Bookstore CounterBookstore inventory software · phone + web
Bookstore inventory for the floor and the office
Scan it, shelve it, count it, send it back on time. Bookstore Counter is the inventory app for independent bookstores: ISBN scanner receiving, section counts, a returns pull list that beats every publisher's return window, and turns by section. It works beside the POS you already run.
Open this page on your phone
Everything a bookstore's inventory does on a Tuesday
Built from what booksellers actually do between the till and the stockroom, not from a generic retail inventory app.
Scan a delivery in
Open a delivery from Ingram, Penguin Random House or any vendor, scan every ISBN with the phone's camera or a Bluetooth scanner, and close it. Each book lands in its section with its cost and its return-by date.
Never miss a return window
The pull list shows every title whose publisher return window closes in the next 30 days and that has not sold in 90. Scan them into a box, close the return and send the return document with it.
Count one section at a time
Pick Kids or Fiction, scan the shelf, and see expected against counted as you go. Close the count and the adjustments are written with who counted and when.
Turns and sell-through by section
Every section's turns beside the 2.5–6 range booksellers aim for, sell-through by title, and the sentence that explains each number. A strong gift wall can no longer hide a backlist bay that is not moving.
Dead stock and reorder
Titles with no sale in 180 days and what they cost you, and the books that are selling with none left on the shelf. Export the reorder list for your next order.
"Do you have…?" at the shelf
Search by title, author or ISBN, or scan the book in a customer's hand: on hand, section and shelf, last sold, last received and the shelf-talker note, on the floor.
The returns pull list
Every unsold new book has a return window. Miss it and the book is yours. Bookstore Counter dates each book when it is received, from that vendor's window, and keeps the list of what to pull:
- Window closes in the next 30 days
- No sale in 90 days
- Still on the shelf
- Grouped by vendor, sorted by close date and value at cost
- One tap starts the return box with every title on it
The back office, in any browser
The same store on the web app: the dashboard, the full stock list with filters, imports, returns and people. Free, no install, and it is the same data the phones on the floor are scanning into.
Works with the POS you already run
Bookstore Counter does not replace your point of sale. It reads what your POS exports and the publisher's ONIX feed, and never writes back.
- ONIX for Books 3.0 and 3.1, reference names or short tags, block updates
- Stock and sales CSV exports, with each column mapped and a preview before anything is saved
- Unknown ISBNs looked up in Open Library and Google Books
- A weekly sales file (ISBN, units, week ending) for BookScan reporting
- Stock, movements and reorder lists out as CSV
Exports from these are read as CSV files:
One store, every phone on the floor
Join with a code
The owner signs in with Google and opens the store. Staff join with the store's 6-character code or its QR, signed in or as a floor phone with no account at all.
Keeps working in the stockroom
The phone keeps a copy of the store, so a scan on a dead-spot aisle still finds the book, and what you did waits until there is signal.
Free for a small store. Pro when you grow.
Free
- One store, up to 300 titles, 2 people
- ISBN scanner, receiving, counts
- Returns pull list
- 30 days of analytics, CSV export
- The web app
Bookstore Counter Pro
- Unlimited titles and people
- 12 months of turns by section
- ONIX and POS imports, sales import
- Return documents and the BookScan file
- 7-day free trial, then yearly or monthly through Google Play, in your currency
Bookstore inventory questions
Does Bookstore Counter replace my POS?
No. Keep Anthology, Booklog, IBID, Bookmanager, Square or whatever rings up the sale. Bookstore Counter is the floor and the analytics on top of it: it reads your POS's stock and sales exports and never writes to your POS.
How does the returns pull list work?
Each vendor has a return window (Ingram 90 days, for example). When you receive a delivery, every book gets a return-by date. The pull list shows every title whose window closes in the next 30 days, that has not sold in 90 days and that is still on the shelf, grouped by vendor and sorted by close date.
Can I scan ISBNs with my phone?
Yes. The phone's camera reads the EAN-13 barcode on the back cover, continuously while you receive or count. A Bluetooth barcode scanner that types into the field works too, on the phone and on the web.
What are turns by section?
Units sold in a period divided by the average number on hand, scaled to a year. Bookstore Counter shows them per section beside the 2.5 to 6 range booksellers aim for.
Can I import ONIX files?
Yes. ONIX for Books 3.0 and 3.1, in reference names or short tags, including block updates. Titles, contributors, publisher, format, prices, BISAC subjects and cover links come in.
Do my staff need an account?
The owner signs in with Google. Staff can sign in too, or join a store as a floor phone with the store's code and no account.
What does it cost?
The free plan is one store with up to 300 titles and 2 people. Pro adds unlimited titles and people, 12 months of analytics, imports, return documents and the BookScan file, with a 7-day free trial. Google Play shows the price in your currency.
Does it work without signal in the stockroom?
Yes. The phone keeps a copy of the store and holds what you did until it has signal again.
Start counting today
Open the web app in this browser, or put Bookstore Counter on the phones on your floor.