The holiday shopping season is here. Your inventory management strategy during this period can make or break your seasonal success. Having fully stocked shelves isn't just about meeting demand – it's about maintaining customer satisfaction and maximising revenue potential.

The GMROI Report: Your Stock Level Lifesaver

Your POS system's hidden gem, the GMROI (Gross Margin Return on Investment) report, provides an immediate snapshot of your stock levels. This report reveals critical insights beyond basic stock counts.

How to Access the Report

We have a unique report that is super fast to run and gives you an immediate snapshot of your stock levels.

In the Cash register report, call up the GMROI (see the selection highlighted) in your point of sale software in the reports here.

You can select the list of options you want, and I suggest you go over these options later when you have time.

You should do this by departments or suppliers, whatever makes more sense to you. 

Now you get a report like this.

As you can see, the items are all listed.

Let’s look at it in detail:

What we are looking for are items with low stock on hand figures, decent sales, and reasonable ROI% figures. ROI% is the return on investment. It is one of the best ways to determine how valuable your stock items are to your business. It is calculated by the (unit sold) x (Profit)/ (Average stock cost), and you need about 3.2 in industry. However, as you can see here, there are many items above and below it.

Understanding the GMROI Report

Once you've generated the report, you'll see a list of all your items with several key metrics. Here's what to focus on:

1. Stock on Hand: This shows your current inventory levels for each item.
2. Sales: This indicates how well the item sells.
3. ROI%: The Return on Investment percentage is crucial for determining an item's value to your business.

While these metrics provide valuable data points, knowing how to interpret them effectively is critical to making informed inventory decisions.

Interpreting the Results

When analysing your GMROI report, keep an eye out for:

Low Stock, High Sales: These are your priority items. If they have a good ROI, you'll want to reorder them immediately to avoid stockouts during peak shopping.

Reasonable ROI%: The industry standard is about 3.2, but you'll notice variations across your inventory. Your star performers are significantly above this, while those below might need attention.

Taking Action

Now that you have this information at your fingertips, it's time to act:

1. Identify Critical Items: Look for products with low stock levels but strong sales and good ROI. These should be your top priority for restocking.
2. Place Orders: Contact your suppliers for these critical items immediately. Remember, they might be experiencing high demand from other retailers, too.
3. Adjust Forecasts: Use this data to refine your sales forecasts for the holiday season. This can help you avoid similar situations in the future.
4. Consider Promotions: For items with high stock levels and lower sales, consider running promotions to move inventory and free up cash for better-performing products.

The Power of Your POS System

Your POS system is more than just a cash register—it's a powerful ally in managing your retail business effectively. By regularly utilising tools like the GMROI report, you can:

• Prevent stockouts of popular items
• Optimise your inventory investment
• Improve cash flow by identifying slow-moving stock
• Enhance overall profitability by focusing on high-ROI items

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What should I look for in this GMROI report?
A: look at these three columns.

-Stock on Hand (your current inventory levels)

-Sales (see how items are selling)

-ROI% (Return on Investment percentage)

Pay particular attention to items with low stock but high sales and a good ROI, as these may need immediate reordering.

Q: What's considered a good GMROI?
A: 3.2 or higher is often considered good. As this will vary by industry and product type, I suggest you evaluate the report and judge.

Q: How can I improve my GMROI?
A: Strategies include:
1. Increasing sales without increasing inventory levels
2. Reducing inventory levels without affecting sales
3. Increasing gross margin through better pricing or supplier negotiations
4. Improving inventory management to reduce excess stock
5. Push high-performing products
6. Implementing just-in-time inventory practices
7. Using your reports for better demand forecasting

Q: How often should I run the GMROI report?
A: Run it frequently (daily or weekly) during busy seasons like holidays. In less busy periods, monthly or quarterly might suffice.

Q: How can the GMROI report help improve cash flow?
A: The report helps identify slow-moving stock. By addressing these items through promotions or adjusted ordering, you can free up cash tied in excess inventory and reinvest in better-performing products.

