Showing posts with label Vending machine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vending machine. Show all posts

Saturday, December 8, 2012

How to Account for Sales from Vending Machines

English: Vending machine
English: Vending machine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For some, vending machines are known for dispensing snacks and some low price trinkets. But for others, this is one great source of income. People who take advantage of this business have control of their own time and have themselves as their boss. Diligently keeping the records as well as assessing prices of products accurately is their secret in discovering how much they are able to generate from each machine they have. Owners of dispensing machines will be able to calculate their gross profit for a specific accounting period by making an accurate tally of some essential number. If you are an owner and you are not yet knowledgeable on how to go about this, here are some tips which you might find helpful.

Foremost, if you have one or several machines, you have to make an accurate record of the money you will collect form each. Collection should be done each time that you will empty the machine and have it refilled again. The amount you will collect represents the total dispensing sale of your machine.

On a separate record sheet, make a calculation of the cost of those goods that you sold. From the result must be added to the opening stock value. The latter refers to those good already on your machine at the start of the accounting period. From the total amount, you must also add the price of the goods that you add in the machine during that same period. After you get the sum, you must subtract the closing stock value. The latter refers to whatever has been left on the machine as the accounting period ends. The number you will arrive at represents the value of the good that the machine was able to sold in a given accounting period.

The next thing to do is to subtract the total sales from the value of goods sold. This will give you the value of your gross period for that given accounting period. If you are owner of several machines, you also need to make accurate tallying of gross profits which each machine made. From the sum of gross profit, you need to subtract the entire expenses for that specific accounting period. The result is your vending machine net profit.

Owning vending machines is one lucrative way of earning money while you have the freedom of getting an employment elsewhere. It can even be an income generating business on itself. Owners of vending machine operate this business on different period of accounting. Some uses monthly or quarterly while others on a yearly basis. Whichever is the choice of accounting period being applied on the operation of vending machine, it is a must that one must do some accounting. By doing simple math, the owner can draw up his own accounting of the total sales as well as total profit of his business. This skill is necessary so that the owner will know if the business is still profitable or not. 

How to Finance a New Vending Machine Business?

English: Snack Machine
English: Snack Machine (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Vending machine is not only a dispenser of some little necessary things or trinkets, but it promises a lucrative business. If you intend to set up your own vending machine, fund is needed. If you currently do not have the necessary finances, you have to look for ways of financing your efforts. If you have properly laid out your plans on how you will go about operating the business, it will make sense if you decide to borrow the necessary funding in order to bring this plan into reality. Good thing, there are quite a good number of options which you may try to get the funds which will help in getting your ideas started.

The first persons to approach with are your family or friends. Though this might be awkward for you to make a request from the people surrounding you, this is highly desirable as these people will be willing to help and may charge low or no interest at all. Since the loan will have exceptional or non-existent interest, you will take lesser time in order to repay what you have borrowed. When you request for the loan, be prepared in describing the plain in full details. If they can extend the loan, it is advised to put the terms on a paper. This is to make sure that there will be no misunderstanding that can damage the relationship. However, not everyone have family and friends who may be able to lend money. Thus, you can move to the next source of financing your vending business.
                                                                              
The next source of finances would be a reputable lending institution like a bank. You can speak to them to see if a loan or line of credit can be extended to you, so you can borrow money at reasonable interest rate. Make appointments with some few institutions so you can make comparison of what each of them can offer you. Decisions must be made carefully after considering few factors such as repayment terms, interest rates and penalties for default in payment or for early repayment.

The last option to finance your vending machine business is through the use of credit card. This option is recommended to be used if you are sure to make repayment relatively quickly. You may opt to use your existing card or apply for some few more so you can get extra credit in financing your business venture. This is the last recommended option because the interest rates imposed on the use of cards is quite high. This makes it more challenging to make repayments and if not managed properly, can bring more hindrance than help.

If you are unable to obtain funds from any of these options, you may just want to consider taking the machine under a lease agreement. While this is mostly used for expansion of those who already having vending business, this is not an impossible choice for those who are just starting their venture. When you intend to start a successful dispensing machine business, it is comforting to know that you have several alternatives for financing. 


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