How Signage Can Make a Difference in Your Grocery Store

September 5, 2017 Finance Tips

When you own or manage a grocery store, you have quite a few customers coming through the door every day to make purchases. A 2011 report revealed that 86% of customers will actually pay more when they have a better experience at a store.

While each customer will likely have their own definition of what constitutes a quality experience, it tends to include the ability to easily locate the items they want or need. Customers also like to have a variety of product choices as well as ready access to sales associates when they have a question. The check-out experience is also an area that influences how a customer perceives whether or not they are a valued customer.

Most shoppers will make their final purchase decisions when they’re actually at the grocery store. In fact, studies show that 82% of purchases fall within this category. Since the average consumer is exposed on a daily basis to 3,000 advertisements and promotional messages, this creates space for impulse buys.

Shoppers will usually decide whether to purchase their usual brand or a competitor’s within 3 to 7 seconds. Given that 6 to 10 store purchases may be impulse buys, display signage makes a difference in this regard. If your store offers its own brand along with competing brands, this is something to consider.

A 2014 Mass Merchant Study showed that 16% of these purchases were made as a result of seeing a display sign during a shopping trip. Whether these were clear plastic hanging signs, deli signs, picture display stands, or a poster stand, it’s clear that signage does make a difference in what sells and what doesn’t.

Brigham Young University, among others, recently conducted surveys related to these issues. The combined results of these studies showed that merchandise with signs outsells those without by 20%. Furthermore, full-priced items performed 18% better when they had a sign.

Given that there are approximately 30,000 SKUs launched every year, according to data from 2014, labeling product sections and bins with clear plastic hanging signs and other types of signage can make a significant impact on the customer experience and sales.

Three Importance Advances in the Banking Industry

August 31, 2017 Finance Tips

Banks have evolved in many ways over the years. Traditional banks many years ago relied on a type of honesty system. If you wanted to deposit your money into the bank, you simply walked into the nearest one and received a deposit slip that was written on a sheet of paper. The bank could easily go out of business or lose track of who they owed money to. Fortunately, over the years the banking industry has grown, both in accuracy and in timely transactions.

The use of cash management software programs
Cash management system software programs significantly increased the accuracy in banks. Bank tellers now had to record all transactions with cash management system software programs. There was a reduction in human error and tellers were told the exact amount to deposit or the exact amount to give to the customer. At the end of the business day, tellers were told how much should be in their drawer, and some advanced machines could even tell if that number was short or over.

The introduction of automatic coin sorters
Banks are tasked with all money needs. People started collecting their change because it was easy to save. When they collected large amounts of it, they would bring it into their local bank and cash it in. The bank teller would have to sit and physically count every single coin. In many cases, they would have to count and then recount for accuracy. Still, mistakes were common. Once the customer was given their money, the bank teller would have to individually wrap all of the coins into coin wraps for easy storage.

The cash recycler machine made this common task easier and quicker. The auto coin wraps made it so tellers no longer had to wrap loose coins. The cash counters actually took the process entirely away from the teller. Instead, these cash and coin counters are placed at the entrance of the bank, away from the tellers. Customers insert their own coins into the coin recycler machine. When the machine is finished counting, it spits out a slip with the amount. The customer then brings this amount to the teller, who will hand them the cash, in much larger of bills. This cash management solution drastically changed the speed of the traditional banking service.

Automated drive through machines
One of the biggest complaints traditionally about banks was their lack of hours. Most banks were open during normal business hours, so if you had a regular day job you might find it difficult to make it to the bank. You might even have to take off work to gain access to your funds. This problem was solved with the automated drive through machine. Using the same cash management system software programs, automated machines had the ability to identify how much money a person had in their account. The machine could then count and spit out a requested amount.

Additionally, automated teller machines could also receive deposits. This helped people who were worried about transactions hitting or not being able to use their banking card because of a lack of funds. These advanced machines have evolved to allow customers to insert actual cash. Currency counters allow for cash deposits, even without envelopes, because they can identify which bills have been inserted instead of just how many. Cash counting machines allow a business to maintain 100% assured accuracy for cash transactions, even when using an automated machine.

Banks have come a long way from traditional banking practices. The entire banking visit used to be extremely time consuming, inconvenient, and not always completely accurate. Today, cash management system software programs and automated machines have greatly improved the speed and accuracy of the banking transaction.

