When it comes to the retail game, there are several things to consider. What kind of products do you plan to sell? Will you have an offline store or just solely an online business? There are many retailers that are both online and offline. This concept gives a wonderful advantage to retailers around the globe. Retail shop owners, online and offline both, have a number of things to remember when they are dealing with sales. It is not just a matter of grabbing money and shoving a product into a bag, no matter how much it looks that way. Everyone has experienced the smashed loaf of bread at the bottom of a huge department stores grocery bag. When the rigorous shopping and the item scanning is done, now it is time to pay. Before you take your items and leave, you are handed a very detailed and itemized receipt. This is not only proof of honestly paying for your goods but also a safe guard in case you are over-charged or need to return an item. A lot of stores will not take returns without a receipt that proves you purchased the item in the first place. A good quality receipt is in the best interest of the retailer as well as the customer.
More than Just a Scribble is Needed
Not worrying about a legible receipt can cause problems for your retail store and your customers. If you sell any products that come with a warrantee, it can be difficult for your customer to use their warrantee when needed if the receipt they got when they purchased the product is unreadable. If this tiny detail is overlooked and causes a buyer trouble of any kind, then a customer may not blame anyone but your store. Remember when you had a long day of shopping and had to deal with all those receipts? Some were easier to read than others, some may have been practically blank. Retail customers do not want this to happen either, and can be just as annoyed as you are.
Don’t Let Your Stores Quality Fail When it comes to the Small Things
A good receipt printer is just as important as making sure your company logo is not misspelled on your business cards. Shopify’s mobile receipt printer is one such product that can print quality receipts. Utilizing such systems in your business can also be a major deterrent in thievery. Daily Tech recently wrote about the unimaginable things people will try to do to scam retailers. Such as switching barcodes to buy a product at a much discounted rate, only to switch the barcodes back later, and then return the product to the store of purchase for a refund of the full price. This is kind of a bait and switch tactic. This is why a lot of retailers have publically posted their return policies. However, most employees do not realize that this is what someone is trying to accomplish, when a customer walks up to the counter claiming that they have no receipt.
How Important is a Return Policy
Return policies are an essential part of commerce. Most customers instantly look for one, and if a retailer doesn’t have one, a lot of the time customers will shop elsewhere. A good return policy will protect your business as well as the customer, and in the end, it will help forge a trusting bond with clients and shoppers alike. The New York Times recently wrote about the importance of return policies stating that, in essence, a return policy tells customers that they can trust you and they are not really risking anything by buying from you. You can also put into place certain rules pertaining to a return policy. Rules such as requiring a receipt for returns and making sure that you only give out cash refunds with the original receipt.
You can put into place another policy for people that have no receipt, such as allowing store credit in place of cash refunds. This is a good way to be sure your business is not defrauded nor is your customer. Find Law says that there are only a few federal guidelines that need be followed for returns, such as when a store posts that all sales are final, then you are not required to accept returns. There are exceptions though, such as a defective item, in any case, the item would more than likely be covered by a warehouse and/or manufacturer warrantee anyhow. Although it is your choice on whether to offer returns or not, it is good business practice that makes sense and improves customer satisfaction with your business. Whether you make sure you have good quality receipt practices for ease your bookkeeping or to help your customers understand their purchases better, a great quality receipt printer is a very important part of everyday business. Your tax professional will thank you as well.
Of course, don’t forget about churches and nonprofits, what kind of tax receipts are you providing?
[Receipts image via stevendepolo via Compfight cc]
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