A clothing shop can have plenty of stock and still be missing the item a customer wants. Ten shirts in one design do not help when the requested colour and size have sold out. For textile businesses, stock needs to describe the actual combinations on the shelf rather than only the total for a style.
Distribook’s textile tools support product groups, colour and size variants, group-stock views, fabric-roll tracking, alteration tickets and textile sales reports when the module and account permissions are enabled. For clothing stores, boutiques and fabric retailers across Sri Lanka, these workflows connect product setup with what staff receive, sell and hand back to customers.
Organise designs, colours and sizes before adding stock
A product group represents a design or style. Colours and sizes describe the variants within it. Prepare those reference choices before creating the actual products so staff use consistent names throughout the shop.
For example, a shirt design might come in blue and white, with Small, Medium and Large sizes. A colour-only fabric product may not need size options at all. Use the combinations the business actually stocks instead of generating every possible colour and size.
Distribook’s reference lists include product groups, colours, sizes and fabrics. Size display order helps keep the choices in a useful sequence, while colour swatches help identify the intended colour. Creating a reference-list entry does not create variants or receive inventory by itself.
See the reference-list guide for setup, and the textile products guide for turning those choices into products.
Review the variant matrix before creating products
The product-group workflow brings together the group, SKU prefix, season, category, unit and shared prices. Select the required colours and sizes, then review What will be created before saving.
Leave out combinations the supplier does not make or the shop does not sell. Correct code conflicts and inspect individual selling prices, minimum prices and opening quantities where offered. Existing combinations are skipped rather than overwritten, so the result needs to be reviewed instead of assuming an existing variant has changed.
Shared or colour-specific photos can help staff identify the style. Check branch availability as well: a correct variant is useful only if the intended location can access it.
When entering opening stock, choose the receiving warehouse and supplier and use the actual quantities. Opening quantities require receiving permission and create a stock receipt; they are not a harmless display value to enter while experimenting with product setup.
Receive and count the exact combinations
Supplier deliveries should be checked by variant. If a carton contains six blue Medium shirts and four white Large shirts, record those actual combinations rather than entering ten units against a convenient variant.
Use the goods-received guide for the common receiving workflow, including costs, price-change scope and the difference between a draft and posted stock. Saving a draft does not make a delivery available in stock.
In Stock by product group, choose the warehouse and inspect the colour/size grid. In stock, Running low, Sold out and Not made distinguish different situations. A combination marked Not made is different from a stocked variant whose quantity has reached zero.
Where authorised, Count stock lets staff enter actual shelf totals for one warehouse and save the reviewed changes. This changes the inventory record. Count the physical garments first and check the selected warehouse before saving; do not adjust a number simply to make the grid look complete.
Sell the customer’s chosen colour and size
In POS Billing, opening a grouped textile style shows its colours, sizes, photos, prices and stock information. Select the customer’s exact variant and quantity, then check it in the cart before payment.
Different variants can have different prices. Review the selected unit, quantity and total rather than assuming a style has one price for every combination. For colour-only cloth, use the existing colour variant instead of inventing a size.
If the requested combination is absent, do not sell another size’s stock under its name. Refresh and check the available variant information. Rack details can help staff locate the physical goods, but a missing size still needs the correct product and stock record.
The textile POS guide covers selection and billing. Full matrix creation belongs to Admin; the counter workflow selects and sells existing variants.
Keep fabric products and roll lengths understandable
Fabric retail needs different details from finished garments. Textile product fields can include fabric, width in centimetres, sold-by-length settings and GSM alongside product group, colour, size and season where relevant.
Rolls of cloth lets staff inspect metres on the shelf and each roll’s remaining length, with warehouse and short-piece filtering. This helps distinguish a product’s total availability from the length remaining on individual rolls.
Receive rolls leads to goods receiving, where the correct fabric product and batch details should be recorded. A short roll should not become an unrelated product merely to hide its remaining length. Keep product descriptions, receiving units and the actual stock consistent.
Use the fabric-roll section of the textile guide for the available workflow. Confirm the chosen units and configuration with the responsible administrator before entering fabric quantities.
Track alterations from intake to collection
A textile shop offering alterations needs to know which garment belongs to whom, what work was agreed and when it is due. Distribook’s alteration tickets record the customer, garment, requested work, contact details, due date, tailor, quoted price, branch and notes.
Measurements are recorded as named values. Include units where needed and complete both fields in each measurement row; incomplete rows are discarded. Check the resulting ticket number so staff can find the same garment later.
Status tabs help identify work taken in, being done, ready or overdue. Progress the ticket as the actual work happens and record handover when the garment is returned to the customer. Marking it ready should mean it is ready to collect, not simply that its due date has arrived.
An alteration ticket and its quoted price do not prove that the customer paid. Follow the shop’s authorised payment process separately. The alteration guide explains intake, editing, progression and cancellation.
Review sales by size, colour, group and season
A style’s total sales can hide a shortage in one size or a surplus in one colour. Textile sales reporting provides By size, By colour, By product group and Stock by season views with the available period, branch, warehouse and season filters.
Use those views to ask practical questions: which variants need replenishment, which combinations are still on the shelf, and whether older seasonal stock needs attention. Compare sales and stock under the same location and date scope before deciding what to order.
A report shows information; it does not place a purchase order or receive a delivery. Return to the appropriate workflow when a replenishment decision is made. The textile reporting section explains the available views and scope checks.
Build a clear daily routine for the team
A useful textile-shop routine connects the stockroom, counter and alteration desk:
- Check deliveries by the real colour and size before posting stock.
- Review sold-out variants and locate available stock in the correct warehouse.
- Confirm the customer’s exact variant and price before checkout.
- Review alteration work that is due, overdue or ready for collection.
- Use scoped sales and season reports to inform the next stock decision.
Give staff the permissions needed for their responsibilities. A cashier selling a variant does not automatically need authority to create products, post a delivery or save a stock count. Training should explain these boundaries as well as the ordinary checkout steps.
For the wider product overview, explore Distribook POS for Sri Lanka and the Admin documentation. Contact Distribook with your product groups, colour and size ranges, fabric units, locations and alteration process so the demonstration can follow the way your textile business works.