5 Tips to Reduce Cash Management Problems

August 31, 2017 Finance Tips

Human error is present in many business related activities. This is especially true in counting cash and coin. A single business manager may have to count and recount, multiple times, to obtain an accurate number. It is still possible, after numerous recounting, to have accuracy errors. Because a lot relies on the cash flow and accuracy of cash counting in a business, the ability to count a true number is extremely important. Businesses can improve their cash management problems with the following methods.

Require at least two counters
Requiring a minimum of two counters can catch errors that the first did not. The best way to utilize the two counter method is to have the first person count, marking their recorded number when completed. After the second counter completes their count, compare the numbers. If they are off, each counter should recount. This process should continue until the numbers match each other. This is an especially beneficial was to ensure counting accuracy, especially when dealing with large amounts of coins or smaller bills.

Install security cameras
Installing cameras over the area that the cash counter counts can be helpful and reduce cash management problems. The good thing about the cameras is that they will reduce chance of theft. If the counter knows that their every move is watched, they are less likely to steal. The cameras can also be used to double check accuracy. If you find out later that your deposited numbers do not match what was counted, you can run back the cameras and double check. Just make sure you train your cash counters to count cash and coins in a way that can easily be seen on the cameras.

Use electronic coin sorter counters
Counting large amounts of coins can be tedious and time consuming. Investing in coin wrappers and coin sorter counters can reduce cash management problems, when there are a lot of problems with coin counting. Fully electronic counters that are able to count batches of notes or of coins without having to process them individually, were introduced in Great Britain in 1980. Additionally, this process is much quicker. Coin counters, or customers, simply dump their storage bins or registers of coins into the machine and are provided with a combined amount, within seconds. These electric machines are also beneficial in recycling coins.

Use cash counting machines
Similar to coin sorter machines, businesses can also invest in cash counting machines. These electric machines take large batches of bills, sorting, and counting them. For complete accuracy, have your cash counters count first and then run the bills through cash counting machines. In some modern automated teller machines, currency counters allow for cash deposits without envelopes, since they can identify which bills have been inserted instead of just how many. This is similar to how the cash counting machines work. These note recyclers can greatly reduce cash management problems.

Utilize a counterfeit machine
Counterfeit currency is prevalent in the U.S. and can be harmful to a business. If a business unknowingly accepts large amounts of counterfeit cash, they have essentially given away product or services for free. Counterfeiting of money is one of the oldest crimes in history. It was a serious problem during the 19th century when banks issued their own currency. The best way to reduce the chances of counterfeit money from affecting your bottom line is to utilize counterfeit machines.

Coin and cash counting is an important, but complex and time consuming job for businesses. Inaccurate counting, which is common with human error, can affect the business owner form knowing exactly how much they are making. Using the two counter method, coin sorting machines, cash counting machines, and counterfeit machines can reduce cash management problems and give businesses an accurate count that they can trust and rely on.

How Simple Suction Cup Sign Holders Can Bring In Business

July 4, 2017 Finance Tips

We live in a society built on consumerism. It’s all about supply and demand, what the customer wants, and how a company can best catch the eye of the consumer. It can be a tricky thing to do, to be the most visible to potential customers and clients. Businesses need to constantly rebuild, rebrand, and rethink marketing in order to stay relevant and appealing to the masses. Sometimes it comes down to major marketing campaigns, sometimes a growing online presence is particularly helpful, and sometimes it can be as simple as the right suction cup sign holder on the door of your brick and mortar business.

The perfect suction cup sign holder

There are plenty of ways to catch the interest of consumers and get them in the door. Fancy flashing lights and rolling marquees, enormous signs or exuberant mascots, and catchy signage indicating a major sale are all methods to keep a steady stream of customers headed your way. But in all of your brainstorming, don’t forget to fall back on simple, tried and true methods as well, such as a suction cup sign holder advertising your store hours, special sales or events, or other relevant information that customers need to know.

How do you present your business?

Presenting your business and special sales or merchandise is about more than just the right window sign holder with suction cups. From glass door signs to product stand displays and the actual layout of your store and merchandise, you want every aspect of your company and product to be appealing to your customers. The right signage is important, as one study showed that merchandise selling at full price sold 18% better when represented with signage than without signage.
But it was also found that customers will make as many as 82% of their buying decisions while they are right there in the store, so the setup and presentation matters as well. And about 16% of unplanned purchases were made as a result of a well positioned sign or display that shoppers noticed while in the store for another reason.

Running a business can be a tricky thing. But when you pay careful attention to people, and how your customer base responds to different marketing methods, you can watch your company grow and succeed.
Helpful links.

Are You Considering a Cash Management System for Your Small Business?

