281-265-2245

How to select the right convenience store equipment

How to select the right convenience store equipment

Convenience store management is complex. Gas station and convenience store owners can find it difficult to know how to select the right convenience store equipment and convenience store software. Find a simple fix with these suggestions for navigating retail solution offerings.

Isolate Services You Need 

The right convenience store equipment should streamline the many tasks c-store or fuel site owners deal with on a regular basis. These include:

 

  • Administrative — tackling store operations and tracking employee hours.
  • Accounting — making daily reporting and generating profit & loss statements easier.
  • Inventory — facilitating shipment receiving, pricing adjustments, and tracking product levels.
  • Marketing and Merchandising — enabling more efficient buying, merchandising and implementing promotions.
  • Vendor, Lottery and Fuel Management — limiting shrink, tracking the best deals, and ensuring compliance.

 

Any of these aspects of the c-store or gas station operation can have an immediate impact on revenues. Having the right equipment can help maximize the gross profit dollars.

[Read More: Gas Station Business Plan]

Added Features to Consider

Advanced convenience store software can offer additional features to facilitate day-to-day operations oversight. For instance:

 

  • Viewing live sales, cashier voids, refunds and no sales in real-time, isolated to employee and store location.
  • A smart phone app that enables management on-the-go and lets employees turn their mobile devices into inventory scanning tools.
  • POS reports that can be customized and sorted from an easy online dashboard to include item margins and hourly sales.
  • Ability to create multiple login IDs with users having different levels of access to insure security and create a safety mechanism for banking deposits or lottery ticket reconciliation.

 

Depending on the store type, consider also the following core accounting functions that could be made easier with store software. These could include gasoline price calculation, UPC code cataloging, tracking safe drops, compliance reporting and employee auditing.

 

More Questions to Ask

In addressing the potential solution there are some smart questions to ask upfront:

 

  • What is the contract duration? Some services will want a year commitment whereas others will offer the flexibility of month-to-month at no additional fee.
  • What hardware is needed? Many equipment offerings today are cloud-based and can communicate with the store’s existing hardware. Finding an online software that connects easily to registers with Internet access can make implementation much easier.
  • Will I get support? Convenience and fuel sales are 24/7. Find out in advance what kind of training and support will be available. Ask also if there is an additional cost involved for support calls, training classes or remote support.

 

The main strength of a convenience store has to be its convenience. So, stay on top of the daily hard work by streamlining processes and selecting the right convenience store equipment to get the job done well.

 

Categories
Try PDI CStore Essentials Free For 30 Days
START YOUR FREE TRIAL