As a former retailer, I’ve long appreciated the power of collaboration amongst fellow entrepreneurs & it’s with that intent, my team and I had set about organizing the first ever Vend POS community meetup. We had a room full of amazing retailers running online and offline businesses across various retail segments and seeing them network really showed the tremendous value the community got from coming together! Here’s a quick rundown of the evening’s events and I hope that you’ll take a moment to read through and enjoy the pictures!

If you’d like to have a look at the pictures from the event, please head on over to the Cloudscape Facebook Page or click here

I had the pleasure of sharing an idea that I feel strongly about i.e customer satisfaction is equal to employee satisfaction! My point being that customers are looking to work with happy companies and if the staff member is serving them with a smile, the customer is more likely to remember that interaction and come back for that enjoyable experience. I shared ideas on how you can leverage modern systems to really simplify and automate store processes for your staff and keep them happy and smiling. The 2020 updates from Vend POS are really instrumental in driving this idea of simplified process especially some key ones like the roll out of integration with Quickbooks, easier ordering abilities, the ability to use the scanner app on mobile devices for better product information and clearer reporting for purchase ordering.

Cloudscape Technologies specializes in retail and hospitality sectors and enabling business owners to get started with modern iPad software for businesses. I truly believe that a modern, easy to use POS & inventory management system is one of the essential requirements for businesses that have stores and kiosks in ensuring happy employees. A great example of this is a client that we’ve had the pleasure of working together for the last two years, M’oishi Ice Cream. Carole, the co-founder of M’oishi spoke at the event and shared how Vend POS has helped her team in their business journey right from her first store till her most recent 16th store in the region.

When I asked Carole about the one key benefit that she’s gotten from Vend POS, Carole answered, “As a founder, Vend has certainly helped to scale up really fast (as a business). It has given me the clarity I need to run the business effectively.” Explaining further, she remarked that with Vend POS, she is able to see specific reports that give her the insights on fast moving products and not-so-fast moving ones. With rapid expansion and complex business structures like in-store offers, new products in-store and home delivery, my team and I at Cloudscape have also helped M’oishi to leverage some amazing integrations like Unleashed software which has helped the M’oishi team to get more effective with inventory management. Carole shared that integrating Vend and Unleashed seamlessly has afforded them the ability to see reports not only across the stores but also keep a real-time eye on the manufacturing process within the warehouse.

I also invited a dear friend, Muhammad Manji, the founder of Automyze to talk about how fulfillment can be game changer the modern SME. Automyze as a business helps retail businesses on fulfillment of orders across all channels including instore, online and marketplace orders and Muhammed shared a lot of his learnings about fulfillment and the journey of a product from click to unboxing as well as showcasing some of the automation and optimization that will further simplify the fulfillment process.Muhammad also talked about how modern retailers are challenged with heightened competition with same day or next day deliveries and how his team can support their customers with such challenges including holding stock for customers who have fast moving products.

To round off the evening, Muhammad and I had an engaging Q&A round and networking afterwards together with some amazing bites and coffee!

If you’d like to have a look at the pictures from the event, please head on over to the Cloudscape Facebook Page or click here

My team and I are thankful for the support from Vend, Moishi and Automyze together with the audience who joined the first-ever Vend POS community meet-up. I look forward to seeing more of you and your teams at the next Retailers Meetup in September 2020! #retailersunite

Inaccurate inventory counts can affect your taxes and insurance. They can also lead to increased stock-outs, which lead to their own expenses. Failing to count inventory properly could also lead you to miss serious, expensive problems that drain revenue over time, such as theft or problematic storage techniques. Plus, when your staff feels confident about what’s actually in stock, they can speed up their work and stop double-checking whether a certain item is really in stock like the system says.

However, manual inventory counts can be time-consuming, tedious, and expensive in their own right. Full counts require significant staffing, and may also require closing your business down for hours or even a full day.

It’s no wonder that many small- and medium-sized businesses tend to avoid or procrastinate on inventory reconciliation.

However, with a little foresight and planning, the task will be much easier — and maybe even a little bit fun. Here are several steps to take.

Get Organized

The most important thing you can do to make a full inventory count run smoothly is to get everything as organized as possible before you start it.

You should have a clear idea of exactly where all of your products are in the store, and how much each product costs. Everything should be labeled clearly, and each product should be consolidated with the rest of its type (not in multiple spots throughout the store).

Self-proclaimed “retail doctor” Bob Phibbs had some great suggestions on his blog about making an actual map of your store in preparation for manual inventory. He suggests sketching out the location of “every rack, display, wall, and shelf,” including the back room and storage area, on an oversize piece of paper. Then, you can use the map to divide the store into numerous sections for counting purposes.

