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Accounting Software for Retail Shops: 7 Things It Must Do Before You Buy It
Accounting software for a shop is more than a book of numbers. Here are seven things it must do before you pay for it, from sales and inventory to the cash drawer, expenses and reports.
Many shop owners search for "accounting software" when what they really want is something simpler and more important: to know how much they sold, how much they made, and what's left in the shop. The right software answers these questions every day, without you needing an accountant by your side.
1. Sales and invoicing in one place
Shop accounting starts at the till. Every sales invoice should go straight into the accounts, instead of you copying the numbers over by hand at the end of the day.
2. Inventory linked to sales
When you sell an item, its quantity should drop automatically. That way you know which items need reordering, and which slow movers are tying up your money.
3. A cash drawer closed with a count
At the end of each shift, the software asks you to count the actual cash, compares it with sales, and records any difference. This is the most important step for stopping money from going missing.
4. Expenses and vouchers
Rent, electricity, salaries and shop supplies are all expenses. Record them with payment vouchers, and record money you receive with receipt vouchers, so you see your real profit, not just the profit on sales.
5. Suppliers and customers on credit
If you buy or sell on credit, you need a clear balance for every supplier and every customer: how much they owe, how much you owe them, and when the last payment was made.
6. Reports you can understand
Daily sales, profits, best-selling items and cash drawer activity. A good report can be read in a minute, and printed or saved as PDF or Excel.
7. Works offline, with your data in your hands
Your shop doesn't stop because the internet went down. Choose software that runs on the shop computer and lets you back up your data yourself.
Before you buy
Ask for a trial version and test it for a full day: a sale, a return, an expense and closing the drawer, then open the reports. If you can easily make sense of your day's numbers, that's the right software for you.