For Australian retailers, every dollar invested in inventory directly impacts the bottom line. Real-time inventory management revolutionises how you track, manage, and optimise your stock to maximise profits and boost your profitability. Real-time stock management offers many advantages that traditional techniques cannot in shape. Real-time inventory management provides many advantages that conventional methods can't match. Here's how it can benefit your business:

Guide to getting Real-Time Inventory Information

Real-time inventory management is essential for preserving optimum stock ranges and ensuring clean operations in your retail commercial enterprise. Here's a step-by-step approach to having access to your inventory records fast and effectively using our POS device:

Step 1: Access the Stock Performance Report

Navigate to stock performance. You'll find critical data about your current inventory levels and sales trends there.

Step 2: Go to Register Reports

Within the stock performance section, locate the "Register Reports" option. It will lead you to various reports that provide insights into your inventory and sales.

Step 3: Select Suppliers' Sales Trend

Once in the Register Reports menu, choose "Suppliers" and "Suppliers Sales Trend." This report will give you a comprehensive overview of how each supplier's products perform in your store.

Step 4: Set Your Date Range

To get a meaningful analysis, set the date range for the past year. It will provide a complete picture of sales trends and inventory movements, helping you make informed decisions.

Step 5: Analyse the Report

After generating the report, take a close look at the data:

A report like this pops out.

Let us go through it.

A negative stock item marked with a green arrow is a sign that your stock quantities are not wholly correct.

Look at the red arrow. You have 19 of these items now but have never sold any of them. This is a worry. Ask what happened.

Also, as you go down, you will see an item with a blue arrow. You have none in the shop. See how you have no stock but have sold many of these items.

Where is this going?

Retailers can get ahead of the competition in real-time. It will enhance your efficiency and increase sales.

Step 6: Take Action

Use the insights gained from your analysis to make strategic decisions:

• Adjust Orders: Modify future orders based on stock levels and sales trends.
• Communicate with Suppliers: Use your data to have informed discussions with supplier reps, ensuring they understand your needs and challenges.
• Optimise Inventory Levels: Implement adjustments to keep superior stock tiers, stopping overstocking and stockouts.

Following this step-by-step guide, you can efficiently access actual-time inventory information. This will empower you to make knowledgeable choices that improve your shop's performance and increase sales.

Improved Cash Flow

Optimising stock levels with real-time data frees up capital that would otherwise be locked away in excess inventory. ### Enhanced Decision-Making Access to live information lets you make knowledgeable buying, pricing, and promotions choices. You'll be able to respond quickly to market demands and adjust your techniques accordingly.

Increased Efficiency

Automating tasks like inventory counts and reorder approaches saves time and reduces human blunders, allowing you to focus on strategic activities that power the commercial enterprise boom.

Better Customer Service

Ensuring popular gadgets are always in inventory complements patron satisfaction and builds loyalty. Happy customers are much more likely to go back and advise your store to others.

Competitive Advantage

It is crucial to stay ahead of competitors who depend on previous methods. Real-time stock control offers the potential for quicker response times and more accurate forecasting.

Traditional vs. Real-Time Inventory Management

Traditional inventory control often suffers from old and faulty information, primarily due to sluggish reaction instances and reactive inventory degree optimisation.

Leveraging Real-Time Data in Supplier Interactions

Having instant access to your inventory records strengthens your position while dealing with providers. Here's a way to make the maximum of this advantage:

Review your inventory report before meeting with a supplier rep to identify areas of concern or opportunity.

• Demonstrate control by showing the rep that you have a firm grasp on your inventory situation through specific data points from your report.
• Ask informed questions using your data to probe deeper into product performance and seek solutions for underperforming items.
• Negotiate effectively leveraging your sales data to secure better terms and discounts on high-performing products or arrange returns for slow-moving stock.
• Avoid overstock pitfalls by resisting pressure to accept excess inventory, referring to your real-time data, and sticking to optimal stock levels.

