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Counting quarters & keeping records


joebob051977

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I have been keeping a record of how much every single product sells from every location. I have been using Ziploc bags to keep the money seperate. I must admit, I like having the record, but I feel like I have plastic baggies everywhere.  Am I being too anal, or do you count how much each product sells at each location. How do you keep the money seperate for counting? I can only imagine doing 20 triple head locations in 1 day and having 60 baggies thrown everywhere.

Joe  

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What we have done is do your count in the store with a coin counter or scale. Use a log book to enter the amounts so you can just dump all your quarters together. When we get home then run the quarters through the machine to count and roll the quarters. My wife is the bookkeeper and then enters everything from the log book onto Excel spread sheets. It would be easier to enter it all on Excel on our laptop in the store but just too much stuff to carry in and out. Got a fancy phone with Excel on the phone but just too small to be practical. Anyone using something smaller than a laptop but bigger than a phone with Excel spreadsheets?

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Get a box of the smaller size ziplock bags and the next size up. I prefer the ones with the zipper on them. The freezer ones seem more durable. Get ahold of a Sharpie to mark each bag. I write the stop name on the larger bag where they provide the space for a label. On the smaller bags I put A, B, C. Now you need to decide which way you want to read them. I refer to A as the canister on the far left to C on the far right when looking at the back of the machine while collecting the money. My route book pages for each spot has an A, B, C column with the candy for that slot enterd in the column top. So I just open the back and dump each coin tray into the bag as marked then I put them all in the larger main bag. This all goes into my service backpack until I get back out to my SUV. Once there I unload any extra candy load the candy & money bag for the bext stop and secure the money until I get home. Then at home I count the individual bags and enter the values for each stop. I usually split my route into 2 days so I rubberband all the ones for one day together and same for day two. It sounds like a lot of extra work but it is really not that hard once you start doing it. For me it gives me a good feel for what is moving and how much is moving on average per product in every location.

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I use excel and Vendtrak printouts on my clipboard for my records when on my routes, and put it all into vendtrak when I get home.  I mark down the gross collection, the commission, if any, and how much product I put in (roughly).  I do not use baggies for each head, I have a pretty good memory from repetition what each head does in terms of % of the total gross, it isnt exact but as long as  I get a rough idea and save some time that is a trade off that I accept.

I know of many people who teach the baggie approach, but remember the more time you are in a location with money, the more questions you may be asked.

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Pretty much how I do it. I use ziplok baggies with the slide shut thingie. I just throw in a piece of paper saying the location, then go home and count them all. But I will have to change that as I get more machines out there. Like you said, 60 baggies everywhere will get messy. lol

 

joebob051977 wrote:

I have been keeping a record of how much every single product sells from every location. I have been using Ziploc bags to keep the money seperate. I must admit, I like having the record, but I feel like I have plastic baggies everywhere.  Am I being too anal, or do you count how much each product sells at each location. How do you keep the money seperate for counting? I can only imagine doing 20 triple head locations in 1 day and having 60 baggies thrown everywhere.

Joe  

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I have to know how much of each product a location is selling. To keep track I bought a bunch of money bags from the Bagman in the bulk classifieds section of Vendiscuss. The Bagman sews clear business card windows on to the bags for like .70c ea..

I take one of my business cards and flip it over to the blank side and write the location and product on the card. The cards for each route are kept together and can be used over and over.I just dump the coins into the bag and count everything when I get home. I have a roll top safe for the van.

The picture of the bag doesn't seem to be loading correctly.

file:///C:/Users/tstrong2715/Pictures/Nikon%20Transfer/006/DSCN0102.JPG

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I do things a bit differently. I have two bags-- one that I bring in stores and the other I leave in the car. If I have 3 different products, I rank them to know which product made the most money and dump all three into the same bag.

I don't count coins in stores unless I need to for a commission. As I am traveling between locations, I remove coins from the first bag and put them into the second bag. I record the totals at traffic lights, etc. When the second bag gets heavy enough, I drop off the coins at my local bank. I use their count to verify my own.

Thanks,

Brian

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Hey Brian,

Can you text message and eat at the same time as well? lol I used to run bills through the currency counter getting ready for the next ATM location while driving between the stops. Sometimes I could actually eat at the same time too. Usually that's when the cell phone would ring too. I never counted quarters while driving though - seems like that would be a little harder.

nam

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I take in a money bag and dump all quarters into it.  I then write on a pice of paper the location and put it in the bag.  When I get home I count the quarters and record it in excell and a hand written record.

