How to survive Black Friday with a little help from your accountants

Black Friday used to be associated with traffic accidents and violence initiated by the large volume of shoppers. Nowadays, though, it rather means a “profitable Friday” to all retailers out there. In fact, to attract even more customers, many online and brick-and-mortar stores come up with special offers and discounts on that day. Are you taking this opportunity as seriously as they do?

Even though Black Friday is definitely one of the busiest days of the year, many business owners are still struggling to come up with their strategy for it. Don’t make the same mistake – take advantage of the powerful source of knowledge that’s in front of you – your accountants and bookkeepers.

How to prepare for Black Friday with a little help from your accountants?

#1 Plan ahead

Whenever you start planning anything, you should first take a closer look at the latest trends and previous financial statements. Compare the results from October and November, both prior and current – this way, it will be easier for you to make predictions about the inventory levels, prices, and employee schedules, just to name a few.

Don’t forget to ask your accountants and bookkeepers for their opinion on that matter. Financial statements contain a lot of relevant information, including how your business did during a specific time frame – and accounting professionals can read those documents like no one else.

Actually, asking for advice can take a lot of stress off of your shoulders.. Especially since reviewing your financial statements with accounting experts can not only make it easier for you to determine how much inventory and employees are needed to meet the estimated demands. Your accountants and bookkeepers can also help you decide which promotions make the most sense for your business, and what’s the best schedule for your store during Black Friday.

#2 Stay on top of things

The best way to survive Black Friday (or any busy day, for that matter) is to stay organised and keep track of your sales, inventory, and employees. What makes this much easier is to review your processes, and search for opportunities to streamline them before the shopping craze begins.

Yet again, if you’re not sure what (and how exactly) to optimise – ask your accountants. They should have the relevant data handy to be able to tell what processes could be more efficient in order to help you during times of heavy traffic. If not, they can probably recommend the right software and its integrations to start collecting such data for you and keep an eye on it at all times.

For example, if you already have a POS system in place (as you probably should by now), integrating it with your accounting software can definitely help you access relevant data and take your business decisions from there.

#3 Make sure your team is on board

Payroll is definitely one of the biggest expenses, especially during the holidays. As tempting as it might be to bring lots of new people in and have everyone working on Black Friday – there’s no point to over-staff. This can actually cost you more in the long run, as extra profits will be lost with excessive payroll costs.

Instead, take a look at your payroll expenses from previous years and make data-driven predictions regarding the number of additional staff you might need to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

Not only the quantity counts here, though. Your employees should be well-organised and prepared for one of the most profitable days of the year. Manage their tasks and time wisely, and try to keep track of who’s doing what. It will help you maximise the efficiency – if not at this particular moment, then the next Black Friday for sure.

Once again, you can take advantage of advanced POS reporting and consult accounting specialists to make good use of the available data. What’s slightly more important this time, though, is that you should also have everyone on board, and stay supportive. Don’t forget that it’s a stressful time for all your employees too.

Brace yourself – one of the most profitable days of the year is coming

From determining the best opening hours and staffing plans to choosing the most profitable deals for your business – accountants can truly help you make any data-driven decision this Black Friday, especially those who are equipped with the proper tools. Still, the best results don’t come overnight. The key is to start preparing early, strive to optimise your processes and get your team ready for one of the busiest days of the year.

As accounting integration specialists, we know better than anyone how big of an opportunity for any retailer Black Friday is. Start collecting relevant data now and have everything you need to make the most of it – for years to come.