How do I track bulk buys?

What is a bulk buy?

A bulk buy is a group of items you bought together for one price, such as a box lot at an auction, a pallet, or everything you picked up at an estate sale. You enter what you paid for the whole lot, and Flipwise splits that total evenly across the items, so each one gets a cost and your profit and ROI are accurate.

Items in a bulk buy also share its purchase date and where it was bought (Purchased from). Change either one on the bulk buy, and the items follow. Items added without a storage location take the bulk buy's; items that already have one keep it.

Use a bulk buy when you paid one price for several items. If you bought items one at a time with their own prices, enter each price on the item instead.

Create a bulk buy

1. In the menu, go to Manage → Bulk buys.
2. Click + New above the list.
3. Enter a Name and the Purchase date. Both are required.
4. Enter the Total amount spent: what you paid for the whole lot. If you don't know it yet, leave it blank. Items keep any costs they already have until you add a total.
5. Optionally, choose where you bought it (Purchased from), where you keep the items (Storage location), and add Notes.
6. Click Save. The new bulk buy's page opens, ready for you to add its items.

Add items to a bulk buy

There are seven ways to add items. Use whichever fits how you work.

From the bulk buy's page

Click Add item above the items table (or Add an item in the page's menu). Start typing a product name, pick it from the list, and click Add. The item takes the bulk buy's purchase date and purchase location, and its storage location if the item has none. Unless you choose to keep a cost it already has, it also takes a share of the total. If the item or the bulk buy was bought in a tax year that has ended, Flipwise asks first, and the item can keep its own date and cost.

To add many items at once, use the select them in Inventory link in the same window, or on the page of a bulk buy that has no items yet. It opens Inventory, where you add them all in one go (see Several items at once below).

If the item isn't in Flipwise yet, click Add new unlisted item under "Not in Flipwise yet?" in the same window. The New unlisted product form opens with Purchased from set to the bulk buy, and the bulk buy's purchase date and storage location filled in. Enter the item's name and click Save. You're back on the bulk buy's page, with the item in its list and the total split again. With Save and add another? ticked, each next item goes into the same bulk buy; close the form when you're done to see them all on the page. If you enter a price, Flipwise asks whether the item keeps it (see If the item already has a cost below).

Add an item you already have, including a sold one

Open the item's own page and click its Purchased from field. The item's menu has no bulk buy option; Purchased from is where you choose one. While you edit the field, the line under it reads "Type a purchase location or a bulk buy."

Start typing the bulk buy's name and pick it. The list shows your purchase locations and your bulk buys together. If the bulk buy doesn't exist yet, choose New bulk buy to create it right there.

This works for an item that has already sold, as long as it sold on or after the bulk buy's purchase date (see Items that can't be added below).

When you add a new item

When you add a new item with + New on the Unlisted inventory page, the Purchased from list shows your bulk buys too. Pick one, and the item joins it when you click Save. If the bulk buy doesn't exist yet, type its name and choose New bulk buy. Flipwise creates it when you save, with the item's purchase date (or today, if you leave the date blank) and no total, and the message after saving links to it so you can add the total and the rest.

If you enter a price, Flipwise asks whether the item keeps it (see If the item already has a cost below). With Save and add another? and Copy acquisition data to next product? ticked, the next item goes into the same bulk buy.

Add a new lot of an item you already have

If you bought more units of an item you already have, add them as a new lot and put that lot in the bulk buy. On the item's page, click the value next to Quantity purchased and click Add new lot in the Update quantity window. If the item already has more than one lot, this takes you to its Lots page: click Add new lot there.

In the Add new lot window, start typing the bulk buy's name under Purchase location and pick it. The list shows your purchase locations and your bulk buys together. Click Add. The new lot takes the bulk buy's purchase date and purchase location, and a share of the total. The item's other lots keep their own purchase details. If you enter a cost for the new lot, Flipwise asks whether it keeps that cost or takes a share. If the lot or the bulk buy was bought in a tax year that has ended, Flipwise asks first, and the lot can keep its own date and cost.

When you record an off-eBay sale

When you record the sale of a new item with New off-eBay sale on the Sold page, the Purchase location list shows your bulk buys too. Pick one, and the item joins the bulk buy when the sale saves. The Purchase date field goes away, because the item takes the bulk buy's purchase date.

Leave Your purchase price blank and the item takes a share of the total. If you enter a price, Flipwise asks whether the item keeps it (see If the item already has a cost below), and asks anything else joining needs, such as a question about a tax year that has ended. Nothing is saved until you answer. Click Back to return to the sale with everything you entered.

If the bulk buy was bought after the sale date, Flipwise won't save the sale and tells you why. Change the sale date or pick another purchase location.

Several items at once

In your Inventory or Sold table, tick the items, click Edit above the table and choose Add to bulk buy. Pick the bulk buy and click Apply. If anything needs your attention, such as an item that already has its own cost, Flipwise shows a review screen first. Items that sold before the bulk buy's purchase date are skipped, and the review says why. When it's done, a message at the top of the page says how many items were added, with a View bulk buy link back to the bulk buy.

