How to Manage a Network of Ten Stores: Responsibilities, Products, Cash, and Reports

To manage ten stores, the owner needs to assign responsibility for products, prices, money, and reviewing results. Start with a shared product catalog, rules for receiving and transferring goods, individual user access, and a consistent reporting format. Store managers can then handle day-to-day operations independently, while the owner receives a list of issues that require a decision.

For a retail network in Ukraine, we recommend this management workflow: each store manager checks their location daily, the area manager coordinates stores and resolves recurring problems, the accountant reconciles documents and money, and the owner approves policies and financial decisions. Below is a practical framework you can adapt to your product range, delivery schedule, and team composition.

Assign responsibility across four roles

For every process, name both the person who carries it out and the person who checks the result. If the owner performs several roles, keep them separate in the procedure: this makes it easier to hand off part of the work without changing the whole management system.

Assign a backup for each role during absences. Separately document who approves discounts outside the agreed terms, write-offs, stock adjustments, and cash expenses. Set limits according to your budget and risks: the same amount can mean different things for stores with different turnover.

Create a shared product catalog and a process for changing prices

Use one inventory item for the same product across all stores. SKU, short for Stock Keeping Unit, is a distinct inventory record. For example, each size or color of the same shoe model needs its own item so the manager can see exactly which variant needs replenishing.

1. Assign an employee to create and check product records. When a new delivery arrives, the store manager first searches for an existing item by code and attributes.
2. Agree on required fields: name, internal code, barcode, unit of measure, category, size, or another key attribute. Store the supplier's code separately from the network's internal code.
3. Set a base price list and permitted store-level exceptions. For each exception, record the reason, the person responsible, and the period it applies.
4. Before changing prices, check the list of affected products, new prices, and the effect of discounts. Once the changes take effect, the store manager arranges replacement of price tags and checks the price with a test scan.

If the catalog already contains duplicates, first compare their attributes, stock, and movement history. Merging different sizes or package types will distort purchasing data. Limit the creation of new records until the review is complete so the number of duplicates does not grow.

Receive deliveries based on the goods actually received

The employee receiving a delivery must compare the document with the actual quantity, attributes, and condition of the goods. During receiving, separate damaged or disputed items from goods fit for sale so sales staff do not include them in available stock.

1. Enter the store or warehouse, supplier, document number, and the employee receiving the goods.
2. Count the goods and check that codes, sizes, colors, and units of measure match.
3. Record shortages, surpluses, or damage against specific items. Send the discrepancy to the person responsible for the supplier.
4. Record the quantity actually received. Keep any unresolved difference on an open-issues list with an owner and a review deadline.
5. Check purchasing data and the selling price, then move the goods to the sales floor.

If goods are already physically in the store but the document has not yet been entered, the manager should arrange for receiving to be completed. Allow sales with negative stock only as a separately approved exception included in the daily review. Otherwise, it will be harder to distinguish a receiving error from a sales error.

Confirm dispatch and receipt between stores

Set three separate transfer statuses: goods prepared, dispatched, and received. After dispatch, the goods should no longer count as available stock at the sending store. Until the receiving store confirms actual receipt, record them as goods in transit.

In the document or linked register, record the sending store, receiving store, list and quantity of goods, dispatch time, expected delivery time, and the people responsible for handover and receipt. Assign an employee to check overdue deliveries and find out where the goods are.

• The sender counts the goods before packing and confirms the actual handover.
• The recipient checks the quantity and condition of the goods before confirming receipt.
• If fewer goods arrive than were dispatched, the recipient records the actual quantity, and the area manager arranges an investigation into the difference.
• The accountant checks that the documents and value data are consistent so the transfer does not create an unjustified change in the store's results.

For the network's management report, do not include internal transfers as sales to customers. If the stores operate under different business entities, first agree with the accountant on the documents and process for recording the transaction between them.

Set up individual access and check the restrictions

Give each employee their own account and access to the operations they perform. Sales staff need sales and returns processing under the agreed procedure; store managers need receiving, checks of their own till and stock; area managers need data for their assigned stores; accountants need documents and financial reconciliations. Leave the ability to change access itself with a designated administrator.