July 1, 2017 Finance Tips

Cash recycling systems are a great investment for businesses of all size. Managing coins, recycling coins, and counting bills are just some of the services offered by these cost efficient, theft reducing machines. In fact, cash recycling systems provide a more trustworthy system between employers and employees, while at the same time allowing workers to interact more with the paying public.
Purchasing a cash recycling system from a company that provides 24 hour troubleshooting services can help you know that you will always be able to accurately and efficiently process the cash, coins, and checks that your business takes in.
Retail Cash Management Can be Full of Errors and Time Consuming
At the end of the the two the two things that matter most in a retail setting are the service you provide your customers and the accurate collection of payments. Cash recycling systems, as well as currency counter machines and counterfeit detector machines allow employees to focus on customer care while the automated machines take care of the accuracy.
Unfortunately, human error is a real problem when it comes to handing cash. Both the error in judgement of employees who pocket profits and the error in change making can, in fact, have a devastating effect on a business. Employing the use of the best cash management solutions, however, can help eliminate these tow errors. The fact that many of the newest and best machines also come with counterfeit detection technologies means that those losses can be avoided as well.

Money counting skills are not a strength of many of the people in today’s work force. Using an electric cash counter and change making machine, however, can help eliminate costly errors that are made by workers.
A currency counting machine is a mechanism that counts money, both stacks of banknotes or bills and loose collections of coins.
Keeping large bills out where they are easily accessible to employees is not good practice. A currency counting machine can pull the largest bills out of circulation and prepare them for deposit.
Estimates indicate that cash counting machines allow a business to maintain 100% assured accuracy for cash transactions.

In some modern automated teller machines, currency counters conveniently allow for cash deposits without envelopes, because these machines can identify which bills have been inserted instead of just how many.
The decision to make sure that you provide your employees the tools to accurately collect cash payments and make change is the decision to protect you, your employees, and your business.

Check scanners allow businesses to scan and electronically deposit checks throughout the day instead of waiting until the end of the day.
One of the major reasons companies and businesses use money counters is because of the amount of time it saves them.
Unfortunately, counting notes and bills by hand is time consuming and usually has to be done two or three times to make sure the numbers are correct to account for any human error.
Not new, fully electronic counters that have the ability to count batches of coins or of notes without having to process them individually, were introduced in Great Britain in back in the year 1980.
The one-dollar bill accounts for 48% of the paper bills printed by the U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing.

Choosing the Right Business Broker to Help You Sell Your Business

June 7, 2017 Finance Tips

Owning a business and watching it grow and flourish can be one of the most rewarding and fulfilling experiences if you are an entrepreneur. People with good business ideas routinely establish and build their businesses with the hope of seeing it flourish in the competitive market and reach new heights of success, something that sometimes happens and sometimes does not. If you have an established business that you have built with the right intentions and have watched grow over the years, it can definitely provide you with a feeling of success and accomplishment. However, there are certain situations where businesses need to be sold. Some people develop businesses with the definite aim of sending them down the line to the highest bidder, so that they can walk away with a large amount of money. Some people, on the contrary, are pushed towards selling their businesses depending on the circumstances that they are faced with. There can be a thousand different reasons why you would need to sell your business in a particular situation, and if you are facing circumstances like that, the one thing that you need to ensure is that you get the right price for your business when you sell it.

Buying and selling businesses is something that is also regulated by the law and a number of provisions and recommendations brought into effect by both local and national entities. Enlisting professional help should always be something that you need to consider whether you want to buy a business or are wondering how to sell my business. The professionals in this regard that you can engage deal with the buying and selling of businesses on a regular basis, know all the legal details that are necessary to accomplish these transactions without any problems, and have complete insight about the different recommendations and regulations and best practices that are usually associated with the buying and selling of businesses. Enlisting the help of the right business broker can be one of the best things that you can do if you are looking to sell your business for the right amount of money, or to purchase a business that you can then further developed. Business brokers carry out the important task of representing either side of the spectrum and look out for their best interests while ensuring that everything is kept under the purview of the rules and regulations in the legal framework.

If selling your business is what you are after, you definitely need a business broker to represent your side of the deal, find the right party for purchasing the business, ensure the best possible valuation for your business, and broker the deal with your interests in mind. This kind of arrangement is usually provided by business brokers that act as sell side brokers or sell side advisory. Business brokers of this kind can help you accomplish quite a lot of things that you are required to accomplish during the period of time during which you are preparing for the sale of your company, and having the right business broker in your corner looking after your interests and the interests of your company can be one of the most important assets that you can have at this point of time. Some of the most important things that your business broker can help you accomplish during this phase of the process is to ensure that you have the right valuation so that the highest possible monetary number can be assigned to your business, ensuring that you get the best return possible when you eventually sell your business. Valuation can be a complex process, and making sure that everything is done by the book can definitely expedite selling process and bring you a better value, and this is something that your business broker help to accomplish faster and smoother.