Turn a purchase location into a bulk buy

If you already track a lot as a purchase location, you can convert it. Open the purchase location, click … to open its menu and choose Convert to bulk buy. Every item bought there becomes an item in the new bulk buy, and the purchase location is deleted.

The form starts with the purchase location's name and notes, the earliest purchase date among the items, and a total equal to what they cost between them. You can change any of them before converting. If an item sold, or was donated or discarded, before that date, the form starts with an earlier date that works for every item. Click Continue to see a summary before anything changes.

The purchase date can't be later than any item's sale, donation or discard date, or later than today. If it is, Flipwise names the items in the way and the latest date that will work.

When any of the items has a cost, the form asks how to handle costs:

• Keep each item's cost. Already selected. Items with a cost keep it, locked. Items without one share what's left of the total. For example, with items that cost $30, $8 and $7, a fourth with no cost, and a total of $55, the first three keep their costs and the fourth gets $10. If nothing is left of the total, the items without a cost drop to $0.00, and Flipwise shows you first. You can also leave the total blank, and every item keeps its cost.
• Split a total evenly. Every item's cost becomes an equal share of the total, replacing the cost it had. For example, items that cost $30, $8 and $7 become $15 each. To give an item its own cost again, set it on the bulk buy's page afterwards.

When none of the items has a cost, the form doesn't ask, and the total is split evenly.

Flipwise asks before converting about items bought in a different tax year from the bulk buy, when either year has ended: they can keep their own date. With Split a total evenly, it also asks about items that sold, or were donated or discarded, in a tax year that has ended: they can keep their own cost. With Keep each item's cost, it doesn't need to ask, and such an item without a cost stays without one. See How bulk buys affect your tax report.

Click Yes, convert on the summary, and a progress window counts the items as they move into the bulk buy. A large purchase location can take a few minutes. If you close the tab, the conversion keeps going, and the bulk buy is there when you come back. When it finishes, Flipwise opens the new bulk buy.

If the item already has a cost

When you add an item that already has its own cost, Flipwise asks what to do with it:

• Keep its cost locked. Already selected. The item keeps its cost, and the rest of the total is split across the other items.
• Take a share of the bulk buy total. The item's cost is replaced with an even share.

Two cases ask a slightly different question. If the bulk buy has no total yet, Flipwise asks what the item should do once a total is set. If the bulk buy has a total but no other item taking a share, and the item's cost is less than the total, Flipwise selects letting the item take the whole total; keeping its cost would lower the total instead.

Items with no cost just take a share.

Items that can't be added

An item can't be given a purchase date after it sold, or after it was donated or discarded. If an item sold before the bulk buy's purchase date, Flipwise won't add it, and tells you which item and why. This applies even if the sale was later returned or cancelled.

How the total is split

Flipwise divides the total spent evenly across the items in the bulk buy. For example, a $120 bulk buy with six items gives each item a $20 cost. When a total doesn't divide evenly, a few items get one cent more: the ones that were entered in Flipwise first.

Each item takes one share, whatever its quantity. An item with 3 units gets the same share as an item with 1.

The split updates by itself. When you add or remove an item, or change the total, the costs are split again.

Give one item its own cost

Items are rarely worth exactly the same. If you know one item was worth more, give it its own cost. That item's cost is then locked, and the rest of the total is split evenly across the other items.

To set an item's cost, edit the Cost column in the bulk buy's items table, or edit the cost on the item's own page. Flipwise shows a note first saying what will happen to the other items. Tick Don't warn me again when I edit an item's cost in this bulk buy to skip that note next time.

Example: a $120 bulk buy has six items at $20 each. You set the silver tray to $45. The other five items now split the remaining $75, so each costs $15.

If the cost you enter is more than the total can hold, Flipwise raises the total to match and tells you before saving. The items taking a share then drop to $0.00.

Read the lock icons

The icon beside each cost in the items table shows how that cost was set:

Hover over an icon to see what it means for that item. Held costs are explained in How bulk buys affect your tax report.

To put an item back on the even split, clear its cost or click its red lock to unlock it.

Change the total

Click Total spent at the top of the bulk buy's page, enter the new amount and click Save. The new total is split across every item taking a share, including items that have already sold. Items with a locked or held cost keep theirs.

The total can't be less than the costs already locked on items. If it is, Flipwise tells you the lowest total that will work, and you can raise the total or unlock those items first. If every item has a locked cost, the total can't be higher than their costs either: Flipwise tells you the total to use, or you can unlock an item first.

If you clear the total, the items that were taking a share are left with no cost. Items with a locked cost keep theirs.

Purchase date, purchased from and storage

The fields at the top of the bulk buy's page apply to every item in it. Click one to change it.

