Backstock is BuyerKiosk's inventory management system for tracking physical storage bins across your store and off-site locations. Whether you have a back room, a storage unit, or both, Backstock helps your team know exactly what inventory is where and how long it has been sitting.

The Backstock dashboard showing your inventory stats, action toolbar, and bin table

How Backstock Works

The Backstock module tracks each storage bin from creation through every add, remove, and move action performed by your team. Each bin represents a physical container (tote, shelf section, box, etc.) and includes:

Bin Name – e.g., “Bin #101” or “Holiday Shoes”
Location – Where the bin is stored (onsite or offsite)
Primary POS Category – The main product type assigned from your POS subcategories
Additional Tags – Optional categories for cross-referencing
Age Date – Tracks how long inventory has been sitting in the bin
Action History – A complete log of who performed each action and when

Every interaction with a bin is recorded, giving you full visibility into inventory movement and aging.

How to Access Backstock

Log in to BuyerKiosk with an Admin account
Click Backstock in the left sidebar navigation
The Backstock home page loads with your full inventory dashboard

Dashboard Layout

The Backstock home page has four main areas:

Area	Location	Purpose
Stats Grid	Top of page	At-a-glance inventory metrics
Action Toolbar	Below stats	Buttons for common actions
Bin Table	Center	Searchable, sortable list of all bins
Tips & Shortcuts	Bottom	Keyboard shortcuts and power-user tips

Stats Grid

Four stat cards display real-time inventory metrics:

Stat	What It Shows
Total Bins	The total number of active bins in your store
On-Site	Bins stored at your physical store location (back room, etc.)
Off-Site	Bins stored at external locations (storage units, warehouses)
Avg Age (Days)	The average number of days across all bins since their age date was set

These numbers update automatically when the page loads and give you an instant health check on your inventory.

Action Toolbar

Five buttons provide quick access to common tasks:

Button	What It Does
`Add Bin`	Opens a form to create a single new bin with a name, POS category, tags, location, and creation date
`Bulk Create`	Opens a form to create many bins at once with a naming prefix and starting number
`Locations`	Opens the location manager to add, edit, or delete storage locations
`Categories`	Opens the custom category manager to create tags for organizing bins
`Activity Log`	Opens a log of recent actions performed across all bins

The Bin Table

The main data table lists every active bin in your store. Each row displays:

Column	Description
Notes	Indicates whether the bin has notes attached
Edit	Action buttons: `Manage` (gear icon), `Reprint Labels` (print icon), `Delete` (X icon)
Name	The bin's display name
Location	Which storage location the bin is assigned to
On-Site	A green checkmark for on-site bins or a building icon for off-site bins
Main Category	The primary POS subcategory, shown with its assigned color
Other Categories	Additional tags displayed as colored badges -- click any tag to filter the table
Age Date	The date the bin was created or its age was last reset
Last Action	Who performed the most recent action, what they did, and when
Age	A color-coded progress bar and day count showing how old the bin's inventory is

Sorting and Searching

Quick Search: Use the search bar at the top-right to filter bins instantly by name, category, location, or any visible text
Column Sorting: Click any column header to sort ascending or descending
Category Filtering: Click a colored tag in the Other Categories column to show only bins with that tag. A filter bar appears at the top confirming which category is active -- click the X to clear it
Search Tip: Wrap exact phrases in quotation marks. Searching "Bin #9" finds that specific bin, while searching Bin #9 without quotes also matches "Bin #90", "Bin #91", etc.

Hidden Bins and Barcode Scanning

When a bin is emptied, you can hide it to keep the table clean. Hidden bins do not appear in the list but are never deleted.

If you scan a hidden bin's barcode (or type its exact name in the search bar), the system detects it and asks:

"The bin 'Bin #42' exists but is hidden. Would you like to reactivate it?"

Click Yes, reactivate it to bring the bin back into the active table, or No, keep it hidden to leave it hidden.

Tip: This is especially useful for stores that reuse physical bin containers. Hide the bin when it is empty, and it automatically comes back when scanned.

Tips and Shortcuts

The collapsible Tips & Shortcuts card at the bottom of the page contains power-user techniques:

Multi-select rows: Hold Shift and click two rows to select everything in between. Use Ctrl (or Cmd on Mac) to deselect individual rows.
Print selected rows: After selecting rows with Shift, use the print button to print only those selected bins.
Search for on-site/off-site: Type onsite or offsite in the search bar to filter by location type.
Column Visibility: Use the Column Visibility button to show or hide columns. This also affects what appears in printed output and exports.
Category click-filter: Click any tag in the Other Categories column to narrow the table to only bins with that category.
Hide emptied bins: Use the Hide Bin button in the Manage Bin modal to remove emptied bins from the table without deleting them.

Understanding Bin Age

The Age column shows a color-coded progress bar that shifts from green to red as inventory ages:

Age Range	Color	Meaning
0-90 days	Green	Fresh inventory -- recently acquired
91-180 days	Yellow	Aging -- consider moving to the sales floor
181-365 days	Orange	Stale -- prioritize for replenishment or clearance
366+ days	Red	Critical -- inventory has been sitting over a year

When actions are performed on a bin (adding or removing items), you can optionally reset the age date to today, which restarts the aging clock.

Troubleshooting

I cannot see Backstock in the sidebar

Your account may not have the uri_backstock permission. Ask your store administrator to enable Backstock access for your role.

My search returns no results but I know the bin exists

The bin may be hidden. Type the exact bin name or scan its barcode -- if it exists as a hidden bin, the system will prompt you to reactivate it.

The age seems wrong on a bin

The age is calculated from the Age Date field, not the creation date. If someone reset the age date during an action, the age counter starts from that reset date. Open the bin's Manage modal and check the Age Date field on the Edit Bin tab.

Managing Bins -- How to add, edit, move, and manage individual bins
Bulk Bin Creation -- How to create many bins at once
Categories & Locations -- Setting up storage locations and custom categories
Events & Aging -- Seasonal events and aging reports

Backstock System