Convenience stores
C-store POS shrinkage reporting and inventory control
A convenience store loses money in small amounts, across a long list of fast-moving lines and many cash shifts. Infinity records the counts, deliveries and register actions behind those losses, so shrink can be traced to a category, a delivery or a shift.
Remote implementation nationwide. Onsite service across Tampa Bay.
What should c-store shrinkage reporting show?
Where stock and cash went missing, in the categories and shifts a convenience store actually runs: shrink-sensitive categories counted between deliveries with the variance reviewed line by line, deliveries received against the order, and each shift’s till counted, with voids, refunds, discounts and no-sale openings recorded against the employee.
In a convenience store the loss is rarely one large event. It is a few units a day in the fastest-moving categories and a few dollars a shift at the till, which is why frequent partial counts and per-shift reconciliation matter more here than a yearly stock take.
- Shrink-sensitive categories counted oftenLosses accumulate for a year before anyone measures them.
- Deliveries received against the orderShort deliveries go unnoticed and are paid for anyway.
- Every shift reconciledA shortage has to be traced to a shift.
- Singles, packs and cases set up firstA count cannot be trusted until they are.
Reporting shows where a loss happened, not why, and it does not stop one. How low-stock review, alerts and reporting across more than one store would be set up is part of the specification, and worth seeing in a demo before choosing any system.
What it does
What c-store shrinkage reporting reads
The same records any Infinity store uses, read the way a convenience store needs them.
Counts between deliveries
Stock takeShrink-sensitive categories counted between deliveries, with the variance reviewed line by line.
Receiving against the order
Purchase ordersDeliveries received against the purchase order, so a short delivery is visible.
Till counts by shift
Cash managementMany small cash sales across shifts, counted per shift so a shortage can be traced to one.
Voids, refunds, discounts and no-sales
Cash managementRecorded against the employee who made each one, and each a permission.
Where c-store shrink hides
-
Fast movers disappear a few at a time
Nobody notices until the year-end count.
Frequent partial counts rather than one exhaustive one.
Stock take -
Vendor deliveries are signed for, not checked
Short deliveries go unnoticed and are paid for anyway.
Receiving against the purchase order, so the variance is visible.
Purchase orders -
A drawer is short and three people worked it
The shortage cannot be traced to anyone.
Per-shift counts make a shortage traceable to a period rather than a week.
Cash management -
The drawer opens without a sale
The most common route to untraceable loss.
No-sale openings are recorded like any other.
Cash drawers
In a demo
What to ask to see in a c-store demo
Ask for these in a demo, on categories and shifts that look like yours.
A category counted between deliveries
Stock takeAsk to see a shrink-sensitive category counted, and the variance reviewed line by line.
Inventory alerts
Ask whether low-stock or variance alerts would be part of the system you buy, what would trigger them and who would see them.
A shift reconciled
Cash managementAsk to see a drawer counted down against a recorded figure, and the voids, refunds and no-sale openings behind any difference.
More than one store
Ask how reporting and transfers would be set up if you run more than one site.
C-store shrinkage questions
Can I get alerts when stock runs low?
Ask to see it in a demo on your own lines. Min/max levels can help determine order quantities in Infinity, and whether low-stock review or alerts would be part of your setup is decided in the specification rather than assumed.
Can I see which shift a shortage happened on?
Yes. Per-shift counts make a shortage traceable to a period rather than a week, and drawer openings, voids, refunds and discounts are recorded against the employee.
How often should a convenience store count?
Shrink-sensitive categories between deliveries, and the rest by department in rotation. The right frequency depends on shrink risk and value per line rather than on a rule.
I run more than one store. Can I compare them?
Where a business runs more than one site, reporting reads the same item file across them, and a transfer is a recorded movement rather than an adjustment at each end. How that is configured is part of the specification.
Can the register prompt for age-restricted sales?
Yes. Infinity POS can restrict sales by customer age, date and time. The prompt supports staff; it does not replace checking ID.
See a c-store shift traced
Bring the category that is always short or the shift that never balances, and ask to see it followed to its cause.