What stock records start with before you open a shop

The weeks before a shop opens go on rent, fit-out, shelving and advertising, and the stock records are put off in the hope that "it will sort itself out once the goods arrive". But if there is no table on the day the first batch comes, goods get mixed up in the boxes, purchase prices live only in memory and by the end of the first month nobody trusts the balances. Putting records right in a trading shop is hard; before opening there is neither stock nor confusion, so there will never be a better moment. As an example, take a phone-accessories shop: cases, charging cables, earphones, screen protectors. The first purchase is 38 million so'm.

Five decisions before the goods arrive

Before opening the table, settle these:

1. Groups: 5 to 8 broad categories (cases, cables and chargers, earphones, screen protectors, other). With too many groups, nobody can remember them.
2. Variants: one case splits into dozens of rows by phone model and colour. Put model and colour in separate columns instead of mixing them into the name.
3. Code: a short structure such as GL-014-Q, meaning case, model 14, black.
4. Unit: if you buy wholesale by the box and sell retail by the piece, add a "pieces per box" column, otherwise 3 boxes become 3 pieces.
5. Owner: who enters data and who checks it.

Write these decisions on one page. When a new employee arrives later, that sheet saves long explanations.

The order sheet: record goods before they arrive

The most useful habit: while the batch is still on the road, enter the order lines in the table with the status "expected". Columns: code, quantity ordered, price, supplier, expected date. When the truck arrives, two more columns are filled in: "received" and "difference". For example, 60 cases GL-014-Q were ordered and 54 arrived: you see the difference of 6 right at the truck, not a week later. Price is checked the same way: if the delivery note differs from what was agreed, you ask before signing.

Split the opening money into three parts

At opening the money goes to three different purposes, and they must not be mixed:

• stock: working capital that returns when goods are sold;
• equipment and fit-out: shelves, display cases, till equipment, one-off costs;
• first months' costs: rent, wages, advertising.

Suppose you have 75 million so'm in total: 38 million for stock, 22 million for equipment and fit-out, 15 million for three months of rent and wages. If all three come out of one pocket, then in the month when shelving cost more there is no money left for stock, and you draw the wrong conclusion: "there is no profit". Keep a separate sheet in the table for each part.

Delivery day: four actions before goods reach the shelf

1. Check the boxes against the delivery note.
2. Open a sample from each line: put a defective case or cracked protector into a separate box, not on the shelf.
3. Fill in "received" and "difference" in the table.
4. Stick on a price label: code and selling price.

Also note the date of receipt and who received it. Two months on, you can answer "when did this batch arrive?" Only then do the goods go on the shelf. For a batch of 60 lines that is about two hours, but those two hours save two weeks of searching.

Day zero and the first week

On the eve of opening the goods are still fresh on the shelves, so a full count takes an hour or two. Save the result as "day zero": the balance in the table must match the shelf. All later counts are measured from that point. If any samples or trial goods remain in the shop, list them on a separate row, otherwise they turn up later as "surplus". Throughout the first week, compare the cash in the till with the sales table every day; 10 minutes is enough. At the end of the week pick out the five fastest and five slowest items: the second order is built on those figures, not on a hunch that "this will probably sell".

Conclusion

Order at opening costs little: a day to build the table, an order sheet and a receiving rule. Yet it becomes the foundation for years. If you need help with product groups, codes or the starting count, the AniqHisob team can run a stock count before opening or in the first month, assign addresses to shelves and set up the records.