How to bring order to a second-hand store: modern inventory management with Torgsoft
Second-hand stores are no longer “clothes from the past” but a modern, profitable business visited daily by thousands of customers. According to experts, over 80% of Ukrainians have bought something in second-hand shops at least once, and the number of such stores is growing across the country.
However, high demand can hide disorder — piles of clothes, manual sorting, calculation difficulties, and chaotic reports. That’s why process systematization, speed, and accuracy in receiving and selling goods are crucial for this business.
That's why successful entrepreneurs switch to software-based accounting. If you're still working “by eye,” it's time to change your approach. With Torgsoft accounting software, you can do it.
Torgsoft is a tool designed to work with second-hand stores: weighted goods, irregular assortment, constant discounts, and frequent arrivals. Most importantly — the program handles routine tasks so you can focus on your business instead of endless calculations.
Features of inventory management in second-hand stores
Do not confuse second hand and stock. Second hand refers to used goods: usually clothing, shoes, toys, accessories. Stock refers to new items from previous seasons that have lost relevance, were stored in manufacturer warehouses, and later sold to stock stores. These businesses are similar in automation, but second-hand stores have some unique nuances.
In Torgsoft, you can manage both weighted and itemized accounting.
In second-hand stores, goods usually arrive in bales of 25–70 kg. Clothes are sorted into categories (e.g., outerwear, hoodies, pants, dresses, sundresses and skirts, jeans, shorts, sportswear, homewear). Then, the goods are recorded in the warehouse per item with barcode labeling or as weighted goods.
Weighted goods accounting
If clothing is received by weight and sold per item, it's better to process the goods using Torgsoft “Production” mode. This is useful when you only know the bale weight and purchase price, but not the quantity or condition of items.
In the Torgsoft program, bales are transformed into saleable items with precise tracking of the entire chain: from purchasing bales from suppliers, subtracting defective items, calculating cost — to selling the goods. You enter the total weight and price, and after sorting, you get saleable items with an exact cost price.
This is critical if you want accurate profit calculations and minimal losses.
Itemized accounting
Itemized goods accounting is much faster.
In second-hand clothing stores, goods are received regularly — usually every four weeks. Torgsoft allows you to enter items by category without registering each unit individually. Just the category name + price — and the program automatically generates an article number and barcode.
You can also record goods by department: women’s, men’s, children’s, with subcategories like skirts, pants, t-shirts, shoes, etc. This makes it easier to conduct inventory by category before each new arrival.
Result: in just a few minutes, you have ready-to-use labels with a unique code.
Barcode labeling and automatic price tag printing
Barcodes on second-hand labels simplify inventory tracking, group-wise inventory audits during shifts, or after new deliveries: just scan the barcode in Torgsoft.
Barcode = control over inventory, audits, and checkout speed.
The program automatically assigns article numbers and barcodes. To make item names unique — the program generates the article code. The code can have a clear alphanumeric format. For example: article numbers for shorts start with “SHORT…”, jeans — with “JN…”, jumpers — with “JMP…”
To enable this, check the “automatic article” box in the settings, and configure the article code in “Merchandising → Item type.”
The program can also print price tags during receipt — with logo, item name, size, and price. Convenient for both accounting and the customer.
If needed, you can indicate the delivery date so you can later view stock from that shipment, and also show the delivery date on the price tag.
Attractive labels = higher purchase value. It’s consumer psychology.
Photo documentation of goods
Using the Torgsoft Mobile App, you can instantly photograph items during arrival. This helps identify goods, check stock, and manage online sales.
Flexible revaluation
In Torgsoft, you can:
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Change prices manually or set percentage discounts.
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Automatically revalue based on delivery date: set a new price or discount for specific goods, entire groups, or items from a specific delivery.
Returns
Torgsoft allows you to manage returns even in second-hand stores, for example, if you sell new items separately. You can print fiscal or non-fiscal receipts for such goods.
The receipt includes a barcode for return tracking: if a customer wants to return an item within 14 days, they can’t bring a different item or exceed the return window, as Torgsoft will identify the original sale by barcode.
Marketing and promotions
Discounts are the core of second-hand marketing.
Torgsoft marketing features help second-hand store owners retain customers, attract new ones, and avoid empty stores. For example, you can set up various promotions such as: “happy hours”, “1+1=3” offers, or discounts on the second item in a receipt.