With all this in mind, you can definitely maximize the value that you get for your business with the help of the right business broker if you just spend some time and effort choosing the right broker for your requirements and making sure that everything is done according to plan, thereby getting you the best value.

Have You Failed in a Past Business Attempt?

May 30, 2017 Finance Tips

Small business valuation multiples by industry

Hindsight is 20/20, but in the case of your mistaken business investment, you needed more than a better vision, you needed a better product, a better location, and a better pricing system. In fact, the decision to go into your business adventure without a complete understanding of the available business valuation tools was a very unwise decision.
Fortunately, you have been able to salvage some assets from this failed attempt at your first business adventure, and you hope to take what you have learned and make a new start before long. Company valuations are never an exact science, but with a better understanding of the small business valuation resources both new and unexperienced investors can make more informed decisions.
Business Valuation Tools Serve as an Informative Way to Approach Investing in a New Business Opportunity
Whether you are in the process of buying or selling a business, understanding the resources that are available to you can help you find a more accurate way to understand the value of a business. The business valuation process is largely an exercise in economic analysis. For this reason it should come as no surprise that the company financial information provides key inputs into the entire process.
In almost all valuation methods, the two main financial statements needed for business appraisals are the balance sheet and the income statement. In fact, to achieve a proper job of valuing a small business, it is important to have three to five years of historic income statements and balance sheets available. Using this information investors and sellers can start the process of determining both asking and selling prices.
Other key key starting points in establishing a business worth include:

Determining why you need business valuation.
Assembling all the required information.

With these two points determined, the investor or buyer can then find an institution or a computer program that can help measure the business valuation. Typically, the evaluation process then follows one of three approaches:

Comparison made to recent sales of similar businesses. Sometimes the similarity is found in number of employees, locations, products or services sold, or a combination of these and other factors.
Determinations based on the earning power and risk assessment of a business.
Determinations based on the assets of the company.

References.

How Cash Counting Machines Improve Efficiency and Security

April 5, 2017 Finance Tips

For businesses that handle large amounts of cash, cash counting and cash recycling machines offer a number of advantages. Coins counting machines and other automated money handling processes help businesses to improve efficiencies and security, reduce losses, and to streamline the overall cash flow. Dealing with a large volume of cash, coin or cheques is easier when processes are automated.

Currency counter machines for businesses
Coins counting machines and currency sorters can count large stacks of notes or loose coins quickly and accurately. Currency counting machines have been around since the 1980s and were first used in the U.K. For business owners, controllers, accountants, CFOs, and COOs, they offer solutions for asset protection, loss prevention, security and other cash management needs.

Improve efficiencies
Counting large amounts of cash and coins can be slow and time consuming. When counting notes and coins by hand, the process must be repeated several times to avoid error. Even so, the possibility of mistakes remains.
With coins counting machines and currency machines, counting cash becomes quick and 100% accurate. It frees up staff for other tasks, especially customer oriented ones. Money counter machines can even reduce labor costs as staff time that was spent on counting cash and notes by hand is now use more productively.
Greater security
Coins counting machines and currency sorting machines not only remove the possibility of human error, they also put an end to losses and employee theft. All businesses that handle large amounts of cash face the problem of regular losses due to theft. Automated cash handling removes this problem at the source.
Automated cash counting machines can also improve security by reducing the frequency of armored car pick ups. Overall, better and automated cash handling improves both efficiency and security.
Detect counterfeits
Coins counter machines also function as counterfeit detector machines and can help identify and eliminate fakes. Counterfeit coins and notes have been a problem throughout history. In the nineteenth century, when banks issued their own currency, it was a serious problem. The secret service was actually founded in 1865 with the primary task of detecting counterfeit currency.
Currency counter machines can detect fake notes and bills and separate them, minimizing losses.

For businesses that handle large amounts of cash on a regular basis, currency sorter machines and coins counter machines offer multiple advantages. Greater security, accuracy and efficiency help to streamline the cash flow and improve opportunities for customer facing interactions.

