A banker by profession, Paul Patel had helped out in his father’s newsagents since boyhood. In 2006, he quit banking to run the family business full-time. It wasn’t all plain sailing. To revitalise the business, he borrowed to buy new stock, causing serious cash flow problems.
Through prudent financial management, he rescued the situation and paid all their suppliers. “We stuck to only buying what we could afford.” Paul was then asked to do a presentation about the business turnaround at a trade show in Manchester, where the audience included representatives from WH Smith.
Afterwards, they told him about their franchise model. “It was perfect. They’re a major high street brand and, like us, strong in news, magazines, greeting cards and stationery.” It’s worked out well. “In four years, I’ve almost trebled my turnover.”
Switching to integrated payments with Paymentsense
A condition of signing up with WH Smith was the installation of an EPoS system. “It was quite straightforward – though at first, we did need plenty of support from the supplier.” The system integrates with Paymentsense’s terminals which he finds helpful. “It cuts the error rates.
There’s no chance of discrepancies or miskeying or of charging the customer too much or too little.” The end of day cash up is also straightforward. “You go through the menu, do the reports and within seconds you know what you’ve taken. So, reconciliation-wise, it’s fantastic.”
Growing the business Paul is noticing the rise in card payments, particularly contactless, and especially at seasonal times. “I call it the beep factor. Customers just tap and go because payment is painless. 50% of sales are now on card and it’s really helped grow my business.”
Learn more about integrated payments.