App builder

An inventory keeping app for makers,
from raw materials to finished batches.

Describe what you make and Netiva’s AI builds a web app that takes each batch’s materials out of stock, adds what the batch made and keeps every balance and cost current.

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Starter prompt

Build an inventory keeping web app for a candle and soap studio with two helpers. Keep one list of items — raw materials, packaging and finished products — each with a stock unit, balance, average cost, low level, a purchase pack size and, for products, a retail price. Each product has a formula: the materials and amounts in one batch. When a helper finishes a batch, subtract the scaled formula, add the good units to the product and log every change in a stock book with a reason. Soap stays in Curing until its ready date. Show cost per unit on each batch and a sales form for market days.

Build it in Netiva Paste the prompt into a new workspace and adjust it to your business.
Overview

Who this inventory keeping app is for

Most makers start with a spreadsheet: a tab for oils or wax, another for finished pieces and a note about what the last batch used. It holds up until a busy season, when a batch gets made but never subtracted and you find out you’re out of jars the night before a wholesale order ships. An inventory keeping app built with Netiva turns that spreadsheet into a proper stock book. Each formula lists its materials, and each batch draws them from stock and adds what it made. Every item shows a running balance and its real cost.

Key features

What your inventory keeping app can do

  • Formulas that draw from stock

    Give each product a formula — your recipe, or a bill of materials for one batch: the materials and amounts that go into it. When you make a batch, the app scales that formula to the batch size and takes each material out of stock for you.

    • Half, single or double batches scaled from one formula
    • Jars, wicks, tins and labels listed beside raw materials
    • Good units added to the product once the batch is ready
    • Seconds counted per batch for yield, not added to sellable stock

  • A running stock book

    Every change to stock is one line: what moved, how much, why and when. Balances are built from those lines, so each number on screen has a history you can open.

    • Reasons such as purchase, used in batch, sold, sample and waste
    • A running balance column for any item
    • Saved views by item, reason, batch or month
    • Receipts attached to purchase lines

  • Cost per unit for every batch

    Purchases update each material’s average cost. The app adds up what a batch drew and divides it by the good units it made, so your prices start from real numbers instead of a guess.

    • Material average cost updated with each purchase
    • Batch cost and cost per good unit on every batch page
    • Margin at your retail price for each product
    • Cost math you can read in the code view

  • Shortfall checks and a weekly heads-up

    When you plan a batch, the app compares the scaled formula with what’s on the shelf and lists anything you’re short on. A Monday email rounds up what to buy for the batches whose make date falls in the coming week.

    • Material check on the batch planner
    • Weekly email of materials to buy
    • Batches that finish curing this week in the same email
    • Shortfall rows showing how much more you need, in the material’s stock unit
Data model

The collections behind it

Netiva keeps your records in built-in collections. Here’s a starting structure — the agent adapts it to your prompt, and you can change it any time.

Items

Every material, packaging part and finished product you keep, each with one running balance.

  • Name (required) Text
  • Kind (required) Raw material, Packaging or Finished product Text
  • Stock unit (required) g, oz, ml or each; formulas and balances use this unit Text
  • Pack size Stock units in one purchased pack, e.g. 800 oz in a 50 lb case Number
  • On hand (required) Running balance, kept up to date from stock book lines Number
  • Average cost Per stock unit: moving average for materials, latest batch cost for products Number
  • Low level Flag the item when the balance drops below this Number
  • Retail price Finished products only, used for margins Number

Formula lines

The materials and amounts that go into one full batch of a product.

  • Product (required) A finished product Relation to Items
  • Material (required) A raw material or packaging part Relation to Items
  • Amount per batch (required) In the material’s stock unit Number
  • Note e.g. one per jar, or weighed after melting Text

Batches

Each production run, from planned to ready, with the code that goes on its labels.

  • Batch code Printed on the label, assigned when the batch is made, e.g. LAV-0917-2 Text
  • Product (required) Relation to Items
  • Made on The date you plan to make it, confirmed when the batch is made Date
  • Batch size (required) 1 for a full formula, 0.5 for a half batch, 2 for a double Number
  • Status (required) Planned, Made, Curing or Ready Text
  • Ready on When curing or resting ends Date
  • Good units Sellable pieces, counted when the batch is made, added to the product at Ready Number
  • Seconds Pieces with flaws, counted for yield only and never added to sellable stock Number

Stock book

One line for every change to stock, which is where each balance comes from.

  • Item (required) Relation to Items
  • Change (required) Positive for stock in, negative for stock out, in the stock unit Number
  • Reason (required) Purchase, Used in batch, Made in batch, Sold, Sample, Waste or Count fix Text
  • Batch For batch usage and output lines Relation to Batches
  • Line cost Amount paid, or quantity times average cost for usage Number
  • Supplier or channel Who you bought from, or where it sold Text
  • Entered at (required) Date & time
  • Receipt File

Required field. Types are Netiva collection field types.

Screens

Pages and screens to start with

A typical first version. Ask the agent for more, or annotate the preview to change any of them.

  • Stock book

    Every stock line, newest first, with a running balance for the chosen item and filters for reason, batch and month.

    Signed-in users

  • Batches

    Batches by status — Planned, Made, Curing, Ready — with make and ready dates, plus a New batch form that scales the formula and flags any material you’re short on.

    Signed-in users

  • Batch detail

    What one batch drew, its batch cost and cost per good unit, seconds, status and ready date, with buttons to mark it Made and then Ready.

    Signed-in users

  • Materials and packaging

    Every raw material and packaging part, with balances in each item’s stock unit, average cost and low flags, plus a purchase form that takes packs bought and the amount paid.

    Signed-in users

  • Record sales

    One form for a market day or a week of online orders: units sold per product and where they sold, saved as stock book lines.

