FAQ’s
I’m contactable beyond office hours into evenings and weekends. Of course office hours calls and messages get an immediate response, but if it’s out of hours expect a response message only. I’m fairly flexible with my schedule, aiming to work almost exclusively within the cities of Manchester and Salford so, wherever possible, short notice attendance and attention would be my aim.
We should meet first to discuss your business needs (no fee for that of course) and once we’ve hit on what would be needed I’d outline a fixed fee based on periodic stock audit services. I charge professional rates in line with the industry standard, but my fees are probably less than the rates for your plumber so don’t panic. If we’re getting together for matters outside of food and drink (consultancy) I’ll quote you my reasonable hourly rate in advance, but you’ll probably find that during the course of any regular stocktake the probability that I’ll be passing on money saving advice as I go would mean extra fees for my time are rare.
My payment terms are on completion of work, or up to a maximum of 30 calendar days.
As nothing hits a self employed person harder than last minute cancellations I have a policy of invoicing clients for that time based on our agreed fixed fee but when visiting at a rescheduled time charging 50% of that agreed rate. Another option would be for us to set an agreement for say (typically) 12 visits a year and no cancellation fees would apply. We can talk about this in advance and agree which route would probably be for the best.
If we’ve agreed a fixed fee for a wet or food stock audit then don’t expect any further charges when we sit down together to discuss the result and actions needed. However I’m likely to charge if I need to return to your premises if access, you or your representative, paperwork or other matters necessary to produce a result isn’t/aren’t available at the arranged time, but that’s just like any other business service terms and I’m sure we’d both be aiming to avoid that happening.
I’d need access to all stock service, preparation and storage areas. I’ll need to see all delivery notes for stock up until close of business the day before a stock and all invoices to date. I would need to see the till sales reports for the period of the stock, including all discount, promotion and wastage details. I’ll more than likely be producing your report on the premises so I’ll need plenty cups of tea and a nice comfortable work space, no need for peace and quiet though. There should be somebody on hand to answer any questions I may have on anomalies found in preparing your report and lastly, I’ll need to have you the proprietor around at the end to talk through the result!
I think it should be said that a person trained and qualified as a Stock Auditor and one who has gained many years experience in resolving financial and business difficulties wouldn’t be at all qualified to know the nuances and finer points of the law on matters relating to taxation, employment or safety compliance. So where I can help in steering you to an awareness of any non compliance, the responsibility would be on yourself to seek further advice in these matters from a professional in those fields if needed.