Two identical handsets are not the same stock
Same model, same colour, same shelf — bought for different money, in different condition, from different people, and taxed differently when they sell. Counting them as “2 in stock” is where the margin goes missing.
Where second-hand stock stops adding up
Quantity-based stock control was designed for parts. Handsets break it.
Four of the same model in stock, bought for four different prices, showing as one line.
A handset sells and nobody can say which one went, or what it cost.
Which units came in on a tax invoice and which did not is in somebody's memory.
Battery health and condition were noted on the box, and the box is gone.
A device is sold at the shelf price when that particular unit cost far more.
A returned handset goes straight back on the shelf without anyone checking it.
One handset, one record, all the way through
A device unit is created when the handset arrives and is closed when it leaves. Everything about it hangs off that one row.
- 01IntakeThe handset gets its own record and its own reference.
- 02SpecsStorage, colour, condition, battery health and network, per unit.
- 03CostWhat this handset cost you, not what the model usually costs.
- 04PriceA selling price on the unit itself, not on the model.
- 05SaleThat specific unit leaves stock, at its own price.
- 06TaxIf it sells on the margin, the tax follows the margin.
- 07AfterReturns land back as a unit to inspect, never straight onto the shelf.
Because quantity is derived from the units rather than typed, the count and the shelf cannot drift apart — there is no number for anyone to correct.
The record a device trader works from
Not a stock line. A handset.
Where this handset came from and what it did
Its reference, its specs, what it cost, what it sold for and every movement in between — for that unit, not for the model. When a customer comes back three months later, the answer is on the record.
Quantity is derived from units. Nobody types a stock number.
POS Checkout Calculator
Ref: 8842
Change due: £0.00
The unit's price wins, every time
A handset that cost more sells for more, even if the model's default price says otherwise. The price is taken from the unit when the invoice is raised, so a busy counter cannot accidentally sell a premium unit at the shelf figure.
The unit's price is applied when the sale is written, not read off the model.
Second-hand stops being the guesswork line
- Real margin per handset
- Profit is this unit's price minus this unit's cost — not an average across a model that flatters the good buys and hides the bad ones.
- Tax that follows the unit
- Margin-taxed stock is treated on its margin and reported separately from standard-rated sales.
- A history you can answer from
- Every unit carries where it came from, what was done to it and where it went.
- Returns that get inspected
- A refunded handset comes back as a unit to look at, not as a number added to a count.
Every SlickCell feature is included on every plan — plans differ by team size, locations, discounts and support.
The ones that catch out quantity-based systems
- You only know the last four digits
- The reference is free text on purpose. Shops key shorthand, and a system that refuses it just gets a fake number typed into it instead.
- Two units end up with the same reference
- It is flagged as a conflict to resolve rather than blocked outright — so the unit still gets recorded, and the clash surfaces where someone can fix it.
- One model, six different costs
- Each unit holds its own. There is no average cost standing in for six different purchases.
- Some units came in on a tax invoice, some did not
- That is a property of the unit, which is what decides how its sale is taxed.
- A sold handset comes back
- It returns to a state that means 'returned', not 'available'. Putting it back on the shelf is a decision someone makes, not a side effect.
- A unit is being held for a customer
- Reserved is its own state, so it is not sold twice while the customer thinks about it.
- The handset is locked and the customer left the code
- PIN, password or a drawn pattern can be held against the device, behind a role check, and every look at it is recorded.
None of these need a workaround. They are states a unit already carries.
What unit tracking carries
One unit, one record
Every physical handset is its own row, from intake to sale.
Free-text references
IMEI or serial as you actually write it, with clashes flagged rather than blocked.
Specs per handset
Storage, colour, condition, battery health, network and region on the unit.
Cost and price per handset
What this one cost and what this one sells for — the unit's price is the one that applies.
Margin tax where it applies
Used stock can be taxed on the margin and reported apart from standard sales.
Movement history
Every state change on the unit, with who did it and when.
What device traders ask
No. The reference is free text, so last-four or last-five shorthand is fine — that is how shops actually work. There is no format or checksum validation, deliberately: a system that rejects real-world shorthand only teaches people to type a fake number that passes.
The clash is detected and flagged for someone to resolve, rather than the unit being refused at the point of entry. The record still exists, and the conflict surfaces where it can be dealt with.
No. There is no blacklist or stolen-device checking in the product, and we would rather say so than imply a check that is not happening.
Tax is a rule you configure, and one of the types is margin — which can be scoped to used stock specifically. When a unit sells under that rule, the tax follows the margin between what you paid and what you sold it for, and is reported separately from standard-rated sales. The rules that apply to you depend on where you trade; check with your accountant.
No, and that is deliberate. It returns as a unit in a returned state for someone to inspect. Moving a sold device straight back to available is refused by the system.
No. Parts and accessories stay quantity-based, which is the right model for them. Unit tracking is for the stock where each item genuinely differs.
Bring five handsets you bought for five different prices
We will put them in as units, price them, sell one, and show you what the margin and the tax actually did.