(By the way, if you want to stay more consistently organized, it can help to count certain types of inventory more frequently in between full counts. Spot checking and cycle counting can make the task of full stock counts much more manageable. For more on these options, check out our post: Which of These Inventory Reconciliation Techniques is Best for Your Business?)

Select Great Staff

Appoint a point person for the project and designate responsibilities ahead of time as much as you can to minimize the time needed for the actual count. Choose someone with great people skills who can bring some energy and enthusiasm to the task. A good leader will make the job run more smoothly.

As far as counting the inventory, you have several staffing options.

Of course, you can have existing employees handle it. They’re already familiar with the store and the inventory, which can be very helpful. Tackling this job can also present a good opportunity for leadership. But being over-familiar with the inventory may make them miss things that someone with fresh eyes might notice.

Also, assigning those typically in charge of handling a certain type of stock also to reconcile that same stock can be problematic. They might be likely to make assumptions about what’s there, or fudge inventory numbers to cover up theft or mismanagement.

For these reasons and others, some companies choose to totally outsource the job to professional inventory counting services. Specialists can be particularly helpful if you’re new to the process of the manual inventory count, or if you have little experience with the process. Consult with multiple companies to assess their techniques before you make a final decision.

Another option, as Phibbs suggests, is to supplement your existing staff with students who want some quick cash. Temps or contractors can also be an affordable option. Just make sure you’re in compliance with all local labor laws and don’t forget to get the event covered with liability insurance.

Finally, consider having the counters work in pairs. Pairs can help counters stay accountable and move more quickly and build a sense of teamwork. You can pair those who are more familiar with the stock and with those who are less experienced.

Choose the Best Date

Assess which day counting is easiest for your company. Most companies choose to count inventory whenever it will be the lowest, such as right after the holidays. If you can, minimize inventory further by pausing new inbound orders or sending out pending shipments.

Choose a date well in advance, especially if the inventory event will affect your operating hours. Let customers know as soon as you can to avoid confusion or disappointment when they show up and see your business is closed. Note the upcoming change with a sign on the door and notices on your website, phone answering service, and social media pages.

Prepare Materials and Procedures Carefully

Carefully prepare the counting sheets with categories, prices, and, if necessary, descriptions. If you’re using paper sheets, make sure to have extra. Always use pencils with erasers to accommodate for mistakes. If you’re using software (we’ll discuss more this in the next section), make sure that you have the appropriate hardware ready and that the relevant product information has been updated in the inventory software.

Decide how you’ll train the counters to indicate their progress, too. This retail blogger suggests using clear visual cues such as large tags in bright colors to keep track of which items have been counted and which haven’t.

Keep the store and stock area clean and well-lit to make it more inviting. Finally, plan to have food, drinks, and music on hand to make what can be a stressful event a little more fun.

Leverage Software Tools to Make the Job Easier

The paper-and-pencil method might be the simplest option for counting inventory, but it’s certainly not the best.

Many modern POS systems and inventory management software programs come with inventory counting features that can make stock counts faster and more accurate.

With these new systems, employees can use barcode scanners, SKU lookup, or other hardware to count stock easily. (For example, some programs can turn any smart device into a scanner with the use of an app.) The stock counts are then updated in the software in real-time from multiple devices as your counters make their way through the stockroom — no more manual input of totals from paper sheets is necessary.

Plus, software options can produce really helpful reports right away, such as variance reports that show the discrepancies between what was counted and what was expected. Cloud-based software can even send the inventory data directly to your accounting system when a stock take is officially finished.

If you’d rather do your count offline, you can still do it via spreadsheet. The system will continue to adjust to account for real-time changes, and you can upload the final count when you’re ready.

There are many inventory systems on the market these days, and finding the right one for your business can be daunting. If you’re wondering which one will be the best choice for your company, contact us at Cloudscape Technologies for a free consultation. We are certified partners for both Vend and Unleashed, two of the best cloud-based inventory systems on the market. Our personalized services empower business owners to choose powerful, integrated software solutions that handle not just inventory, but POS, marketing, HR, and more.

Many business owners keep an eye on reports from inventory tracking software, but they don’t always take the time to make sure those quantities match the actual number of products on-hand.

Inventory counts can be inconsistent for a number of reasons. Discrepancies may be due to accounting mistakes, operational errors, or other losses, such as those from theft or damage.

