Five numbers to read every morning
Ten minutes with the right numbers beats an hour with every report. These are the five we would read first.
Whether your busy season is the holidays, back to school or summer, the weeks that make your year are also the ones with no room for surprises. Most of the work happens before the rush starts.
Stock
- Look at what sold during the same weeks last year, if you have the history, and list your top sellers.
- Order early and agree delivery dates with each provider in writing.
- Receive and count deliveries as they arrive, so the system matches the shelf before the first busy day.
- Decide in advance what you will do when a top seller runs out: a substitute, a reorder, or a sign.
Staff
- Plan shifts by hour, using last season's busy hours or your door count.
- Train new people before the rush, not during it. Ringing up a sale, splitting a payment and processing a return are the three things everyone needs.
- Give each person their own login, so every sale keeps who made it.
Registers and payments
- Have a second way to sell ready for the longest lines, such as a phone or tablet register.
- Test every payment method with a real transaction before the first busy day.
- Keep enough change in the drawer and decide who opens and closes each register.
- Post your returns policy at the counter.
Online
- Make sure online stock matches the shelf, especially for items you also sell at the counter.
- Publish shipping cut-off dates for orders that must arrive in time.
After the season
Write down what ran out, what did not sell and which hours were busiest. That page is the best starting point for next year's plan.