Taking the Next Step: Implementing Real-Time Inventory Management

Ready to revolutionise your retail operations with modern inventory management? Here's how you can get started:

1. Book a Free Demo: Experience how our POS device can transform stock management. Our group will stroll you through the capabilities tailored to your commercial enterprise wishes.

2. Customised Implementation Plan: We'll create a personalised roadmap for integrating our POS system into your modern-day operations, ensuring minimal disruption to your enterprise.

3. Seamless Data Migration: Our professionals will switch your inventory information to a new machine, ensuring accuracy and completeness.

4. Comprehensive Staff Training: We offer thorough education periods for you and your group, ensuring everyone is confident in using the new machine to its full capability.

5. Ongoing Support: Our devoted Australian-based guide group is always available to help you with everything, from preliminary setup to destiny enhancements.

By choosing our POS device, you're no longer simply shopping for software programs but investing in a partnership devoted to your retail fulfilment. Our solution gives actual-time stock monitoring, automatic reordering, and insightful sales analytics designed to reinforce your profitability and streamline your operations.

Refrain from letting previous stock practices hold your business back.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is a real-time inventory management system?

A: A system that gives you an actual inventory. It uses advanced technology to track inventory changes, permitting you to monitor stock levels, income developments, and crucial data in actual time. This machine lets outlets make knowledgeable decisions quickly, optimise inventory ranges, and respond promptly to marketplace demands.

Q: What is real-time stock management?

A: Real-time inventory control involves tracking and managing your inventory levels. It affords up-to-date information about your stock, enabling you to make informed choices quickly and efficiently. This technique permits fast updates to stock facts as transactions occur, ensuring you constantly have the most modern statistics for your inventory.

Q: How does actual-time inventory management benefit my commercial enterprise?

A: Real-time stock management gives numerous blessings:
- Improved Cash Flow: By optimising stock levels, you free up capital that can be reinvested in other business regions.
- Enhanced Decision-Making: Access to live records allows for knowledgeable buying, pricing, and promotional selections.
- Increased Efficiency: Automating duties like inventory counts reduces mistakes and saves time.- Better Customer Service: Ensures popular items are always in stock, enhancing customer satisfaction.
- Competitive Advantage: Provides faster response times and more accurate forecasting than traditional methods.

Q: How can I access real-time inventory information using your POS system?

A: Follow these steps to access real-time inventory information:
1. Access the Stock Performance Report: Navigate to the stock performance section in your POS system.
2. Go to Register Reports: Click on the "Register Reports" option to gain insights into your inventory and sales.
3. Select Suppliers' Sales Trend: For a comprehensive overview of product performance, choose "Suppliers" and "Suppliers Sales Trend."
4. Set Your Date Range: Set the date range for the past year to analyse sales trends and inventory movements.
5. Analyse the Report: Review data for negative stock items, slow-moving stock, and out-of-stock bestsellers.
6. Use insights to adjust orders, communicate with suppliers, and optimise inventory levels.

Q: What should I do if I find discrepancies in my inventory report?

A: If you notice discrepancies such as negative stock items or slow-moving products, take immediate action:
- Investigate the cause of discrepancies and correct any errors in your records.
- Adjust future orders based on accurate data to prevent overstocking or stockouts.
- Communicate with suppliers to address any issues with product supply or demand.

Q: How can real-time data improve supplier interactions?

A: Real-time data strengthens your position when dealing with suppliers by:
- Allowing you to demonstrate control over your inventory situation with specific data points.
- Enabling informed discussions about product performance and solutions for underperforming items.
 

Q: What steps should I take to implement real-time inventory management?

A: To implement real-time inventory management with our POS system:
1. Book a Free Demo: Experience how our system can transform your inventory management.
2. Customised Implementation Plan: We'll create a tailored roadmap for integration with minimal disruption.
3. Seamless Data Migration: Our experts will ensure the accurate transfer of your existing data.
4. Comprehensive Staff Training: We provide thorough training sessions to use the new system confidently.
5. Ongoing Support: Our Australian-based support team is available for assistance from setup to future upgrades.

