Retail ERP Consultant, Australia

GST-inclusive ticket prices and promotions

Australian shoppers expect the price on the ticket to be the price they pay, and consumer law generally requires the displayed price to include GST and other unavoidable charges. That shapes how the POS and ERP hold prices: retail prices are entered and shown inclusive of GST, and the system works out the GST component on each line for the ledger and the Business Activity Statement.

Most retailers sell a mix of taxable and GST-free items, for example in grocery, health or baby categories, so the product master needs a correct tax code on every item. Promotions then add complexity. A bundle that combines a taxable and a GST-free product, a member discount applied to the whole basket, or a voucher redeemed against mixed lines all need a defined rule for apportioning the discount. Your accountant settles the apportioning method; I then prove it on sample baskets taken from real sales history.

I also look at how promotions are created and approved. In many chains a marketing team sets offers in one tool, merchandise sets markdowns in another, and stores apply manual discounts on top. I document one promotion calendar with owners and approval steps, so tills apply the same price everywhere and margin impact can be reported afterwards.

Refunds, consumer guarantees and lay-by at the counter

Under Australian Consumer Law, customers have guarantees about the goods they buy, and what they are entitled to depends on how serious the fault is, whatever a store's own change-of-mind policy says. Lay-by agreements, where retailers offer them, also come with consumer law rules. Legal questions belong with your lawyer. Once the policy is settled, my part is making sure the POS can actually enforce it.

At the POS, that means distinguishing a change-of-mind return from a faulty product claim, recording the reason, and routing the item to the right place: back to sellable stock, to a faulty goods location for supplier claims, or to repair. Refunds need to go back to the original tender where possible, including buy now pay later purchases, which refund through the provider rather than the till.

Lay-by needs its own design. Deposits and instalments are held as a customer liability, the goods are reserved out of sellable stock, and cancellations follow the terms you set. Without that, lay-by stock disappears from reports and deposits sit in the wrong account. I write each of these as UAT scenarios with expected stock and ledger outcomes before go-live.

eftpos, buy now pay later and the daily store close

Card payments dominate in Australian stores, mostly by tapping, and many purchases go through the domestic eftpos network or international card schemes on the same terminal. Buy now pay later plans are widely used, particularly in fashion, beauty and homewares, and cash is still taken in many locations.

No two of these reach the bank the same way. Acquirers deposit takings minus their fees, and least-cost routing choices can change that cost. BNPL providers remit on their own schedule and charge merchant fees that should be visible as a cost of sale, not hidden in a bank reconciliation. Cash has to be counted, banked and matched.

The design I aim for records every store's takings by tender at the till, imports provider settlement files, and matches them automatically to the bank. Finance then only works on differences. I also include gift cards and store credit, which are liabilities until redeemed and need to work in every store and online.

This is usually where a retailer moving off Xero or MYOB plus a standalone POS sees the biggest gain, because the daily summary journal is replaced with detail by store and tender. The Australia ERP consultant page covers that wider finance move.

Interstate DCs, regional stores and long supply lines

Distance is a defining feature of Australian retail logistics. A retailer may run a distribution center on the east coast serving stores in several states, with separate arrangements for Western Australia, regional Queensland or Tasmania. Line-haul transit takes days, and remote stores may receive deliveries on fixed weekly schedules.

The ERP needs to reflect those realities. Stock in transit should be visible by destination. Replenishment rules for a regional store need more cover than a metropolitan store near the DC. Allocation of a new range has to account for travel time so every state launches together. Transfers between nearby stores are often faster than waiting for the next truck, so they need to be easy to raise and confirm.

Seasonality here runs opposite to the northern hemisphere. Summer ranges peak around Christmas, winter ranges in the middle of the year, and categories such as outdoor and swimwear vary by state climate. I set seasonal parameters with your planners and map lead times by store. For the warehouse floor itself, my Odoo Inventory page for Australian businesses covers interstate warehouses and retailer compliance, so this page stays with the stores.

Wages, rent and stocktake in store profitability

Retail wages in Australia are usually governed by an industry award with penalty rates for weekends, public holidays and late hours, so the cost of the same roster differs by day and by state. Rostering and award interpretation are normally handled in a specialist workforce or payroll tool connected to the ERP, with Single Touch Payroll reporting done there. What the ERP needs is accurate labor cost by store and period.

Rent, outgoings and shopping center charges then come in by location, along with shrink from counts. Tagging every transaction with store, state and brand lets area managers compare like with like, and agree how DC and head office costs are allocated.

The end of financial year matters too: stocktakes are commonly scheduled around it, and end of financial year sales add trading pressure. Together with Christmas and Boxing Day trading, that rules out several windows for go-live. I plan a pilot store in a quieter month and run workshops remotely across your time zones. The Australia hub covers the other ways I work with Australian businesses.