What Is Memo Inventory In Jewelry?
Memo is how much of the jewelry trade moves goods before anyone pays for them. Pieces go out “on memo” to be shown, sold or returned — and until then, they still belong to the business that sent them.
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How Memo Works
When a business sends pieces on memo (short for memorandum), it lends them to another business or a customer for an agreed period. The recipient can show the pieces, sell them, or keep them for themselves — and pays only for what they keep. Everything else comes back.
Memo is common between suppliers and retailers, letting a store show a wider range than it could afford to buy outright, and between jewelers and their clients, letting a client see a piece before deciding.
Who Owns Memo Goods?
Under a typical memo agreement, the sender keeps title to the goods until the recipient buys them. That means they stay on the sender's books as inventory, not on the recipient's. The agreement itself is what decides this, along with who carries the risk if a piece is lost, stolen or damaged while it is out.
The rules that apply depend on your jurisdiction and the exact wording of the memo, so have your memo terms reviewed by a professional.
What A Memo Should Record
Every memo should be a written document both sides can refer to. At a minimum it should list:
- A memo number and date
- Who the pieces are going to
- Each piece by SKU and description, with its price
- The date the pieces must be paid for or returned
- Who is responsible for loss, theft or damage while they are out
- That title stays with the sender until payment
Tracking Memo Stock
Pieces on memo are still yours but are not available to sell. The most common memo failure is selling a piece that is already out with someone else. Keep three numbers for every product: on hand, out on memo, and available to sell.
Watch memo aging, too. A memo past its due date is money and stock you cannot use; follow up before it is overdue, not after.
| Quantity | |
|---|---|
| On hand | 8 |
| Out on memo | 3 |
| Available to sell | 5 |
Closing A Memo
When the memo period ends, reconcile it line by line: what the recipient kept, and what came back. Invoice what was kept, return what came back to available stock, and close the memo. Anything unaccounted for is a problem to solve now, not at the next stock count.
Memo vs Consignment
The terms overlap and are often used interchangeably. In the trade, “memo” usually means a business lending goods to another business or a client for a short, fixed period, with the recipient buying what it keeps at an agreed price. “Consignment” more often describes an arrangement where the seller sells goods on the owner's behalf and earns a commission. Either way, title stays with the owner until sale.