Work from anywhere

Today, Lisa Burnett from Ability Business joins us to discuss working from anywhere. As a QuickBooks Solution Provider for nearly two decades, Ability Business has been helping retail clients maximize QuickBooks as a foundation for growth. Ability Business has also developed apps to help increase functionality to make it even easier for retailers to manage their front, mid, and back office. Carrie was recently featured on our Let’s Get Retail podcast to discuss how teams can be set up to work from anywhere.

Virtual work expectations

Virtual work is a common and current topic for Lisa to address with retail clients.

“The entire landscape has changed drastically since 2020. Retailers are struggling with staffing, ordering stock and engaging with shoppers both in-store and online,” says Burnett.

Shoppers are looking for convenience. They want expedited shipping, well priced products that arrive well packaged. They also want to be able to see and purchase online then pick up or return in-store.

To operate in such a demanding landscape, retailers seek systems that provide flexibility. They want software to be easy to use, so their staff can quickly adopt it for day-to-day operations. Real-time reporting is also essential for forecasting, delivering up to date information to customers and discovering insights into business health. Real-time reporting also helps with planning – retailers often face lag times when inventory is purchased.

Having a cloud-based system enables the information to stay up to date, empowering retail staff and the customer to access accurate product availability in real time.

Flexibility

Retail is such an ever-changing landscape that owners require the flexibility to change and grow. Together, a cloud-based accounting system and a cloud-based POS create the ability to grab a phone or device, start a popup, attend a conference or local farmer’s market and be prepared to sell. When inventory is instantly updated, it alleviates the need to do manual entries at a physical store or office. This helps streamline the sales process as well as maintain inventory control. This approach is essential in allowing mobile, ecommerce and physical store sales to happen concurrently.

Lisa mentions “When retail teams have cloud-based solutions, everyone can access and see the information to make more informed decisions.”

Scalability

Creating scalability starts with a good foundation – adopting an accounting system that can integrate with different apps provides the ability to grow and change. QuickBooks Online can integrate with cloud-based POS systems - such as Lightspeed and Webgility – to enable ecommerce. With these two tools connected and in place, your ecommerce channel can be used in social selling such as Facebook, Etsy or Instagram. The opportunities are endless.

Key considerations

Lisa recommends dedicating the time for due diligence before jumping into a system. Brainstorm all the uses, tools used today, circumstances, current and future ways you envision selling. This exercise helps determine which systems are right for you and what can deliver to the current and future demands of your business. Lisa has seen many clients create a new system for each channel, overlooking the interconnectivity. This creates challenges which can be complex to address.

Lisa says to be comprehensive in your tools audit. “Be sure to include all your tools including POS, website, social channels, email, and your accounting system. Many retailers have a different tool for each, and nothing integrates, and teams have to duplicate info, and it’s not up to date.”

Before adopting

Lisa recommends researching and testing the tools before full adoption. If you don’t have the internal expertise to do the right research, reach out to an expert. Find one who has helped many retailers choose and implement appropriate systems to enable their teams to work from anywhere, from physical stores to popups.

If you want help setting up systems to ensure flexibility and scalability, we have experts who can help. Get in touch with Lisa or another QuickBooks Solution Provider for a discussion today.  Check out our retail page for more blogs and podcasts focused on helping you grow your retail business.