This playbook sets out what we find in most retail and point of sale businesses before they move to a single system, what we set up, and the reports owners use once it is running.
Where the money leaks
- Each branch runs its own till system and its own truth
- Shrinkage is found at year end, not on the day
- Promotions run with no idea whether they paid
What we set up
- Tills
- Touch point of sale that keeps selling when the internet drops.
- Mobile money
- Mobile money, card and cash on the same receipt.
- Branch stock
- Transfers between shops with nothing lost on the way.
- Promotions and loyalty
- Offers, points and gift cards with results you can measure.
- Cash control
- Shift opening, closing and variance per cashier.
- Replenishment
- Shelves refilled from the back store and the warehouse by rule.
How a normal day runs
- Stock received at the branch
- Items sold at the till
- Shift closed and cash counted
- Sales and stock posted to the books
Reports owners use
- Sales per branch, till and hour
- Shrinkage and stock variance
- Basket size and best sellers
- Cashier variance
Modules involved
Point of Sale, Stock, Accounting, Procurement, CRM. They share one database, so every entry updates the accounts and the reports together.
Where to start
Most retail and point of sale businesses start with point of sale, stock, accounting, then add the rest once the first phase is stable.
Questions we are often asked
- Does the till work offline?
- Yes. Sales continue during an outage and sync to the main system when the connection returns.
- Can head office see every branch live?
- Yes. Sales, stock and cash for every branch are in one system, so there is nothing to consolidate.