Seasonal Store Sales: How to Plan Assortment, Promotions, and Team Operations

Start preparing for seasonal sales with a list of products your customers need and the date by which they must receive their orders. For each campaign, set the purchase quantity, allowable costs, last day for accepting orders, and employees responsible. Test demand with a small batch. Increase your order when sales results justify it and your supplier and team can fulfill orders on time.

Create a separate calendar of promotions and a work schedule for sales staff. A holiday can be a reason to make an offer, but it does not by itself confirm future demand or establish a day off for employees. For a store in Ukraine, take Ukrainian labor law into account, including the rules that apply during martial law.

How to Choose Seasonal Events for Your Store

Review sales from comparable previous periods: which products customers bought, how many units they returned, when orders began, and on which days the items you needed were already out of stock. Also record which products customers asked for but could not buy. Sales during a stockout do not show the full potential demand, so take these inquiries into account too.

If your store has no sales history yet, ask customers about their budget, the product they need, and when they need to receive it. Test several offers with a small batch. Assess paid purchases, costs, and fulfilled orders. Use views and reactions to posts as an additional signal.

For your first plan, choose a few events that fit your assortment. A stationery store can test demand for back-to-school sets, a bookstore for curated gift collections, and a clothing store for items that help customers change their seasonal wardrobe. For gift offers, group products by interests, budget, and intended use so customers can choose what they need.

Annual Seasonal Trading Plan

Use the timeframes in the table as starting points for preparation. Adjust them to match demand and your supplier’s lead times. If production, delivery, or sample approval takes longer, start earlier. For each campaign, enter the specific date by which the customer must receive the product in your own plan.

Leave time between campaigns for stocktaking—the count of actual inventory and reconciliation against the records—as well as for returns and preparing the next purchase. If two seasons require simultaneous supplier payments, calculate whether you will have enough funds for both, as well as for payroll and current payments.

How to Calculate Deadlines Backward from Customer Receipt

First, set the last acceptable date for the customer to receive the order. Then subtract delivery time, a delay buffer, packing time, goods receiving time, and supplier lead time, in that order. This gives you the latest purchasing deadline. Schedule sample checks and offer testing before that date.

Illustrative example. There are 30 calendar days left until the date the customer needs the product. The store allows 3 days for delivery to the customer, a 2-day buffer, 2 days for inspection and packing, and 10 days for the supplier to deliver. This requires 17 days in total, so the order must be sent to the supplier no later than 13 days from now: 30 − 17 = 13. Confirm the actual timing with the supplier and carrier.

1. Confirm product availability, minimum order quantity, shipping time, and the option to place repeat orders with the supplier.
2. Decide who checks the quantity and quality of a delivery and who handles replacing unavailable items.
3. Calculate how many orders the team can assemble and hand over to the carrier per day, with a time buffer.
4. Set separate final deadlines for delivery, pickup, and special-order products.
5. When the team reaches its daily order limit, offer the next customer a realistic later date or an available way to receive the product.

To assess your team’s capacity, assemble several typical orders and time the process. Include printing documents, finding products, packing, consultations, and correcting errors.

Agree in advance on what to do during an air raid alert, a power outage, or a carrier delay. Employees must know how to stop work safely and who will notify customers about changes to delivery times and how.

How to Forecast Purchases in Units

Calculate needs by product, size, and color. Start with sales from a comparable period and adjust them based on the results of a small test, the available budget, and the time remaining in the season. Prepare a cautious forecast with a lower sales volume and a base forecast with the volume you plan around for each item. Decide at what sales and stock levels you will reorder.

Planned purchase = expected units to ship + safety stock − suitable uncommitted stock − confirmed deliveries due before the required date. Units to ship are the products handed over to fulfill orders. Safety stock is an extra quantity in case of unexpected demand or a delivery delay. Suitable uncommitted stock is product that can be sold and has not already been promised to other customers.

If the result is negative, this calculation does not call for an additional purchase. After calculating, take the supplier’s minimum order quantity into account and assess whether buying excess units is justified.

Illustrative example. The store expects to ship 100 units and keeps a reserve of 10 units. There are 20 units in uncommitted stock, and the supplier has confirmed another 30 will arrive before sales begin. The additional purchase needed is 100 + 10 − 20 − 30 = 60 units. If some stock on hand has already been promised to other customers, first exclude it from uncommitted stock.

Account for returns separately when calculating cash and inventory. If you expect 10 returns out of 100 units shipped, for example, forecast sales after returns will be 90 units. You still need all 100 units to fulfill the initial orders. Count returned products as available stock only after they have actually been received and their condition checked.

Before placing a repeat order, compare available stock with forecast shipments for the full replenishment lead time, plus your reserve. If the new batch will arrive after the date customers need it, assess whether you can sell it later without a substantial price reduction.

