Store Automation: How to Organize Inventory, Sales, and Cash

Start automating your store with a process where employees most often repeat work or make mistakes. Record how long it takes to receive goods, where inventory discrepancies occur, and which payments you have to look up manually. Choose one area, assign an owner, and define the result you will use to assess the changes.

Before launch, prepare product cards—records containing product characteristics and accounting data. Enter the actual opening inventory, prices, and debts. Train employees to perform operations in the same order, and test goods receipt, sales, returns, and a recount. This will help you assess how the inventory system works with your store’s operations.

What to automate for your type of retail business

Choose the row that matches your main problem. If one person holds several roles, assign the relevant actions to that person and define which corrections require the owner’s approval.

Receiving goods: from delivery note to the correct label

The employee receiving a delivery must match the goods received to their product cards and recorded quantities. Set the following procedure for them.

1. Check the delivery against the document. Count the goods, inspect them, and record any discrepancies in quantity or assortment. Until the cause is established, set disputed items apart from goods ready for sale.
2. Find the correct product card. Match the barcode to the name, unit of measure, size, and color. For a repeat delivery, use the corresponding card so identical goods do not accumulate under different names.
3. Enter the quantity and purchase price. Agree with the accountant or person responsible for finance on how to account for delivery and other acquisition costs. If some costs arrive later, the owner must assign an employee to finish calculating the cost of the goods—their value to the business.
4. Prepare labels and the selling price. Print and attach the required labels, then scan a sample at the checkout station. The screen must show that exact product, its variant, and the agreed price.

Illustrative stationery example. A store receives 5 packs of 12 pens: 5 × 12 = 60 pens. If you sell them individually, record 60 units or configure pack accounting with subsequent unpacking—the conversion of a pack into individual product units. After 7 pens are sold, both the physical and recorded inventory should be 53 units. Test this procedure with one pack first.

For clothing, an employee must scan each variant separately. If two different sizes open the same item, the inventory specialist must correct the product cards and labels before the goods are put on the sales floor.

Sales and returns: monitor the goods and payment together

Prepare a short written procedure for the cashier covering regular sales and exceptions: an unknown code, an incorrect price, a customer declining a purchase, and a return. The owner and accountant determine the settlement and document procedures for operating the store in Ukraine.

1. Before payment, the cashier checks the purchase. They scan the product and check its name, variant, quantity, price, and discount. For several identical units, they also check the quantity separately.
2. The cashier records the actual payment method. After the operation is complete, they check its status and the document for the customer. If the payment result is unclear, they establish what happened first to avoid processing the payment twice.
3. For a return, the employee finds the original sale. They match the product, quantity, discounted price, and payment. They record the return in the system while preserving the history of the original operation.
4. An assigned employee decides what happens to the goods next. Return goods fit for sale to available inventory. Set damaged goods aside and record their condition so another sales assistant does not accidentally give them to a customer.

After a trial sale and return, the administrator checks three results: the product quantity has been restored correctly, the refunded amount matches the transaction, and the history contains both documents. Also test a size exchange: returning one variant and selling another must change the inventory for the respective items.

Counting and replenishment: investigate discrepancies first

Inventory counting means comparing the physical quantity of goods with the quantity recorded in the system. For the first count, choose a limited group: a shelf of pens, one clothing model, or a particular type of finished product.

1. The administrator defines the scope and time of the count. They record which goods and locations are included. During the count, they stop movement of those goods or arrange separate records for all sales, receipts, and transfers.
2. An employee counts the actual quantity. They count open packs, goods reserved for customers, returns, and goods set aside due to damage separately.
3. The administrator investigates the reasons for discrepancies. They recount disputed items and look for causes in the documents: an unrecorded goods receipt, a different size sold, an unrecorded return, or a transfer. The owner approves the final adjustment and its reason.
4. The purchasing employee prepares replenishment. They compare the verified available inventory, sales, delivery lead time, and quantity already ordered. Before sending the order, they account for seasonality and changes in demand.