The discount calendar and loyalty system keep the store “active” and ensure a steady flow of customers.
Learn more about loyalty systems used in second-hand stores and how to create a discount calendar in the article “Loyalty systems for second-hand stores.”
Expense and defective goods accounting
Damaged items, giveaways, gifts to loyal customers, marketing, rent, payroll — these are all expenses that impact profits. In Torgsoft, you can view them in one window, understand where your money is going, and take preventive action.
What does financial analysis in Torgsoft provide?
✅ Full assortment control
✅ Fast receiving and sales
✅ Automated accounting and reporting
✅ Ability to build a loyalty system
✅ Clear understanding of profitability and key expense areas:
✓ marketing campaigns, promo material production;
✓ issuing goods on credit to VIP clients;
✓ rent, taxes, wages, communications, and other business expenses.
Second-hand doesn’t mean chaos — if you use a smart system.
Torgsoft is adapted to the realities of Ukrainian second-hand businesses: from bale receiving to price tag printing and promotions. You’ll have complete control, even with multiple stores and a large sales team.
Run your business professionally — automated, convenient, and profitable.
What You Need to Automate a Second-Hand Store
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Inventory management software for second-hand stores: Torgsoft Ultra – for configuring a flexible system of discounts, bonus, and loyalty programs. Torgsoft Terminal – for handling sales, centralized management of a retail chain via the internet, product movement and inventory across all retail locations, and trade performance reports.
- Connecting electronic scales for weighing goods during sales, weighing bales of clothing, or selling items by weight.
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Retail equipment:
Barcode Scanner
The scanner allows you to sell goods quickly: barcode scanning takes just a second.
Wireless Scanner for Inventory
For convenience during inventory, you can use a wireless scanner with memory, which syncs with the inventory software for second-hand stores and sends barcodes to the system.
Instead of a wireless scanner, you can use the Mobile App for iOS and Android.
Label Printer
Required during stock intake for labeling goods. In second-hand stores, deliveries are very frequent, all items are unique, and the quantity exceeds thousands. Therefore, for barcode labeling, choose printers with high label printing volume per shift. For example, the GPrinter GP-9026T prints up to 6000 labels per shift.
Receipt Printer
Useful for printing fiscal receipts if you use a software-based ECR.
Or for printing non-fiscal receipts with purchase details and discounts.
Electronic Scales
Electronic scales are necessary if you sell clothing by weight. Desktop scales have a weight limit of 15 kg, which is more than enough for clothing.
People Counter
This small device is installed at the store entrance and counts the number of people entering your store. It helps evaluate the effectiveness of promotions and team efforts in attracting customers.
Tagging Gun
An essential tool for attaching cardboard tags to unbranded items. Then, a label with the store logo and item details — name, price, discount, barcode — is added. This label is automatically generated by the Torgsoft inventory software for second-hand stores.
Additional Torgsoft Options Useful for Second-Hand Stores
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Production, if you purchase and receive goods by weight but sell them per item.
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Fiscal device connection or software-based ECR for selling fiscal goods and reporting to the tax authority.
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Bank terminal connection so your customers can pay with bank cards.
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Deleting closed period statistics to remove sales data from past periods.
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Linking sales to sellers to reward staff for active selling and helping customers choose products.
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Mass SMS and email notifications to inform clients about upcoming promotions and new arrivals.
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Salesperson salary calculation + Motivation, penalties, and bonus system for automatically calculating pay per shift, per hour worked; for awarding or deducting bonuses based on performance; and for calculating a percentage of sales to motivate sellers.
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Torgsoft-Hybrid for stable accounting at retail locations without internet.
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Discount card verification via SMS to prevent sellers from using accumulated bonuses of loyal customers.
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Bonuses with expiration date to increase store visit frequency, motivate return visits, and encourage more purchases.
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Data security: cloud backup to protect your data from crashes and viruses; automatic database backup to Google Drive.
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Visitor analytics to analyze and compare the success of marketing activities: how many people visited your store, on what day, at what time, how many purchases were made, and how many visitors left without buying anything.
- Consignor notifications — suitable for consignment stores: once an item is sold, the program immediately notifies the consignor that their item has been sold.
Listen to the podcast on organizing inventory in second-hand stores:
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