How to Check Whether a Discount Is Justified

Before launching a promotion, record the selling price, cost, and expenses for packaging, payment processing and delivery paid for by the store, advertising, extra team work, and possible product losses. Returns reduce revenue, and some order fulfillment costs may remain even after you refund the customer.

Separate illustrative example. The store purchased and shipped 100 units. The selling price is UAH 500 and the cost is UAH 300. Customers returned 10 units and received a full price refund; 8 of them are suitable for resale, while 2 have lost all commercial value. Taxes, fixed costs that the store incurs regardless of this campaign, and additional wages are not included in this example.

Under these assumptions, the amount remaining after the listed costs is approximately 23.1% of revenue: 10,400 ÷ 45,000 × 100%. To calculate net profit, you must also account for taxes, fixed costs, and additional wages. The eight resalable returned units have a cost of UAH 2,400 and remain in inventory; revenue from their future sale is not included in the calculation.

Calculate separately how much cash will remain after payments. If the store paid for the entire purchase, it spent UAH 30,000. After customer refunds and the other costs shown, the difference between receipts and payments is UAH 45,000 − 30,000 − 3,000 − 4,000 = UAH 8,000. Another UAH 2,400 remains tied up in resalable stock.

Before approving a discount, recalculate the example using your own costs and a lower sales volume. If the offer leaves too little money for the store to operate, change the purchase cost, set contents, advertising budget, or discount amount.

How to Test an Offer and Prepare Clear Terms

Launch a small batch with a limited budget and a predetermined period for testing demand. Write down exactly what you are testing: the price, set contents, or how the product is presented. Before expanding the campaign, compare paid orders, the cost of acquiring them, the amount left after variable costs, and the team’s ability to deliver what it promised.

• Show the customer the exact product or set contents, final price, and available options.
• State the offer period, actual quantity limits, fulfillment methods, and delivery cost.
• Check that the price on the page, price tag, and checkout matches, and that sales staff understand the rules for combining discounts.
• Keep a price history and the approved campaign terms; do not create an artificial previous price to display a larger discount.
• Use genuine reviews and accurate information about product availability.

Before publishing discount advertising, determine separately which requirements of Ukrainian law on advertising and price disclosures apply to your offer, and reflect them in the text and presentation.

For dates of public importance, choose a restrained message that reflects customers’ actual needs. Do not use bereavement, the trauma of war, or judgments about a person’s patriotism as reasons to buy. If you mention a charitable component, explain exactly how you will transfer the funds and keep proof that you fulfilled the promise.

How to Schedule Sales Staff and Account for Pay

If you employ workers in Ukraine, follow the special labor rules in effect during martial law. These rules also cover people working under employment contracts with individual entrepreneurs, in accordance with Article 1 of Law of Ukraine No. 2136-IX of March 15, 2022, “On the Organization of Labor Relations under Martial Law”.

A marketing event or professional holiday does not by itself establish a day off. The list of public holidays and non-working days is set out in Article 73 of the Labor Code of Ukraine (LCU). While martial law is in effect, its provisions do not apply under Part 6 of Article 6 of Law No. 2136-IX. During this period, the rules in Parts 3–5 of Article 67 of the LCU on transferring days off also do not apply.

While these special rules are in effect, a date listed in Article 73 does not by itself create an obligation to pay double for work on a public holiday. An employee may work a regular shift under the established schedule. Take into account the terms of employment and collective agreements, as well as the separate grounds for paying for overtime—work beyond established working hours—night work, or work on an employee’s designated day off.

When Article 73 applies, work on the relevant public holidays and non-working days is permitted in the cases it specifies, including services for the public. Article 107 of the LCU sets the pay: piece-rate workers, who are paid according to the amount of work completed, receive double rates; workers on an hourly or daily rate receive double their rate.

For a monthly salary, the additional pay depends on whether the work falls within the monthly working time requirement: a single rate in addition to salary for work within the requirement, or double the rate in addition to salary for work beyond it. Calculate pay based on the hours actually worked. At the request of an employee who worked on a public holiday or non-working day, another day of rest may also be granted.

Prepare the schedule and pay calculation in this order:

1. Allocate shifts based on expected customer traffic and shipping times. Provide breaks and cover.
2. Assign responsibility for the checkout, consultations, order assembly, and receiving goods.
3. Give the draft schedule and the terms of employment and collective agreements to the employee who handles personnel and payroll records. Ask them to identify night work, overtime, work on an employee’s designated day off, and the corresponding pay.
4. Before assigning night shifts, take Article 8 of Law No. 2136-IX into account: during martial law, pregnant women, women with a child under one year old, and people with disabilities for whom such work is contraindicated by medical advice may not be assigned night work without their consent. Inform the team in advance of the approved schedule and pay terms.
5. If you change material working conditions or pay terms, document the changes and notify the employee. During martial law, under Part 2 of Article 3 of Law No. 2136-IX, the employer must notify the employee before introducing such terms.
6. Agree on how to exchange urgent messages and record actual hours worked for payroll calculations.