Illustrative replenishment example. A store plans to have 30 units of an item before the next inventory review. 8 units are available, and the supplier has confirmed 10 more for delivery by the required date. The additional quantity needed is 30 − 8 − 10 = 12 units. If the confirmed delivery date changes, the purchasing employee recalculates the requirement before placing the order.

Cash and debts: reconcile them every day

Assign an employee to compare the records with the actual money at the end of each day. In a small store, the owner can do this, while the order manager explains unpaid dispatches and prepayments.

1. The cashier counts the cash. They compare it with the opening balance, receipts, refunds, and payouts for the day. For each difference, they record an explanation and who is responsible for correcting it.
2. The person responsible for finance reconciles cashless payments. They compare store transactions with payment service and bank data, accounting for settlement times and fees. They put payments for which they have not found a corresponding transaction or settlement confirmation on a separate list.
3. The manager allocates payments to orders. For each invoice, they compare the ordered, paid, and dispatched amounts. They record a customer prepayment while preserving its link to the customer’s order.
4. The owner monitors overdue amounts. The debt list identifies the customer or supplier, document, amount, agreed payment date, and the employee’s next action.

Illustrative example. A customer orders goods worth UAH 4,000 and pays UAH 1,500. The balance due on the order is UAH 2,500. The manager separately checks what has already been dispatched: payment status does not show which goods were handed over to the customer.

Which Torgsoft configuration to choose for a store and online sales

In Torgsoft, an accounting center is a store or warehouse for which separate inventory is maintained. To choose a configuration—a combination of licenses, workstations, and additional program features—make a list of the operations you need.

1. Consider Start for one store or warehouse. This license is suitable for basic goods receipt, sales, returns, and inventory counting. If computers with Start will run on a local network—a network of store computers connected to each other—purchase a separate license for each computer.
2. Consider Ultra for multiple stores or warehouses. It is needed for transfers, kitting—the combining of goods into a set—and sales with invoice issuance. A separate license is also required for each computer running Ultra on a local network.
3. Consider Terminal or Torgsoft Online with a subscription for remote locations sharing a database. The shared database is hosted on a server—a computer employees connect to over the internet. The Terminal license includes three client connections—workstations for accessing the server; additional connections are charged separately. The Torgsoft Online subscription includes program rental and server infrastructure. Compare your operations with the license limitations, and compare the number of workstations and costs with the current commercial terms.

After configuring inventory management, the inventory specialist can use «Стан складу» (“Warehouse Status”) to monitor quantities, cost, prices, product movement, and items running low. To monitor partial payments and dispatches in Ultra, use sales with invoice issuance.

What is needed for production accounting

Accounting for materials, production output, and the cost of finished products requires a separate paid option and the program’s full functionality. The option is available from version 7.6.4.

Before purchasing, determine how the computers will operate and agree on the configuration and cost components using the paid options catalog:

• for separate workstations, purchase the option for each workstation;
• for computers sharing a database on a local network, one option per network is sufficient;
• for a Terminal license, one option per server is sufficient.

How to prepare data exchange with a website

A website requires the program’s full functionality and paid synchronization—the exchange of data between Torgsoft and an online store, available from version 7.6.4—or a suitable separate solution. Ultra supports compatible options, which are charged separately.

Purchase the “Синхронізація з інтернет-магазином” option (“Synchronization with an online store”) for each separate workstation, one per local network with a shared database, or one per Terminal license server. Marketplaces—trading platforms for multiple sellers—require their own compatible integrations, meaning tools for exchanging data with the program. Connecting a website does not automatically connect all marketplaces.

Check the cost and term of the required options, as well as the marketplace integration licensing rules, in the commercial terms for options. Assign someone to configure and test an order before launch.

