Trade report in business: why do you need and how to use it

Entrepreneurs use reports to control expenses, pass various checks, and analyze trade processes and business development. Creating a successful business and developing it is possible only by applying high-quality analytics.

Sales analytics is the collection and processing of data for making managerial decisions aimed at developing and increasing business profitability.
Entrepreneurs create and analyze reports to draw conclusions:

• how the business capital is spent and whether it is increasing,
• whether the company's revenue does not exceed the limits,
• whether the cash and bank accounts have the correct amount of money,
• which point of sale is more profitable,
• which days can be made off,
• which assortment is more profitable,
• how effective are discounts, bonus cards, advertising,
• whether the staff works efficiently,
• whether the price for the goods is relevant, etc.

Based on this data, entrepreneurs make managerial decisions regarding the assortment of goods, pricing and discount planning, staff management, store operation mode, etc.

How to collect data and conduct analysis in business?

Data collection for analysis is facilitated by the Torgsoft accounting program. It generates various types of reports for comprehensive analysis of business processes. To generate the required report, simply select the report type and the period you wish to review in the main menu "Report".

Control of cash flow and capital status through reports.

Reports for managers, business owners, executives, managers

Entrepreneurs need to control all business processes, as well as cash flow, and make managerial decisions. The Torgsoft accounting program has special reports that help entrepreneurs check cash in registers, cash and non-cash receipts and expenses of the enterprise, observe the development of capital invested in the business, respond dynamically, and make decisions for the prosperity of their business.

Gross income for the period

The "Gross income for the period" report is a special report in the Torgsoft program that helps owners control whether the enterprise exceeds the limits of its current tax group.

• 1st group – 1,118,900 UAH/year
• 2nd group – 5,587,800 UAH/year

Sometimes an entrepreneur receives earnings below the permissible level, and the tax office reports exceeding the limit. The most common reason is incorrect revenue calculations.

To avoid exceeding the earnings threshold and not transitioning to the general tax system, generate the "Gross income for the period" report and control the receipts to the enterprise correctly.
This report shows the amount received by the Sole Proprietorship for the selected period excluding returns:

You can generate the "Gross income for the period" report in the "Report" menu — "Gross income for the period" — in the "Selection conditions for the gross income report" window, check the boxes in the "Accounting centers", "Cash registers", "Bank accounts" columns for the objects you are interested in for reporting — click the "Select" button.

To clear all checkboxes from the form at once — click "Clear", check the required objects again — click "Select". To check all boxes at once — click "Select all" — "Select".
Sole Proprietorships can also use this report when submitting the mandatory quarterly report to the tax office of Ukraine:

General report for the day

To avoid misunderstandings and control store income, the cash register proceeds should be checked daily. For this, there is a "General report for the day".

It shows how much money was in the cash register at the beginning of the day and how much should be there at the moment, leaving it to check if this amount is in the store's cash register.
The report also displays the number of cash register transactions and cash flow: how much cash and non-cash sales, returns, other receipts and expenses, cash collections were. Managers and supervisors use this report to quickly see the overall picture of the cash register's performance and verify the correct amount of money currently in the cash register. Sellers can also use this report to check the cash and avoid misunderstandings.
This report can also be used to:
✔️ analyze which payment method people choose more often — cash or non-cash,
✔️ notice which cash register has many returns,
✔️ comparing reports of different cash registers, you can see which cash register is more active.
You can generate such a report in the "Report" menu — "General report for the day".
The report will display information about sales from the first financial event of the selected cash register day. To ensure that each cash register day closes and the next one opens automatically, the program must be configured to "mandatory close cash register day".

Extract for the period

Most businesses, in addition to cash registers, also have bank accounts. To control cash flow for all cash registers and accounts at once, the Torgsoft program can quickly view the "Extract for the period" for each of them. It compactly and clearly displays all cash flows for the selected period and the amount of money at the moment.
In the "Extract for the period" you can see how much money was at the beginning of the selected period, what other funds were received, when and what expenses were made, how much money should be in the cash registers and bank accounts now. At the bottom of the form, the total amount of expenses and receipts for the selected cash register or bank account for the reporting period is displayed.
Entrepreneurs also use the "Extract for the period" to verify when and what bank and financial transactions were carried out through the accounting program.

This extract gives an overall picture of the cash register's work, or the activity of the bank account. The owner can see:
✔️ how cash inflows to the business from this cash register or account change daily,
✔️ which days have higher receipts and which — expenses, analyze what influences this,
✔️ compare the opening balance at the beginning of the reporting period and the closing balance at the end of the period and see how the capital amount has changed for this point of sale during the selected period.
The report can be viewed in the "Report" menu — "Extract for the period". In the program filters, specify the reporting period, accounting center, cash register number, or bank account to generate the report. The extract can also be printed using the "Print" button.

Daily cash register report

You can more detailed view the situation on receipts and expenses in the "Daily cash register report". It displays information about who bought what, for what amount, how they paid, and separately shows receipts for the non-cash account. This report shows not only sales, returns, cash collections but also all cash flows, including between cash registers and accounts.
To generate this report, go to the "Report" menu — "Daily cash register report" — specify the required date in the window — select the cash register for which you want to create the report — click "View".

