5 Ways to Make Accounting More Retail-Centric

Integrated accounting in the retail sector is about using accounting principles within the retail environment to ensure maximum profitability. Every retail chain should strive for that.
Here are five very specific ways to make your retail accounting more retail-centric:
- Manage multiple retail chains – Today’s retail environment is heavy on mergers and acquisitions. Large companies buy up entire chains and manage multiple chains as part of a portfolio. Retail-centric accounting involves using traditional accounting principles to manage the operations of multiple retail chains from one central location to streamline the accounting processes for each chain in the family.
- Establish a rules-based commissions engine – When you manage a retail chain where employees are paid, in part or in full, on commissions, bonuses, and other incentives, you need a seamless way to track the performance of each member of your team so you can process payroll more easily. A retail-centric operations management solution can handle that task perfectly.
- Integrate a retail financial system – Retail finances are different from other types of businesses. You’ve got to match invoices with product orders, figure cost of unit based on bulk purchasing and volume discounts, spread the cost of merchandise, shipping, and other retail expenses across multiple stores, and more. A powerful retail financial system will help you manage all of these accounting procedures more easily from one central location with reporting views at multiple levels.
- Set up a tri-dimensional general ledger structure – Your general ledger needs to be set up so that you can provide accountability for each account you establish, every store within your chain, and all the departments that report to your organization head. This structure gives you eyes on all important details on each of these dimensions of your retail business.
- Centralize lease management and rent invoicing – In retail, it’s not uncommon to see leases for 10 or 20 years. You need a way to manage every lease agreement, especially since each store in your chain likely has its own lease agreement. If your rent invoicing is handled on an annual basis, then you’ve got to be able to track all your payments. Plus, if you rent out sections of your stores to other merchants, a centralized lease management solution can help you manage that process. Finally, you need a seamless way to project all future liabilities.
These are not the only important accounting processes you should concern yourself with, but they are important for managing multiple stores and chains, and for making your accounting procedures more retail-centric. Look into integrating retail-centric accounting procedures into your operations today.