Most small business owners feel like they’re running their inventory on instinct. They know roughly what’s selling, approximately what it costs, and generally how their stock looks — but “roughly” and “approximately” are not a solid foundation for business decisions. The difference between a business that grows confidently and one that lurches from problem to problem is usually data.

iMagic Inventory’s reporting tools, accessible via View > Reports, give you hard numbers for the decisions that matter most. Here are the five reports you should be running regularly.

1. Inventory Valuation Report

What it tells you: The total value of your stock on hand, broken down by item.

Why it matters: Your inventory is an asset on your balance sheet. If you don’t know what it’s worth right now, you can’t accurately calculate your net worth, assess your working capital position, or understand how much money is tied up in stock.

iMagic Inventory’s inventory valuation report shows every item, its on-hand quantity, its cost price, and its total value. Run it monthly and track the trend — is your total stock value growing, shrinking, or stable? A growing stock value alongside flat sales means you’re over-buying. A shrinking value might mean your reorder management needs attention.

Run it from View > Reports and look for the Inventory or Stock Valuation option.

2. Sales by Product Report

What it tells you: Which products are selling, how much, and at what total value.

Why it matters: This is the report that shows you your actual best-sellers — not your perceived best-sellers. Many business owners are surprised when they run this report for the first time. The product they thought was their top seller is often third or fourth. The product they barely think about is often in the top five.

With this information from iMagic Inventory, you can make better decisions about what to stock more of, what to promote, what to discount to clear, and what to discontinue. Your buying decisions become data-driven rather than gut-driven.

Filter this report by date range to compare periods — this month vs last month, or this year vs last year. Use it in View > Reports under sales or transaction reports.

3. Stock Movement Report

What it tells you: How an item’s quantity has changed over a period — every receipt, sale, and adjustment.

Why it matters: When your stock count doesn’t match your records, the stock movement report in iMagic Inventory is where you investigate. iMagic Inventory shows every transaction that affected a product’s quantity, who entered it, and when. It’s both a diagnostic tool and a planning tool — if you can see that a product sold 40 units last month, you know how much buffer to carry.

This report is particularly useful when investigating discrepancies identified during stock counts in View > Stock Counts. Run it for the item in question and iMagic Inventory lets you trace exactly where the variance came from.

4. Customer Sales Report

What it tells you: How much each customer has spent, over what period, and on which products.

Why it matters: Your customer data is only valuable if you use it. iMagic Inventory’s customer sales report reveals your top accounts, your declining accounts, and the customers who have gone quiet. Run it quarterly and use it to inform your sales activity: contact top customers to strengthen the relationship, reach out to declining customers before they leave entirely, and identify which customers are ripe for upselling.

Filter by customer from View > Reports and combine it with a date range comparison to spot trends. Your most valuable customers deserve proactive attention, not just reactive service when they contact you.

5. Reorder Report

What it tells you: Which items have dropped to or below their reorder point.

Why it matters: The reorder report (also accessible via View > Reorders) is your daily operational report. iMagic Inventory uses it to tell you what needs to be ordered today to avoid running out of stock in the coming days. If you run this report every morning and act on it, you will dramatically reduce the frequency of stockouts.

iMagic Inventory shows the item, its current quantity, its reorder point, and the suggested order quantity. Cross-reference it with your vendor information in View > Vendors to know who to call or email for each item.

Building a Reporting Habit

Reports are only useful if you look at them. Set a recurring schedule for each of these five reports in iMagic Inventory:

  • Daily: Reorder report — check it every morning
  • Weekly: Sales by product — understand what moved this week
  • Monthly: Inventory valuation and stock movement — track your trends
  • Quarterly: Customer sales — review relationships and plan outreach

With these five reports embedded in your routine, you’ll make faster, better-informed decisions and spend less time reacting to problems you could have seen coming.

Download iMagic Inventory free for 30 days and run your first set of reports this week.