Requirements checklist
What to ask for when choosing software for gift shops.
A checklist built from how gift shops work, to print or save as a PDF and bring to any supplier meeting.
What the software should cover
Tick each one that matters to your business.
- Stock by occasion
- Personalisation job sheets
- Hampers and bundles
- Gift cards and vouchers
- Maker consignment
- Gift orders and delivery
Roles that need their own access
Who logs in, and what each person may see or change.
- For owners
- For counter staff
- For bench staff
- For buyers
- For packers and dispatch
Reports to ask for
Ask to see each one with your own sample data.
- Sales and margin by occasion and by item group
- Personalised jobs due, late and awaiting approval
- Hampers built, hamper margin and components short
- Gift card balances, redemptions and expiries
- Maker consignment statements with amounts owed
- Slow lines by markdown date
- Parcels sent, by courier and delivery date
Systems it may need to connect to
Note which ones you already run.
- WhatsApp or other messaging
- SMS
- Courier services
- Card and payment gateway
- Accounting export
Questions for any vendor
Put these to every supplier you are comparing.
- Can it handle personalised mugs, glass and cushions?
- How is a hamper priced and stocked?
- Can gift cards be used at more than one till?
- Can a gift receipt hide the price?
- How are consignment makers paid?
- Does it work for a shop with one counter?
- Can it take orders from a web page or messages?
- Can our current item list be loaded?
- What happens to the records if we stop?
- How do we get started?
Where the work usually breaks today
Circle the ones you recognise. They set the order of the project.
- Seasonal lines have no end date
- Personalised orders live on slips
- Hamper cost is a guess
- Gift cards are kept in a book
- Makers are paid from memory
Prefer to talk it through? See the gift shops page.