IB SolutionsGlobal

Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 What this system does#

IBS Business Management System is a web-based tool for running a retail, wholesale, or distribution business from one place. It replaces separate notebooks, spreadsheets, and paper receipts for sales, purchases, stock, customer credit, supplier balances, expenses, and day-to-day reporting.

With it, your team can:

  • Ring up sales at the counter (Point of Sale) and track what is owed on credit sales
  • Optionally sell services, such as repairs, labour, or delivery, alongside your products
  • Give customers proforma invoices (priced quotes) and turn them into sales when they buy
  • Record purchases from suppliers and automatically update stock and product cost
  • Track how much each customer owes you, and how much you owe each supplier
  • Watch stock levels, get low-stock warnings, and record stock adjustments
  • Optionally track stock by batch and expiry date, for goods such as medicines or food
  • Optionally record the truck and driver that carried each sale, purchase, or delivery
  • Optionally charge tax on sales, record Taxpayer Identification Numbers, and report the tax you owe
  • Run more than one branch, with stock held per branch and transfers between them
  • Manage cash, bank, and mobile money accounts and move money between them
  • Record business expenses
  • Generate reports on sales, profit, receivables, payables, stock, and expiry
  • Control who can see and do what, with user accounts, roles, and an audit trail

1.2 Who this manual is for#

This manual is written for everyday users of the system: cashiers, sales staff, stock clerks, accounts staff, and business owners or managers who administer the system. Sections that only apply to administrators or managers are marked with a shaded “Who can do this” box.

1.3 How this manual is organized#

Chapters follow the system's own top menu, in the order most people use it day to day: start with the Dashboard and Point of Sale, then Sales (including proforma invoices), Purchases, Customers and Suppliers, Products and Stock (including services, and batch and expiry tracking), the optional truck & driver and tax features, Financial Accounts, Reports, and finally Administration.

1.4 Conventions used in this manual#

  • Names in quotes, e.g. “Save Customer”, refer to an exact button, field, or menu label in the system.
  • Numbered steps are things you do, in order, on screen.
  • A shaded “Note” box calls out something useful to know.
  • A shaded “Caution” box calls out something that cannot be undone or that affects other records.
  • A shaded “Who can do this” box tells you which permission or plan tier a feature requires.

1.5 What's new since version 1.0#

If you used the system with version 1.0 of this manual, these are the changes you'll notice:

