Notes for owners · Industry-Specific Software Guides
Where Electrical Goods Dealers Lose Margin and How to See It
An electrical goods dealer loses margin in four places: scheme claims filed late, electrician commission nobody can prove, wrong rates at the counter and switch series that stop selling. Each shows up once bills, purchases and referrals sit on one record. GullySystem’s Wholesale and B2B Ordering Software holds rates by kind of buyer and credit holds.
Ganesh HS, Strategy and Technology, GullySystem · · 3 min read
Brand scheme claims that miss the window
Brands run quantity slabs and target schemes, each with its own claim form and closing date. The dates rarely line up across brands. A claim that reaches the brand after its window usually earns nothing.
The leak is rarely the scheme itself. It is not knowing, halfway through the quarter, how far your purchases sit from the next slab. Keep one sheet per brand and update it every week.
Then match the credit notes that arrived against the claims you filed. Any gap is money the brand still owes you.
- The slab or target for each brand this quarter
- Purchases booked so far against that slab
- The claim deadline and the papers the brand asks for
- Credit notes received against each claim filed
Electrician commission without a referral record
Electricians send contractors and house owners to your counter. They expect a commission or a coupon for it. When the bill does not name the electrician, the payout becomes a negotiation.
Note the referring electrician on the bill while it is being made. Keep a running ledger of what he earned and what was paid out. Month-end settlement is then simple arithmetic.
Brand loyalty apps are separate. Electricians scan codes on the pack and collect points from the brand directly. Your own commission is a different promise, so it needs its own record.
Rates and item codes picked from memory
Retail buyers, electricians, contractors and sub-dealers each pay a different rate. A new counter hand picks the wrong code from a switch series, or types the wrong discount. Small errors repeat across thousands of lines.
Make the item master searchable by brand, series, rating, colour and the nicknames staff use. Add a photo for items that get confused. Apply the rate by customer type instead of typing a discount every time.
- Lines billed below the list rate for that customer type
- Discounts typed by hand instead of taken from the list
- Goods returned because the wrong series was packed
Contractor credit that runs past any limit
Contractors buy in lots for a building and pay in instalments. Credit is often agreed at the counter, with no limit written down. Dues grow quietly while fresh orders keep leaving.
Set a limit for each contractor. Look at his outstanding before an order is packed, not after it is delivered. An order past the limit waits for the owner, and the release is noted with a name.
Send each contractor a ledger statement he can read himself. Fewer arguments follow.
Dead stock sitting in the godown
Brands discontinue switch series and change colours. Boxes from an old range sit in the godown until the brand will no longer take them back. That is cash parked on a shelf.
Every month, list items with no sale in a chosen period, by location: shop, godown and coil rack. Act while a return or exchange is still possible. Offer the rest to electricians at a clearance rate.
- Items with no sale in the chosen period, by location
- Series the brand has announced as discontinued
- Value of slow stock against last month’s figure
Monthly margin leak sheet
Four blocks fit on one page. They cover scheme slabs and claim dates per brand, electrician commission earned and paid, bills below the list rate, and items unsold for a set period. Fill it in on the first working day of each month.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
Can we keep billing in Tally?
Yes. Many dealers bill in Tally and keep schemes, commission and credit in a separate layer. What matters is that the customer type and the referring electrician are captured when the bill is made.
Will the software file our scheme claims with the brand?
No. Software can work out what is due slab by slab and print the claim with the purchase bills behind it. Filing still happens on the brand’s portal or through your distributor.
Is a standard retail billing package enough?
If billing and stock are your main need, yes, and it costs less. Custom work makes sense when schemes, commission and contractor credit are where the money goes.