The daily problems this covers
Most shops lose control in the same places. The cash at close does not match the sales. Stock on the shelf differs from the book figure. A branch runs out of an item that another branch has. Credit customers go past their limit. Navigate puts each of these on a screen with a clear owner.
Setting up
At registration you choose an industry. Retail and Wholesale & distribution each have a starter pack. It only adds things and never changes what you already set up.
- Retail pack: Cashier and Store manager roles, product categories such as groceries and household, units such as pack and dozen, VAT-inclusive prices at the POS, and stock that cannot go below zero.
- Wholesale pack: Sales representative, Van salesperson, Dispatcher and Driver roles, units such as crate, bale and pallet, and a salesperson required on every sales document.
- You can change any of these defaults later, and hide modules you rarely use.
Buying and receiving stock
Staff raise a purchase requisition. Once approved, it becomes a purchase order. Goods received update stock, and the supplier invoice updates what you owe. Pack sizes let you buy by the box and sell by the piece, with stock always kept in pieces. For example, a shop might receive 5 boxes of 10 and see 50 pieces in stock, costed at the box price divided by 10.
Selling at the counter
- Each till is a POS counter with its own stock location and money accounts.
- The cashier opens a session by counting the opening cash, then scans or searches for products.
- A sale can be split across cash, mobile money and card. A sale can be held to serve the next customer.
- At close, the cashier counts the cash. Navigate shows the difference from what was expected and saves a Z-report.
- Discounts above a person's limit follow your approval rules.
Selling to trade customers
Wholesale runs on documents rather than the till: quotation, sales order, delivery note, invoice and credit note. Each customer can have a credit limit and payment terms. Price lists set prices per customer group. You can also set discount rules and run time-limited promotions, which apply automatically on sales. Customer statements and receivables ageing show who owes what and for how long.
Stock across branches
Stock availability shows on hand, committed and available for each warehouse. A branch can ask another for stock through a transfer request. Approval moves nothing. Stock moves only when the transfer is posted. Stock counts can be blind, so the counter does not see the system figure until someone allowed chooses to show the variances.
Seeing how the business is doing
Inventory reports show stock value, stock age, fast and slow movers, and what is below its reorder level. The owner can receive a daily business report by email. Reports can be filtered by branch, and people limited to a branch see only that branch.
Payments and tax by country
In Kenya, M-Pesa prompts and KRA eTIMS signing can be connected to the POS and invoices. In other countries, staff record mobile money by hand with its reference, and Navigate records VAT without signing with the tax authority. See the country pages for exact details.
Where Navigate may not fit
- The POS needs an internet connection. There is no offline till.
- There is no direct link to card terminals. The cashier types the approval code.
- Online selling is through the shared Navigate Marketplace and your seller page. It is not a separate online store under your own brand.
- Live mobile money prompts and tax signing are Kenya only.
- Which modules you get depends on your package, so check it before you rely on a feature.
Frequently asked questions
Can Navigate run a shop and a wholesale counter in the same business?
Yes. POS sales and sales documents use the same products and stock. Price lists let you price by customer group. You choose one industry for the starter pack, then add what is missing by hand.
Does the POS work offline?
No. Offline work covers logging visits and taking sales orders on the phone. The POS and all stock levels need a connection.
Can it stop staff selling stock we do not have?
Yes. Negative stock can be blocked, and the Retail pack sets this as the default.
Does the POS connect to a card terminal?
No. The customer pays on your terminal, and the cashier types the card approval code into Navigate.