Buy in Bulk

BE PREPARED: GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK WITH A GOOD ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE PROGRAMME

Shoppers surveyed on average have

R1 735 budgeted for this extravaganza.

As South Africans have joined the global rush on massive Black Friday discounts, the annual extravaganza has become an attractive opportunity for small businesses to increase sales volumes and turnover.

This year Black Friday falls on

November 29. The rush will start a few days before and carry over to the following Monday, known as Cyber Monday.

According to research conducted by Black Friday Global, 2018 figures showed a 1 952% increase in sales for SA businesses offering Black Friday deals, with sales peaking between 8am and midday on Black Friday.

Interestingly for traders, Black Friday Global research data shows that South Africans planning to shop this year – and at more than one outlet – have a budget, on average, of R1 735.

The idea of a massive spike in volumes in sales can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be, says Jolawn Victor, head of emerging markets at Intuit QuickBooks, as online accounting software can take the stress out of managing increased volumes and puts control back in the hands of business owners.

Cloud accounting specialist and cofounder at Ecomm Accounting Solutions as well as a QuickBooks trainer and writer Nadine Chetty says Black Friday can be challenging for staff and business owners alike, especially those in retail.

“However,” she says, “there are ways to reduce the stress of tracking the influx of queries and sales”.

Chetty says: “Tracking sales is one thing, but you still want to see if you are making a profit on your sales and not a loss.”

A real-time dashboard gives a business owner a snapshot at any point and can be calibrated.

Programmes such as QuickBooks have an invoice section that shows deposited money, as well as a profit-and-loss tab.

“When choosing software, make sure it has the ability to delve as deep as you need to go in order to generate reports specific to a product or other detail,” she says.

For retailers relying on physical in-store sales, Chetty says reputable software accounting programmes allow businesses to manage sales seamlessly.

In addition, they can integrate with apps built for online sales, such as Shopify, she says.

With manual sales, businesses can import simple sale invoices and sale reports straight into the programme.