Saleslog in the Hospitality Industry

Hospitality is a business comprising many parts. In this article, we dive into how you can optimize the use of your Saleslog app for your hospitality business. For reference, you're in the hosptality business if you: own/run a hotel, bar, lounge, restaurant, grill, fast food/snacks or you're a caterer.

The hospitality business can get messy fast if you don't have proper controls in place to curb stock and financial thefts. So, in this episode of Saleslog in Industry, we'll look at how you can:

1. Drastically reduce inventory/stock theft

2. Keep a close eye on your finances

3. Put proper processes in place to ensure the smooth running of yor business.

Reducing Inventory Theft

I'm certain some of us have experienced staff stealing from the store or shelf while we were away. You see, humans by nature will take advantage of any situation when there is little or no supervision so, it takes a lot of effort for staff to retain integrity when they are tempted by all the stock that surrounds them. 

But how can we fight this? 

In Nigeria, inventory theft accounts for over #30 billion in lost revenue every year but you don't have to remain or be a victim. Your business can fight back through Saleslog. How? Saleslog gives you control over what staff can do with your stock. You can give them access to add a product or edit stock levels. And now, you'll even get notifications if there is a stock change which is great but you must ensure only one staff is assigned to do this. 

You however still need to do physical stock counts and factor in the costs of goods that have expired and those that may have been damaged or can no longer be used. We advise you do physical stock counts at least three times a week. 

If you run a hotel, you'd be better off employing a store-keeper whose main duty is to monitor stock movement.

Keeping an eye on your finances

It's great that all your book-keeping is being automatically handled by Saleslog. But did you know you haven't maximized the use of your app if you're not recording your expenses and your sales immediately they happen? Think about it. A staff may take advantage of that loophole or delay to steal from you. It's good practice to enforce the rule that customers must demand (or be given) for their receipts after payment.

Again, having lots cash in hand is both risky and deceptive. Cash is deceptive to you because the more of it you hold in hand, the more you begin to think your business is "prospering". Meanwhile, it may not have crossed your mind that that cash in hand also includes the costs of your goods as well as some other expenses. Cash is also risky as it is the quickest way for staff or hoodlums to rob you.

What to do? By rule accept payments only by POS or bank transfers and let cash be the last resort. Remember cash leaves no trails and can be hard to trace. Secondly, record transactions immediately they happen. Don't encourage fraud by creating record loopholes.

Putting processes in place

Saleslog is simple to use (don't mind me. I know you know that already). It allows you record any product or service you offer in your hospitality business as products. What do I mean? For example, in your hotel, you have rooms of different sizes at different prices. On Saleslog, you can simply create a logbook for "Rooms" and list each room as a product in that logbook.

Another example: if you own/run a restaurant, you can list your dishes together with their prices as products in a logbook. Same goes for a bar and grills - list your different drinks as products in a logbook.

Even if you have a swimming pool in your hotel, you can list the price of swimming ticket as a product in a separate logbook.

Why all this? These steps are necessary if you want complete control over your business. By adding everything you sell to your inventory, you are able to monitor stock and revenue (sales) movement within your business. You'll also have a full and clear picture of how well your business is doing in terms of profits.

That last point has been our experience. During our consultation for a hotel in Ikeja, Lagos, we were able to monitor their revenue growth by simply using the reports generated from sales. Using the reports from Saleslog, we grew revenue by roughly 27% month after month. If you'd like us to show you how to do this, please reach out to us privately on 0814 082 6936.

Part of putting processes in place includes knowing who your customers are. Do you know your customers by name? Do you know when last they visited you or bought from you? Do even know what makes them buy from you? Until you can answer these questions, you might not be able to build a steady customer base. A steady customer base, no matter how little, ensures you never go out of business.

It's been a long article but keep in mind, the day you make up your mind to tighten up your business process is the day your business begins to scale (grow)!

Keep pushing!

Toni from Saleslog