Custom consignment administration app for a jeweller
Appfront builds apps for jewellers, watch specialists and goldsmiths who hold jewellery and watches on consignment: items from suppliers on sale-or-return or consignment, and items from private individuals that you sell on their behalf. For each item: the owner, the description with weight, purity and stones, the agreed price or commission, the term, the location in the shop or safe, and after a sale the settlement with the owner. So you always know what belongs to you and what does not, and no supplier or customer has to wait for their money.
What is a consignment administration app for a jeweller?
A jeweller's display cases don't hold only their own stock. Suppliers send collections on approval or on consignment: the jeweller pays only once an item sells, and returns whatever doesn't. Private individuals bring in a watch or piece of jewellery to sell through the shop. A consignment management app keeps track, item by item, of who owns it, what has been agreed, where it is, and what needs to be settled after a sale.
Without such an app, consignment stock sits in the till as ordinary stock, or not at all. The delivery note for an on-approval shipment is in a folder, and nobody is certain whether everything from that shipment is still there. A consignment item sells, but the supplier only learns of it at the next stocktake. A private customer phones to ask whether their watch has sold yet. And for insurance, it's unclear which value sits in the safe that doesn't belong to you.
We build bespoke software because the administration has to fit your shop: which suppliers you work with on consignment and what their terms are, whether you take in items from private individuals, which till you use, how you describe and label items, and what your insurer requires. A till knows about articles; it doesn't know about an item that belongs to someone else and has its own settlement.
Item with an owner
Every item with a photo, description, weight, purity, stones and certificate, the owner, the agreement on price or commission, the term, and its place in the shop or safe.
Approval shipments by supplier
Receive an approval shipment against the delivery note, track each item, and after the term settle what has sold and return what hasn't.
Settling after sale
When something sells through the till, the app knows it is on consignment and prepares the settlement with the supplier or private owner.
How we build your consignment management app for a jeweller
We start with your current consignment stock: how many items, from which suppliers and private individuals, and how often a stocktake has revealed something wasn't right.
Your consignment suppliers and their terms, the intake of private individuals, the till, the way you describe and label items, and your insurer's requirements.
Receive approval shipments against the delivery note, take in items from private individuals with identification and an agreement, and give each item a label and a location.
Integration with the till, settlement per supplier and per private consignor, and returns of unsold items within the agreed term.
Stocktakes by supplier and by location, the insured value, reporting, and then ongoing management and expansion.
What a consignment management app for a jeweller actually does
The components below come up for almost every jeweller who works on consignment. Which ones you need depends on whether you receive items from suppliers, from private individuals, or from both.
Item registration
For each item, photos, description, weight, purity, stones, serial number and certificate, with a label bearing a code for shop and safe.
Approval shipments
Receipt against the supplier's delivery note, the term per shipment, and the status of each item: in the shop, sold or returned.
Intake from private individuals
Intake with identification and a consignment agreement with price or commission and term, digitally signed.
Till integration
On a sale, the till recognises a consignment item and prepares the settlement with the owner, without booking it as your own stock.
Settlement and returns
Per supplier and per private individual, what has sold and is due for payment, and what must be returned after the term, with a receipt.
Stocktaking and insurance
Stocktakes by location using a scan, and the value of third-party items in the shop and safe for insurance purposes.
Who we build a consignment management app for jewellers for
The app is intended for jewellers who keep third-party items in the shop and currently track them in folders and spreadsheets.
Jewellers with brand collections
Collections from suppliers on approval or on consignment. Approval shipments and the settlement per supplier are the core.
Watch specialists
Pre-owned watches from private individuals alongside new brand-name watches. Intake under agreement and settlement matter most.
Antique and vintage jewellers
Unique pieces from private individuals and dealers. Item descriptions and the purchase register are what's needed.
Chains with multiple shops
Consignment pieces that move between shops. Location per item and stock count per shop are the core.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
This page is about consignment in the jewellery shop. For the auction house that sells on behalf of consignors, see our page on an app for consignment sales at an auction house; for the till itself, our page on point-of-sale software; and for the shop and the customer, our page on a retail app. You can read about how we work under custom software development.
Why choose Appfront for your jeweller's consignment administration app?
What sits in your display case isn't always yours. We build around that: for each item the owner and the agreement, and a settlement that follows the sale.
Knowing who owns what
Every item belonging to a third party has an owner, an agreement and a place. During a stock count, a missing piece is immediately visible.
Suppliers and customers paid on time
After a sale, the settlement is ready. Nobody has to wait for the next stock count to learn their piece has sold.
Returns before the deadline
Anything unsold appears on the list before the term expires. The supplier gets their collection back as agreed.
Security and privacy in a jeweller's consignment administration app
The app holds data on suppliers and private individuals, identification, values and the location of items. Access is set by role: sales staff see items and prices, the owner sees settlements and values, and safe locations are only partly visible. Every change is logged with name and time.
The app runs in a European data centre, with encrypted storage and daily backups. Identification details of private individuals are only kept for as long as the law requires.
Frequently asked questions about a jeweller's consignment administration app
Questions jewellers ask before getting started.
It records, for each item from a supplier or private individual, the owner, the description with weight, purity and stones, the agreement on price or commission, the term and the location. It recognises the item at the till when sold, prepares the settlement with the owner, and flags what must be returned after the term.
With an approval shipment you view a supplier's items to choose what to buy; with consignment the pieces sit in the shop and you pay only after a sale. In both cases the item still belongs to the supplier. The app tracks both with their own terms and agreements.
Anyone who buys in or trades second-hand goods from private individuals often has a registration obligation, and for cash payments above a statutory threshold the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorist Financing Act (Wwft) applies. The app records identification and the agreement. Which rules apply to your situation, you establish with your adviser.
Yes, if your till makes items and sales available. Consignment items get their own code, so the till sells them without booking them as your own stock, and the app produces the settlement with the owner.
The app shows, per location, which pieces are held and their value, split into your own stock and items belonging to third parties. That is what an insurer will want to know, and in the event of a claim each piece's description and photo is at hand.
Yes. A transfer is recorded with a scan, so each piece's location is correct and the count per shop is too.
Ask that first. Some point-of-sale systems for jewellers include a consignment function, and that is enough if you work with a handful of suppliers. Custom development makes sense if you have many consignment deliveries and private items, if arrangements differ by owner, or if settlement and returns are currently handled by hand.
Knowing who owns what in your display cabinet?
Tell us which suppliers you take consignment stock from, whether you accept items from private customers, and which till you use. We will show you what registration, settlement and returns look like.