Stop stock and cash leakage in your mini-mart

Few shops are robbed. Most lose money slowly: a sale that was never rung up, a void nobody questioned, a carton that left with a relative, a delivery that came in short. Each one is small. Over a year they can be the difference between a good business and a struggling one.

You cannot watch the shop every minute. You can set it up so that gaps show up on their own.

Where do shops usually lose money?

• Sales not rung up. The customer pays cash, the item goes, nothing is recorded.
• Voids and refunds. A real sale is rung up, then voided after the customer leaves, and the cash goes into a pocket.
• Discounts. Friends and family get prices nobody approved.
• Stock walking out. Items are taken without being sold, or used in the house.
• Short deliveries. The supplier invoice says 24, the carton has 20.
• Wrong prices. An old price on the shelf or in the system, so every sale of that item loses money.

How should you open and close the till?

Start each day or shift with a counted opening float. Record any cash that leaves the drawer during the day, such as paying for water or transport, with a reason. At closing, count the cash and compare it to what the system expects.

A small difference now and then is normal. A shortfall that keeps appearing on the same person's shift is a pattern worth a conversation.

Make voids and refunds visible

A cashier should be able to sell, but not cancel a sale on their own. Require a manager for voids, refunds and large discounts, and require a reason. Then read the void report every week. Most owners who start doing this are surprised by what they find.

How often should you count stock?

A full stock count once a year finds problems far too late. Instead, pick your ten fastest-moving or most expensive items and count them every week. Compare the count with what the system says should be on the shelf. A gap tells you exactly where to look.

Check deliveries at the door

Count every delivery against the supplier's invoice before the driver leaves, and record what actually arrived. Recording purchases also keeps your cost prices up to date, so your profit figures stay honest.

Scan, don't type

Barcode scanning removes wrong prices and typing mistakes, and it is much faster at a busy counter. If items have no barcode, print your own price labels with a barcode so every item scans.

How does ManuelPOS help a shop?

ManuelPOS scans barcodes with a scanner or the phone camera, and prints price tags for items without one. It keeps stock per branch, changing it only through sales, returns, deliveries, counts and transfers, so every movement is recorded.

Each till opens with a float and closes with a count, including a Z report and any shortage. Voids and refunds need a manager and a reason. Every sale, void, refund, price change and stock change is recorded against the person who made it.

You can try it free for 14 days on your own products, or read about reconciling MoMo payments.