One key to success in retail is monitoring sales trends. Imagine having a report for your business review that you can understand. This is where sales data visualization comes in.

The Power of Sales Data Visualization

As the Russian writer Ivan Turgenev wisely noted, "The drawing shows me at one glance what might be spread over ten pages in a book." This couldn't be truer when analysing your business's sales data.

Graphs offer a quick, clear snapshot of your sales trends. They help you:

• Spot ups and downs at a glance
• Identify long-term patterns
• Assess the impact of your business strategies

Let's dive into how you can easily create and interpret these visual goldmines using a business POS system.

Benefits of Visualising Your Sales Data

1. Decision-Making: You can quickly identify which products are your top performers.
2. Inventory Management: It helps you to anticipate seasonal trends and stock accordingly.
3. Better Sales Efficiency: It enables you to focus on what's working.
4. Time-Saving: Get retail data insights in seconds instead of hours spent poring spreadsheets.

Creating Your Sales Graph: A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Access Your Reports

1. Go to Reports in your point of sale software
2. Select Sales
3. Choose Dissection Monthly Sales Trend (Graph)

Step 2: Set Your Parameters

To get a comprehensive view:

1. Select an extended timeframe (Do not be afraid to use five years as even this can show much)
2. Choose your product category (e.g., giftware)

There are many options here, but I will keep it quick and straightforward, and you can build up from there.

Pick a long time; I will pick seven years because I am looking at a long-term trend.

I decided to look at giftware products, so I picked selected and highlighted giftware.

What Can We Learn?

1. Long-term growth: Sales have increased from $20K-$50K to $30K-$80K monthly.
2. Seasonal patterns: Christmas peaks are noticeably higher in recent years.
3. Overall trend: The upward trajectory suggests successful strategies are in place.

I am sure you will agree that it is much easier to see that than a report with lots of numbers.

The Power of Visual Data

Imagine trying to spot these trends in a report full of numbers. With a graph, these insights jump out at you, saving time and mental energy.

Tips and Tricks for Effective Graph Analysis

1. Compare Year-on-Year: Overlay graphs from different years to spot seasonal patterns and growth.
2. Zoom In and Out: Look at long-term trends and short-term fluctuations for a complete picture.
3. Combine Categories: Look at group-related products to identify broader trends in your business.

Your Turn: Give It a Go!

Now that you've seen how easy and insightful graphing your sales can be, why not try it yourself? Here's a quick challenge:

1. Graph your top-selling product category for the past year
2. Look for any surprising trends or patterns
3. Jot down three insights you've gained

Conclusion

Graphing your sales results is a powerful tool for understanding your business travel. By regularly doing these graphs, you'll be better equipped to make informed decisions and improve sales performance.

Ready to Transform Your Sales Analysis?

Try our point-of-sale software now and see how easy it can work for you and turn your sales data for success.

In the world of retail today, knowledge is power. With our POS system for businesses, you have that power.

How did you go with creating your first sales graph? We'd love to hear about your experience and any insights you uncovered. Comment below or contact our support team if you need help getting started.

Retail data analysis analyses everything in your business, from sales to stock to your customer data. The AI now makes it better. It is often used to track customer behaviour and traffic, but it can do more for you.

It is not only applicable to large retailers. SMB retailers, like you, can use information collected from your POS systems. Then the significant advantage that you have is that you can move quickly and so react faster.

Retail analytics example

We are using Father's Day as an example so let see how it went for you with this quick and easy method. It will take you less than a minute to do!

Go to Register reports

Now select Sales register > Sales comparison

​

As a first and quick example enter in this:  

Retail analysis report

You will get a very detailed report of what happened on that day for you to review.

Retail data analysis provides the information you need to make informed decisions. This will increase your revenue and profitability.

Note: What does appear to have sold well this Father's Day was decorated Coffee mugs and Whiskey tumblers.

