Overview

This article will help guide you through routines for the best success as a liquor store owner or manager. 

Employees

For security reasons, we recommend each employee that accesses Cloud Retailer have their own username and password.  Storing their email address will allow them to reset their password.

• Disable password saving in each browser.  You can do this Chrome by performing the following steps:
  • Open Chrome
  • Go to chrome://settings/passwords
  • Find the "Never Saved" section
  • Click "Add"
  • Enter "*.cloudretailer.com" without the double quotes
  • Save

Last, see our Recommended end of day / shift process for cashiers article for our recommendations on how cashiers should end their day.

Hardware

Your hardware is essential for the best possible customer and user experience.  Please review our Hardware/ Network Requirements for Cloud Retailer article our recommendations.  We also recommend the follow care to ensure your computers are able to provide top performance.

• Keep the area around the computers clean and dust free.  Dust will accumulate and act as an insulator which can lead to your computers overheating.  Symptoms of overheating include reduced performance and random shut downs.
• Close Cloud Retailer at the end of each day.  This will allow Cloud Retailer to perform communication tests to ensure all connected peripherals are ready to take sales.  This also ensures all settings and discounts are current.
• Reboot Windows often.  Much like the closing Cloud Retailer, this ensures all of the cached data is reset and Windows is loaded properly.
• Check for Windows updates often and keep your computer up to date.
• Clean the computer by using compressed air in the vents.

Inventory & Products

Maintaining and tracking all products in your database will help you maximize your profits and minimize your losses.

• We recommend you keep your product database as clean as possible
  • Standardize naming conventions for product descriptions and sizes
  • Configure product categories and sizes to maximize reporting data
  • Utilize the Min and Max Quantity fields to know how much stock should be kept for each product.  This can help reduce unnecessary inventory and lower your operating costs.
  • Enter supplier details such as the distributor or vendor's name, their reorder number (item number), how many units come in a case, and whether they're the primary source for each product.
• Purchase Orders: Enter your purchase orders for accurate costs and profit margins
• Inventory Counts: Regular inventory counting will help ensure the quantity on hand data is as accurate as possible.  This article is also helpful.

Reports

The End of Day report is one of the most powerful tools we offer.  This provides critical data that's easy to find so you can monitor your business closely.  

• Review the Audit and Sales KPI data for high-level details.
  • Average sales transaction size is a key indicator of retail health.
  • Keep track of your largest transaction each day.
• Sales by Hour: Identify the hour(s) with the most traffic to look for trends.
• Cancelled Line Items: Items that were added to an later removed from an active transaction.
• Cancelled Transaction: Transactions that were started and later cancelled.
• No Sales: Track when the cash drawer was opened from a No Sale.
• Negative Transactions
  • Post Voids: All voided transactions
    • Returns
    • Negative Quantity Items
    • Negative Dollar Sales
• Recent Discounts: Tracking all manual price changes and discounts given to ensure they align with your expectations.
• Manual Inventory Adjustment Summary: All manual inventory adjustments.

Here is a list of other reports we recommend reviewing on a daily or weekly basis as they can help you better understand sales patterns and keep track of your inventory.

• Detailed Sales Report:  A report with as much sales information as possible, minus the taxes and payment method(s).
• In stock but not recently sold (within last 3 months)
• Market Basket Report:  Search sales to see what items were most frequently purchased with a target item.
• Not in stock but recently sold (within last month)
• Profit Check Report: Check out this article to learn how to configure the Profit Checker, and this one to learn how to use it. This will help keep your pricing close to your target margins by department or category.
  
• Sales Tax Collected Report:  Know your taxable and tax collected amounts.
• Trending Sales By Store & Departments: View how sales have changed by store and department from the last 7, 30, 91, and 365 days compared to last year.