How do I prepare my powersports store’s accessories and apparel inventory for sale?
Count it, sort it, and write it down before a buyer asks. Separate current-season stock from slow items, damaged boxes and last year’s styles, and keep a clean list with costs and dates received. A buyer trusts a tidy, honest count far more than a big number that falls apart on the shelf.
Do a full count with a second person, section by section: helmets, gloves, jackets, tie-downs, luggage, tires, chemicals. Record sizes and colours for apparel, since a shelf of unusual sizes looks like stock but sells slowly. Tag anything damaged, open-box, discontinued or past its best, and keep those items on a separate list instead of mixing them in.
Next, decide what to do with the slow pile. Marking it down before you list the business can make the remaining stock easier to explain. Check which items are on consignment or came from a supplier on return terms, since those do not belong to you and should be flagged on their own.
Pull supplier invoices so cost can be shown for each line. Ask your accountant how stock is carried in your statements and whether the shelf count will match. If a lender is involved, expect questions about how fast stock moves, so note what sells through each season. Keep the count method written down so a buyer can repeat it. Photograph the shelves on the day you count. Dated pictures settle arguments later, and they help a buyer’s advisor follow your list without a visit.
Key takeaways
- Count with a second person and keep sellable, slow and damaged stock on separate lists.
- Flag consignment and return-eligible items so they are not counted as owned.
- Keep supplier invoices and the count method on file for the buyer to repeat.
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Sources
This answer is checked against primary sources. Links were last confirmed on the dates shown.
- 01Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentWhat is inventory
- 02Business Development Bank of CanadaGovernmentHow to conduct due diligence when buying a business
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