Your scale arrived and you’re stoked about the fast and accurate liquor inventories that await (and we’re excited for you!). In advance of your first inventory using Freepour, you’ll need to make sure your scale recognizes your existing products.
To do this, we're going to walk you through your setup scan. Depending on the size of your liquor inventory and how unique your products are, this step can take 1-4 hours. Fear not! You can do this prep inventory scan anytime you have a little window of time. And it would be best if it was done at least 3 days before you want to take your first real inventory. It takes a little longer the first time so that it can be super speedy every other time!
Four key things to know:
- This is a mock inventory that will be uploaded but can then be deleted - it won't impact reporting
- The goal is to scan any and every bottle that you will want on your inventory - you may need to add ones that don't have a barcode or aren't already in our pre-loaded database!
- The weights and counts do not need to be accurate for this one
- This should be done at least 3 days prior to when you want to take your first official inventory so we can have time to finish up the setup on our end.
>> Be sure you have your scale connected to the internet and have done an initial data sync. More information about that can be found here: Freepour - Meet Your Scale
Four steps to get it done:
- Watch the overview webinar
- Scan your bottles, adding in information for any that are unknown
- Upload your data to MarginEdge
- Map any outstanding items within your [me] account (if applicable)
Once these initial Freepour set up steps are complete, you’ve unlocked the secret to your fastest and most accurate liquor inventories – CONGRATS!
*If you received your scale before August 22nd, your steps are a tiny bit different.
Please click here to jump to this section for your instructions!*
Step 1: Watch the quick Getting Started with Freepour video.
Step 2: Scan all of your liquor and wine bottles that are sold by the glass
Anything you will want to count on inventory using the scale should be scanned on this mock inventory. We suggest setting the ones that don't have a barcode off to the side and you can add those in all together at the end! And don't worry, the scale will store every last bit of your data until you successfully upload it. You may feel tempted, but do not stop and sync until you are completely finished! Multiple syncs within 24 hours will overwrite each other.
1) Grab that stylus! (It makes it all way easier, we promise.)
From the Main Menu, tap "Start Inventory".
2) Then tap "Scan, Weigh & Count"
3) Select the bar area to inventory
4) Once you see "Ready to Scan", scan your first bottle.
5) You will see “Ready to Weigh” and can place the bottle on the scale.
If you get a notification that this is an "Unknown Item" or is "Missing Weights", click "Cancel" and set it aside so you can breeze through the others first. Step #7 will explain how to weigh those.
6) Once the weight appears, you can remove that bottle and scan the next one!
7) After the easy peasy ones are done, jump to this article to add the info for the bottles that don't have barcodes and / or bottles that the scale doesn't recognize. Getting these in now will be a huge piece of making the first official inventory a breeze.
Step 3: Uploading the Data
Once all bottles have been scanned and / or entered, your setup scan is complete! Yeah! Now you will need to upload the data to MarginEdge. This will transfer all of the Inventory data in your scale to MarginEdge, including:
-
Master List
-
Inventory List
-
Category and Sub-Categories
-
Bar Locations
From the Main Menu, click on “Data Sync”. Then click on “Cloud Data Transfer”
Double checking you really want to export - click “Yes” if you are ready!
A completed data upload will reset the Inventory Counts stored in the scale. Note that Inventory Counts will NOT be reset if the data upload fails.
IMPORTANT: MarginEdge will only accept one Freepour inventory per day per sublocation. If you upload two inventories on the same day, the first one will get over-written by the second one.
A progress screen will pop up and you will receive confirmation once everything is complete!
Step 4: Inside MarginEdge
Now that your data has synced, you will see a new count sheet using the location name plus "FP", as seen below. It will be saved, showing as "Needs Attention". Sit tight, it’s our team’s turn to get to work! We’ll spend about up to three business days mapping your products to your product list.
After we do the heavy lifting mapping your products to your product list, if there are still a few items that require your nuanced expertise, we’ll send detailed instructions on how to map any outstanding items.
Things to Know
How to change locations during inventory
-
From the "Ready to Scan" screen:
"Select Bar" >> Select Location >> "Next"
What if I have a bottle without a barcode or when I scan it, the barcode isn't recognized?
- You will need to enter the information for this bottle in manually and then weigh it. Full step by step instructions are here: Freepour - Unrecognized or Missing Barcodes
What if I forget to swap locations while scanning?