  • Daily Cash Report (new in version 1.10) — follow the cash in a branch's drawer day by day: what came in, what was sent to the bank or mobile money, and what's carried forward to the next day. See section 19.5.
  • Counting the cash (new in version 1.10) — count the drawer at closing; any shortage or overage is recorded, and cashiers count without seeing what the drawer should hold. See section 15.5.
  • Receipt details per branch (new in version 1.9) — the business name, address, and phone printed on receipts are now set in Settings → Receipts, and with more than one branch each branch can print its own. A branch-level admin sees the company's settings, roles, and branches without changing them, and changes their own branch's receipt details. See sections 21.3 and 21.5.
  • The POS shows which branch you're selling from (multi-branch, new in version 1.8) — a “🏢 Selling from” label under the POS heading names the branch each sale is recorded at, and turns amber while a company-wide user is viewing 🌐 All branches. See sections 2.3 and 3.1.
  • Opening debts (new in version 1.7) — enter what customers already owed you, and what you already owed suppliers, when you started using IBS, with the date each has been owed since. Balances, statements, and the Receivables and Payables ageing reports include them. See sections 6.3 and 7.3.
  • Importing past sales (Growth & Enterprise, new in version 1.7) — counted your stock a few days before you started? Import the sales made since, instead of counting again. See section 4.7.
  • Who sees profit (new in version 1.7) — on Core and Growth only the Admin role sees the business's profit; on Enterprise (or with the Custom Roles add-on) the new View Profit permission decides. The Dashboard is back in the menu for cashiers, without profit. See section 19.4.
  • Plans and add-ons (new in version 1.7) — batch & expiry tracking now comes with the Growth and Enterprise plans, and damaged stock, services, and truck & driver with Enterprise. On other plans each can be added as an add-on, as can extra users and extra branches. A feature your business already used when the system was updated stays on. Settings → General lists your add-ons. See Chapter 22.
  • Prices at each branch (optional, multi-branch, new in version 1.6) — let each branch sell a product at its own price, set on the product page or in bulk from a spreadsheet. See section 8.6.
  • Average cost per branch (optional, multi-branch, new in version 1.6) — each branch keeps its own average cost, so its purchases only change its own cost and profit. See section 8.7.
  • Proforma invoices (optional, Growth & Enterprise, new in version 1.5) — give a customer a priced quote on A4 or as a PDF, then turn it into a sale at the POS with one click when they buy. See section 4.6.
  • Services (optional, new in version 1.5) — sell repairs, labour, delivery, and other services alongside your products. A service has no stock, and its price can be fixed or typed by the cashier at each sale. See sections 8.5 and 3.6.
  • Barcode scanning (new in 1.5) — a scanned item goes straight into the POS cart, and a product whose barcode or SKU matches exactly comes first in search results. See section 3.1.
  • Damaged stock (optional, new in version 1.4) — keep count of damaged goods you sell at a discount instead of returning. Mark them on the Stock page, sell them at the POS on a line switched to Damaged, return them through Stock Out, and follow them in the Damaged Stock report. See sections 9.4 and 3.5.
  • Tax on sales (optional, new in version 1.3) — for VAT-registered businesses. The POS charges tax at your rate, either inside your prices or added on top; receipts, sale and purchase pages, and exports show it; revenue in reports leaves it out. See Chapter 12.
  • Tax Report (new in 1.3) — tax charged on sales, tax paid on purchases, and the net tax payable for a period. See section 19.1.
  • TINs (new in 1.3) — your business's Taxpayer Identification Number and your customers' and suppliers', printed on receipts, goods-received notes, and statements. See section 12.5.
  • Purchases list (new in 1.3) — filter by a date range, and export the filtered purchases. See section 5.1.
  • Settings page (new in 1.3) — grouped into General, Point of sale, Tax, and Optional features, with switches and “How this works” notes. See section 21.5.
  • Truck & driver (optional, new in version 1.2) — record the truck number, driver's name, and driver's phone on sales, purchases, and direct deliveries. Shown on receipts and goods-received notes, searchable, included in both sales exports, and accepted (optionally) by the purchase import. See Chapter 11.
  • Batch & expiry tracking (optional) — record batch numbers and expiry dates when stock comes in; the POS sells the earliest-expiring stock first and can refuse expired stock. New Expiry Report and dashboard alerts. See Chapter 10.
  • Subscription page under Administration — shows when your subscription runs out, and is where a renewal code is entered. See section 21.6.
  • POS and Sales now have their own permission (“Access Sales / POS”). All built-in roles have it; custom roles need it ticked.
  • Voiding a sale now requires the “Edit / Void Sales” permission. Voided sales can no longer be edited or take payments.
  • Walk-in customers must pay in full — a walk-in sale can't leave a balance owing.
  • One branch per user. Each user is assigned to a single branch; company-wide users can switch to any branch or view “All branches.”
  • Each branch has its own Cash account, created automatically with the branch. Bank and mobile money accounts can be shared or tied to one branch.
  • New reports: Stock by Branch, Expiry Report, and Branch Performance. Customer Credit Settlement now suggests who should pay whom.
  • Product reactivation — a deactivated product can be switched back on from the product list.
  • New settings: timezone, hiding account balances from front-line staff, and batch & expiry options.
  • Direct Deliveries can now be paid from a customer's deposit.
  • High-risk change alerts on the Dashboard for users who can view the Audit Log.