If you have a dispute over an item that involves your supplier, you need to have the invoice number that you received the item.

Sometimes what so often happens here is that you no longer have the in-house barcode to track it down. Assuming you ever had it. 

What can make it often quite tricky to find as many of the item's details you no longer have. I had a client that got from a customer a pair of returned shoes without the box. So, where can they get it? They knew the style and the colour but little else. Well, it was easy to get the invoice number and so the invoice details. It only took a second. 

Go to Reports > Stock Purchases > Purchases by invoice for a Given period

Put in the likely supplier, if possible. Then put in the possible date ranges. Generally, the warranty period from the supplier is fine because if its outside that you are in trouble. 

Now on the top of the report, press the little binoculars on the top. See where the green arrow is pointing above.

Now in the blue arrow region, put what you know of the item. It can be just about anything, e.g. white, and press "Find Next". Keep pressing "Find Next" till you get it. 

Now you have the invoice and its date.

It is also worth examining this whole section fully as you will find a lot of information for searching.

Retail is changing. As such, what people buy from you changed too. The problem here is that our memory is like a camera. What can be in it is what was not what is now. This can cause significant problems. Own here is an excellent report to show you the shift in your sales shop.

Go to Cash register > reports.

Then Sales -Register> Sales comparison for a given period.

Above in purple, I put in the last few months and notice that I am using a few years back in comparison.

Now also notice in green that I changed the comparison from percentage to currency. This is because what happens is small departments often show dramatic changes. So, for example, a department with $5 in sales then, now having $20 sales, has a big percentage increase. In reality, is not much of a change

Try it.

Put in your figures and see.

Suddenly yesterday, a few people asked me how to get each item's actual stock sales over the last 12 months. 

What they want to see is how many items they moved each month in a department. To do this, you need two years of history. So although we have a report that shows 12 months, I showed them the 24-month sales history report. This is because of what required when looking at sales is to see what you sold last year about this time. For example, Easter is coming up. Say you sell Easter items. With the previous 12 months, you will miss all the sales leading up to Easter for these items. That is why large suppliers often work with figures for the last two years. They then tend to quote you such statistics as this time last year, you sold ...... 

Plus if you are looking at Easter, you may want to look by a selected supplier with these Easter items or a selected range of items marked for Easter. So you rarely need the whole department, as it is too big. 

Well, it is all easy to do and will take you a second to find out.

To get started, go to Register Reports > Sales Stock >  Stock Sales Details 24 Month Trend.

Now put in the criteria you want, and you will see the above report.

You get a lot of detail, the stock on hand figure, two years of history, the total sales, etc.

This report can help you to get helpful insights into the stock that you sell.

This is a problem faced by our clients that have shoe shops, in our specialised shoe pos software. I cannot see why any retailer cannot use this tip.

The situation is that a huge number of very similar products exist but almost all the sales are in a few lines. This is why most POS systems are useless in shoe shops. They show what we call the granular sales of the department, not the item sales. 

This is where our sales per product reports come in.

These make it easy to identify your best (and worst) selling products. They help you to determine your winners and losers. Suppose a particular product is selling well, its a winner, so you could consider ordering more of it. If the product is not performing, then the early you find out, the better.

This can be useful in any industry, and let me shop you step by step how to find your winners.

Go to Register reports.

Now pick "Top N Stock Sales for a Given Period."

Now in the form put in the last four weeks, pick a category and outcomes a report with your winners on top.

Now do something!

Now is an ideal time to see how you are going.

To do this, retailers often measure their performance by the current to last year's figures.  Although many do this by months, working in quarters, here is better. But if you prefer months, work through this example with me now and then once you grasp it, do this analysis by months. 

What this will do is show you how financially COVID hit your business. It will also give you insights into the health of your business. Everyone I have talked to about this has told me that their current financials look weird. 

The report itself is elementary and straightforward to do with our system and will only take you a second to do. 

Go to 

Main Menu > Cash Register > Register Reports > under the Select Report tab, expand the Stock folder > select the report "Dissection Family Class Period Sales Comparison."