Inaccurate counts are a big problem. They increase the odds you’ll unexpectedly run out of product. They can result in overpaying your taxes. And if you don’t take the time to compare actuals to estimates, you’ll never be able to identify sources of “shrinkage,” the official term for when there are fewer items in stock than you‘d accounted for.

These problems can be fixed the old-fashioned way: By manually counting the inventory.

Inventory Reconciliation Basics

Although the idea of counting everything in your store can be intimidating, here’s some encouragement: While complicated and sometimes tedious, the task itself is actually pretty straightforward.

In the simplest terms, you count the items in stock, compare the totals to the number you thought you had, try to account for the differences, then update the stock number to reflect the true amount.

Thankfully, inventory management software makes it easy to keep inventory data accurate in real time. These programs deduct inventory as it’s purchased and add it as it’s delivered. This is called “continuous” or “perpetual” inventory, and it’s a big upgrade from the days when store owners used to rely solely on occasional manual counts.

Software also makes it much easier to track and count products using barcodes and other tracking systems. These features make locating inventory and counting it much easier for employees.

Regardless of which software tool you’re using to track inventory, you still need to make sure that the data shown in the system is accurate, as we mentioned. When it comes to the task of manual reconciliation, you can take a combination of these three approaches.

Option 1: The “All-at-Once” Approach

What happens: Your employees close the business to count every piece of inventory you have. Depending on your needs, this can happen annually or semi annually. (Many companies choose to do the reconciliation near the end of the year so that they have the most accurate data possible for their taxes.) Some companies divide the inventory into halves or quarters and split the task up, but it still requires a majority of employees and interrupts business.

The perks: This approach is comprehensive and accurate. It can also be scheduled to accommodate your needs. For example, you can plan to do the count when you expect your stock to be the lowest, such as after the holidays or another busy time for your business.

The downsides: It can be expensive. Unless your establishment is very small, it is a huge undertaking that will hurt your revenue potential for the days it’s happening. It likely requires a full staff, too, although some companies opt to hire a third party company to do the job. When the task is done infrequently (such as in the case of a single annual count), your staff may forget the process from year to year or turn over quite a bit by the time the next reconciliation comes around.

To do it right: Plan ahead thoroughly. Analyze the data on your sales and activity to find the best time to hold the event. Let your customers know that you’ll be closed for business, and communicate responsibilities clearly to your staff. Before you start, make sure your boxes and shelves are labeled, and even create a map to clarify exactly how the counting will proceed.

Option 2: Cycle Counting

What happens: Instead of counting all of the inventory at once, your staff will break down inventory into smaller groups and reconcile the counts for those groups regularly. Over a designated time period (such as each quarter, six months, or year), all of the inventory in the store will cycle through the reconciliation process.

The perks: Cycle counting tends to be much more manageable and affordable than full counts, because your business won’t have to close its doors or pay its staff for days without any revenue coming in. Cycle counting can also get you recent data more quickly. You can schedule inventory for certain products at the times it makes the most sense to count them (such as after their busy season). Finally, this method keeps employees more accountable, especially if you don’t announce your system.

The downsides: This method requires regular commitment to work effectively. If the task doesn’t become part of your staff’s routine, it could fall by the wayside or fall behind to the point where a full count is necessary anyway. Compared to the total count approach, cycle counting may also be a little slower to reveal big-picture problems that are more noticeable when you get the whole picture at once. Also, some managers that choose to cycle count will still need to do a full inventory check each year, such as to calculate taxes and employee bonuses or simply double check the cycle counts.

To do it right: Make sure that your employees have the time, resources, and training to do their inventory tasks consistently. Use software to decide how products for each cycle will be selected and tracked. Consider assigning employees to count inventory other than the inventory they’re in charge of handling regularly and keep your schedule to yourself until it’s time for the task.

Option 3: Spot Checking Inventory

What happens: Instead of worrying about getting everything in the entire store accounted for at once or by the end of a certain time period, you can focus on certain products. You may decide to pay attention to the inventory that’s prone to theft or damage, the products that move off the shelves quickly and are therefore prone to errors, or higher value items that make a bigger impact on your bottom line.

The perks: Spot checking inventory can be the perfect way to supplement the other inventory reconciliation techniques we already talked about, and to make sure that the most sensitive products get the attention they deserve.

The downsides: Unless spot checks are accompanied by another, more comprehensive inventory reconciliation method, you won’t get the most accurate picture possible of your inventory.

To do it right: Use what’s referred to in the inventory world as the “ABC Analysis.” The ABC analysis attempts to identify the types of inventory that are the most important to get right, inventory-wise and focuses on those more frequently.

