them in the system to remove the negative. See How Do I Assign or Adjust Scout Inventory?

  3. If they mismarked it, the Scout or the unit leader can change the status to undelivered. See Understanding Delivered vs Undelivered

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