Software Second Look: LOCATE Inventory

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Vendor Corner

LOCATE Inventory, which I will just call LOCATE (for simplicity), is a product of FBP Inc. This SAAS App has a lot of features that make it seem like many of the bigger ERP systems, but it has a streamlined feel and look that most users will appreciate. I initially gave this product a ‘first look’ back when it was posted to the Intuit App Center, but it has had some enhancements over the last couple of years to provide improved functionality both up-front and behind-the-scenes so we though it was time for a second look.

One of the unique things about LOCATE is that it integrates with both QuickBooks Online and QuickBooks Desktop. Personally, I think this 'dual capability' is worth discussing, so let’s look at that before we talk shop about other LOCATE features. LOCATE supports all editions of QuickBooks Online in the U.S., and they also support all QuickBooks Desktop versions 16.0 and above.

In order to accomplish this type of integration LOCATE makes use of its own ledger and chart of accounts. Accounting is at the core of LOCATE to ensure accurate costing, and that includes extensive audit trails to ensure visibility of everything that’s happening with both inventory and financials for every transaction and every movement, or change.  To cut down the amount of data going to QuickBooks, LOCATE makes use of ‘Summarized Accounting’ that provides only actionable items to the accountant within QuickBooks to make them more efficient.

LOCATE has a bi-directional sync with QuickBooks where it can retrieve information from any/all versions of QuickBooks to enforce things like customer credit limits. Another example of this information retrieval would be the pull back of bill and invoice statuses to make it easier to see that kind of information within LOCATE. In other words, you get a clear picture of what is going on in both LOCATE and QuickBooks regardless of which version of QuickBooks you are using.

While New Users of LOCATE must on-board via the LOCATE website, connecting to QuickBooks Online takes place via the familiar API integration with the Intuit App Center just like any other App. But even though the ‘connection’ is simple enough there are ‘settings’ and ‘preferences’ that typically a user needs the assistance of a professional which can be either a LOCATE team member or an ‘Implementation Partner’.

LOCATE connects to QuickBooks Desktop version via the QuickBooks Web Connector, which is Intuit’s official way of connecting with QuickBooks Desktop from web-based applications. It’s a simple process to get connected that usually takes 30 seconds or less and run your first sync with LOCATE. Again, there will be ‘settings’ and ‘preferences’ within LOCATE that impact the way that data is exchanged within QuickBooks Desktop and the assistance of a professional, which can be either a LOCATE team member or an ‘Implementation Partner’, is typically required.

Now that we have covered ‘integration’, let’s talk feature sets because the real reason that most people will look at LOCATE is they need features that QuickBooks simply can’t provide, no matter which version of QuickBooks they are using.

LOCATE brings the power and flexibility of an ERP-system to QuickBooks Online and Desktop users with dynamic workflows supporting multiple warehouses, part tracking, wave picking, drop shipping, manufacturing, and more. You can even use their mobile application, LOCATE Warehouse, to facilitate your operations.

And LOCATE offers a wide variety other integrations for major E-commerce engines like shopping carts and marketplaces, shipping platforms, and other players in the world of E-commerce. You won’t have issues trying to connect to UPS, FedEx, ShipStation or almost any shipping software either. And, with so many businesses involved in E-commerce ‘big time’, you will easily connect with your suppliers via EDI or link-up with your 3rd-party logistics providers.

When it comes to your day-to-day operations, separate quoting and sales modules keep your prospective and placed orders organized; but sometimes you don’t know if a customer is going to be ‘just a quote’ or the real thing, that’s why you can create customers and enter their contact information, including delivery locations as you make quotes or take orders. And, LOCATE gives you the ability to customize your customer profiles with custom fields of information and illustrations regardless of their activity. You can even set customer credit limits or bring them over from the established customer balances within QuickBooks.

But when a quote does become an actual order, LOCATE gives you the ability to leverage the power of your inventory data with Sales Order prioritization and work assignments that follow rules designed to generate the best workflow for your operation. It’s designed to maximize inventory efficiency and have your team effectively processing orders, rather than waiting around to see “what’s up” with a specific order.

And what about those inventory capabilities? Well, LOCATE ‘has it handled’! You can not only track the usual item types, but a series of advanced part types, including part aliases, bundled parts, configurable parts, collections, assembly build parts and other light manufacturing components. Make certain you're never without the inventory you need with reorder quantities and rules designed to keep your stock just where you want it. LOCATE offers flexible tracking by serial number, expiration date and even custom tracking types. And track the true cost of any part with cost layer tracking.

When it comes time for you to fulfill those orders let LOCATE’s mobile app facilitate your warehouse operations to bring accuracy and efficiency to your fulfillment process. Their App runs on almost any iOS or Android device so you can take advantage of the convenience of mobile order processing including barcode scanning in your warehouse at no additional cost to your LOCATE subscription.

Of course, some users select LOCATE for its full end-to-end manufacturing of raw materials into finished goods via work orders, manufacture orders, and bills of material. They offer advanced outsource manufacturing, which allows users to outsource a bill of material on a purchase order and to send items to vendors or third-party service providers while maintaining visibility of their inventory and accurate costing.

Sooner or later, it's time to restock your inventory, and LOCATE gives you the ability to generate Purchase Orders automatically when a sales order results in inventory falling below your established minimum criteria. It also has the ability to automatically generate purchase orders from the drop-ship line items on your Sales Orders which of course works great if you are in fact working with a 3rd-party Logistics Provider.

And that takes us back to the fundamental question that most people asked last time, the same one that I attempted to answer in my ‘first look’… “If the accounting summaries and financial reports are in QuickBooks, and the detail ledgers are in LOCATE, is the information you need available in LOCATE when you really want it?” The simple answer is, “YES.”

Reports are vital to your inventory-centric business and LOCATE has the reports you need. With a robust library of reports (more than 130), you can quickly extract and analyze large amounts of data in almost any format, and with easy to apply filters using the various custom fields you set up, you can typically get the information in exactly the way you want it displayed.

You will find reports that you just won’t see in QuickBooks, things like margin summaries that give you flexibility in breaking down sales and margins based on data points that are most relevant to you. Or invoice margins which displays each invoice by line item along with its COGS and margins; now how many times have you wanted to know that?

And LOCATE lets you customize report profiles for each user which means you control the reports they have access to and the data sources from which those reports are taken.

So, maybe it’s time you too take a ‘second look’ at LOCATE Inventory if you are to the point where your version of QuickBooks (Online or Desktop) just isn’t "cutting the mustard" for your inventory needs. And, if you have never taken that ‘first look’ then you will definitely want to head on over to the LOCATE website, or their QuickBooks App Center landing page.