Joe, what you need to ask yourself is this:  Is the baggie seperation cost effective?  Have you been able to see which product is underperforming and switch it out for a better one?  If you have been able to do this, then is going through 60 baggies in one day worth it?  I really am not sure if I could be that precise.  If it is helping boost numbers by providing useful info, keep your system.  If it is just a case of OCD then ditch the baggies.

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For me it does help with product evaulation on a month to month basis. I don't count at the location so it really does not add that much more time to dump 3 trays into 3 baggies. For money counting I do it at home where I can relax and enter the data in my route book in safety. Most of mine are triples and you could take a guess at which one was selling better or not but I feel better doing it this way. And leave my OCD out of this. ;)

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For me, so far, I have been using one baggie at each location. I can tell if a product is not moving well and after a couple of months will try something else. I wanted to be anal and keep track of each head on my triples, but it just seemed awkward and time consuming, so this method works for me.

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I dump my quarters into large stackable plastic tumblers.  One tumbler for each product.  I like them better than the baggies cus I don't have to hold them open like you do with baggies.  That's a plus for machines like Oaks, where you need two hands to pour out the quarters instead of like NW's where you can scoop them out of the coin tray with one hand. 

I'm one of those that likes to know how well (or bad) each product is doing.  I can't rely on my memory of how full the machine was when I serviced it last, and I can't tell how many vends there were when 1" of product is missing.  This is why I don't like triple machines and use only individual machines.

I weigh the tumblers when I get into the car and record the amount.  You hafta sort out all the non-quarter items in the tumblers first tho.  Once I have them counted, I record them in my log.

For commission locations, I bring the scale in with me and weigh the tumblers onsite and count out the commission from the quarters.

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I have to admit I'd love to get rid of all the baggies. I get accurate information from counting everything separately, but I am not sure I really need all the information I am getting. I think what is more important is if a product is selling well or if it needs to be replaced.

I really considered a similar approach as McEnerpr has. I have considered using a log book just to rank the product sales at each location. I still think locations need to be tracked. It is essential information in order to value each location on your route.

I also like the idea of using the pencil pouches in a 3 ring binder to keep everything organized. I don't have a scale so I do all my counting by hand. I haven't even broken down to get counting tubes yet.

I do things a bit differently. I have two bags-- one that I bring in stores and the other I leave in the car. If I have 3 different products, I rank them to know which product made the most money and dump all three into the same bag.

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Tracking revenue by product is just waaay too time consuming for me. I am an old time software technician and I hate administrative activities - so maybe I have a bias here!  But, I only track revenue by machine and throw all money for that machine into a money bag along with an ID card for that location. That money is then thrown into the coin counter to be counted and rolled and logged that evening. The revenue is posted into each location's log sheet. Also on the each log sheet are the products and the inventory levels going in and out for each service call. Obviously, I replace products where the movement and coins are unacceptable. I would rather spend time locating/servicing and not tracking/entering data that you already or intuitively know as you service each location. Again, I hate administration and do not want to turn into an accountant and develop the dreaded disease called analysis paralysis.

Jax

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I'm with you Jax. The less data the better. Bottom line for me is what I took in at a location. I use the freezer baggies with the surface you can write on. Each location is numbered on my route sheet which reflects the number for that location on the baggie.

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joebob051977

You can get a set of the coin tubes at Office Depot or Staples for like $10. I got the whole set but just use the quarter one. It is easier to just scrape them off the counter into the tube then to count them. The coin rolls the bank gives me slide right inside the tube when it is full.

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I forgot to mention that I just use pieces of paper in each baggie to identify where it came from.

I count that night. I really enjoy that part and when my wife offers to help, I say that is ok, I do enjoy that part.

I record on a spreadsheet for each location, with the date and the amount of money. I keep a seperate sheet for product. If a location is getting low, I refill to the halfway mark, except bubblegum, which I fill more. How I can tell if a product is moving is I will have like 10 bucks in one tray, 8 in one and like a dollar in the third. I know if after two months, I need to change.

Granted, I have 5 machines out there and when I have 25, I will have to rethink this method as I won't recall for two months, but you can still tell when you open the back. Perhaps a notebook to jot down slow movers?

I am getting off track though, so I will stop now. LOL

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  • 3 weeks later...

Okay Guys, this is what I do .

I go in and service the machine . I collect the coins and dump them ALL in a cloth bag(trying to be GREEN). I lock up the machine,go to the Jeep and dump it ALL in a canvas bag with all of the rest of the coins.

Then at the end of the day I go to the Bank and dump them all in the machine that counts them for me . Get the amount. Bring it to the Teller . Make a deposit and I am on my way home . Them when I feel like it I record it on Excel . I do not record each location I record what I collected in that city for tax purposes .

And thats it . I can tell if a location is down or slow . I'll ask if they would like something different in the machine .

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