Managing a convenience store’s inventory is never easy. But it’s even more challenging when your EPOS system can only home 1,000 SKUs at a time.

That’s the exact challenge Redditch-based Church Hill North News faced with an outdated inventory management system. With a 1,000 product record capacity, their old system simply wasn’t built to handle the larger volume of stock typically found in a convenience store.

For example, manufacturers of soft drinks and crisps frequently update barcodes for promotions or special events, each requiring a separate SKU, despite being the same product. Normally, a modern EPOS would be able to group variations under a single product entry, yet Church Hill North News’ system lacked this capability.

Instead, each new barcode occupied a separate entry, which greatly diminished the store’s ability to manage and track inventory. Sales reporting was equally cumbersome, requiring manual calculations to determine total sales volume across multiple barcodes. Additionally, the store struggled to execute promotions, such as buy-one-get-one-free deals, as its system could only apply discounts to the last scanned item.

Lastly, taking stock and implementing price changes was a nightmare that took hours to complete. Using their old system, staff needed to retrieve items from the shelves, scan them at the till, update prices in the system, print new labels, and then finally return products to their original spots.

Without an inventory management system tailored to store’s unique needs, Church Hill North News was forced into workarounds that slowed operations and limited growth opportunities.

That’s when they turned to Everything EPOS.

From Stock Chaos to Stock Control

To overcome the outdated system’s limitations, Everything EPOS implemented its own tailored software and hardware system designed for the demands of convenience retail. This upgrade replaced their rigid product cap with full access to their complete Price List and Order Form (PLOF) file, ensuring accurate reporting across thousands of SKUs. Everything EPOS’ system also integrates correct VAT rates, where approximately half of all products are VAT-applicable. By automating tax calculations, the store minimized the risk of overpaying and improved financial accuracy.

To streamline stock tracking and management, Everything EPOS provided the store with Sunmi devices, enabling staff to take stock and change prices right from the shelves. This eliminated the need for manual, time-consuming stock taking and pricing processes.

Faster, Smarter Business Management

Thanks to Everything EPOS, Church Hill North News has transformed the way it manages inventory, saving both time and money in the process. With a modernized system in place, stock-taking is not only more efficient—reducing at least an hour of labor—but also far more accurate.

Not only does the new system save time, but it also provides better insights into inventory trends, ensuring the right products were available when customers needed them. Now, with live reporting capabilities, staff can make informed decisions and optimize stock levels.

The financial benefits extend beyond operational efficiency. By integrating correct VAT rates directly into the system, the store minimizes the risk of overpaying taxes while also ensuring compliance. The full PLOF file provides complete visibility into taxable and non-taxable items, eliminating manual calculations and improving financial reporting.

With these upgrades, Church Hill North News is now better equipped to serve its customers, maintain accurate stock levels, and make data-driven business decisions, all while cutting down on wasted time and unnecessary expenses.