This Vend blog post explains:

“Your ‘A’ group consists of your top-performing 20 percent of products while your ‘B’ and ‘C’ groups consist of the remaining 60 and bottom 20 percent, respectively. The key is counting your highest-impact items more frequently than your bottom-performers.”

You can also tailor inventory spot checks to meet the needs of your business. For example, you may choose to spot-check those products that are in season at the times when they’re flying off the shelves.

The Importance of Inventory Management Software

Todays’ inventory tools are amazing. They have the power not just to make reconciliations as easy as possible (regardless of which combination of the three approaches you decide to take), but to handle tasks like demand forecasting, automatic reordering, managing relationships with suppliers, and much more.

Today’s savvy business owners are opting for SaaS models over installed software. These web-based programs can incorporate directly with the point of sale systems, accounting software, and even marketing and HR software to create a truly comprehensive program to run your business.

Please contact Cloudscape Technologies to learn more about how the best cloud-based systems on the market today can work together to create a software solution that will take your business to the next level. We empower business owners throughout the process and tailor it to your unique needs so that the process doesn’t interrupt your main goal: running your business.

Click here to book your free, no-obligation consultation.

Today, it’s not enough to just have a good selection of items in stock and keep your store clean and presentable. Consumers are starting to increasingly rely on online shopping to find and purchase for their basic needs.

If you want your retail space to continue to be profitable, you need to offer potential customers something special — something more than they can get from a few clicks online.

You need to entice them through your doors with the promise of a special experience.

In fact, many retailers have actually shifted the focus of their retail stores from moving product toward connecting with their customers in a more meaningful way. They can use retail spaces in new ways that make their retail locations more interesting, interactive, and fun. Some are repurposing their spaces to let customers try their products out or experience their brand through interactive technology.

But regardless of whether you’re still focusing on sales, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to subtle details in your store that can make or break the “feeling” of a shopping experience.

Of course, the more obvious ways to do this are with your choices of products and services, and the layout of the store. But the following, less obvious details can also add to (or detract from) the shoppers’ overall experience.

Signs

Consider being a little more thoughtful about which words and designs you use to direct your clients throughout the store.

The store’s primary signs are the most prominent signs you’ll need, of course. They play an important role in getting customers to notice and recognize your brand.

But the more subtle branding opportunities come with the other signs in your store, such as the ones on front door that list the operating hours, the signs that indicate where to check out and make returns, and even the signs in dressing rooms that warn of the penalties of shoplifting.

The signs don’t have to be particularly funny or clever, but a unique branded twist can add to the shopping experience.

For example, instead of posting a generic “You break it, you buy it” sign, a classier option could be “Please ask for assistance in handling these fragile items” or “Our experts will be happy to assist you in handling these valuable items.”

Instead of “All children must be supervised,” some shops have posted a joke: “All unsupervised children will be given an espresso and a free puppy.” This might work for your shop if you’re going for a local, quirky vibe.

If you’re wondering whether a certain sign is a good fit for your brand, imagine your employees saying it out loud to a customer. For example, a “Come right on in!” sign might be a nice touch compared to a generic “open” sign, but only if your want your brand to come across as friendly and casual.

Word choice is just the first step. Hiring a graphic designer to create signage that matches the rest of your brand’s colors, fonts and styles will show that you care about the details of your customers’ shopping experiences.

Music

We all know how it feels to walk into a completely silent store. It can seem a little eerie, or like something is just “off.”

The most obvious solution to this problem is to play music.

Music can do much more than eliminate awkward silences. It also can evoke certain emotions, build a sense of energy, and play a key role in creating the right shopping environment.

To find the right type of music for your brand, you’ll need to figure out which type of music resonates with your target audience, sends the right message about your brand, and influences customer behavior in a positive way.

For example, studies have shown that music with a slower tempo and a minor key can encourage shoppers to slow down and relax a bit, which can lead to increased time in your store and increased sales.

But if your brand is vibrant, upbeat and fun, you’ll still want to opt for choose fast-paced and fun music.  And if you’re trying to appeal to a more mature audience, skip the teen pop songs, regardless of what your personal preferences are.

Carefully compile playlists that reflect your brand’s values and make sure that employees know that they’re not to play the music that they personally like, which can turn off customers.

Remember, you’ll need a business license to play music in your store (using your personal music streaming account is a violation).

Scent

Has a certain scent ever instantly transported you back in time to a vivid memory or feeling?

Odds are you’ve experienced this because our sense of smell plays a unique role in our memory processing.

