The problem
"I'm running my books in one place and trading in another"
"My inventory is in a spreadsheet, my invoices are in another program, and my marketplace account is a third thing entirely. None of it lines up, and I end up re-entering the same information more than once."
This is the ordinary state of a lot of smaller yards, not a sign anything's being done wrong. It's just what happens when the tools weren't built to sit together in the first place.
What's actually included
Inventory
Track material and pricing per yard, add items, filter by status, and see a full transaction history for each entry rather than only a current snapshot.
Customers
Keep records of who you buy from and sell to locally, kept separate from the verified buyers and sellers you reach through the wider marketplace.
Suppliers
Manage the businesses supplying material into your yard, with their own records distinct from your customer base.
Dockets and invoices
Generate dockets for material movements and invoices for transactions, filter by customer or supplier, and mark invoices paid as money actually comes in.
Employees and roles
Add staff to a specific yard and control what they can see and do, without everyone on site sharing a single login.
Multiple yards
Run more than one site from the same account, with inventory, staff, and records kept separate per yard rather than pooled together.
See what it looks like to run inventory, invoicing, and marketplace trading from one login.
Set up your yardWhy this matters more than it sounds like it should
The value here isn't any single feature, it's that none of them sit in a separate system you have to reconcile against your marketplace activity manually. A docket you raise for a local customer and a listing you post to the wider marketplace both live under the same account, the same staff permissions, and the same yard record, rather than requiring you to keep two sets of books in sync by hand.
The honest scope
"Does the employee tool replace a full HR system?"
No, and it's not trying to
It's staff access management for a specific yard: who can log in, what they can do, and basic contact details. It doesn't handle payroll, scheduling, or broader HR functions. It's scoped specifically to running the yard day to day, not to replacing a dedicated HR platform if that's what your business actually needs.
What's included
Scope, cost, and the next step
| Cost | Included as part of your ScrapTrade account, no separate subscription to manage. |
| Single or multi-yard | Works the same for one site as it does for several. |
| Separate from marketplace records | Yard dockets and invoices track local business, distinct from marketplace order history. |
| Not included | Payroll, scheduling, or full HR functionality. |
| Next step | Register, set up your yard, and start tracking inventory and customers. |
Frequently asked questions
Is this a separate product from the ScrapTrade marketplace?
No. Yard management sits inside the same account you already use to trade on the marketplace. There is no separate signup or second login to manage.
Does the employee tool replace a full HR system?
No. It manages staff access to a specific yard, who can log in and what they can do, plus basic contact details. It is not payroll, scheduling, or a broader HR platform.
Can I use this if I only operate one yard?
Yes. Multi-yard support matters once you run more than one site, but inventory, customers, suppliers, dockets, and invoices all work the same way for a single yard.
Are yard invoices and dockets the same thing as marketplace orders?
No, they are separate records. Dockets and invoices track material movements and billing for your own local customers and suppliers. Marketplace transactions have their own separate order and payment history.
Run your yard and trade, in one place
Register for free and set up inventory, customers, and staff access under the same account you trade on.
Related reading: Built for sellers · Starting a scrap business · Global marketplace