Then you will see this screen.

Now put in the left side.

From dates 01/10/2019
To Date 31/12/2019
 

On the right side 

From dates 01/10/2020 
To Date 31/12/2020
Congratulations! You have completed a Q4 analysis.

Now you have much to think about, I am sure.

Find out which of your customers is visiting your shop the most in one second.

Go to register reports> Customers > Top Customers 

Put in say the last two months and Order by Visits and go.

Done

Here are some questions.

Why do these customers appear so often? If you know, you can use this information to get more people to come to your shop.

Identifying your top customers helps you know who to nurture. 

Measuring their value to your business gives you much insight.

If you want to go deeper

You have a lot of options with this report, so there is much more to investigate.

Enjoy

Most of us have bills and bills and bills.

Recently a company that collects debts from many companies released its findings.  It causes some comments.

The best day from looking at many companies for businesses getting paid was Thursday they claimed. They believe that this is because most people today receive their wages/salary on a Thursday. As they have money on Thursday, they spend it. Although they did not say it, people tend as well to get pensions on Thursday too. But it was interesting is that Sunday had the lowest clearance rate. It made sense if you think about it as about then most people would be budgeting for the coming week. 

So I decided to check using many of my clients' data, and what did I find? 

Well, some clients where all over the place. For example here is the result of four years by one of my clients.

Mon 13.3% Tues 16.4% Wed 8.6% Thu 14.2% Fri 10.3% Sat 37.2%

For this business, Saturday was best. I suspect it because they are in a small centre and people are coming to buy on that day the big weekly family shopping. As they are in the area, they come and pay. Why Tuesday was higher than Wednesday, makes sense as there is not much left on Wednesday. 

What it does show is what I have always said that all businesses are different. This is true even those that do the same things, and each needs to treated differently.

But overall the conclusion does seem correct as a rule, the day for people paying is Thursday. Here is my result from benchmarking 10 different clients over a number of years.

 If you want to know what is your best day to get paid, you can work it out by using Ad Hoc reports.

You will find it here.

Register reports>Customers>Transactions (Excel)

So based on this if you are sending people bills, you need to make sure that they get your bills before Thursday. 

Want to know what is happening now in your shop, in seconds? 

This is a quick and easy way to get the figures.

Go to Register reports.

In the Sales section select 

"Dissection Sales/Profitability for a given period" which is here

Fill out the dates you want, and you get a report that looks like this.

With the information you need. It is worthwhile to go through this report in detail as it shows a lot more. For example, how good the barcodes use is in any department, so it can help you to identify problem areas now.

In the shop, traffic often fluctuates from all the time by using your POS Software you can get figures for which periods are the busiest and slowest now.

Go to the register > reports.

I suggest that you run this program twice, the first time for the last few weeks and the second time from a previous year that match the dates you are looking for at for this year. You are going here, to get a very detailed report. The part for this exercise you should look at is the part that gives hourly sales reporting statistics. 

Now the report is colour coded to show extremely busy periods so busy periods are highlighted.

Using this information, you will be able to increase the control of your business better.

What happens is that when you go to your point of sale software and check your selling report to see how things are selling. You will find items that are selling well but are making little profit. The question often raised here, is even accepting that the item is not making much, is it drawing people into your shop who buy other products?

Well, we can help you somewhat. The reason I say somewhat will be explained here.  

Go to Register reports.

Now select "Top N Stock Sales for a Given Period"

Now put in say a year of sales and ask for the top 100 by quantity. 

Outcomes a report with the top sellers for that year. 

I have not got the heading here, but I will explain. Look at the envelope 

45 is the stock ranking. It is the 45th best selling item in the shop. The 300 is the quantity sold. The next roll is profit, which is $77.45. In comparison, the item on top of it at 44 made the store $1159 profit. Now for many retailers would say to themselves is $77.45 profit enough to justify having this item? Is it enough to even pay the rent, much less the labour and other charges?