Scientists think it’s due to the way our brains are structured. The signals from all of our other senses (sight, touch, hearing, and taste) make a stop in the thalamus before they’re sent over to the other parts of the brain for processing. But signals from the olfactory bulb (the part of the brain that processes smell) are sent directly to the amygdala and hippocampus, which are responsible for processing emotions and memories.

(For more on how the sense of smell works, check out this Psychology Today article.)

All of that is to say that adding the right fragrance to your retail space can go a long way toward making your store feel more inviting to customers.

For example, stores that specialize in selling items for the winter holidays may scent the air with the smells of cinnamon and pine. Swimwear stores may opt for fresh citrus or floral scents to evoke the feeling of a bright, warm day.

Or, you can come up with a signature scent with elements that embody your brand and make your store smell the same way consistently, which will get people to associate the scent with your store and your brand, and the experience they have while shopping.

Adding fragrance to your store is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to make it more inviting.

Checkout Hardware

The hardware that your customers interact with as they check out may seem like a small detail. However, there are a plenty of ways that the wrong point of sale system hardware can hurt your brand image.

We’ve all encountered a faulty credit card reader or a faulty electronic signature pad, for example. These annoyances can have a negative effect on what could have otherwise been a simple and pleasant interaction. And because checking out is the last thing customers do in their experience with your store, those annoyances can damage their view of the entire visit.

Invest in a system that makes checking out quick and pleasant is a no-brainer. But some of the most modern equipment and programs available today take it a step further. They are so sleek and intuitive that customers leave the store feeling pleasantly surprised and impressed.

Investing in one of these top-of-the-line point-of-sale systems can impress customers by making the check-out process clean and pleasant, but it does much more.

The best programs sync up to the cloud so that managers can easily access their information from anywhere. They also integrate with accounting, inventory, and even marketing (integrating features such as loyalty programs and customer relationship management) to form solutions that can run the entire back end of a retail business.

If you’re looking for modern software solutions for your store that were designed to improve customer experience, please contact us at Cloudscape Technologies. There are many powerful web-based software solutions available for today’s retailers. We empower business owners to find solutions that work for them. We work to get these systems up and running so that business owners can keep focusing on their businesses.

We are happy to offer you a free consultation. Click here and book one today.

What to Read Next:

• Your Retail Customers Expect a Completely Consistent Experience. Here’s How to Give it to Them
• Cloud-Based Retail POS Options: Comparing Features, Prices, and More

You’ve found that the advantages these systems offer — robust real-time reports, relationship management tools, scalability, and more — are essential for your business to stay competitive.

But with so many choices available, how will you find the one that’s the best fit for your business?

You want to get it right the first time. Once your staff has been trained on your new POS and your customers get used to it, starting over is a huge headache. Unnecessary transitions from one system to another waste your and your staff’s time, and the resulting confusion might even affect your customers’ experience and impression of your brand.

Below, we’ll explain the major differences in the ways POS systems are structured and what they offer so that you’ll know what to prioritize in your search.

Understanding POS Pricing and Costs

Most web-based POS systems these days are what we call “subscription-based.” That means users pay a monthly fee for their use of the software. This model, sometimes called “Software as a Service,” generally includes the costs of all web hosting fees and updates.

The more traditional software model requires users to buy licenses, which then entitles them to ownership of a copy of the POS system.

Traditional licensed software typically costs much more upfront, but the cost of SaaS software catches up with the licensed variety over time.

However, that’s just the beginning of what to consider to figure out the total cost of your software. You’ll also need to understand how the following costs will affect your total price.

Upfront Costs and Transaction Costs

SaaS POS models typically charge per month, but that monthly fee often varies based on the number of registers and stores a business uses.

Any financial transaction made with a credit card typically also incurs a small percentage fee plus a small flat fee per transaction from the financial institutions that verify and send the money back and forth. Some software programs have partnered with financial institutions to roll all the fees into the cost of the software, and you’ll want to clarify those fees upfront.

Hardware and IT Costs

Some software programs may combine the costs for the hardware into the cost of the software and issue the equipment to you directly. In other cases, the hardware must be purchased separately, and the software may have several compatible hardware options. These web-connected POS programs also require an internet connection to perform properly, which of course you’ll also have to pay for.

Support Options / Support Cost

Most of today’s online software programs offer plenty of free help materials, such as an online resource library, frequently asked questions, and video walk-throughs. General phone and email support are usually included in the cost of SaaS POS systems during certain hours. However,  make sure to ask about the cost of live or one-on-one training. New employees who have to learn more complicated POS systems may really benefit from such in-person training, and that isn’t always free.

