While operating a liquor store can be a very lucrative proposition, it also has its drawbacks in the form of stress management. Fortunately, a good liquor POS system has the potential to reduce such stress and keep a host of management worries at bay. Here’s how.
A liquor POS system supports compliance with liquor laws.
Federal laws and regulations, including those set by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, are very complex. However, the capabilities of a liquor POS system make these mandates easier to follow—eliminating any worries about the hefty fines and imprisonment that can result from failure to follow the rules.
For example, retailers must record the quantity of all distilled spirits, wine and beer received on their premises, along with the date on which the shipment arrived at the store and the identity of the source(s) from which the inventory was obtained. Such information can be automatically maintained and tracked from electronic invoices on the liquor POS system, effectively eliminating the need to sweat over keeping and updating manual records.
Liquor merchants are also required to keep records of the sale of distilled spirits, wine, or beer in quantities of 20 wine gallons or more to one customer in a single transaction. These records must specify the date of sale, the purchaser’s name and address, the kind and quantity of liquors sold, and the serial numbers of any full cases of distilled spirits purchased. With a liquor POS system in place, this information can be easily recorded and accessed when and if necessary.
A liquor POS yields tight control over money.
For liquor retailers, running a profitable operation necessitates a clear picture of where the money is, at all times. A liquor POS system makes this possible with daily breakdowns of sales by tender type and an accounting of all cash collected, down to the penny.
A liquor POS system enables easy—and accurate—age verification.
No matter the law, underage patrons will continue to attempt to purchase alcoholic beverages. As the problem escalates, authorities are conducting more and more undercover “sting” initiatives to determine whether operations are breaking state and federal liquor laws by allowing minors to purchase from them anything other than non-alcoholic beverages and snacks.
A liquor POS system with an age verification component facilitates compliance with liquor laws and minimizes or eliminates the chance of inadvertently allowing minors to complete transactions that involve alcoholic beverages. To determine whether a customer is of legal age to buy liquor, wine, or spirits, employees swipe or scan the bar code on the individual’s driver’s license. Identifying information can also be manually entered into the age verification feature to approve the sale of alcohol to customers over 21. Leveraging the liquor POS in such a manner means management need no longer “stress out” about facing citations, fines, penalties, or other negative consequences that can result from selling alcoholic beverages to anyone who, according to the law, should not be purchasing them.
A liquor POS system facilitates advanced inventory reporting.
Most liquor stores carry thousands of SKUs of product in a wide variety of forms, from individual bottles and cans to multi-packs, cases, and more. With a liquor POS system, there are no tracking headaches. Just as importantly, merchants enjoy ample access to inventory information that can be “sliced-and-diced” in numerous ways. For example, sales can be tracked by individual item or groups of items as well as broken down by year, month, date, and time of day. The liquor POS system can also generate reports that identify top-selling items, high profit generators, and seasonal favorites, as well as yield information about the results of in-store promotions and produce sales reports by shift and employee.
With such detailed data in hand, operators experience fewer worries about where their inventory is and boost the potential to offer the right product, in the right quantities, at the right time. Moreover, theft and shrink become less of a concern because a review of reports generated by the liquor POS paves the way for quickly pinpointing discrepancies between sales recorded and money collected, and from where—or whom—the problem may be originating.
All merchants—liquor retailers included—worry about their business from time to time, but continual stress is good for no one. The ability of a good liquor POS system to keep stress levels low makes it a worthwhile investment.
