The best way to keep your bookkeeping in order is to use FoodLink Software for Buying Clubs. It is designed to streamline buying club operations. It provides integrity to the billing process that is hard to accomplish through manual bookkeeping. The software enables you to invoice your members individually and pass along the identical pricing, taxes and deposits that your group is charged. Volume Discounts can easily be retained by the group or passed along in part or in their entirety to members.

Common areas where buying clubs lose money:

1. Expenses: Buying clubs frequently incur some expenses and it is best to have all the members pitch in to cover them. Shared expenses could include postage, supplies, rent and even bounced checks. Most groups keep a 'cushion' in their checking accounts to cover these expenses.

• Have your members talk about a fair way to raise extra funds. A percentage mark-up charges more to those who use the group’s services more, a flat service fee on each invoice does not "penalize" those who order more by charging them more. Some groups have "non-working members" who pay an additional percentage (5%-10%) on each order and the buying club uses these funds to offset expenses. Another option is to retain all volume discount for general buying club use, instead of passing it along to the members.
• Use a mark-up, fee, or require a deposit from members to give yourselves this cushion and save your bookkeeper from developing ulcers!

2. Receiving your order: be sure to check refrigerated and frozen items for mis-picks, damages and ordering errors as they come off the truck. Only the driver can issue credit for problems with these items.

3. Distribution During distribution there is potential for errors to occur that will result in loss of money for your group. Here are a few pointers. Visit Delivery Day Procedures for more details.

• It is extremely important that all items received by a member appear on the member invoice. This accuracy can be guaranteed by careful and orderly distribution and invoicing processes.
• At distribution, each member's products need to be carefully checked against the member's order or invoice. Items not found with a member’s order are probably in someone else’s pile. If this is not fixed the group will end up covering the cost of the lost product.
• No one should leave the distribution site with their order until the distribution is complete and everyone's order has been checked. Members leaving with their orders before the distribution is complete create an atmosphere of disorder and can cause problems that are difficult to solve once product has left the site.

4. Extras Table/ Surplus Inventory: It is absolutely imperative that the group have a good system to manage items sold from the extras table -- no matter how small the inventory. If the extras table is not managed properly, items can be "sold" from the extras and never be recorded on the members' orders, meaning no one is charged for them. All purchases from the extras should be recorded and that information given to the bookkeeper.

5. Shortages: If you are buying bulk products and dividing them up among the members there is potential for loss in several ways:

• waste and spillage of product that the group has paid for, but cannot charge members for
• inaccurate scales and measures may cause you to come up short
• careless division of random weight items (such as cheese)

To prevent these loses make sure your scales and measuring devices are accurate; handle product carefully.

6. Money: We recommend that buying clubs adopt a policy of accepting only personal checks, money orders, or cashiers checks for the amount due. Obtain an EIN number and set up a checking account in the name of your buying club (see Setting Up A Checking Account) so members can make their checks out to the buying club.

Handling cash creates a potential for substantial loss through personal and group cash being mixed inadvertently or even theft. Prevent this risk by accepting no cash. (On the other hand, if a member repeatedly bounces checks, you might want to ask them to leave the group or require cash payment).

7. Random Weight Items: Random weight items such as cheeses and meats are weighed at the time of shipment and billed for that exact weight. The adjustments for these products on members’ invoices must be done manually, even when using the computer program

8. Damaged products: Products damaged or broken through mishandling in distribution should be kept to a minimum, since the buying club has paid for these, but cannot charge members for them.

9. Mis-picks and Mis-ordered Items: When you call for a credit/return of product, the driver must receive the item being returned (at the next delivery) before issuing the credit. If the item is not brought to meet the truck, your group will not be given credit; if your member has already been given credit, your accounts will come up short. Develop a system for keeping track of credits, and know who is expected to be bring returns to the truck each time.

10. Credits/Debits due: The bookkeeper should call in credits needed due to problems with mis-picks, short shipments, damages and quality issues. The bookkeeper should maintain a list of credits/debits due to members and received from the distributor. Loss can occur when credits are given to members but not received