When It Comes Time To Sell Your Business, Get a Professional Valuation

March 31, 2017 Finance Tips

If you own your own business, you will likely need to consider selling it at some point. You will retire at some point, and you could need to sell before then because of financial hardship, illness or another reason. Even if you are just selling the business to an employee or a relative, you need to know what it is worth so you can be fairly compensated. To get an accurate business valuation, you may need to avail yourself of business valuation services.

What your business is truly worth may be more or less than what you believe it to be. If you have an inflated opinion of your business valuation, you may set the price way too high and not be able to sell it. If you think your business is worth less than what it really is, then you could wind up leaving money on the table. Neither of these situations is ideal, and they can be avoided by using the expertise of business evaluation services to get small business valuations.

When looking to value your business, a valuation professional is likely to take one of three approaches. He or she might use comparable sales of other businesses, take the value of the assets or look at the potential for future sales and weigh it against the risks. In some situations, your valuation professional may use a combination of two or more of the factors to come up with a price. What type of business you have can influence what method to use as well. For example, for an online service business, it would make much more sense to use a valuation income approach to look at prospects for sales. On the other hand, a manufacturing business with lots of expensive machinery may be better off being valued based on its assets.

At a minimum, you can expect to need to show your valuation expert about three to five years worth of balance sheets and income statements. You might also be asked for client lists, an inventory of intellectual property and other documentation that might show the worth of intangible assets.

Keep in mind that selling your business is more of an art than it is a science. Even if you have a firm grasp on assets and sales, it still comes down to whether you can find an interested buyer, and you may have to decide whether you want to get your business sold for less than you expected or hold out for a certain price while facing the risk of not selling your business at all. For more information see this.

Reasons You Might Need an Accurate Company Valuation

March 28, 2017 Finance Tips

When you are self employed, it can be difficult to accurately establish the value of your business. It is much different than working at a salaried position, where you are provided with detailed W2s. When you are the business owner, you cannot simply take into account the total income of the business. You have to also account for things like costs, rent and utilities, product development, marketing, employee wages and benefits, and even expected losses. However, it is important to have an accurate company valuation for many reasons.

To obtain lending

If your business requires additional capital for expenses or to expand the business, you will have to apply for a loan. When you apply for a small business loan, the bank requires specific information about the business, including its business valuation appraisal. If you are unsure about calculating the worth of my business, you may not have the necessary information to obtain a loan and may need to create an evaluation.

Business valuation is largely an economic analysis exercise. Not surprisingly, the company financial information provides key inputs into the process. The two main financial statements you need for business valuation are the income statement and the balance sheet. To do a proper job of valuing a small business, you should have 3 to 5 years of historic income statements and balance sheets available. These small business valuation resources may be especially helpful if you are wondering the best process for calculating the worth of my business.

To sell the business

Perhaps you are ready to move onto other business ventures or you want to retire. Either way, you will need an accurate business valuation of your company to sell it. Buyers will not even consider buying your business if you have never been involved in calculating the worth of my business. The business valuation with the intent to sell may be a little different than the valuation used to obtain lending.

It may seem surprising at first that the valuation results are influenced by your need for business valuation, but business value is not absolute. It is a process of measuring business worth, which depends on two key elements, how you measure business value and under what circumstances. In formal terms, these elements are known as the standard of value and the premise of value. Simply put, your reason for sale will factor into calculating my business worth. If you are selling because you no longer have time to run the business, yet it is profitable, you are likely to receive more. However, if you are losing money and cannot afford to keep the afloat, this will also be taken into consideration.

Insurance purposes

You may also be tasked with calculating the worth of my business for insurance purposes. Your insurance policy needs to align with the type of business you do and the amount of customers you service. Small business valuations can help an insurance provider understand your insurance needs. Small businesses involved in more dangerous of working conditions, such as construction companies or electrical workers may require higher amounts of insurance. The business valuation gives them a better idea of the needs of the company.

To go public

Gaining IPO status is a goal among many medium sized businesses. When you trade publically, you are opening up your business to endless growth opportunities. There is a lengthy and complex process involved with going public. One of the most important steps is calculating and publishing the true value and evaluation of the business. You can determine the value of your business using these three approaches, by comparison to recent sales of similar businesses, based on the business? earning power and risk assessment, and based on the company?s assets. All of these factors are likely to be taken into account when attempting to go public.

There are many reasons that you may need to calculate an accurate business valuation. A few of the most common reasons include obtaining lending, purchasing an insurance policy on the business, selling the company, or going public in the IPO market. Ensure that you have the necessary documents and that you are using the right method of valuation for your business.