Hi Lawrie,
I am aware of most accounts systems in the market place. MYOB and Quickbooks are reletively small and far more limited, in comparison with the system which we use, which for commerical reasons, we prefer not to name in detail.
Our website, our tills, our telephone line ordering systems are all connected "IN REAL TIME" to our accounting ordering and stock control system, to the extent that "we choose" whos orders and payments we accept rather than automated journal entries offers by most "cheap" or "short-cut" supposed accounting and till system softwares.
Most of the reasons why this would not work for us have been explained earlier in this thread. Because our stock is updated in real time, it would be very easy to mistakenly sell a product via our till at a show, which may have been allocated to a telephone or internet order back at the base. Also, there would be a delay in processing the web or telephone order, until the stock came back to base. It has also been suggested that we allocate stock to the show, but, with the number of products we have, do you have any idea how long this process can take?
There are other issues which are also covered earlier. It is extreamly busy on the first two days of any show. Our tills have barcode scanners as you see in the supermarket, giving itemed thermal receipts. Far more advanced and serious cost investment, above and beyond the limitations of an ink-jet printer. Even then, it is difficult to service the volume of orders on the first two days, without someone getting upset at our failure to service them. We have added a lot of new products since Catalogue 7. With this, the volume of sales, expectations, and upset customers can only increase.
Ketan at ARC