Sadie Channing – Senior Manager
Starting up a new business is never easy for retailers. There is so much to consider such as how to attract new customers, which products to sell, where to locate and cash flow management, let alone trying to work out how you are going to keep track of your stock levels. In fact, SMEs rarely give as much time as they should to streamlining processes and improving the way they operate.
When you decide to start trading, it is important to have an efficient accounting software in place to keep track of your transactions. Xero is a cloud-based small business accounting software, which aims to make life as easy as possible for the business owner. This software will help to process financial and other data quickly and easily, capture it in one place and can be accessed anytime, anywhere and using any device.
One of the key benefits for retailers, are the various add-ons that can be used in order to integrate their stock systems with their accounting software. Having a stock system that fully integrates with your accounting software is extremely important for the following key reasons:
1. The ability to plan for when you need to purchase more inventory
Having the right products and the correct amount of inventory is imperative to ensuring your business can run smoothly. Too little inventory and you risk running out of stock and not being able to meet demand, and too much inventory will mean your cash is tied up and you won’t be able to recover it as quickly or invest in other areas of the business.By having an integrated stock system you will have full visibility over your stock levels at any given point.
2. Greater customer satisfaction
It can be very frustrating as a customer when you find a product you have been looking for, go to purchase it, and it is out of stock. Having the ability to know at any point what your stock levels are, means that you reduce the risk of being in a position where you do not have enough stock to meet demands, and thus customers will not be disappointed.
3. Increasing efficiencies within your business
Planning for the correct level of inventory, without continuously having to count and recount your products requires a system to be used which allows your sales, purchases and inventory to all talk to each other sufficiently.
4. Reliable management information
By having your inventory integrated with your accounting system it will enable you to track your margins accurately each month and have full visibility into your gross profit and net profit, knowing that you can fully trust the stock figures.
As well as helping to improve efficiency, a bespoke online accounting system can help the business to deliver its long-term objectives. Business owners should consider how improved access to data can support business operations and assist its long term business plan.