Preliminary check
Seven questions. If you can’t answer one of them, it’s costing you money.
This is the same short diagnostic we run on the first site visit. Answer honestly — the result is on your screen immediately, and no email is required to see it.
The seven questions
Each question, what it means precisely, and what it costs when the answer is no. Scoring needs JavaScript; the questions do not.
Do you know the current value of your inventory — right now?
Not an estimate. A documented figure per store that matches a physical count.
If the answer is no: Inventory value is unknown — Any shortage or damage stays invisible until a count is done — usually after the window to claim it has closed.
Do you know exactly how much profit you made last year?
A figure you could defend in front of a bank or an investor.
If the answer is no: Last year’s profit is not established — Without a profit figure there is no way to price correctly, or to know which branch or product is carrying the business.
Do you know what your customers owe you — with documented balances?
Balances confirmed against the customer, not only your own ledger.
If the answer is no: Customer balances are not documented — An undocumented balance is a balance that is difficult to collect, and impossible to pursue formally.
Does every item leaving your store require a document and a named person?
An issue note, a receipt, a transfer form — with a defined authority.
If the answer is no: No documentary cycle controls the stores — Without documents there is no responsibility. A shortage becomes nobody’s fault, and the same gap repeats.
Are your bank balances reconciled with the statements every month?
A monthly reconciliation, not a look at the app balance.
If the answer is no: Bank balances are not reconciled — Book balances stop reflecting reality, and cash-flow decisions are made on a number that is already wrong.
Can you get a reliable financial report within one day, without chasing anyone?
One report that answers stock, profit and receivables together.
If the answer is no: Reporting depends on people, not a system — When information lives in one person’s head, decisions wait for that person — and stop when they leave.
Does your accounting team have separated duties and defined responsibilities?
The person who records is not the person who approves or holds the cash.
If the answer is no: Duties inside the finance team are not separated — No separation of duties is the single most common condition behind undetected error and loss.
This check is a preliminary indicator, not a professional opinion. A formal opinion is issued only under a signed engagement.