In this guide 6 sections
Most margin leaks after the bill, through late scheme claims, unmatched finance payouts, exchange sets sold for scrap and demo pieces sold as sealed stock. Every leak leaves a trace in your own records. A weekly check of four lists shows which one is costing the showroom.
Brand scheme and cashback claims
A scheme claim needs the qualifying bills, the serial numbers and invoice copies, filed before a deadline that differs by brand. Miss the date and the claim is gone. That money was part of the margin you counted on when you priced the set.
The fix is a list per scheme, built as bills are raised, not in the last week. Each bill that qualifies goes on the list with its serial. When the credit note arrives, match it against the claim and chase any gap.
- Scheme name, brand and closing date
- Qualifying bills with serial numbers
- Date the claim was filed
- Credit note received against the claim
Finance payouts that nobody matched
A finance company pays one lump amount against many EMI cases. If nobody splits it across the bills, short payments and missing cases hide inside the total. They surface months later, if at all.
Keep every case with its financier, loan number, down payment, tenure and status. When the payout lands, tick off the cases it covers. Whatever is left unticked is your follow-up list for the week.
Exchange sets lying in the godown
An old refrigerator taken in during a festival offer has a value allowed on the bill. Then it sits behind the new stock with no tag. Months later it goes to the scrap dealer at whatever price he offers.
Record each exchange set when it comes in: the item, the condition, the value allowed and the bill it came against. Review the list monthly. The gap between value allowed and value realised is a number you can now see.
- Old set, condition and value allowed
- Bill the exchange came against
- Days lying in the godown
- Sold, scrapped, and for how much
Demo pieces, DOA sets and serial mix-ups
Sets standing open on the floor are worth less than sealed boxes. When the floor piece is billed as new, a complaint is likely. Mark demo pieces as such, and scan serials at inward and again at sale.
A set that fails on day one goes back to the distributor as a DOA replacement. Keep the old serial, the new serial and the date the replacement arrived. Unreplaced units are money held by someone else.
Installation calls and a weekly leak check
An air conditioner is delivered, but the installation request to the brand is never raised. The customer calls the shop. Staff time goes on calls a logged request would have prevented.
Once a week, read four lists together. The lists stay short when the record is kept as sales happen. GullySystem’s Electronics and Appliance Retail Software holds serials, finance cases, exchange sets and installation visits in one place for this check.
- Scheme claims due in the next fortnight
- Finance cases with no payout matched
- Exchange sets older than a month
- Installations raised but not closed
Showroom leak check sheet
A weekly sheet with four columns: open scheme claims, unmatched finance cases, ageing exchange sets and pending installations. Write the count in each column every Monday. A column that keeps rising is the leak to fix first.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Does the software raise the installation request with the brand?
No. That request still goes through the brand’s own portal or call centre. The system records that it was raised and keeps it on the pending list until the brand closes it.
Can one finance payout be split across many bills?
Yes. Each case carries its loan number and disbursement status, so a lump credit from the financier is divided across the cases it paid for.
Does the software decide what a financier approves?
No. Approval is the financier’s decision. The record holds the financier, the down payment, the tenure and whether the case is approved, pending or rejected.
Does a small counter need this?
Possibly not. If you sell a few sets a month and give no credit, a notebook may still serve. The case grows with schemes, finance and a second godown.