Cosmetic inventory software for a small skincare brand has to track two things a shop's inventory never does. It has to know each formula, with its versions, and take the oils, butters, preservative and fragrance off stock by the gram when a batch is made. And it has to keep every batch tied to the ingredient lots inside it and the customers who got it, because the day a customer calls about a reaction, the first questions are which batch, which ingredients, and who else has it. Add dates on every lot, packaging bought in minimums, a cost per jar that follows ingredient prices, and a store connection, and that's the list. In the example below, a call about a jar of body butter is traced to its batch, its shea butter and fragrance lots, and the 31 other jars from that batch, in minutes. Below is what the software has to track, the trace, a test week for any trial, and how TaroStack does it.
The short version
- Formulas with versions: a change to the formula is a new version, and every batch records which.
- Ingredients bought by the kilo, used by the gram, each with its supplier's lot and dates.
- Batch records that note which ingredient lots went in, automatically.
- A lot code and date on every jar, and stock sent out oldest first.
- Packaging as stock too: jars, pumps, lids and labels, with suppliers' minimums.
- A cost per jar from what you paid, and margins by product and customer.
- TaroStack keeps formulas, lots, batch records and costs together, on every plan. More below.
What cosmetic inventory software has to track
| What | Why it matters for a skincare brand |
|---|---|
| Formulas and versions | The tested formula is the one every batch should follow; a change is a new version |
| Ingredients by lot | A preservative or fragrance lot is what a supplier recalls, or a reaction points to |
| Batch records | Which lots went into which batch, weights, checks, who made it |
| Lot codes and dates on finished jars | A customer's question starts with the code on the jar |
| Packaging | Jars, pumps and labels come in minimums and run out at the worst time |
| Cost per jar | Shea butter and fragrance prices move; the jar's cost should too |
| Customers and orders | Which shops and customers got which batch |
| Sales channels | Your online store and markets, without double counting |
The federal cosmetics law asks makers, small ones included, to keep records of adverse events and to support each product's safety; what still applies to a small business is in MoCRA for small businesses. A batch record that shows the formula version and every ingredient's lot is the backbone of both; a template is in cosmetic batch record template.
A worked example: one customer's call
Hoʻola Botanicals, a made-up skincare maker I use in these examples, makes whipped body butter in 4 oz jars, $5.16 a jar to make. A customer calls: a rash after using a jar with lot code BB-0921.
| Question | The answer, from the records |
|---|---|
| Which batch? | BB-0921, made September 21, formula version 3 |
| Which ingredients, which lots? | Shea butter SH-0812, coconut oil CO-0830, fragrance PL-0715, preservative-free (anhydrous) |
| How many jars, and where? | 32 jars: 12 to two gift shops, 18 sold at markets and online, 2 on the shelf |
| Same fragrance lot elsewhere? | PL-0715 also went into lotion batch LO-0918 |
The two jars on the shelf go on hold, the gift shops get a call, the customer's report is recorded, and the fragrance supplier is asked about lot PL-0715. Whether anything more is needed is a judgment for you and, if you work with one, your cosmetic chemist; the records make sure it's made on facts. How the price of that jar was set is in how to price handmade items for wholesale, and how a skincare range's margins compare is in cosmetic business profit margin.
A test week for any trial
- Import your ingredients, packaging and formulas, and check the units: kilos in, grams used.
- Receive an ingredient with its supplier's lot and best-by date, at a new price.
- Make a batch, and check every ingredient came off stock from the right lot, and the jars went into a lot with a date.
- Change the formula and make another batch: is it recorded as a new version?
- Sell a few jars through your store, and check the oldest lot went first.
- Trace a fragrance lot forward to every batch and customer, and a jar's lot back to its ingredients.
- Look at the cost per jar for both batches, and the reorder list for jars and pumps.
If any step needs a workaround on day one, it'll need one every day after. What any small maker should ask of inventory software is in inventory software for small manufacturers.
Where this stops working
A skincare brand usually starts with a formula notebook and a spreadsheet of stock. It works until the second fragrance supplier, the third product and the first shop. Then the notebook says "fragrance" but not which bottle, the spreadsheet doesn't take the shea butter off when a batch is made, and a customer's call about a jar means reading batch sheets by hand to find which other jars came from the same pot.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps formulas, ingredient lots, batches and customers in one chain.
Formulas as recipes, with versions. Each product is a recipe with versions and sub-recipes, like a base used in several products, and units convert: buy shea butter by the kilo, use it by the gram. A changed formula is a new version, and each batch records the version it was made to.
Batch records that keep themselves. Recording a batch takes each ingredient off stock from the lots used, first-expired-first-out by default, notes those lots on the batch automatically, and puts the jars into a lot with its code and dates. Batch record forms carry your own fields, like temperatures, weights and sign-off, with limits, and a batch can sit on hold until it's checked.
And the trace, and the cost. One report walks any ingredient lot forward to every batch and customer who got it, with contact details and what's still on your shelves, and back from any jar's lot to its ingredients. Each batch is costed from what you paid for its lots, divided by the jars that came out good, and margins are reported by product and by customer. Jars, pumps and labels sit on the reorder list in days of cover, with each supplier's minimum. Connect your Shopify store or Square, and we set it up with you.
| The job | Notebook and spreadsheet | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Which formula was this batch? | Maybe noted | The recipe version, on the batch |
| Which fragrance lot went in? | "Fragrance" | The supplier's lot, on the batch |
| Who else got this batch? | Read the orders | One report, lot to customer |
| What does a jar cost now? | Worked out once | Every batch, at what you paid |
Lots, holds, recalls, recipes with versions, batches and batch records are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.