Any good Convenience or C-Store owner knows the basic data points driving the success of their business: ‘What are our total sales?’ ‘What are our costs in labor?’ ‘Where are our profit margins in food and consumer goods?’ Getting answers to these questions is easy enough, but how can you make sense of those outliers? Do your final calculations reveal a loss in income or material goods that can’t be accounted for? For a detailed, ground-level view of what’s happening, you need to dig deeper and use C-Store exception reports.
Exception-based reporting provides the other half of the financial picture: where is your capital (stock or cash) going? Technology has enabled C-Store owners and managers to tie POS data to profit and loss. Unfortunately, loss in retail stores can occur in many ways so you need a forensic tool that automatically monitors every transaction against inventory and cost to uncover each loss. Gain visibility into potential losses through Exception-Based Reporting. Here are 5 C-Store exception reports you should review every morning:
1. Daily Transaction Reports
While reviewing standard sales reports is a given, you may uncover anomalies in sales. Flag these for further investigation.
2. Voids and Return Reports
While there is no set number of voids and returns expected, a detailed examination may show an excessive occurrence. Cross-reference these items by location, by shift, and by a staff member. You may find a trend.
3. Discount/Gift Cards Redemption
These transactions can be like the above. It is best to review them from many different perspectives in case a trend arises. Are there inconsistent amounts redeemed or several redemptions by a single staff member?
4. Rewards Program Reports
Rewards programs are very popular in the competitive C-Store landscape. But rewards programs can be another opportunity for staff theft. Are the rewards calculated correctly? Is the discount reflected in the customer’s receipt?
5. Sales by Inventory
Understanding not only your overall sales, but sales by department and even individual items can help increase revenue. Are you able to see what items are not selling well and which inventory is backing up? Are those items perishable which will either hit your bottom line as price adjustments to try and sell before expiring or as waste after expiring? Reviewing Sales by Inventory and taking a hard look at your floor plan can help sell merchandise.
Not only will these reports give you a good picture of overall store performance, but they will also highlight any inconsistent activities that require further inspection. With exception-based reporting, you have the tools to query several data points and in your C-Store business and target the specific information to see these trends. This tool is completely customizable. You can create reports based on an entire enterprise, per location, or even by employee.
Exception Reports are a Good Investment
Advance your efforts with an exception-based recording system to not only identify points of potential fraud but even prevent it. Industry experts estimate that an exception-based reporting solution can “achieve full ROI within one year.”
With Envysion’s Exception-Based Reporting you can view trends in an easy-to-read dashboard form. You can also dig deeper into the data by viewing video and receipt activities simultaneously, as the transaction occurred. The benefits of such a robust system will create higher visibility into your daily business and across weeks and months by providing:
- Real results – instead of reviewing spreadsheets, receipts, or relying on a worker’s memory.
- Targeted metrics – run at any time using a variety of parameters.
- Dig deeper with video – Envysion provides authentication of the reporting metrics with video and audio history of the highlighted activities.
Let’s set your business up for success with Envysion’s customizable C-Store Exception Reports. Schedule a demo today.