How to Identify and Avoid Obsolete Inventory

Roger has over 20 years of extensive international experience in Asia and Pacific Rim countries and was an expert Foreign Lecturer in the People’s Republic of China for the Central Institute on Finance. There may be cases when you may decide to hang onto excess or even obsolete items. The second example of Item AB124, with the same Quarter on Hand (QOH) and total usage, tells a completely different story.

Your products will eventually become obsolete and no longer have a consumer base. Plus, visual inventory systems like Sortly allow you to see what you have on hand—an extra helpful tool when determining whether certain items are at risk of becoming obsolete. Unlike running a sale on bundling inventory, liquidation will not aim to cover costs. Businesses don’t set out to purchase inventory they know will become obsolete. Rather, purchasing decisions and market conditions are what typically, inadvertently causes goods to become obsolete. Implement these strategies to effectively clear out obsolete inventory, streamline your warehouse operations, and ultimately improve your bottom line.

Write Down the Inventory

Though there are several ways to help avoid accumulating obsolete inventory, carrying any type of dead stock is inevitable. Here is what to do if you end up carrying inventory that has become unsellable. Along with inventory management, having visibility over your inventory at all times is key.

A company that fails to have precise and accurate information on inventory forecasting can lead to overstocking. Although, inventory forecasting cannot 100% guarantee nullifying the probability of obsolete inventory, what is public accounting having a good command over historical order data and real-time stock control is helpful. A software can facilitate this and enable the company to gain market insights and make the right decision.

Ways to Get Rid of Obsolete Inventory

This article will define obsolete inventory and help you understand how to reduce your risk of obsolescence and handle inventory that’s grown too outdated to sell. Companies can avoid obsolete inventory by improving forecasting techniques, using a more adequate inventory management system, making smart purchasing decisions, and accurately predicting lead times. Small-business owners should do everything they can to avoid high levels of obsolete inventory. Not only does too much excess inventory cut into profit margins and cash flow, but it can also limit the chances of getting a business loan. One way is to use an inventory management system that helps track inventory throughout its lifecycle.

This allows you to identify which products are becoming obsolete and take steps to prevent them from clogging up your warehouse space. Most online sellers have a hard time getting enough inventory to meet demand. It is a good idea to buy more than you need and keep some emergency stock on hand. But, buying too much inventory puts your business at risk of having products that lose value before you can market them. Obsolete inventory is when you keep buying products that are not selling anymore. In this blog, we talk about how to avoid, detect, manage, and reduce obsolete inventory.

Get real-time accurate supply chain data

Ultimately, obsolete products can decrease profitability and the success of a company. Lenders may be less likely to offer business loans to companies with a high level of obsolete products. Obsolete inventory is excess stock that is difficult to sell because there is a lack of demand for the product. This inventory has already gone through the entire product lifecycle, transitioning from a slow-moving product, to excess inventory, and finally becoming obsolete. By implementing an inventory tracking system, you can get a closer look at inventory days on hand, sales, and buying trends. This way, you have the insights needed to make better decisions on when to repurchase more inventory (or even discontinue an item).

If the ending inventory value decreases as it does with a write down, the COGS will increase. Square Terminal is the card machine for everything from managing items and taking payments to printing receipts and getting paid. Create payment links, buy buttons or QR codes with Square Online Checkout. This article is for educational purposes and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. For specific advice applicable to your business, please contact a professional.

Accounting for Inventory Write-Off

The journal entry is debiting allowance for obsolete inventory $ 5,000 and credit inventory $ 5,000. During the next year, company has quantified the actual inventory obsolete and get rid of them. But they can’t record them as expenses again as they already record at the year-end.

• Obsolete inventory is also referred to as dead inventory or excess inventory.
• However, based on the accrual basis, the expense should be allocated over time rather than recorded in only one specific period.
• If items still have sales potential in a specific market, you could rethink your marketing strategy.
• With so many options for consumers, it’s easy for them to shift away from your product, even if it still meets their needs.
• Everyone loves a bargain, so discounted sales and clearance events can be a powerful way to clear out obsolete inventory.

Growing numbers of retailers use the term deadstock to refer to obsolete stock which has become collectable. Sneakers are a great example, where customers are willing to pay a heavy premium to grab a limited edition pair. Unlike dead stock which can negatively impact sales, deadstock inventory can increase sales and boost https://online-accounting.net/ a store’s desirability. The obsolete inventory percentage is used to derive that portion of inventory that is no longer usable. The percentage should be tracked on a trend line and compared to the results of similar businesses, to see if a company is experiencing an unusually large proportion of inventory problems.

How do you test if inventory is obsolete?

The transaction will not impact the income statement as well as the net balance of inventory. Inventory is presented as the net balance which is the combination of inventory cost and allowance for obsolete. So when this journal reduces both accounts, it will not impact the total amount.

It is the type of inventory that hasn’t been sold for quite some time, and there is no scope for it to be sold in the future. This type of inventory must be either written down or written off, thus resulting in a loss. A write-down is a standard accounting obsolete inventory journal entry used to record the value of the old stock. This write-down is typically done when a company has certain products that are no longer useful and will not be sold. Sortly is a top-rated inventory management software system designed to help your business avoid inventory obsolescence.

Accounting for Obsolete Inventory

Large, recurring inventory write-offs can indicate that a company has poor inventory management. The company may be purchasing excessive or duplicate inventory because it has lost track of certain items, or it is using existing inventory inefficiently. Companies that don’t want to admit to such problems may resort to dishonest techniques to reduce the apparent size of the obsolete or unusable inventory.