Parts inventory app for your repair shop: know what's in stock without counting

Check what parts are on the shelf from your phone, instead of walking to the back and counting drawers.

Who it's for

For the owner of a high street repair shop in the UK, the kind that fixes phones, tablets and laptops with two or three on the bench. Screens, batteries, charging ports and keyboards sit in labelled drawers in the back. The problem bites at the counter, when a customer asks whether you can do their model today and nobody can answer without going to look.

The problem today

I keep the parts in drawers and the ordering in my head. Someone asks for a screen for an older model and I say yes, then find the drawer empty and have to ring them back. Other weeks I order a part we already had three of, because the last one was fitted and nobody told me. The technicians write on a pad when they take something, or they forget. At the end of the month I sit down with the supplier invoices and a spreadsheet and try to work out what we actually used. It is never right, so I count the shelves again.

What the app does, screen by screen

1. Parts search — Staff and the owner type a model or part number at the counter and see how many are on the shelf and which drawer they are in.
2. Fit to a job — Staff take a part off the shelf against the repair they are doing, so the count drops the moment it is used.
3. Goods in — Staff tick a delivery off against the order it came from, so counts go up and the owner can see what is still outstanding.
4. Low stock — The owner sees every part that has fallen below the level they set, in one list, before a customer finds out the hard way.
5. Suppliers — The owner keeps each supplier's details and the parts they carry, with a WhatsApp button to open a chat and order more.
6. Orders and movements — The owner looks back at what was ordered, what arrived and what was fitted, so the shelf count and the invoices agree.

Who uses it and what it keeps track of

• Parts — Part name, part number, the models it fits, how many on the shelf, which drawer or bin, what it costs you, and the level that should trigger an alert. Staff see the count and the location. Only the owner sees the cost.
• Stock movements — Every part that goes out or comes in, the job or delivery it belongs to, who did it and when. Staff see their own entries. The owner sees all of them.
• Suppliers — Name, contact person, phone number for WhatsApp, email, the parts they carry and how long they usually take. Owner only.
• Purchase orders — What was ordered, from whom, what has arrived, what is still coming, and what was paid. Staff can mark a delivery as received. The owner sees the money.

What it changes for the business

You answer the customer at the counter instead of promising and then ringing back. Fewer jobs sit half finished waiting on a part you thought you had. You stop buying parts that are already in the drawer, and you stop running out of the ones you fit every week. The technicians no longer keep a pad that nobody reads. At the end of the month the shelf and the supplier invoices tell the same story, so you are not counting drawers on a Sunday to find out what the shop used.

The one decision that matters

The decision is when a part leaves the count. One way is to take it off when the technician fits it to a job. The other is to take it off when the customer pays and collects. Fitting is the right one. The part has physically left the drawer the moment it goes into someone's phone, so that is when the shelf is empty and that is when the count should say so. Waiting for payment means the app tells you that you have a screen you have already used. Keep a way to put a part back if a job is cancelled and the part comes off unused, and note who did it.

What to build first, and what can wait

Build the parts list with counts and drawer locations, booking a part out to a job, ticking in a delivery, and the low stock list. That alone ends the counting. Leave the rest for later: cost and margin reporting, barcode labels for the drawers, price comparison between suppliers, and a second branch. Get the technicians using it on the bench first, because a count nobody updates is worse than no count at all.

How BooDoo builds it

You describe the shop, the drawers and who should see what, and BooDoo builds it. It sets up the database and sign-in behind it, so the owner and the technicians open different screens from the same app. The same request gives you an Android app for the bench and a website on its own live address for the back office, and you can publish the app to Google Play under your own account. The supplier WhatsApp buttons come from a ready integration. When you want the low stock rules changed, you describe the change.

How you'll know it works

A customer walks in with an older handset and asks if you can do it today. Whoever is on the counter checks their phone and says yes or no straight away, without going to the back, and the drawer matches what the app said.

Build it

Paste this in and it gets built.

I run a phone and laptop repair shop and I never know what parts are actually on the shelf. I want a phone app for my technicians and a website for me. They should search a part by model or part number, see how many we have and which drawer it is in, and take one off the shelf when they fit it to a job, with a way to put it back if the job is cancelled. When a delivery turns up they tick the parts in against the order. I want a list of everything below the level I set, and a button that opens WhatsApp to the supplier so I can order more. I keep the suppliers and their details. I want to see what each part cost and what we have used, and my technicians should not see cost prices. Sign-in for me and for staff, different screens for each.