• Purchase date: every item has the bulk buy's purchase date, except items that kept their own date because of a closed tax year. Change it here and the other items move with it. The date can't be later than any item's sale, donation or discard date, or later than today. If it is, Flipwise names the items in the way and the latest date that will work.
• Purchased from: where you bought the lot. Every item has it.
• Storage location: where you keep the items. Items added without one take it; items that already have one keep it. You can also give an item its own storage location in the Storage location column of the items table, and it stays in the bulk buy. An item that has shipped, or was donated or discarded, shows a dash (—) there instead, since it's no longer on a shelf. When you change the bulk buy's storage location, items with their own keep it, unless you tick Also apply to items that already have their own storage location.

Apart from those items, an item can't have its own purchase date while it's in a bulk buy, and no item can have its own purchase location. Changing either one on the item's own page, or clearing its purchase date, removes the item from the bulk buy, and Flipwise tells you so before saving.

See how a bulk buy is doing

The bulk buy's page shows how the lot is performing:

• A bar breaking down the total spent: how much is locked on items you priced yourself, how much is held for a closed tax year, and how much is shared evenly.
• Active list value, Gross sales, Net profit and ROI, with realized versions once some items have sold.
• How much of the lot has sold, as a percentage and a count of units.

Below them, on the items table's Sold tab, each item shows when it last sold, what it sold for and its net profit, counting only the units from this bulk buy.

The Bulk buys list shows each bulk buy's total spent, gross sales, net profit and ROI side by side, so you can compare which sources pay off. To see only the bulk buys from one place, click Filter above the list and pick it under Filter by purchase location. A purchase location's own page also shows its seven newest bulk buys, with each one's total spent, net profit and ROI. Go to Manage → Purchase locations and click the location's name. When it has more than seven, the link at the bottom of the Bulk buys card (for example, All 12 bulk buys) opens the filtered list. Use the export button above the items table to download a bulk buy's items.

Remove an item

Open the item's own page and clear its Purchased from field, pick a purchase location there, or change or clear the item's purchase date. Each of these removes the item from the bulk buy. Picking a different bulk buy moves the item there instead, and, if it has a cost, Flipwise asks whether it keeps it.

Flipwise tells you what happens to the costs before saving:

• An item taking a share loses that cost, and the other items split the total again.
• An item that sold, or was donated or discarded, in a tax year that has ended keeps its cost unless you choose to clear it.
• An item with a locked or held cost keeps it.
• If the bulk buy's tax year has ended and the item keeps its cost in that year, the total goes down by that cost, and the other items' costs don't change.
• If every item left has a locked or held cost, the total is lowered to match.

Several items at once

On the bulk buy's page, tick the items in its items table, click Edit above the table and choose Remove from bulk buy. Click Continue to see what happens to the total and to each item, then click Remove from bulk buy to remove them.

Each item comes out as it would if you cleared its purchase location on its own page: it keeps its purchase date and storage location, and the costs follow the rules above. Flipwise can't ask about each item here, so an item that sold, or was donated or discarded, in a tax year that has ended keeps its cost. To clear that cost instead, remove the item from its own page.

If you remove every item, the bulk buy stays, with no items and the same total spent. You can delete it from its menu.

To delete an item that's in a bulk buy, choose Delete on the item's page, or click its trash icon on the Unlisted list. Flipwise shows what removing it does to the bulk buy's total, the same way Remove from bulk buy does. Then click the button that removes the item and deletes it in one step (for example, Remove from Estate Sale and delete). A single lot works the same way from its trash icon on the Lots page or the Unlisted list, and the item's other lots stay where they are. Items you select for the bulk Delete still have to be removed from the bulk buy first.

Delete a bulk buy

On the bulk buy's page, open the menu and choose Delete. If the bulk buy has items, you choose what happens to them:

• Delete bulk buy without reassigning: the items stay in your inventory with the purchase dates and costs they have now. They're just no longer grouped.
• To move them to another bulk buy, choose it under Select a replacement bulk buy..., then click the button that moves the items and deletes the bulk buy (for example, Move 2 items and delete bulk buy). The items take that bulk buy's purchase date, purchase location and a share of its total. Items without a storage location take that bulk buy's; the rest keep theirs. Items bought in a tax year that has ended can keep their own date and cost instead, and Flipwise asks first. If the moved items' own costs don't fit that total, Flipwise tells you the new total before deleting. If an item sold, had an order, or was donated or discarded before that bulk buy's purchase date, Flipwise won't delete the bulk buy and tells you which item and why.

Bulk buys and your tax report

A bulk buy's costs feed your tax report: what you spent on inventory in the year you bought it, the value of the items you still had at each year end, and your cost of goods sold in the year each item sold. So changing a bulk buy can change the numbers on a tax report for a year that has already ended.

Flipwise never does that without telling you first. If a change would affect a year that has ended, you'll see a screen that names the tax reports it changes, and sometimes a choice that leaves them as they are. To learn what those screens mean and which answer to pick, read How bulk buys affect your tax report.