Separately check permissions for manually changing prices, applying unlimited discounts, deleting payments, editing past documents, writing off goods, and adjusting stock. Specify the approval required for each such action and require an explanation of the reason. Once access is configured, sign in as each role and check both permitted and prohibited actions using test transactions.

Change access on the day an employee moves to another role, and close their account when their employment ends. Employees should not share passwords, so each transaction remains linked to the person who performed it.

Check exceptions and cash balances every day

At the end of each shift, the store manager checks the physical cash and any unfinished transactions. The area manager receives a consolidated list of exceptions across all ten stores. For each entry, record the store, document or product, amount or quantity, reason, person responsible, and deadline for resolution.

For management reconciliation, calculate expected cash as follows: opening cash balance plus cash received, minus cash refunds, expenses, and cash transferred out of the till. Do not add card sales to physical cash. Reconcile transfers of takings from a store to the central cash office in both cash accounts so they do not create duplicate income in the network report.

If the reason for a discrepancy has not been identified by the end of the shift, leave the issue open and hand it over to the next person responsible. Close the review only after the cause is confirmed and the data is corrected.

Compare margin, stock, and cash every week

Prepare one report with a row for each store and a network total. Alongside the figures, state the period, report generation time, stores covered, and any unfinished reconciliations. The owner needs data that makes clear where purchasing, prices, expenses, or workflows may need to change.

• Sales and margin. Show sales after discounts, returns, net revenue, the corresponding cost of goods, and gross profit. For management reporting, the gross profit share of revenue equals gross profit divided by net revenue, multiplied by 100%. If net revenue is zero, do not calculate a percentage.
• Stock. Show the quantity and value of stock as of one date, shortages of needed items, products with no sales during the selected period, goods in transit, and unresolved discrepancies.
• Cash. Show till and account balances, receipts, payments, unconfirmed takings transfers, and upcoming supplier payments.
• Store expenses. Include expenses that can reasonably be attributed to a specific store. If you allocate shared office expenses, use the same rule each time and state it in the report notes.

Gross profit does not yet account for all business expenses. Show it separately from the result after store expenses. A cash balance in an account also does not explain profitability: it is affected by purchases, payment terms, and other receipts and payments.

Use comparable periods and consistent return accounting

Compare periods of equal length with a similar mix of weekdays. Separately note promotions, schedule changes, temporary closures, and extended stockouts. To assess the change in sales for the existing network, use stores that operated in both periods; report the results for new locations separately.

Show returns as a separate metric by transaction date and keep them linked to the original sale. In the weekly report, subtract returns processed during the current week; when assessing a specific promotion, also check returns for sales from that promotion. If you do not separate them, a return for an old purchase can distort the assessment of current demand.

The cost of returned goods should match the data for the linked sale. Agree with the accountant on a consistent basis for the metrics and a cost calculation method so store reports can be compared.

Illustrative margin calculation

Suppose that during a week a store sold goods worth UAH 120,000 after discounts and processed returns worth UAH 10,000. The cost of the goods sold was UAH 72,000, and the cost of the returned goods was UAH 6,000. All amounts in this example use the same accounting basis.

• Net revenue: 120,000 − 10,000 = UAH 110,000.
• Cost of goods, adjusted for returns: 72,000 − 6,000 = UAH 66,000.
• Gross profit: 110,000 − 66,000 = UAH 44,000.
• Gross profit share of net revenue: 44,000 ÷ 110,000 × 100% = 40%.

After calculating the figure, check what caused it to change: sales mix, discounts, purchase cost, and returns. The percentage alone does not tell you what decision to make without this context.

Replenish stock with delivery times and goods in transit in mind

For each store, set a schedule for reviewing needs, a delivery lead time, and a buffer for demand fluctuations. Before purchasing, check available stock at other locations: an approved transfer may cover the need without a new order. At the same time, the sending store must keep enough stock for its own customers.

As an initial management formula, use: purchase need equals expected sales during the delivery lead time and the interval between reviews, plus safety stock, minus available quantity. Include saleable stock and confirmed incoming goods that will arrive in time in the available quantity; subtract customer reservations. If the result is negative, the order under this formula is zero.

