Poskio Guides
Retail & restaurant management guides
Practical, research-based guides for small business owners: choosing and setting up a POS, managing inventory, running daily operations, understanding the numbers and running a restaurant.
Pillar guides
Start here: five pillar guides
Each pillar gives the big picture and links to the detailed guides in its topic.
What Is a POS System?
The foundation: how point of sale works, the hardware you need and a setup checklist.
Retail Inventory Management
Receiving, SKUs, valuation, replenishment and audits in one practical guide.
Retail Store Operations
Opening, checkout, receiving, closing and SOPs for a well-run shop.
Restaurant POS Workflow
From order to kitchen to payment, for counter and table service.
POS Systems & Setup
Choose, install and run a point of sale: hardware, offline operation and multiple tills.
What Is a POS System? A Complete Guide for Small Businesses
A clear explanation of what a POS system is, how a sale flows through it, which hardware you need, and how to set one…
How to Choose a POS System for Your Retail Store
A practical, step-by-step method for choosing a retail POS system, with a reusable scoring checklist.
Offline vs Cloud POS: What Happens When the Internet Goes Down?
How cloud and local POS systems behave during an internet outage, including the limits on offline card payments.
POS Hardware Setup: Complete Checklist for Retail Stores
Device-by-device checklist for setting up a retail POS counter, with connection types and fixes for common problems.
Multi-Terminal POS Setup: A Practical Local Network Guide
How to run several registers on one shared POS database over your store’s local network, with backups and a recovery plan.
Inventory Management
Keep stock accurate and profitable: reorder points, ABC analysis, cycle counts and shrinkage.
Retail Inventory Management: The Complete Practical Guide
A practical, step-by-step guide to managing retail stock — from receiving and SKUs to valuation, replenishment, audits and reports.
Reorder Point Formula: How Much Stock Should You Keep?
The reorder point formula, three safety stock methods and four verified worked examples.
ABC Inventory Analysis: How to Prioritize Your Products
How to classify products into A, B and C using annual consumption value, with a verified worked example and practical policies.
Cycle Counting: How to Keep Inventory Accurate
How to schedule cycle counts, reconcile discrepancies and measure inventory accuracy — with worked examples.
How to Reduce Retail Shrinkage and Inventory Loss
How to measure shrink, find where inventory is lost, and apply practical controls from receiving to refunds.
Store Operations
Daily routines that keep a shop running smoothly — from opening checklists to cash-up.
Retail Store Operations: The Complete Daily Management Guide
A complete daily operations guide for small retailers — checklists, responsibilities, reports and SOP templates.
SKU vs UPC vs EAN vs GTIN: Barcode Differences Explained
What SKUs, UPCs, EANs and GTINs are, how they differ, how check digits work and how to set up product identification correctly.
Cash Register Reconciliation: Complete End-of-Day Guide
How to reconcile a cash drawer at the end of the day — formula, worked example, investigation steps and a template.
Finance & Metrics
Pricing, KPIs and customer credit explained with formulas and worked examples.
Gross Margin vs Markup: Formulas and Retail Examples
The difference between gross margin and markup, with exact formulas, conversion tables and worked retail examples.
Retail KPIs: 12 Metrics Every Store Owner Should Track
Twelve retail KPIs with formulas, one consistent worked example and a weekly report template.
Customer Credit Management for Small Businesses
How small businesses can sell on account safely — policies, limits, statements, ageing reports, collections and controls.
Restaurant Management
Order workflows, kitchen technology, food cost and menu profitability.
Restaurant POS Workflow: From Order to Kitchen to Payment
How an order should flow through a restaurant POS — from capture and modifiers to kitchen routing, billing and payment.
Kitchen Display System vs Kitchen Printer: Complete Comparison
A practical comparison of kitchen display systems and kitchen printers for restaurants of every size.
Restaurant Food Cost Percentage: Formula and Examples
How to calculate restaurant food cost percentage, plate cost and yield — with verified worked examples.
Menu Engineering: How to Analyze Restaurant Menu Profitability
How to classify menu items by popularity and contribution margin — with a fully worked, verified example.
Put the guides into practice.
Install the free edition on Windows, Mac or Android tablets and try these routines with demo data.