Data Migration

If you’re switching from one POS system to another, you may opt to pay to have professionals migrate your data. Although you can likely do it on your own, it’s typically a complicated and detail-laden process. Your data is valuable, which is why this is a task often left to the pros.

Cost Savings From Included Features

It’s also worth considering that many POS systems include things like a completely integrated website and marketing tools, such as landing page builders and email marketing. If you had already planned to pay for these features, your POS system purchase might have just gotten more affordable.

For more details on retail POS pricing, including price ranges for popular systems, this guide is a good start.

Transactions and Checkout Features

As far as features, let’s start with the very basics: The ability to accept payments, and the ability to track purchases. In fact, if you don’t have a physical store or much variety in what you’re selling, the following payment features may be the only ones you need.

• Payment processing for various payment types
• The ability to sell and accept gift cards
• The ability to issue returns and refunds and give store credit
• The ability to accept a mixed payment in a transaction (for example, use a gift card for some of the total and then use a credit card for the rest)
• The ability to sell items both in-store and online
• The ability for customers to make mobile payments
• Shortcuts and quick keys to optimizing the checkout experience for employees
• Options for a visual, customer-facing display
• The ability to issue receipts

Reporting and Data Features

Analytics is one of web-based POS systems’ main strengths because owners can get data across locations and in real-time.

Basic reports (the ones that detail who bought what and when) are essential for any retailer, even just the hobbyist trying to sell personal creations on the side. However, retailers operating one or more physical stores will increasingly have to rely on more complicated reports to manage operations and growth.

Here are a few reports a growing business will need.

Customer Reports

The best POS systems allow users to track what their customers have purchased, search for customers in a database, and track and search for certain customer characteristics (such as birthdays). Some programs can also translate customer purchases into rewards as part of a loyalty program.

Employee Reports

Need to see which employees are ringing the most sales, or which employees are selling which products in which areas of your store? You can get a ton of valuable info from your POS system. Some systems can also manage commission rates and product commission reports for employees, too.

Customization

If you want a more sophisticated reporting system, the following features can be very valuable:

• The ability to build your own reports
• The ability to create dashboards that show your key performance indicators in real-time
• The ability to filter and sort data any way you like to get the insights you need

Inventory Features

We all know the basics when it comes to inventory: Your POS system should deduct inventory as it’s purchased and send alerts when levels get low.

But once you start selling a lot of products with a lot of different attributes, you’ll need a more robust inventory system.

Don’t miss this free download: 3 Ways to Target Your Marketing Using POS Data

Sophisticated POS systems make it easy for users to keep their inventory updated with stock and auto-fill options. They enable administrators to assign different characteristics and attributes to products, assign SKUs, and apply barcodes to products for quick checkout and easy counting. They also allow managers to combine different individual products together for sale as a group (called “composites”). Managers should also be able to create sales and discounts for different products easily.

Larger retailers will need yet another level of features that enable them to track their inventory through the processes such as shipping, warehousing, and distribution.

Leverage the Power of an Expert

Finally, if all of these features sound like a lot to sort through, don’t worry. You don’t have to search on your own. We at Cloudscape Technologies are standing by to empower you through this process.

We specialize in enabling businesses to find custom solutions that deliver more power than they ever thought possible. We minimize onboarding time and stress, and we are available to support users live and on-site or remotely with device management. Our Care Package also includes long-term learning opportunities for your entire team. We’re certified partners with many of the best cloud-based developers, and we love empowering businesses to realize the potential of moving their operations to the cloud.

To see how we could help your business, please contact us or book a free consultation.

There are plenty of costs required just to get the product from its point of origin into your store. Then there are the costs to process it, label it, and sell it. And as it turns out, those costs are just the tip of the iceberg.

Getting a handle on the true costs of your products is key to profitability. Without accurate pricing knowledge, business owners can’t leverage valuable data on which products are a great value — and which are a big drain.

If you get detailed enough about these costs, you can even pinpoint WHY any given product has become unprofitable and fix the problem at its source.

Tracking these costs isn’t exactly simple, but it can be much easier with the right tools. By the end of this article, you’ll know what all goes into your products’ “real” costs and how you can track them without dedicating hours to the task each day.

Cost Factors

Here are all of the factors that go into how much a business actually pays for its products.

Logistical Costs

Perhaps the most obvious “hidden” cost of your inventory is the cost to physically move it to your business location.

Shipping and freight costs are usually the primary expenses in this category. If the products are crossing international borders, though, there will also be customs duties to pay. You’ll also have to pay import taxes in some cases.

