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Sunday newsagency management tip: start the financial year with good data

Poor data is in my top three causes for a newsagency struggling or failing.

If you do not use accurate current data in business planning then your business decisions are more likely to be either wrong or less effective.

I know data can be a boring topic. It is better for you to master this boring topic and have a business than it ignore it and not have a business.

Yes, it is that simple.

Accurate current data can help you:

  1. Buy better – buy replacing what is selling, buying to a budget and buying new products based on what shoppers buy today.
  2. Deal with suppliers, compare suppliers understand the financial value of suppliers.
  3. Cut employee theft.
  4. Cut shopper theft.
  5. Tune your roster to cut labour cost.

Every newsagent either wants or should want these benefits. It is a weakness for and of our channel is that more newsagents ignore data than embrace it.

So how to you improve the quality of your business data: scan everything you sell, enter into your computer system all stock that comes in, scan out everything (including cards) you return, do a stock take ASAP and then rolling category stock checks through the year.

These tasks can be done in the regular course of running your business. They are not a burden. Newsagents sometimes say they are a burden so they have an excuse to not face up to the truth of their business data.

Your data is your truth. Embrace it and your business will improve.

I know of at least ten newsagencies where an employee was able to steal more than $100,000 because the business did not treat data with respect.

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Management tip

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