1. Define the warehouses and price priority for orders. Following the synchronization setup procedure, the assigned employee selects the stores or warehouses whose inventory will be sent to the website and the warehouse from which goods will be deducted and reserved. Separately, they set whether item prices on the invoice come from Torgsoft or the online store.
2. Link payment methods to a cash account or bank account. On the “Оплати” tab (“Payments”), the person responsible for setup creates payment methods for each online store currency. For each method, they specify whether it is cash or cashless and select the corresponding cash account or settlement account in Torgsoft.
3. Check product reservations. For a test order, the person responsible for setup checks whether the item has been reserved at the store or warehouse selected in the “Товар списувати з” field (“Deduct goods from”).
4. Configure automatic data exchange. The program must be running on the designated computer under the specified user. The exchange interval must be at least 10 minutes.
5. Place a test order. Check the warehouse, price, payment, and reservation. Separately test an order for the last unit between data updates.

How to measure savings and the payback period

Before implementation, record the time spent on the same operations and the number of corrections over a chosen period. After training, repeat the measurement for a comparable workload: account for the number of deliveries, product items, sales, and employees. Include time spent correcting errors in the calculation.

Illustrative labor time calculation. Before the changes, employees spent a total of 90 minutes per day receiving and labeling goods; afterward, they spent 50 minutes. Over 22 working days, they will spend (90 − 50) × 22 = 880 fewer minutes on these operations, or 14 hours and 40 minutes. At an illustrative labor cost of UAH 150 per hour, this equals UAH 2,200 in labor time value.

Count monetary savings if the store actually reduced the relevant costs, such as overtime pay. If employees used that time for other tasks, assess the results of those tasks separately.

For purchasing and expense decisions, distinguish between these measures:

• Sales turnover shows the volume of sales over a period. Apply returns consistently in your comparisons.
• Inventory turnover shows how many times the average inventory was sold during a period. To calculate it, divide the cost of goods sold by the average inventory value at cost.
• Gross profit is sales revenue minus the cost of goods sold. Gross margin as a percentage is gross profit divided by that revenue, multiplied by 100%.
• Net profit accounts for all business income, expenses, and taxes for a period. For a management calculation, agree with the accountant on which income, expenses, and taxes to include and which records to use. This lets you account for each amount once without missing expenses.

Illustrative payback calculation. The additional one-time cost of the selected process is UAH 18,000. Monthly cash savings are UAH 3,000, and additional ongoing costs are UAH 600. The monthly effect is UAH 3,000 − UAH 600 = UAH 2,400. The simple payback period—the time for this effect to cover the one-time cost—is UAH 18,000 ÷ UAH 2,400 = 7.5 months.

Include the required licenses, equipment, data preparation, training, and support in the costs. Compare only the additional costs and benefits of one decision. Do not add the value of hours to monetary savings if those hours did not reduce payments.

How to launch your first process

1. Define the task. Record the problem, the person responsible, the starting measure, and the result that will show whether the process is fit for daily operations.
2. Prepare the opening data. Remove duplicates, separate sizes and colors, and standardize units of measure. Enter inventory that has actually been counted, a justified cost, and separately approved debts as of the defined launch time.
3. Assign access rights. Give the sales assistant access to the required checkout operations and the inventory specialist access to product management. Assign designated employees to correct opening data, prices, and inventory.
4. Configure backups. Assign a person responsible, define the backup frequency, and choose a storage location separate from the work computer. Perform a test restore in a separate environment, isolated from the live database, to confirm the backup can be used.
5. Train employees on their tasks. Each person performs their own operation independently and explains what they will do if an error occurs. Keep a short procedure by the workstation.
6. Run a trial cycle. In a test environment separate from live inventory management, record a goods receipt, sales receipt, return, and inventory count. Introduce a deliberate discrepancy and find out whether the employee can identify its cause and submit a correction for approval.
7. Assess the process after launch. Compare time spent, errors, inventory, and money against the starting measures. Move to the next process when employees perform the current one consistently and every unresolved discrepancy has an assigned owner and a deadline for resolution.

The first practical step is to choose one recurring store problem and record the specific operation where it occurs. Assign a person responsible, note the starting completion time or number of errors, and define the result the trial launch should achieve.