Get Ready & Get Going For The Holidays

The holiday season is an exciting time for retailers, but along with busy stores and the constant chime of ringing up sales, a whole host of problems can arise. Fortunately, some precautionary measures can head off even the most unexpected calamities.

Not everyone is open – Many vendors close on certain holidays or change their hours of operation and delivery schedule. So whether you need to know when the waste removal is or you need to buy those holiday specials before they sell out, be aware that the holiday season is never business as usual. Consider adding the new dates and deadlines to a short list or calendar.

Keep key contacts handy – The last thing you want is a line out the door when your credit card processor decides it’s time to retire. Have your processor’s number on hand and a manual card reader in case of connectivity issues.

Stock up and be prepared  – Seems obvious, but make sure you have plenty of your best sellers in stock. Consider adjusting your reorder levels to account for the greater lead times and spikes in demand. And don’t forget all the extra receipt paper you will need to ring up that long line of customers. If you use an iPad point of sale system like ShopKeep POS, you can save on receipt printer costs by emailing receipts to your customers – and collecting those email addresses will help your marketing efforts later down the line!

Avoid the fraudster – While the holidays do bring out a lot of joy and positive energy, sadly it is also when theft increases. To minimize theft and breakage, make sure you keep clean inventory records, consider how your store layout can accommodate greater customer flow and where your more expensive products should be positioned.

There is always the possibility of fake bills too. While some are easy to spot, many are hard to detect, so it’s worth getting a counterfeit detector marker to be sure. Be more willing to ask for proof of identification with card purchases on larger items – nobody wants to spend Christmas day dealing with a “customer” who was maliciously charged or credit card companies that are slowly responding to requests. Here are a few other tips for avoiding fraud during the holiday season to give you peace of mind.

After it’s all said and done, remember to take time to celebrate the past year and start getting ready for 2013!

Contributed by Jason Richelson, CEO and Founder of ShopKeep POS. Still confused or need a POS system to do all of this? Check out ShopKeep POS, an affordable iPad POS that lets you ring up sales, manage inventory, get robust reporting, access data remotely via your smart phone, and more  – all for $49/mo. Give our friendly POS Specialists a call to learn more about how a robust inventory management system can help you grow your business at 800-820-9814.

Photo: Santa wants you to check your store to-do-list off to get ready for the holidays!