Guides for running a shop: stock, cash and POS

All guides

• The ETA e-receipt and e-invoice, explained

  Egypt e-receipt (ETA) explained: what the e-receipt and e-invoice systems are, how POS registration works, what to ask a POS vendor, and PointLit's status.

• How to do a stock count

  How to do a stock count in a retail store: full counts or cycle counts, blind counting, and what to do with the differences, step by step.

• How to prevent cashier theft

  How to prevent cashier theft and drawer shortages: permissions, blind close counts, reasons for voids and refunds, Z reports and separation of duties.

• What is a POS system?

  What is a POS system? The software, till computer or tablet, receipt printer, scanner, drawer and scale, cloud vs desktop, and what to check in Egypt.

• Inventory management for small shops

  Inventory management for small shops in practice: receiving, pricing, stock counts, transfers between branches, seasons and stopping stock going missing.

• What is a stock card

  What a stock card is, how to read an item's movements and balance line by line, and how to trace missing stock to a day, a document and a person.

• X report vs Z report

  X report vs Z report: an X report reads a shift's totals without closing it; a Z report closes it against a counted drawer. How both work in PointLit.

• Dead stock: how to find it and clear it

  What dead stock is, how to find it with a stock ageing report, why new stock needs time before you judge it, and practical ways to clear it from your shop.

• Cash drawer over and short

  Why a cash drawer comes up over or short at the end of a shift, the usual causes, how to count blind, and how to follow variances by cashier in PointLit.

• How to make barcodes for your products

  How to make barcodes for your products: GS1 barcodes vs your own in-store codes, EAN-13 or Code 128, sizes and colours, and printing labels that scan.

• How to choose a POS system in Egypt

  A 10-point checklist for choosing a POS system in Egypt: EGP and 14% VAT, Arabic receipts, offline selling, stock counts, branches, ETA, hardware, support.

• Loyalty points and selling on account

  How a shop runs loyalty points and sales on account: earn rates, point values, credit limits, statements and refunds, and how PointLit records each one.

• Return and exchange policy for shops in Egypt

  What Egyptian law requires for returns and exchanges (14 and 30 days), the goods a shop may refuse, a sample policy to print, and how PointLit records it.

• Arabic on the receipt printer

  Why thermal receipt printers print Arabic as question marks or broken letters, three ways to fix it, and how PointLit prints Arabic receipts as a picture.

• From a notebook or Excel to a POS

  How a shop moves from a notebook or an Excel sheet to a POS: what to prepare, entering products and opening stock, old customer debts, and the first week.

• How to calculate 14% VAT in a shop

  Work out 14% VAT on prices with VAT included or added, with worked examples, the most common mistake, how discounts change it, and how PointLit applies it.

• A glossary of shop and POS terms

  39 POS, stock and shop terms in English and Arabic, each in one or two plain sentences: X and Z reports, blind counts, stock cards, SKUs, VAT and more.