- Everything will be scanned under the location / count sheet that was selected. If you absolutely need them on separate count sheets you have to delete the inventory and rescan all items.
Can I submit multiple inventories on the same day?
- MarginEdge will only save one count sheet per location per calendar day. If you scan your bottles to take a count and then do a data sync, that will be saved as the complete inventory for that day. If you take any more counts later on the same day and do another data upload, the second count will overwrite the first count.
- If you missed some items and really want them added to the existing count sheet, you must fully rescan all bottles and then do a second data sync. To save time, the best practice would be to manually add these items to a separate non-Freepour countsheet in MarginEdge. If the inventory dates are the same, the totals will roll up for reporting.
- Please note that you will NOT get a warning message that prevents you from doing a second data upload, and if completed, any scans you did on the first count will now only show as "Previous Counts" on the count sheet for that day. If you scanned the same bottle twice, only the second count will be saved on your count sheet.
What if I take inventory the morning after, but want it to post as the previous day?
- The scale automatically sets the date as the actual day the items were scanned. To edit the date, please click on the inventory in MarginEdge and then use the "Edit Inventory Date" button to edit the date from there.
What if I want the data to upload across multiple count sheets in MarginEdge?
- To do this, you will need separate locations in your Freepour scale and then before you scan, you will need to select the appropriate location before beginning the count.
- Please send an email to help@marginedge.com listing the count sheets / locations you want listed and we will update those for you. Once we have completed this, you will need to do a quick data sync for the locations to appear in your drop down list.
What if my count sheet in [me] says Needs Attention?
- This may happen when your MarginEdge inventory receives a scanned item that we can't confidently match to one of your existing products and we need your help! This article walks you through the steps for that: Freepour - Resolving Items that "Need Attention"
What if my count in [me] shows a "0" value?
- This happens when the calculation for the bottle weight goes negative. It likely means that the the partial weight in grams (as weighed on the scale) is less than the stated "Empty Weight" of the bottle. Check that the empty bottle weight is valid for the items.
- We recommend that if this bottle is neither full nor empty and you don't know the actual weight, you can enter some estimates for now. For a standard 750 mL bottle, we suggest 1300 g for full and 450 g for empty. But we strongly suggest you make a note for yourself to weigh it when it’s empty!
Instructions for any scale received before August 22
Step 1: Watch the quick Getting Started with Freepour webinar.
This 7 minute video will familiarize you with the scan + weigh process and various screens you’ll interact with while using the scale.
Click here to view this webinar.
You can register for an upcoming time or just select the option to "Watch a replay of a previous session" to get started now!
Step 2: Scan all of your liquor and wine bottles
Anything you will want to count on inventory using the scale should be scanned on this mock inventory. We suggest setting the ones that don't have a barcode off to the side and you can add those in all together at the end! And don't worry, the scale will store every last bit of your data until you successfully upload it. You may feel tempted, but do not stop and sync until you are completely finished!
1) Grab that stylus! (It makes it all way easier, we promise.)
From the Main Menu, tap "Start Inventory".
2) Then tap "Scan, Weigh & Count"
3) Select the bar area to inventory
4) Once you see "Ready to Scan", scan your first bottle.
5) If it's the very first time you have scanned this bottle with this scale, you will be prompted to confirm its name. If correct, tap "Yes"
6) You will see “Ready to Weigh” and can place the bottle on the scale.
7) Once the weight appears, you can remove that bottle and scan the next one!
8) After the easy peasy ones are done, jump to this article to add the info for the bottles that don't have barcodes and / or bottles that the scale doesn't recognize. Getting these in now will be a huge piece of making the first inventory a breeze.
Step 3: Uploading the Data
Once all bottles have been scanned and / or entered, your mock inventory is complete! Yeah! Now you will need to upload the data to MarginEdge. This will transfer all of the Inventory data in your scale to MarginEdge, including:
-
Master List
-
Inventory List
-
Category and Sub-Categories
-
Bar Locations
From the Main Menu, click on “Data Sync”. Then click on “Cloud Data Transfer”
Double checking you really want to export - click “Yes” if you are ready!
A completed data upload will reset the Inventory Counts stored in the scale. Note that Inventory Counts will NOT be reset if the data upload fails.
IMPORTANT: MarginEdge will only accept one Freepour inventory per day. If you upload two inventories on the same day, the first one will get over-written by the second one.