Illustrative replenishment example

A store expects to sell 3 units per day. Delivery takes 4 days, needs are reviewed every 3 days, and safety stock is 6 units. The target stock is therefore 3 × (4 + 3) + 6 = 27 units. The store has 9 saleable units, 2 of which are reserved, and 5 more are confirmed to arrive in time. Available quantity is 9 − 2 + 5 = 12 units, and the calculated order is 27 − 12 = 15 units.

Before confirming an order like this, the manager checks the supplier's minimum order quantity, budget, store capacity, expiry dates, and planned promotions. Review the forecast separately for seasonal goods and new products. If a product was out of stock for a long time, its actual sales during that period do not show the full level of customer demand.

Take stock in a way that helps find the cause of discrepancies

For ongoing control, schedule cycle counts. Check high-value goods, items with discrepancies, and fast-moving products more often. Set the frequency based on the results of your own checks.

1. Choose the store, area, or product group and the exact time for which you are reconciling stock.
2. Pause movement in the selected area during the count or separately record every transaction that takes place while it is being checked.
3. Have an employee record the physical quantity without looking at the system balance. This reduces the influence of the expected figure on the count.
4. Recount discrepancies and check nearby items, other sizes, receipts, returns, and unfinished transfers.
5. Send the results to the person responsible for approval, then enter confirmed adjustments.
6. Record the cause and change the process that led to the discrepancy: labeling, receiving, packing, or transaction recording.

Check goods in transit separately against dispatches and confirmations of receipt. Do not include them in the physical stock of two stores at the same time.

Torgsoft for ten stores: workflow and inventory setup

First choose a connection method. According to the official license information, Torgsoft-Ultra supports multiple workstations on a local network; simultaneous internet access by remote locations to a single server database requires a terminal setup. A paid Torgsoft license for a terminal server includes three client connections; additional connections are purchased separately. This setup requires a central server and store access to it. With Torgsoft-Online, the program and database are hosted on Torgsoft servers, and use is paid for by subscription. Count the workstations needed by cashiers, managers, inventory staff, and the accountant; check operation during connection loss separately for the specific configuration.

For inventory accounting, create separate accounting centers for stores and warehouses, assign a main pricing center, and enable synchronization for the required locations. The retail network solution describes internal transfers with the “Goods in transit” status. In this status, goods leave the sender but have not yet arrived at the recipient; the solution also provides individual access rights. It includes a cost of goods method based on delivery batches that takes internal transfers into account. Before launch, agree on the method with the accountant and test quantity, price, and cost data at both stores in a test transfer. For centralized allocation, note this limitation: the “Distribute goods” mode does not apply to products subject to strict warranty tracking by unique serial number.

For daily checks, use “Стан складу” (“Stock status”): it shows stock by selected warehouses and date, minimum stock levels, and filters for negative quantities and discounted prices below cost. For cash reconciliation, the “Реалізація” (“Sales”) mode provides daily reports on sales, returns, and cash movements, as well as a denomination-by-denomination cash check; the availability of specific totals depends on role settings. For the weekly review, choose the required reports from the “Аналіз” (“Analysis”) section, including reports on sales profitability, stock, and slow-moving goods. Use the same periods and filters for every location, then reconcile the first results against the documents.

Introduce the workflow step by step

1. Describe the structure. List the ten stores, warehouses, tills, responsible people, and business entities. Decide which data is needed separately and which belongs in the consolidated management report.
2. Prepare catalogs and opening balances. Remove duplicate products, approve prices, and check opening quantities, cash, and unfinished transfers.
3. Approve roles and short instructions. For receiving, returns, transfers, price changes, and shift closing, specify who carries out the task, the steps to follow, and how to report discrepancies.
4. Check the workflow in one store. Process a delivery, sale, return, transfer to another location, receipt confirmation, and cash reconciliation. Also check operations under restricted access.
5. Connect the remaining stores in groups. Move on once the people responsible can perform the operations independently and explain the data in their reports.
6. Set a regular review schedule. Assign a time for daily exception checks and a weekly review of margin, stock, and cash. Record each decision with an owner and deadline.

At the next review, the area manager should confirm that previous tasks were completed. If the same discrepancy recurs at several stores, check the shared instructions, settings, and staff training. This enables the owner to make decisions using verified data, while store managers understand their authority and the expected results.