Logistics expenses don’t end once the products arrive. Someone has to be paid to receive them, unload them, unpack them, and inspect them — jobs that may even require special equipment and materials with their own costs.

Order Processing Costs

Your staff also must to be paid for their time researching product options, making orders, and following up on those orders until the products are stocked on your shelves. This category also includes any costs for software or equipment that’s necessary in that process.

There will also be financial fees to pay, from working with an accountant to maintaining a bank account and paying fees to process payments.

Assembly Costs

Some products may require a little extra work before they’re ready ready to sell. Don’t forget to factor in any labor and equipment costs associated with the effort.

Storage Costs

These costs include the rent, utilities, and maintenance for any warehouses or storage space required to keep your inventory safe and out of harm’s way.

It also includes any payments to the staff who help to stock and warehouse your products, as well as any equipment and software required to manage and handle the stored inventory.

Other storage costs might include a security staff or equipment, such as a surveillance system or specialized locks.

Risk Mitigation Costs

There are many ways your inventory can be lost or rendered worthless. Your pricing needs to reflect some of the risk for those potential losses, or they could potentially deal a huge blow to your company.

Risks to your inventory include things like damage, theft, exposure, or the products simply expiring. Pricing to achieve a healthy profit margin can go a long way toward hedging some of these risks, but insurance also plays an essential role. The cost of insurance also factors into your products’ final cost.

Costs From Returns

Inevitably, you’ll need to return some product to suppliers. The costs to ship the items back, the labor required to process the returns, and any interruption to your business that results can all incur extra costs.

You’ll also need to account for returns from customers, including the associated labor to process the returns, update the inventory, and restock the returned items.

Shortage Costs

Running out of a crucial product can also prove to be very expensive. Rush orders cost extra money and incur additional fees, and scrambling to fix these kinds of emergencies can hurt productivity and interrupt business operations.

In the worst-case scenarios, shortages can also result in missed deadlines and damaged relationships with clients.

Opportunity Cost

Although this one is a little trickier to calculate, many companies recognize that by tying up their cash in inventory, they’re missing out on other things that that the money could be used for.

Namely, the money could be earning interest in some way or be invested in other projects that could deliver a bigger return on investment than the inventory does. That’s why keeping a close eye on the actual demand for and turnover of your products is so important.

How to Get a Handle on These Costs

We just went over a wide variety of factors that all influence the true cost of your inventory.

Now, let’s talk about how to assess those factors to get valuable data that will help you calculate your company’s worth, estimate taxes more accurately, and make better strategic decisions for your company.

Some of these costs are fairly easy to estimate. Monthly software costs, or costs for equipment such as a security camera or packing material, might not vary much from month to month.

Other costs, however, may fluctuate wildly based on ever-changing factors such as the size of your orders, the type of inventory you’re handling (how perishable it is, for example, or what kind of journey it takes through your supply chain), and the way you choose to run your business (such as what kind of pay and benefits your employees receive for various jobs).

Things such as extreme weather events, natural disasters, or changes in trade agreements can significantly change the costs of your products from one week to the next.

Plus, even the more predictable costs of doing business must be spread across inventory in different ways. Each type of products’ size, shape, volume, and weight will affect how much it costs to ship and store, for example.

Calculating true costs manually is a near-impossible task. Thankfully, inventory software makes it manageable.

Robust reporting systems allow administrators to run custom reports that draw data from all locations and can help them optimize their inventory processes and pricing procedures.

Plus, today’s inventory software solutions are often cloud-based, which means there are lower upfront costs that make even the most advanced features accessible to businesses — even those just starting out.

Critically, many cloud-based inventory systems integrate with cloud-based accounting software and cloud-based point of sale software to create completely comprehensive systems.

To learn more about how these combined solutions can help your business, please contact us at Cloudscape Technologies. We are a Certified Unleashed Implementation Partner and specialize in empowering business owners to find the best software for their business needs.

It can take a lot of time and energy to find and implement the best cloud-based software systems for managing inventory, processing sales, running reports, and processing transactions. Our goal is to unchain you from this tedious process, lending our expertise so you can continue to focus on the big picture of your business.

To learn more, contact Cloudscape Technologies today.

On one hand, you had your store-based POS system, which handled the transactions that physically happened on-site. Online sales were handled completely separately, using different software and even pulling inventory numbers from a completely unrelated location.

However, your customers have always expected one experience, one brand, and one relationship from their interactions with your business. That’s only becoming more true today.

