While the system may seem antiquated in today’s technological times, independent distributor Dan Jenkins Jr. confirms he and his father, Dan Jenkins Sr., handle tracking most business operations on paper.
Each week, both distributors who run Dan Jenkins Sales Company out of Bowling Green, Ky., use and refer to a printed list of customers to track balances for both routes. All purchases are tracked by sales slips which are saved and inputted at week’s end into Quickbooks.
“We’re still on paper invoices, hand-written,” Jenkins Jr. says.
“I do mine differently than how dad does his,” he explains, of his customer receipts. “My sister actually writes out his tickets for him each week. He can just pull the ticket out, it has the customer’s name and balance written on it.”
For inventory ordering, Jenkins Jr. keeps a notebook in the front cab of his van, where he continually tracks SKUs - both to replace existing inventory and for special orders for customers.