For the current date, you can quickly view this report from the "Realization" form — for this, click the "Daily cash register report" button in the "Realization" menu.
The "Daily cash register report" shows all receipts in the cash registers and bank accounts for the selected day. From it, you can learn:

• Which customer bought what and for what amount.
• Whether all funds are in the cash registers and bank accounts. — They check how much money should be in the cash register according to the sales made and how much is actually there.
• When to open more cash registers. — Compare the number of customers in the reports for different days and open more cash registers with more sellers and consultants on these days.
• Which sales team is more efficient. — If different sellers work in the store on different days, daily reports can compare which sellers' customers buy more and make managerial decisions: reward the best employees, conduct training for others, find out the reason for lower productivity, and eliminate it if possible.
• The report also helps to plan purchases, promotions, discounts, and sales. — To do this, they review which products sell best, identify "sales locomotives", and ensure these products are on the store shelves. Such products can also be included in promotions like 1+1, form promotional and gift sets.

How to control changes in the entire capital of the enterprise for the selected period?

You can control cash flow for all cash registers and all accounts simultaneously in the "Payment" mode — "Financial document". In the "Cash register" tab, you can view receipts and expenses for all cash registers at once.

And in the "Bank account" tab — for all bank accounts at once.

Summing up this data, you can conclude how the total capital of the enterprise has changed over the selected period.

Report on currency sales

This report is designed for Ukrainian entrepreneurs engaged in the export and import of goods, to control their profit, considering exchange rate changes.
For importers. How to control the markup on goods, earnings, capital status if the purchase is in foreign currency, sales are in national currency, and the exchange rate is constantly changing?
All goods in Ukraine must be sold in the national currency, i.e., in hryvnias, but when goods are imported from another country, their cost in hryvnias depends on the current exchange rate. If the exchange rate, for example, the euro, rises sharply, there may be a situation where the earnings in hryvnias exist, but in euros, there are none, or even a loss.
In the Torgsoft program, you can link the cost of goods to the exchange rate. Also, with the activated "Multicurrency sales" option, you can generate a "Report on currency sales":

The report shows payments for goods in national and foreign currency simultaneously. At the bottom of the report, the total amount of currency for the turnover for the selected period is displayed.
With this report, you can check:
✅ whether the revenue in foreign currency meets expectations,
✅ whether all the funds invested in the purchase were recovered in foreign currency and whether they are sufficient to make a repeat purchase of these goods,
✅ what the real profit from selling these goods in the purchase currency is,
✅ whether there are any manipulations with currency exchanges among sellers — the "Currency exchange rate" column,
✅ control whether the established markup in hryvnias provides sufficient profit considering the exchange rate change — do not allow the price of goods to become unprofitable and lower than the purchase price.

To implement price control in the Torgsoft accounting program, you can view the purchase price of goods immediately in hryvnias and another selected currency. To do this, go to the "Warehouse" menu — "Calculation of retail and wholesale prices by markup and exchange rate". Select the required "Currency" and "Price calculation method", as well as the "Price change method" (immediately or by revaluation act) — the program will display new calculated prices on the screen according to the exchange rate change and purchase prices:

View the information:

• Compare the current selling price of the goods from the "Current retail price" column with the purchase price from the "Price in national currency" column — whether the profit is sufficient, whether the selling price is not lower than the purchase price.
• Review the new prices calculated by the program for sale considering the exchange rate change, analyze how much they have changed, and decide whether to keep the old prices or change to new ones.

If you decide that the selling prices of the goods should be changed — click the "Set retail price" (F6) button, and Torgsoft will replace the old prices in the accounting program with the new ones from the "Calculated retail price" column.
Exporters. How to calculate income from the export of goods and services in foreign and national currency?
Entrepreneurs who sell their goods abroad receive payments in foreign currency, so it is convenient for them to generate a report simultaneously in the export country's currency and in hryvnias — to understand the company's earnings in national currency.
To create a report, go to the "Report" menu — "Report on currency sales" — select the period for which you want to view the report — select the required accounting center — specify the currency. In the report, you can also specify the specific Payment Form you are interested in (cash or non-cash), the cash register, or the bank account.
Torgsoft will generate a report:

How to increase business profitability by analyzing reports and which reports are needed

Business profitability and each point of sale separately. Report by period results

Controlling the actual profitability of a business is extremely important. Generally, it seems simple — if revenue exceeds expenses, then the business operates correctly. But if the owner has more than one point of sale, the unprofitability of one point can be offset by the success of another and go unnoticed. The more accounting centers there are, the more relevant is the analysis of each of them and the comparison. To control the progress of each point of sale separately and their impact on the overall profit, there is a "Sales report by accounting centers".
The "Report by period results by accounting centers" shows for each point of sale — the amount of goods sold, their purchase cost, the expenses incurred by the enterprise for each point of sale for the given period, and the resulting profit.

