Retailers

Bookkeeping for retailers can be a mixed bag of complexity.

On the plus side – you do not have to raise invoices or monitor whether customers have paid you or not.

On the downside – you do have to match the daily take (or z-read) against the amount that appears in the bank.

Matching the z-read against amounts banked is as complicated as you want to make it. However, it can be reasonably straight forward if you stick religiously to some simple rules:

1. Reset the till every day, regardless of how busy you have been. Therefore, if there is a significant difference between the z-read and the cash + credit card total, you have the best chance of finding the explanation. If you reset the till once a week, extra influences come into play such as the number of staff on duty and their recollection of likely reasons.

2. Don’t use cash from the till to pay bills. It increases the chance of an error. Keep a separate petty cash till to pay the incidental cash expenses.

3. Don’t take cash from the till for personal use. I know that it is an easy source of funds, but it also increases the chances of error.

4. Bank daily. If this is not possible, keep the takes separate, and fill in a different payslip for each day. Keeping the takes separate makes each day much easier to pick out when you do the bookkeeping later on.

This blog will document and explain current issues that may be affecting your industry. If you’re in this industry and struggling with something, whether it is general advice, marketing or bookkeeping let me know and I’ll try to cover it in my next post.

Check this page regularly for updates and links to relevant blog posts and topics.