Now another issue that most retailers will ask here is, as it does sells well does it bring people into my shop who buy other products? That is very hard to measure, but we can give you an idea.

Go to reports > Sales register > Stock Sales companion sales by period 

Now in options put in say last financial year and put in the product ENVELOPE TUDOR....

Now out pops up a report which will give you a listing of all the items that were sold with this item.

Then at the end will be a total.

The last number is the profit of $265.01, which is the total profit of all the items sold with this item. 

Now the question is how much of that profit of $265.01 would you have made anyway with or without that profit. That is something you have to decide. 

An analyst like me, as a first-level approximation in the absence of any other information, would probably say

A third would have brought something else in the shop to replace the envelope 

A third would have left and gone elsewhere

A third would not have brought the envelope but everything else.

So I would say the loss involved in dropping the product is 

2/3 x (the actual product $77.45) + 1/3 x ( companion sale of $265.01) = a loss of about $140.

If you can do a better estimate let me know.

Currently, 2018 Christmas retails sales are expected to grow 2.9% this year. According to the well-known comparison site, finder.com.au Australians are expecting to spend $1325 each on average on Christmas. “people expect to spend on average $464 each on presents, $444 on travel, $131 on alcohol, $122 on food and $61 on decorations,”

Are you part of it?

Do you have the right stock NOW in your shop? Another important question is do you actually have the stock you think you do? It is easy to forget what you have.

What I do suggest is you look at your mirror marketing reports.

Go to Register Reports marked in green.

Now select in stock, "Stock Sold During Period(a) Not Sold in Period(b)"

What the report will tell you is what was sold in a previous period last year but has not been sold in this period. What you are trying to do is mirror your success last year.

Now in brown, you will see that there is a lot of flexibility for your reports there is also an integrated traffic analysis available too but let's keep it simple for the time being.

Now you will get a report with what you sold over the period, but you are not selling in your current period. What you find is I am sure worth investigating.

After that please redo this report for other years besides last year.

If you find goods missing, you need to hurry as we have less then 20 days left.

In retail getting customers to come more often to the shop is vital.

Questions:

Why do some customers come often and others do not?

Have you thought about this tried to figure out why some come a lot?

If you know, maybe you can use this information to get more people to come to your shop. Well, let us do that!

In your point of sale software and go into register reports>customers

There you will find a report "Top customers"

Now click on that report (see the arrow in green)

Now put in the dates you are looking at, I suggest at least a year and if you like a minimum spend.

See where the green arrow is highlighting. Change the sort order by visits.

This will give you a report with a grouping of your customers based on how often they buy from you. Now chew over why these people are coming, what are you doing right to get them to come?

Now let’s dig deeper

There are many other orders e.g. a listing by people that buy a lot you can use in this report, all which have their own story too. So there is plenty to chew over here.

What point that often I find stunning is the comparison of when I talk to the chiefs in large organisations compared to owners of small businesses (SMB). The leaders know less, much less but what they do know is relevant and essential to the problem at hand. The owner of an SMB, often does not know anything. The owner has all the details in their head, the pixels that they know little of the big picture.

I do not believe that retail business has ever had access to such a wealth of information as they do today.

A conversation might start, what is your top seller? The owner often gives a blank stare, well we sell a lot of this and that what is the top seller, it could be.... Yet the information is available in their POS system here.

If you are seeing that you need to discount a lot to sell stock you are overstocked, it is a sure sign that you need to do something. As a punt what is happening is that you are overordering on some items and probably underordering on others. What often we see in retail is that our memory is by definition the past and the memory remembers old top sellers but what we need is the top sellers today. Here is how to identify what is selling well now to check that you have enough stock for tomorrow and it is very easy in our point of sale system.

Go to Register reports

Select the "Top N Stock Sales for a Given Period"

Now out pops the following.

Now select a day, as it is an old database I put in an old date. Usually, you would put in yesterday or today, just make sure you get close to a full day of trading.

Now you get a report with the top sellers now