Diamond Memo and Consignment: Tracking Goods Out
Sending goods "on memo" is how most of the diamond trade works. A broker or a retailer takes stones to show their customer, and either buys them or returns them. The stones are still yours until they are sold. That is exactly why memo is where stock goes missing.
What a memo is
A memo (or consignment note) is a document that lists the goods handed over, their agreed prices, and the date they are due back. It is not an invoice: no sale has happened, and the goods stay in your stock. When the holder decides to buy, the memo item becomes a sale. When they return it, it comes back into your available stock.
What to record on every memo
- The party who holds the goods, and who handed them over.
- Every stone or parcel, with weight, quality and certificate number.
- The memo price for each item.
- The date out and the date due back.
Partial returns and partial sales
Memos rarely close in one go. A broker might buy two stones, return three, and keep the rest for another week. Each of those steps must update your stock the same day, or your "available" list will offer stones that are sitting in someone else's safe.
For parcels, the same applies to carats: if part of a parcel comes back, the returned weight goes back into stock and the rest stays on memo.
Watching overdue memos
Make a habit of checking, every morning:
- Which memos are past their due date.
- The total value out with each party.
- Any party whose memo value is above the limit you are comfortable with.
Doing it in E-Ratna
The memo and consignment module keeps every stone's status live: in stock, on memo, sold or returned. It handles partial returns and part-carat parcels, and shows what is out with each party at a glance, so a stone can never be sold twice.