    Signed-in users

  • Products

    Each finished product with its on-hand balance and its formula lines, which you can adjust when a recipe changes, plus the latest cost per good unit, retail price and margin.

    Signed-in users
How it works

From prompt to a live inventory keeping app

  1. Describe your workshop

    Tell Netiva what you make, which materials go into each product and the units you weigh them in. The agent drafts collections for items, formula lines, batches and the stock book, then builds the screens.

  2. Enter your materials and formulas

    Type materials and formulas into the collection grid, which works like a spreadsheet, or ask the collection assistant to draft rows for you to review. Then add today’s counts as opening stock book lines.

  3. Test a batch in the preview

    Plan a small batch in the live preview and check that every material drops by the right amount. Annotate anything that looks off, such as a unit or a rounding rule, and the agent fixes it.

  4. Publish and bring in helpers

    Publish in one click and share the link so helpers can sign in. Every later change is checkpointed, so you can roll back a new screen or rule that doesn’t work out.

Why Netiva

Netiva vs a traditional build

Building an inventory keeping app with Netiva compared with a traditional build
Criterion With Netiva Traditional build
Batch usage Each finished batch writes its material usage and output to the stock book Materials subtracted by hand after each batch, when someone remembers
Cost per piece Recalculated for every batch from the average cost of the materials it drew Worked out once on a calculator and rarely revisited when supply prices change
Getting started Describe what you need in chat and watch it take shape in a live preview Hire developers, or stitch together templates, plugins and a hosting plan
Content and data Built-in collections with nine field types, bound straight to your pages Set up and connect a separate database or CMS
Making changes Ask the agent; every change is checkpointed and reversible File a ticket, wait for a sprint, redeploy
Hosting and domain Global hosting and automatic SSL; connect a custom domain from the Starter plan Buy hosting, then install and renew SSL certificates yourself
Code ownership Clean production code you own and can export Locked into a template, plugin or agency setup
Examples

Ways teams use it

  • A cold-process soap maker

    Bars need weeks to cure before they can be sold. Each batch carries its code and ready date, so the weekend market list only includes batches marked Ready. Oils bought in bulk are drawn down by the gram as each batch is made.

  • A ceramics studio firing mixed kiln loads

    Clay and glaze come out of stock by weight from each form’s formula, and every form in a firing is its own batch, so mugs that craze or warp are logged as seconds and the cost per piece reflects the glaze that batch actually used.

  • A jewelry maker selling to shops

    Sterling wire and sheet are priced by the troy ounce (about 31.1 grams) but used by the gram, so the silver’s average cost moves with each purchase. Wholesale orders go in as stock-out lines, and each design’s cost per piece is checked before quoting a shop.

Good to know

Before you build

  • A stock book, not your accounts

    The app tracks quantities and what your materials cost, which helps with pricing and planning. It isn’t bookkeeping software, and how inventory is valued for taxes is a question for your accountant.

  • Nothing imports itself

    Netiva doesn’t import your spreadsheet — type the opening rows into the collection grid or ask the collection assistant to draft them. Orders from a marketplace or shop platform don’t arrive on their own either: use the sales form, or call that platform’s REST API with your key.

  • Product rules still apply

    Batch codes help you trace a problem batch, but labeling and safety rules are yours to check. FDA treats a bar sold with moisturizing claims as a cosmetic, while soap that meets its definition falls under the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

  • One unit per material, one usual pack

    Balances are only as good as their units. Pick one stock unit per material and use it in every formula — 16 avoirdupois ounces to the pound, about 31.1 g to the troy ounce. Pack size is your usual pack; if a supplier ships a different case, enter the stock units directly.

FAQ

Questions about building an inventory keeping app

How does a batch take materials out of stock?

Each product has a formula listing the materials and amounts in one full batch. When you make a batch, the app multiplies that formula by the batch size — a half or a double — and writes one stock book line per material with the reason “Used in batch.” The good units join the product’s balance as a “Made in batch” line when the batch reaches Ready. A product with no curing time goes straight to Ready.

Can I buy supplies by the pound and use them by the ounce?

Yes. Each material has one stock unit for its formulas and balance, plus a pack size for how you buy it. If wax comes in 50 lb cases and your formulas weigh it in ounces, set the pack size to 800. When you log a purchase of two cases, the app adds 1,600 oz to the balance and works out the cost per ounce from what you paid.

How does the app work out what each piece costs to make?

Each purchase updates the material’s average cost: the value already on hand plus what you paid for the new purchase, divided by the new total quantity. A batch’s cost is the sum of the materials it drew at those averages, including jars, wicks and labels if they’re in the formula. Dividing by the good units gives the cost per piece. Your time isn’t included unless you ask the agent to add a labor rate per batch.

Can curing soap stay out of sellable stock until it’s ready?

Yes. A batch can sit in a Curing status with a ready date you set when you make it. The app writes its “Made in batch” line only when the batch moves to Ready, so the product’s balance shows just the bars you can sell. The Monday email lists batches whose ready date falls in the coming week, so you know what can go to the next market.

Can a studio assistant record batches and sales from a phone?

Yes. Netiva builds web apps that open in the phone’s browser, with nothing to install. Each helper signs in with their own account, opens a planned batch and enters the good units and any seconds. The stock book updates as they save. After a craft fair, the sales form takes the units sold per product in one pass instead of one entry per sale.

What if my products or process change later?

Keep chatting with the agent to add a product line, a new material kind or a labor rate. Check each change in the live preview before you publish. Every edit is checkpointed, so you can compare versions and roll back. The app is clean, framework-standard code that you own and can export whenever you want.

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Drafted with AI assistance from Netiva’s product pages and reviewed by the Netiva team. Example data models, screens and prompts are illustrative starting points, not customer projects.

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