What is a gem memo, and how to manage stones on memo
· GemColony
What a memo is
A memo, also called consignment, is when one dealer hands stones to another party, such as a buyer, a jeweller or an agent at an exhibition, without selling them. Title stays with the sender. The holder is responsible for the stones and must return them or pay within an agreed time.
Why memos go wrong
The trade runs on trust, so records are often a note on paper. Stones stay out longer than agreed, nobody remembers the agreed price, or a stone is returned damaged and there is no record of its condition when it left.
What a good memo record includes
The stones listed individually with weight and photos, the party holding them, the date out and the due date, the agreed price per stone or total, and who signed. When stones come back or are sold, the memo should update the stock and, for a sale, create the invoice.
Tracking memos in software
In GemColony you send stones out on memo, see at a glance which stones are out, with whom and for how long, and convert a memo to a sale or take the stones back with one action. Overdue memos are easy to spot, which is where most disputes start.