Do not set a 60-hour working week for an ordinary store solely because of seasonal demand. Part 1 of Article 6 of Law No. 2136-IX provides for this increase for employees working at critical infrastructure facilities. For the relevant employees with reduced working hours, the limit is 40 hours, and an increase in the working time requirement requires a proportional increase in pay. The special working time requirements in Parts 1 and 2 of Article 6 do not apply to the work of minors.

How to Track Seasonal Stock, Discounts, and Orders in Torgsoft

Before purchasing, check stock and prices in «Склад → Стан складу» (“Warehouse → Stock status”):

1. Review product quantities, sizes, cost, and price.
2. Filter items by season and create a list for calculating the purchase.
3. Review the history of price and discount changes to prepare a promotional price.
4. If needed, set a product discount—a discount on a specific item—in this screen.
5. Run a test sale and check the final price. A customer discount does not change the product discount you set.

For orders with delivery, assign an employee to manage торгівлю з випискою рахунка (“sales with invoice issuance”):

1. Enter the agreed date in the «Дата доставки» (“Delivery date”) field.
2. Filter invoices by «Стан оплати» (“Payment status”) and «Стан відвантаження» (“Shipment status”). The latter shows how products are distributed among delivery notes. The employee responsible for delivery separately verifies that parcels were actually handed over to the carrier.
3. Open «Налаштування → Параметри → Облік» (“Settings → Parameters → Accounting”).
4. In the «Виписувати накладні за рахунком» (“Issue delivery notes for invoice”) field, select «Тільки за перевіреними рахунками» (“Only for verified invoices”). The employee will then be able to create an outgoing delivery note—a document for transferring goods—only for a verified invoice.
5. The employee assembling the order selects the «Товар рахунка» (“Invoice items”) tab and clicks «Перевірити товари рахунка» (“Check invoice items”).
6. They scan the barcodes of the assembled products or enter the product codes.
7. If a mismatch message appears, they compare the order with the invoice and correct the error.
8. For split shipments, enable «Часткове відвантаження» (“Partial shipment”).
9. Click «Створити видаткову накладну» (“Create outgoing delivery note”).
10. For a partial shipment, in the «Відвантаження товару за рахунком» (“Shipment of items by invoice”) window, select the products and quantities for the parcel. Click «Відвантажити товар» (“Ship items”).
11. Confirm creation of the delivery note by clicking «Так» (“Yes”).
12. In the «Накладна» (“Delivery note”) window, enter the required parameters and click «Записати» (“Save”).
13. Wait for the message confirming that a delivery note has been created for the invoice.
14. Before handing over the parcel, the responsible employee checks its contents against the products and quantities on the delivery note.

Before configuring the system, select the appropriate paid license: warehouse accounting and discounts are available in Start and Ultra, while sales with invoice issuance are available in Ultra and the terminal version. Start supports one accounting center—a store or warehouse in Torgsoft; Ultra and the terminal version support several. In a local network, each computer requires a separate license. For remote work with one shared database on a server, a terminal configuration is available: the base license includes three client connections, and additional connections are charged separately.

Before buying or changing a license, review the feature comparison and current commercial terms. Additional options are charged separately; check the features, setup terms, and limitations for your selected option in the options catalog.

What to Check During and After a Campaign

Every day, compare paid orders, available products, and shipping capacity. Assign an employee who can pause advertising for an unavailable item, adjust delivery times, and agree on a replacement with the customer. For a long campaign, recalculate purchase needs regularly, taking into account the time remaining before demand ends.

When the offer ends, remove promotional messages, check prices at the checkout, and determine the status of every unfulfilled order. Agree with customers on next steps to complete those orders. Sort remaining stock into products for regular sale, storage until the next season, markdown, and write-off—removal from inventory records. Before storing products, assess their condition, shelf life, storage space costs, and the amount of money that will remain tied up in them.

Calculate the final result with returns and costs included. Record the number of units sold, revenue after returns, campaign expenses, inventory losses, and remaining stock. Add specific decisions to the next season’s plan: which items to order earlier, which to reduce, when to stop replenishment, and how many orders the team can fulfill per day.

Start with the next seasonal event: list the products for a test batch and the date by which customers need to receive them. Compare the list with stock, supplier lead times, and team capacity to determine the first purchase quantity and the last day for accepting orders.