Set up your shop on Vendora in an afternoon
Do these eight steps in order. Each one depends on the one before. A shop with ordinary needs can finish in an afternoon.
1. Register your business
Open the sign-up page and enter your legal company name and trading name, your registration number, a short company code like myshop, and your own name, email and password. Everyone in your business types the company code when they sign in, so pick one that's easy to remember. Vendora then asks you to protect the account with an authenticator app. Scan the code, then type the 6-digit number the app shows.
2. Check your time zone
Under Business, then Settings, confirm the organization's time zone. Dates, reports and discount hours all use it, so set it before you sell anything.
3. Add your outlets
Under Business, then Outlets, add each branch with its name, address and time zone. You need at least one outlet before anyone can sell.
4. Set up your products
Under Stock, then Products, work through the tabs in this order. First the tax rates: tax can be added on top of the price, or already inside it. Then units, like each or kilogram. Then categories, like drinks or groceries. Then the products themselves. If you have a spreadsheet, use Import data instead. You see what would happen before anything is saved, and you can set opening stock at the same time.
5. Add suppliers and opening stock
Add your suppliers. If you didn't import opening stock, record it with a goods received note.
6. Add your staff
Under Team, then Staff, add each person with a role and a temporary password, then decide what each role can do. Ask people to change the temporary password the first time they sign in.
7. Choose how you get paid
Tills start with cash and EcoCash. Switch on anything else, such as card, under Business, then Settings, then Payment methods. Add the mobile money numbers your customers pay into, so cashiers can say which one was used.
8. Make a test sale
Open a shift by counting the float, ring up one product, take payment and look at the receipt. Then open inventory and check that the stock went down. If it did, you're ready to trade.
Questions people ask
Do I need to buy any hardware?
No. Vendora runs in a web browser and on an Android phone. A receipt printer and a barcode scanner are optional.
Can I change things later?
Yes. You can edit everything above later. If you switch a feature off, nothing is deleted, and switching it back on brings everything back.