Thankfully, new technology is making it easier for retailers to provide a totally integrated purchasing experience for customers. Modern POS software brings in-store and online purchases together in the same system. This integrated approach is commonly referred to as “omnichannel retailing” (also sometimes called “total retail” or “multi-channel selling”).

In fact, if your company’s retail process still uses different systems for different channels, you may find yourself falling behind your competitors.

Here’s what you need to know about why consumers expect an integrated experience — and the tools you can use to give it to them.

Consumers’ Changing Relationships With Brands

People have different expectations of companies today than they did in the past. They expect to see and interact with them personally and publicly over many different channels, from Twitter to email. They also increasingly prefer to do business with companies that have a social mission and a good “conscience,” for example.

The way your business aligns itself with social and political causes, the way it responds to customers on Twitter, the way it handles PR crises — all of these things come together to form the perception of your brand as a whole.

In this landscape, brand consistency has become even more important. Customers’ retail experience should have a similar feel to the messages they get from your marketing. Any discrepancies in the experience can be a disorienting turnoff.

Plus, when data about customers’ accounts and habits are tracked in various programs, it’s tough to get the whole picture of your customer’s relationship with your business (such as how long they’ve been a customer, how often they buy, how much money they’ve spent overall, and what types of products they like).

In short, the best modern POS systems aren’t just specializing in making it easier for customers to buy things. They’re making it easier for retailers to communicate with messages that speak customers’ language and meet their needs.

Top Features of Omnichannel POS Systems

Today’s cloud-based POS systems were built to handle omnichannel selling. Here are a few of the integrated features you can expect to find in the best programs:

Seamless Inventory Management

Inventory reports should stay updated across all channels in real-time. Omnichannel inventory will ensure that you don’t accidentally oversell an item that isn’t actually in stock, for example. It may also be able to let your customers know exactly which retail locations have a certain product available in-store.

Centralized Customer Info

The customer should be able to see their full purchase history, including both online and in-person transactions, in the same place. That includes all returns, refunds, and store credits, from all channels. This info is expected by the customer, but it’s also very helpful on the business end, such as for customer service and marketing purposes.

Consistent Promotions and Perks

Customer discounts, special rates, and loyalty programs should apply to both in-store and online purchases. Customers should also be able to use gift cards in-store and online interchangeably.

Flexible Fulfilment Options

Your POS should give customers the ability to buy online and ship to home, ship to the store, pick up in the store or even transfer from one store location to another.

Branding

Checking out should have a consistent look and feel regardless of where your customer buys. Consistency helps drive brand identity and loyalty.

Dynamic Reports

POS users should be able to access a variety of reports that pull data from all sales sources, even across multiple stores. These reports make it much easier for business owners to keep a finger on the overall financial pulse of the business.

Even More Options for an Integrated Customer Experience

Today’s web-based POS systems actually go much further than just managing sales transactions across sales channels. They also integrate with other software tools that can help businesses run virtually every other facet of their retail operation.

Here are a few other ways that integrations, apps, and bonus features can tie the rest of the customer experience directly into their shopping habits.

Website Integration

Some POS programs can handle every aspect of your store’s online presence, from domain name registration and hosting to design and even a blog. The online store, of course, is also completely integrated into the website for a seamless customer-facing front end.

Email Marketing

Automated email receipts and email messages regarding account status come standard in most POS systems. But modern POS systems can also tie into popular email marketing programs through integrations and third party apps. These advanced programs can help you send messages out to customers based on various characteristics, such as what they’ve purchased and when. You also may be able to collect email addresses for marketing purposes as part of the checkout process and enroll subscribers into autoresponders, for example.

Social Media

Some POS programs come with apps that integrate directly with Facebook or Pinterest, allowing your customers to buy directly from your pages on those sites. Some apps also make it easier to communicate with customers directly via those platforms.

Customer Service

Instead of maintaining a helpdesk software that’s completely separate from your store, today’s programs can directly share valuable data such as customer info, service ticket history, and order history. The communication between systems can make for a much better experience for both support reps and customers.

Getting Started

Today’s cloud-based POS systems have so many features that it can be difficult to know where to start. Some come with all the features we discussed fully integrated into the software. Others require apps and interfaces. How will you decide which combination of features will work the best for your needs and your budget?

You don’t have to do it alone. If you want personalized assistance in choosing a cloud-based solution, we can help. We’ll discuss your business’ unique needs and work with you to find a solution that delivers more than you ever thought possible. Then, we’ll help you get it up and running, and we’ll be there to support you as you train your staff and build your systems.

Contact us today at Cloudscape Technologies and book a free consultation.