Repricing goods during the count

During a recount the team picks up every item and sees every price tag. There is hardly a better moment to update prices: no separate walk-round is needed. But there is a trap here. If prices start to change at the same time as the count, confusion arises both on the shelf and in the books. So the main rule is simple: split the count and the repricing into two stages. During the count only mark things, and change prices after it is finished.

Why during the count

First, the count looks at all the goods. Places where a tag is missing, torn or unreadable, or where an item carries two tags, show themselves. Second, outdated promotional tags turn up: they stay on the shelf after the offer has ended and mislead customers. Third, there is a reason to update prices: the supplier's price has changed, or the price of an imported item depends on the exchange rate and the old retail price no longer earns a margin. There is no need to change everything at once: begin with the groups whose price depends on the exchange rate or the supplier.

During the count only mark

The counter does not touch the tag and does not change the price. They have one job: to count the goods. Tag problems they note in the remarks column or mark with a small sticker on the shelf: "no tag", "unreadable", "two prices", "old promotion". Checking prices is a separate person's job: they walk with a price list behind the counters through the zone already counted and compare the tag price with the price in the program. Give both jobs to one person and the count slows down and its quality drops.

After the count: the repricing routine

Once the till has been stopped and the count result saved, do the following:

1. Agree the pricing rule: what mark-up on cost, how to round (for example to 500 or 1,000 so'm), which groups change.
2. Draw up a price-change list in Excel: item, old price, new price, reason, who approved.
3. Enter the new prices in the program at one moment and replace the tags the same day, before the shop opens. Then the shelf and the till show the same price.
4. Collect the old promotional tags and do not leave them in the stockroom or on the floor.
5. Record the change in a document and keep the old price list in the archive.

Let us look at mark-up and rounding with an example: with a cost of 61,000 so'm and a 35 per cent mark-up, 61,000 × 1.35 = 82,350 so'm. Rounded to 500 so'm, the tag shows 82,500 so'm. Once the rule is written down, all similar goods are priced by the same logic.

In the morning brief cashiers and sales staff: which groups have changed price and what to say if a customer asks. For orders paid in advance, keep the price agreed earlier so that no dispute arises.

The effect on stock value

Write down the count result at the old prices and save it, then change the prices. Otherwise you cannot tell how much of the change in stock value comes from the count difference and how much from price. For example, the retail price of a towel set rises from 89,000 to 96,000 so'm and 40 sets are in stock. Retail value increases by (96,000 − 89,000) × 40 = 280,000 so'm, while cost stays the same. If a price is cut, retail value falls instead: that is not a loss but a decision taken, so it should be recorded in the document with the reason. Check in advance with the accountant how the revaluation appears in the books: a price change can affect reported figures.

Typical mistakes

• The tag has been replaced but the till still has the old price. The customer sees one figure on the shelf and pays another at the till.
• The same item is at the new price on the floor and at the old one in the stockroom.
• A promotional tag stays up after the promotion has ended.
• The repricing was done without a document. Later there is no answer to "why did takings change?"
• There is no rounding rule: similar goods carry different prices.

Conclusion

A recount is a good moment to tidy up the price tags, but only once the count has ended and the result is saved. The Pereuchet team hands over the count result with an exact balance file, from which it is much easier to work out new prices and update the tags on the shelves at once.