Are Your Manual Systems Up To Spec?

Changing over to a new accounting system is often considered a good way to improve cash flow and profitability. For example, tighter stock control and better forecasting will result in lower stock holding costs as just enough stock is held to avoid stock outs and reduce the incidence of stock shrinkage.

Great in principle, but before implementing a new software system, you should ensure there are adequate internal controls in your manual systems to complement the software systems. Examples include:

• Transport registers and security checkpoints at the warehouse gates
• Cheque and cash received registers

Segregation of duties is also important with medium to large organisations. This is where the custody of assets (stock, cash, debtors, fixed assets etc) is a separate function to the authorisation of transactions involving these assets. Examples include:

• sales order takers and stock control
• cash receipts and sales invoice/credit
• cash payments and creditors control
• payroll and human resources

Other areas that will reduce risks include:

• Providing "blind" Stocktake Sheets and Cash Count Sheets i.e. without expected values
• Surprise cash counts of random tils and petty cash
• Random stock counts of specific product lines or location.

Axsapt Business Software Consultants can help you identify the potential risks within your business and recommend appropriate changes to your systems (both manual and computerised) to reduce those risks.

More information: Axsapt

Are you suffering from Shop Blindness?

This afternoon, Scott Huston from my office, told me about how in his previous job as a Manager of a Woolworths Liquor Store, he and his team would regularly act as customers and walk the aisles of their stores and stand in front, rather than behind the sales counters.

Why did they do that exercise? To change their perspective and wake up from "Shop Blindness" where you become oblivious to problems in your environment such as signage mistakes and inefficient stock positioning.

Could you be suffering from Shop Blindness in your business? Very likely.

Another way to look at this is to accept that there are aspects of your business you could easily improve but only if you knew there was a problem to fix.

At Axsapt we come across this whenever we run training courses for our customers. We're amazed at the inefficient processes people use in their businesses when their current software can often automate complex processes.

On some occassions our customers ask us to review their systems and without fail we are able to recommend improvements to their processes that can save them money in some cases and nearly always time.

More information: Axsapt