Family business: who answers for what

In a family shop the father brings in the stock, the mother sells, the son keeps the credit notebook and an aunt helps when she has time. Everybody does everything, and when a shortage appears nobody answers for anything. Questions like "who took it?" and "why didn't you write it down?" turn into arguments, and arguments into hurt feelings. In a family business the trouble is usually not the people but the way the work is divided. Let us see how to divide it simply and clearly.

Why "everyone does everything" does not work

This arrangement has three weaknesses:

• if the same person takes the money, counts the stock and writes the entries, nobody is left to check a mistake;
• when two people sell the same item, each thinks the other will write it down, and the sale never reaches the notebook;
• when a shortage appears someone is blamed, and the real cause is never found.

Without a system even the warmest family bonds get tired.

Divide the roles by task, not by person

There are five jobs. Name one person responsible for each:

1. Buying: what and how much to bring in, and at what price.
2. Receiving and counting: counts the delivered goods and checks them against the delivery note.
3. Selling and the till: sells, takes the money and closes the till at the end of the day.
4. The book: records receipts and issues and keeps the balance up to date.
5. Credit and discounts: who may sell on credit and how large a discount may be given.

In a small family one person naturally combines two jobs. For example, one of you receives and counts the goods, another sells and collects the money, and a third keeps the book.

The "two keys" rule

Remember one rule: whoever receives the goods does not run the weekly count alone. Let another family member do it. This is not distrust but protection: if there is a mistake, a second pair of eyes will catch it and nobody is blamed on purpose.

What is taken for the home

The most common "invisible shortage" in a family business: a pack of sugar goes home, money is taken from the till for the market, a relative is given a discount. None of it is done with bad intent, but if it is not recorded, both the balance and the profit come out wrong.

The solution is simple: open a separate line called "For home". Record the date, what was taken and what it is worth. If money is taken from the till, write on paper who, how much and what for. Once a month add it up: when you see how much goes to the family you will often be surprised. After that it is easy to set a fixed monthly sum for the household.

The same goes for loans to relatives: to whom, how much and until when should be in the book. Asking a relative to repay is awkward, while pointing to an entry in the notebook is much easier.

A weekly meeting and written rules

Once a week, say on a day off over tea, sit down for twenty minutes and answer four questions:

• what sold this week and what is running out;
• does the balance in the book match the real count;
• who owes how much and when payments are due;
• what has to be bought for next week.

Write the result on one sheet. On the other half of the sheet write the rules: who is responsible for what, how large a discount may be given (for example up to 5 per cent on one's own, more only with the owner's agreement), who may sell on credit, how money may be taken from the till.

When the till is handed from one person to another, make a simple entry as well: the date, the sum in the till, who handed over and who received. This is not red tape: the next day there is no argument of "there was more in the till yesterday", because the figure is written down.

Stick the sheet on the wall. A written rule removes the question "don't you trust me?", because it concerns the job, not the person.

Common mistakes

• agreeing everything by word of mouth: "we are family, after all";
• handing the till to a teenager or a relative with no responsibility;
• leaving the weekly count to whoever received the goods;
• looking for someone to blame instead of the cause when a shortage appears;
• not recording what was taken for the home.

Conclusion

Warm relations matter, but the records are a separate thing: a number written openly prevents family disagreements. Roles, the "two keys" rule, a table of what is taken for the home and a weekly meeting are enough for that. When the business grows and stock builds up, the Sanab team can act as a neutral party, run the count and hand over the result in a report: the figure is then nobody's opinion and is open to all.