The stuff that runs out mid-job
Never send someone to the merchant at ten past two again.
Fixings, fittings, filters, blades, sealant. Track quantities with low-stock thresholds and supplier details, so reordering happens before the crew is stood around waiting.
Consumable tracking is on Business plans, from $29/mo · 14-day free trial
Losing a tool costs you once. Running out costs you every time.
Tools get the attention because they are expensive. But the recurring loss is the consumables — nobody tracks what leaves the shelf, so nobody knows it is nearly gone until the job stops.
- The crew stands around while somebody drives to the supplier
- Bulk orders get placed twice because two people both noticed
- Materials are bought at retail prices in an emergency instead of trade prices in an order
- Nobody can say what a job actually consumed, so nobody prices the next one properly
“It's never the drill that stops the job. It's the fittings.”
Consumables are tracked differently, because they behave differently
A tool is one thing that exists or does not. A box of fixings is a quantity that drains. Squared Away tracks consumables as quantities with a stock status, not as assets.
Quantity and unit
Count in whatever unit makes sense — each, box, metre, litre, roll, or your own custom unit. Track individually or in bulk.
Low-stock thresholds
Set the level where an item counts as running low and the stock status changes on its own. Set a target quantity so you know how much to order, not just that you need some.
Supplier details on the item
Vendor, vendor SKU, unit cost, lead time and minimum order quantity live on the item. When something runs low, the reorder detail is already there.
Restock and consumption dates
Last restocked and last consumed are recorded, so you can see what actually moves and what has been sat on a shelf since last year.
Transfers between locations
Move stock from the store room to a van or a site and the quantities follow. The store room total drops, the van total rises.
What you actually get
| Feature | How it helps |
|---|---|
| Quantity tracking | Individual or bulk, in your own units |
| Stock status | Stocked, running low, exhausted — set by your threshold |
| Target quantity | Know how much to order, not just that you need some |
| Supplier and SKU | Reorder detail sat on the item itself |
| Lead time & minimum order | Order early enough to matter |
| Location transfers | Store room to van, quantities follow |
| Unit cost | See what a shelf is actually worth |
| Audits | Count the store room and reconcile in one pass |
Start with the ten things you have run out of
Do not try to track every screw. Think about the last six months and write down the things that actually stopped a job — the fittings, the specific blade, the sealant nobody remembers buying. Ten items with real thresholds beat four hundred with none, and it takes twenty minutes.
- List what has genuinely run out on you
- Set a low-stock threshold that gives you the lead time to reorder
- Add the supplier and SKU while you are there
- Add more only when something else catches you out
Where this stops
There is no purchase-order system and no automatic reordering — Squared Away tells you what is low and holds the detail you need to order it, but somebody still places the order. If you need POs, approvals and a purchasing workflow, that is a different product and we would rather say so.
Related Use Cases
Start with the ten things that stop jobs.
Twenty minutes to set thresholds on the consumables that have actually caught you out. The rest can wait.
Business plans from $29/mo · 14-day free trial, no credit card