In food retail, speed and accuracy at the checkout count: hundreds of articles with barcodes, deposits on drinks, empties coming back, and stock should be right without anyone keeping lists. This guide shows how to set up a grocery store, village shop or corner shop with bessa.
The recommended setup
|
Building block |
Recommendation |
|---|---|
|
Sales Points |
One Main Sales Point, more Sales Points as Sub-Terminals if needed |
|
Scanner |
One handheld or countertop scanner per Sales Point |
|
Articles |
Product number (EAN) on every article, maintained via the article import |
|
Deposit |
Separate articles of type Deposit, added automatically via an article option |
|
Inventory |
Inventory management with replenishment stock level and order list |
Step 1: Create the range with barcodes
Each article gets its barcode in the Product number field, usually the EAN from the packaging. When scanning, the Sales Point looks for exactly this number and books the article.
With a large range you don't create articles one by one but import them: download the template, fill it with name, article group, price and product number, and import it. Price changes work the same way: export, change prices, import with Update. See Importing and exporting articles.
Goods without a barcode, such as loose goods or baked goods, get a short number of their own as product number, e.g. 101 for rolls. Staff type the number into the numpad and book with the action key; 4*101 books four rolls. Put frequent articles without a barcode on the order screen as tiles as well.
Step 2: Set up the scanner
A scanner works like a keyboard at the Sales Point. Set it to keyboard mode with Enter as terminator and without a prefix. The recommended settings and typical error patterns are in Set up barcode and NFC scanners.
After setup, test a code with letters if you use such codes. A wrong keyboard layout on the scanner otherwise swaps characters such as Y and Z.
Weighed goods via scale labels
There is no direct scale connection to the Sales Point. You can still sell loose goods such as fruit, cheese or cold cuts by weight: many label scales print a barcode in GS1 format that contains the weight or the price. The Sales Point reads this code and books the article with the printed weight or price. Such scales are usually cheaper than scales with a POS connection, and weighing happens at the counter rather than at the checkout.
|
Prefix in the barcode |
Content |
Result at the Sales Point |
|---|---|---|
|
21 or 27 |
Weight in kg with three decimals |
Article with the weight as quantity |
|
22 or 23 |
Price |
Article at the printed price |
|
28 |
Quantity |
Article with the quantity |
To set it up:
-
In the scale, give each product an article number with at most five digits, e.g.
123for mountain cheese. -
Enter the same number in the bessa Manager as the article's Product number.
-
For weight labels, set the Quantity type to Fractional and the Unit of measure to "kg"; the article price is then the price per kilogram.
-
Set the scale to print EAN-13 barcodes with one of the prefixes above, and test a label at the Sales Point.
See Articles.
Step 3: Deposit and empties
Book the deposit automatically: create the deposit as an article of type Deposit, e.g. "Bottle deposit". So the customer can't forget it, attach it to the drinks via an article option: a group "Deposit" with Min 1 and Max 1, the deposit article as the only choice, with Preselection and Normal price. Because the preselection satisfies the group, the Sales Point books the deposit with every scan without asking. The deposit appears as a separate line on the invoice.
Take back empties: book the deposit article with a negative quantity, e.g. -6 in the numpad followed by "Bottle deposit". If the total is negative, the Sales Point pays out the amount. Create a separate tile for taking back empties so it's quick at the checkout. See Article types and Process a return.
Empties without a minus (from version 6.2.0): If the minus is forgotten in day-to-day work, the Sales Point sells a deposit instead of paying it out. Create a separate return article for this, e.g. "Empties bottle" of type Deposit with the same deposit amount, and set the Sign of the quantity to Always negative in the Configuration tab. Each tap on the tile then books −1, and a 6 typed on the numpad becomes −6. A Smallest quantity, e.g. −48, catches typing errors. Leave the deposit article that is booked along with the drinks unchanged. See Sign, Value Ranges and Step Size.
Which deposit amounts apply and how deposits are treated for tax is governed by the deposit system in your country. Check the setup with your tax advisor if needed.
Step 4: Keep stock
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Enable Stock management on the articles, quickest via the import, see Set up articles for inventory management.
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Record the opening stock by stocktaking.
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Set a replenishment stock level. The order list then shows what needs to be reordered, and you book a delivery by CSV import, see Order list and delivery.
-
Sales and voids update the stock level automatically. Book breakage and expired goods out at the Sales Point with Reduce Stock.
Whether the Sales Point sells an article without sufficient stock is controlled by the Allow negative stock level setting on the warehouse. In food retail, keep it enabled: the Sales Point then only warns instead of blocking the sale when the system stock is off.
Step 5: Several Sales Points
If you open a second checkout at peak times, set it up as a Sub-Terminal of the Main Sales Point. Both sell from the same warehouse and are closed together, see Wireless ordering on Sub-Terminals.
Frequently asked questions
An article isn't found when scanning. What now? Check that the article's product number matches the barcode exactly. If that doesn't help, the causes are listed in Set up barcode and NFC scanners.
Can I print labels with barcodes? Yes, for articles with a product number, see Label printing.