In the report:
Revenue is the amount of money that customers paid for purchases.
Profit = Revenue — Expenses.
Expenses are the funds spent on the accounting center for the given period: rent, salary expenses, repair works, etc.
With this report, you can see which point of sale generates profit and which is unprofitable. If unprofitable points of sale are identified, it is necessary to find out the reason for this situation and eliminate it, for example, reduce expenses, adjust the assortment, increase or change the staff.
To view this report, go to the "Report" menu — "Report by period results". In the form that opens, in the "Analysis period" field, set the period for which you want to view the report — the report on cash flow for all stores (accounting centers) of your trading network will automatically appear on the screen. The report can be printed if necessary by clicking the "Print" button.
If the report shows that a certain point of sale is unprofitable, it is worth reviewing the "Sales report" by days — in the "Report" menu — "Sales report" — specify the required dates in the "Analysis period" field — the Sales report by days for all accounting centers of your network will open:

By analyzing such a report, you can:
✔️ See how the business develops in the short term and long term, — whether the profit increases daily.
✔️ Identify when the point of sale went into deficit and why. — Perhaps the goods were sold cheaper than the purchase price — compare the "Revenue" and "Cost" columns; perhaps the revenue was good, but the accounting center's expenses were too high — check in the Report when exactly the expenses were and for what.
✔️ See how different managerial decisions affect the progress of the store and choose the most effective ones. — If different management approaches are implemented in several accounting centers, the "Sales report" by days can show how this affected each accounting center and understand which management decisions contributed to increasing profit and accordingly extend them to other points of sale. For example, you can make different designs in different points of sale, music, discounts, discount cards, and other ways to increase sales. Also, in different accounting centers, you can test various control mechanisms, staff management, and motivation, determine the most effective one, and apply it to the rest of the network's stores.
✔️ Choose a day off for the store. — The least profitable day of the week is chosen for the day off, which is easy to track in this report.
The report also has color codes — Sick leave, Day off, Non-attendance. They can be used for such analysis:
✔️ Compare how the day off and their number affect profit — set different days off in different accounting centers and compare their profitability.
✔️ Check how often employees are absent (Non-attendance and Sick leave) in each accounting center and how it affects the profitability of these points of sale, and distribute employees more proportionally among the accounting centers so that all centers operate on the necessary days.
The sales report can be printed in HTML or Excel format — through the "Report" menu.

Product profit by days for the period

The "Product profit by days" report is similar to the previous ones, but it allows you to analyze the business's financial receipts without expenses.

What can you learn by analyzing this report?
✔️ Plan promotions and discounts. — For example, according to reports, there is a systematic decline in revenue in the store on certain days of the week. You can hold a sale on these days and thus stimulate customers to come to the store.
✔️ The effectiveness of promotions, discounts, sales, advertising. — Did sales increase after the promotion, by how much, and how did it affect the company's profit? — It seems easy to analyze a promotion, and if the profit increased during the promotion, it means it worked. But in practice, it doesn't work that way. If the promotional price is set incorrectly, or people lose interest in the product after the promotion and now do not want to buy it at the regular price and postpone the purchase until the next promotion, such a promotion negatively affects the company's long-term profit.

✔️ Whether a new product in the assortment is well-chosen. — For example, a children's clothing store received new chairs and play mats. A few days later, you can create a "Daily report" — capture a few days before the new delivery and a few days after and analyze whether the store's revenue has increased. If so, it is also worth reviewing the "Daily cash register report" — what exactly customers bought and whether the profit increased due to the sale of the new product. By combining information from both reports, you can understand whether it is worth adjusting the assortment and investing in the new product.
✔️ Which changes are more effective — the daily report allows you to manage the business dynamically and make quick managerial decisions based on which innovations increase store revenue.
To increase sales in the store, businessmen experiment with different tools — implement promotions, discounts, advertising, change and train staff, equip the store with special equipment such as an information terminal, expand or change the assortment, pricing and service policy, create interesting designs and decorations in the store, as practice shows, even music can influence revenue. The impact of the innovation can be evaluated using the daily report: try the same innovation on different days in different points of sale and check how it affected sales.
✔️ When to change seasonal goods. — This is relevant for departments selling seasonal goods — if sales are declining, it is time to switch to the new season's assortment. If seasonal goods are only part of the assortment, it is also worth reviewing the "Daily cash register report" and if the number of sold items of the current season has decreased in the report — it is time to hold a seasonal sale and switch to the new assortment.
In addition to independently analyzing reports, an entrepreneur can analyze business activities in the Torgsoft accounting program, as the program can independently conduct business analysis: collect data, analyze it, and create charts and diagrams.
Moreover, Torgsoft can not only analyze what has already happened and provide reports but also make business forecasts based on the collected data from previous periods of the enterprise's activity.

In other words, the program collects actual data on receipts, expenses, changes in the store, analyzes them, notices the pattern of business development, sales growth and decline, and can predict, for example, the effectiveness of a planned promotion, the expected enterprise revenue, and provide the corresponding analysis to the business owner.