This is a very popular arrangement with a sales station at the front counter and a management station near the back door where shipments arrive. The sales station has a receipt printer while the back office has a report printer. The two stations are joined by a LANtastic network.
This fine gift store sells gifts and collectibles. Customers come from a wide area to enjoy shopping in this distinctive store. The owner treats everyone like family and has been very successful at buying the right products at market, displaying and selling them.
The problem, as her accountant explained when he introduced us, was determining the cost of goods, inventory control and producing an income statement.
The owner was using a cash register. When merchandise was received, it was tagged in price categories. So, for each sale, the price was entered at the register. Cost of goods for each sale was an approximation.
Once the decision was made to automate, the owner had several helpers list and tag the inventory during a two day period while the store was closed. She had no idea how many items were in the store or their value. (There were about 3,500. This is a large store with merchandise covering every bit of wall and floor space.) Data entry sheets were used to list each item. Invoices were the best source of information. The owner used the vendor's item number as her item ID.
She contracted with a college student to add the items to the system by typing from the data sheets. It took about 10 - 12 hours per thousand items. The majority of the work was done in 40 hours. During the first weeks of operation an item occasionally arrived at the sales counter without a tag. These goods were sold as "non-stock," using the item ID as a description. As time permitted, these non-stock items were added to the inventory.
Purchase orders are created by supplier when quantity on hand drops below the set reorder point. When shipments arrive, POS prints stock number tags to match the quantities received. She simply sticks the tags on each item.
The owner had never been near a computer and was fearful of doing something wrong. It took several days for her to grasp the requirement that ENTER must conclude data entries. You must read the item number on the price tag, type it on the 10 key pad and then .... press Enter or the system won't know about it.
That was months ago. She's all smiles nowadays and says, "I believe we've gotten the hang of it, now! It's been the biggest help to know my customers' names and addresses. Now, I know more about them, what they like, where they come from, and can keep in touch with them through flyers, catalogs, and Christmas cards. Even our accountant is satisfied. He gets an exact sales summary including sales by tax rate, cost of goods, charge sales, discounts and returns. I get the reports I need in seconds rather than staying after hours and doing them by hand."