Devices by IMEI and serial
Every phone gets its own record with its IMEI or serial and its real cost. Buy, sell, return, transfer and count device by device, and see any device's full history.
When you turn on tracking for an item, every device of it gets its own record: the IMEI or serial, its own cost, the branch it's in, its warranty, and everything that happened to it since it came into the shop. So when you sell a phone you know exactly what it cost and what you made on it.
Items without tracking (accessories, say) work exactly as before, by quantity.
Available on the full plans. The Wallets plan has no inventory.
Where to find it
- Any device: from the menu, Stock → IMEI lookup. Enter the full IMEI or serial, or the last 6 digits, and open the device.
- One item's devices: the item page shows Devices by IMEI (or Devices by serial) with what's in stock.
Turn on tracking
On the item page in Items, choose Tracking:
- None: the default; the item is counted by quantity.
- IMEI (phones): each phone has an IMEI, and a dual-SIM phone has IMEI 1 and IMEI 2.
- Serial number: for anything with a serial, like tablets, earbuds and watches.
You can also set Default warranty (months), which becomes the warranty of each new device of that item.
You can't change the tracking type while the item has stock or has devices recorded. Tracking is only for items you sell, not bundles or spare parts.
IMEI check
- An IMEI must be 15 digits, and the last one is a check digit. If one digit is typed or scanned wrong, you see That number is wrong, check the digits.
- The same IMEI can't be in stock twice. If a device with that number is in your stock, or sold and still on record, you see This IMEI is already in stock.
- A serial is 4 to 40 letters or digits.
This only checks the number's format. Mobilat doesn't check the device with any outside party, and doesn't know whether it's stolen or registered.
Buy devices
In a purchase, when you add a tracked item you enter each device's IMEI instead of a quantity:
- Scanner: USB or Bluetooth.
- Camera: from the Camera button.
- By hand: type the number.
- Paste many numbers: if the numbers are in a message or a sheet, paste them at once. Mobilat picks out the numbers and shows wrong and repeated ones before you add them.
For a dual-SIM phone, scan the first IMEI and then the second of the same phone. The quantity is the number of devices you entered.
Each device's cost
Each device is recorded at its own cost. Devices on the same line share the same cost; if one was bought at a different price, put it on its own line (the same item can appear more than once). Shipping and other extra costs are spread over the devices by value, like any other item, so each phone's cost is its real landed cost.
Buy a used device from a person
When you buy a used phone from a customer rather than a supplier, choose From a person at the top of the purchase and enter the seller's details:
- Seller name and Phone
- ID number (national ID)
- Photo of the ID or a receipt (optional)
If Require seller details when buying from a person is on (it is by default), you can't record the purchase without the name and ID number. If you turn it off, the details are optional and you get a warning when they're empty. The setting is in Settings. A purchase from a person is paid in full at the time, since there's no supplier.
Seller details are protected
- The ID number is stored encrypted, and the photo in private storage that no one outside the shop can open.
- Only people with the See seller ID (bought from a person) permission can see the ID number and photo, and they only show when that person asks to see them.
- Every view is recorded in the Audit log: who and when.
- Seller details can't be edited once recorded.
Record the devices you have now
Phones you had in the shop before Mobilat go in as opening stock. Record anything you buy after that as a purchase.
- By hand: on the item page tap Add devices. Pick the variant and branch, enter Cost per device and Warranty (months), and scan the devices one after another. Turn on Dual-SIM phones to scan IMEI 1 and IMEI 2 for each phone.
- From Excel: an Excel or CSV file with one row per device: the item (name, SKU or barcode), variant, IMEI 1, IMEI 2, serial, cost, branch and warranty. You get a preview showing each row and what's wrong with it, if anything (a wrong number, repeated in the file, or already in your stock), then import the good rows.
Sell a device
In the POS, scan the IMEI or serial of the device in your hand, or type its last 6 digits and pick it. Each device is its own line (quantity 1), and its cost is that device's own cost, so the sale's profit is real.
If you scan the box barcode, you see That's the box barcode. Scan the device's IMEI. The POS only finds devices available in this branch.
Warranty
The warranty starts on the day of sale. The warranty end date shows on the sale, on the printed receipt next to the IMEI, and on the device page. You can change one device's warranty from its page.
Returns
- Customer return: from the sale, like any return. The device goes back as Returned to stock and can be sold again.
- Voiding a sale: the devices go back In stock.
- Return to supplier: you pick exactly which devices go back, and each leaves at its own cost. See Return to supplier.
- Voiding a purchase: not possible if any of its devices was sold, moved or returned. You see those devices' numbers.
Transfers and counts
- Transfers: scan the IMEI of each device going to the other branch. The device moves right away.
- Stock counts: scan every device on the shelf. Before posting you see the missing devices with their numbers and the Missing value at cost, and any scanned devices that shouldn't be here.
The device page
Search from IMEI lookup and open the device. You'll find:
- The item, the Status (In stock, Returned to stock, Sold, Returned to supplier, Written off) and the branch.
- The purchase or opening stock it came in with, and its sales and returns.
- The repair tickets for it.
- History: every event, who did it and when.
- Cost and time in stock (with the See each unit's cost permission).
From here, Edit device details fixes a mistyped number or changes the warranty, and Write off (lost / broken) takes a device out of stock. Every change is recorded in the Audit log.
Telephony registration status
Each device has a Registration status that you type in yourself: Unknown, Registered, Not registered or Fees due, with a note (the fee amount or when it was registered, say). In the devices report you can filter on Fees due or Not registered to see which devices need follow-up.
Mobilat doesn't look up a device's status anywhere. This status is only what you entered.
Repairs
When you receive a device in Repairs and enter its IMEI, if your shop sold that device the ticket shows Sold by this shop on … with the sale and the warranty end date.
Reports
In Reports:
- Stock value uses each device's own cost, not the average.
- Device aging: how many days each device has been in stock.
- Profit per device: the devices sold in the period, each with its price, cost and profit, which you can download as CSV by IMEI.
Permissions
- Add and edit serialized units (IMEI / serial): add the devices you have, fix a number, change warranty or registration status, and write off a device.
- See each unit's cost: see a device's cost and profit.
- See seller ID (bought from a person): open the seller's ID number and photo.
The owner has all of them. Cashiers don't see device cost or seller ID. Permissions are set in Team and roles.