Below is a list of the most frequently asked questions relating to every aspect of EPOS and Retail Software.
Q. Why should I spend capital on such a system when everything runs
satisfactorily at the moment?
A. Experience shows that the benefits far outweigh the outlay, one client's
retail business showed a net profit increase of more than 20% which, having
quickly paid for the system, has provided extra income for the partners ever
since. Technology has been used by multiple stores to make inroads into the
independent sector for many years now. By making use of this technology
yourself, via our system, you can compete on more equal terms.
Q. What benefits can I expect?
A. There are many benefits, some of the major ones have been listed below,
however each business is different and will doubtless produce their own
individual additional benefits:
FINANCIAL SAVINGS:
1. By minimising stockholding, this means capital investment is reduced and
if that reduces borrowing even greater savings can be made.
2. By minimising shrinkage. Following a stocktake shrinkage can be instantly
valued and printed, this can then be used for tax deduction purposes.
Vulnerable items can be identified and action taken. Surveys have shown that
staff dishonesty accounts for more than 50% of all shrinkage. However, when
staff are aware that every item of stock is accounted for, such shrinkage
can be dramatically cut.
3. By maximising on discounts when ordering. A "what if" can be carried out
in a matter of seconds to allow you to always hit the required discount
level.
4. By always selling products at their correct retail price and rate of VAT.
5. By ensuring you achieve the margins you require.
6. By easy verification of suppliers invoices, identifying errors can save a
surprising amount.
7. By never being "out of stock" turnover is increased.
These and other aspects of saving can easily and rapidly cover the system
cost, after which you are making those savings and therefore increasing
profits year after year.
TIME SAVINGS:
1. By generating orders in seconds instead of many hours.
2. By making the annual stocktake easy to carry out.
3. By valuing your stock instantly, think how many weeks that normally
takes.
4. By not having to endlessly count stock for each order.
5. By being able to deal with all aspects of stock centrally, pricing,
margins, sources of supply etc.
6. By changing VAT rates, when they occur, in seconds.
7. By no longer having to individually price goods.
8. By not having to manually make notes of goods sold, for re-order
purposes.
The object of the exercise is to allow the system to do your work for you in
a highly automated way with very little manual intervention being required.
However the system is very comprehensive and there are facilities which
cover all aspects of the operation, many of which only need to be used
occasionally and others which can be used to give an analytical insight if
required.
Q. What will my staff be doing if they are not counting stock?
A. Doing more profitable things such as:- Spending more time with customers,
when staff are counting they tend to ignore customers or spend as little
time as possible with them in their hurry to return to the count, this
clearly has a major impact on sales. Sprucing-up shop e.g. better window
displays, refreshing displays generally. Improving sales technique and
improving product knowledge generally. If an excessive amount of time
remains it suggests staff can be reduced producing a dramatic financial
saving.
Q. My manager does the ordering, what will he do instead?
A. He would still generate the orders but much more efficiently all round,
more efficient use of capital, more efficient use of his time and more
efficient use of stock by ensuring only the right products are purchased and
in sufficient quantity. The time saved can be put to more profitable use as
in the above examples plus the various managerial duties such as staff
training, promotion etc. where more time will be available than previously.
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