Taking stock

It’s December – and you may be adding either “finally” or “already,” or maybe even both! But before 2020 comes to a close, make sure you’ve got a plan for your year-end physical inventory count.

Scanner rentals: Having more scanners on your floor during
your physical inventory makes the scanning process go faster – but you probably
only need one or two for the rest of the year. If you have multiple locations,
you can pool scanners, but even that may not be enough. But you’re in luck – Ascend
support maintains a small fleet of inventory scanners you can rent for just
this occasion!

However, quantities are extremely limited and are reserved on
a first-come-first-served basis. They sell out FAST, so be sure to get
your request in early! The last and first weeks of the year are
especially popular, so if you already know you’ll be doing your inventory
counts during that time, you may want to even put
in your request as much as a year ahead of time.

Inventory prep: There’s a lot that goes into full-store
inventory counts, so it’s best to start your arrangements at least a month
ahead of the date you’ll actually be counting. Follow our preparation
checklist to learn what to do a month before, a week before, and in the
days leading up to your count date. You can also review the list of user
permissions recommended for each role in the count, and get tips on effectively
splitting your store into appropriate sections.

And be sure to read through all of our inventory
articles in the knowledge base and complete all of the inventory
modules on Ascend University.

Holiday prep: While the holidays will certainly look
different this year, customers will still be using creative shopping methods –
so ensure you’re prepared! Ascend gives you multiple functions to take care of
all your customers’ gift needs.

Gift cards and gift certificates will likely be at the top of
many peoples’ lists. These are an easy way to bring money into your store while
letting your customers wait to shop in person.

• If you’re using Chase integrated payment
  processing, adding Givex integration lets you sell single-use gift cards (which
  can even include your logo) – the available balance is stored by card number,
  so you don’t need to gather the recipient’s information ahead of time.
  • If you’re not using this service yet, you can find
    more information in our gift
    card setup knowledge base article.
  • If you’re already set up, read up on how to sell
    gift cards and redeem
    them in our knowledge base.
  • Keep in mind: Unless you specifically request
    otherwise, the maximum balance that can be loaded on a gift card is $999.99
    and cards cannot be used at other multi-store locations. Cards are
    specific to your store – they cannot be redeemed at any store that isn’t affiliated
    with yours.
• If you don’t want to use integrated processing, you’ve
  still got the option to offer gift certificates for your customers. You can
  either print out physical certificates or keep them all-“virtual.” The balances
  are stored in your Ascend database under the customer’s name.
  • There’s no setup required! Check out our
    knowledge base to learn how to sell
    gift certificates and redeem
    them.
  • Keep in mind: Since the balance is stored under
    the customer’s name, the initial sale needs to be assigned to the recipient’s
    name instead of the purchaser’s. Balances are not shared between multi-store
    locations.

Since the global pandemic has considerably slowed most
vendors’ supply chain, many of the gifts customers want to buy are on a long
backorder – but encourage them they can still get that perfect item! Learn how
to process
special orders from beginning to end in our knowledge base. Offer to
print a special card or certificate so the recipient still has something to open
on the holiday.

If you do have a Trek bike in stock
that’s going to be a gift, you can assign the sale to the gift-giver (so it
counts towards their “top customer” status) but have the bike registered to the
recipient. You can also specify it’s a gift so the registration information isn’t
sent out early and ruins the surprise! Learn all about Trek
registration in our knowledge base.

Now more than ever, customers are
relying on eCommerce websites to research, check for stock, and even order their
gifts.

• SmartEtailing
  provides full-service websites for bike shops; Ascend fully integrates so you
  can display your stock and pricing on your website, and allows you to download orders
  placed on your website directly into the shipping or pickup location so you can
  avoid mistakes from manual entry. Learn about eCommerce
  setup and order processing in our knowledge base.
• Locally provides multiple channels for customers
  to find and buy products for select brands at shops in their area. Ascend’s
  scheduled report delivery feature lets you upload your pricing and availability
  so customers can find you – learn more in our knowledge
  base article.
• If you’re a Trek dealer, your product availability
  automatically displays on Trek’s website. Customers can even order from Trek’s
  stock and have it shipped to your store for pickup (however, keep in mind that because
  Trek is entirely handling the sale, you should NOT enter the product into
  inventory or enter the sale in your system). Learn more about handling Trek
  Connect E-Commerce in our knowledge base.

And don’t forget – even if your customer isn’t quite sure about size or color, just print them a gift receipt so the recipient can easily exchange it without knowing exactly how much was spent. On the Change Due dialog box, just check Print Gift Receipt before you click the OK button.

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