Overview

Discounting is a common practice in retail to incentivise customers and encourage sales. The Edge POS system provides multiple methods to apply discounts, either on individual sale lines or across the entire sale. While discounting can be effective in some situations, it should be used judiciously, as excessive discounting can erode profit margins and devalue the brand. This manual outlines how to apply discounts in The Edge POS system and provides recommendations for alternatives to discounting, such as using spiffs (staff incentives), to drive sales without compromising profitability.

Why Discounting Should Be Used Cautiously

While discounts can help move inventory and drive short-term sales, it's important to understand the long-term impact on your business. Frequent or heavy discounting can:

• Erode Profit Margins: Offering significant discounts too often can reduce the overall profitability of your sales.
• Devalue the Brand: Regularly offering discounts can lead customers to expect lower prices, making it harder to sell at full price in the future.
• Create a Price-Driven Culture: Customers may begin to view your business as a place where they can always find discounted items, diminishing the perceived value of your products.

For these reasons, it's recommended to reserve discounts for specific promotions, clearance sales, or special circumstances. Instead of relying on discounts to drive sales, consider alternative strategies that maintain value while still motivating both customers and staff.

Alternatives to Discounting: Staff Incentives (Spiffs)

Rather than relying on discounts to encourage sales, offering spiffs (small bonuses or incentives) to staff can be a more sustainable and profitable approach. A spiff is a reward given to employees for selling specific products, hitting sales targets, or achieving other performance goals. Here’s why offering staff incentives is a better alternative to discounting:

• Motivates Staff: Offering spiffs motivates your staff to put in the effort to sell more, as they receive immediate rewards for their performance.
• Preserves Profit Margins: Since the incentive is paid to the staff member rather than being taken off the product price, the profit margin is protected.
• Increases Average Transaction Value: Staff are likely to recommend higher-value products or upsell, knowing they will receive a spiff for each successful sale.
• Encourages Product Knowledge and Customer Service: Staff who are incentivised are more likely to engage with customers and provide excellent service, helping drive sales without the need for discounts.

By shifting the focus from discounting to incentivising staff, you can boost sales while maintaining the perceived value of your products and ensuring your business remains profitable.

Applying Discounts in The Edge POS System

Discount on the Sale Line

Each sale line in the POS system contains four fields for pricing on the right of the Transaction Section:

1. Retail: The price of the item as entered in the system.
2. Disc %: Used to apply a percentage discount (e.g., 10%).
3. Disc $: Displays the amount of the discount in dollars.
4. $: The final price after the discount is applied, located on the far-right side.

• When you enter a percentage in the Disc % (e.g., 10%), the system will automatically adjust the other fields based on that value. The $ field will show the reduced price, and the Disc $ will display the dollar amount of the discount. The Disc % will be bold, indicating it’s the dominant figure.
• Alternatively, you can enter a dollar amount in the Disc $ (e.g., $5) to subtract a fixed amount from the original price. The Disc $ will be bold, indicating it’s the dominant figure.
• If you want to specify the final price the customer is to pay, enter the desired total amount in the $ field on the far-right side. This will adjust the other fields, and the $ will be bold.

Overall Discount for Multiple Sale Lines

If the sale includes multiple items, you can apply a discount across the entire transaction. Click the Overall Discount button at the bottom right. This will open three editable fields that work like the individual sale line discount fields:

1. Disc %: Apply a percentage discount to the entire sale.
2. Disc $: Specify the total amount to be deducted from the entire sale.
3. Set to Fixed Total $: Set the total amount the customer will pay.

The field entered first will be bold, indicating it is the dominant value, and the other fields will adjust accordingly.

Warning: If a line has a discount applied and an Overall Discount is also applied to the entire sale, the discount will be compounded. This means that the overall discount will be applied after the individual line discount, resulting in a greater reduction than intended. Be cautious when applying both types of discounts to avoid unintentional price reductions.