StockFlow — Self-Hosted Inventory & POS System for Small Shops

StockFlow is a complete, self-hosted inventory management and point-of-sale system built for small retail shops, using Node.js, Express, and EJS. It runs on SQLite, so there's no separate database server to install or manage — just Node.js and you're running.

Every core operation a small shop needs is built in: product and stock management with low-stock alerts, a fast New Sale screen with discounts and tax, PDF invoices, a full sales history with search and export, customer profiles with automatic purchase tracking, and role-based staff accounts (Admin / Staff) with individual logins.

Owners get a dashboard with daily and monthly totals, a 7-day sales chart, and profit tracking based on cost vs. selling price. A built-in Help Assistant answers common "how do I…" questions right inside the app — no AI API, no ongoing cost.

It's a one-time purchase, self-hosted on your own server or a free-tier host like Render — no monthly SaaS fee, no vendor lock-in, and full source code included.

Requirements: Node.js 22.5+, basic familiarity with running a Node.js app.

• Owner (Admin) and Staff roles with permission-based access
•  Product management: add/edit/delete, live search, barcode field, cost price tracking
• Automatic low-stock alerts
• New Sale screen: multiple items per sale, discounts, tax, live stock deduction
• Professional PDF invoices, reprintable anytime
• Void a sale (restores stock, keeps a record) or permanently delete it (Admin only)
• Sales History: filter by customer/date, export to CSV or PDF, bulk delete
• Customer profiles: automatic purchase history, live search, export, delete
•  Staff Accounts: separate Admin/Staff views, live search, edit, delete, export
• Dashboard: daily/monthly totals, 7-day sales chart, profit tracking
• Configurable shop name, currency symbol, time zone, tax rate, theme color
• One-click demo data generator for testing before going live
• Self-service password change with show/hide toggle on every password field
• Built-in Help Assistant chatbot with typo-tolerant matching — no AI cost
• One-click database backup
•  Runs on SQLite — no external database server required

 Free deployment blueprint included for Render.com

• Node.js 22.5 or higher
• Basic knowledge of the command line or terminal
• Ability to deploy a Node.js application (instructions provided in the documentation)
• A computer or server environment capable of running Node.js

1. Unzip the downloaded file and open the "Main_Project_Source_Code" folder.
2. Open a terminal inside that folder and run: npm install
3. Copy .env.example to a new file named .env (optional — the app runs with safe defaults even if you skip this).
4. Start the app with: npm start
5. Open http://localhost:3000 in your browser.
6. On first run, you'll be taken to a setup screen to create your Owner account.
7. Add your products under "Products".
8. Add staff logins under "Staff Accounts" (Owner only).
9. Record sales from "New Sale" — pick products, apply discounts/tax, and complete the sale.
10. View past sales, export reports, and manage customers from the sidebar.
11. Customize your shop name, currency, tax rate, and theme color under "Settings".

Full setup and deployment steps (including how to get a free live demo link on Render) are included in the Documentation PDF inside the download.