Between legal obligations and business needs, which wine merchant software should you choose?

Wine merchant software: useful or not?

In recent years, the wine merchant profession has been faced with profound changes. In 30 years, the volume of wine consumed by the French has halved (source: cavistesprofessionnels.fr). At the same time, wine merchants are facing stiff competition from supermarkets, which now sell most of the wine they produce.

Yet despite these difficulties, the number of wine merchants in France is increasing. Why is this?

Because the wine trade is responding to a new consumer trend: drink less, but drink better.

Faced with this quest for an enhanced experience, wine merchants need to demonstrate their passion and specialist knowledge to pass on their love of their product and the French wine tradition.

But that's not enough.

Creating and growing a wine cellar means working intelligently, equipping yourself with tools capable of meeting today's challenges, while taking into account the many legal constraints surrounding the profession.

What are these tools? What benefits will you derive from using wine sales software? Is in-store cash register software compulsory?

Our advice will help you identify your needs in terms of wine merchant software and applications, and discover some examples of solutions.

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Wine merchant software: what are the regulatory requirements?

Checkout software that complies with standards

The problem

The 2018 Finance Act was created to combat fraud.

With this in mind, it requires any professional making sales of goods or services, and who records them using a cash register software or system, to use a solution that satisfies conditions of:

• inalterability
• security
• conservation,
• archiving of data.

To fall within the scope of the law, you need to use certified cash register software or a certified cash register system. According to article 286 of the General Tax Code (CGI), this certificate can be obtained :

• by a body accredited under the conditions set out in article L. 433-4 of the French Consumer Code,
• by an individual certificate from the publisher, conforming to a model set by the authorities.

☝️ Please note that it is essential to obtain this certificate: in the event of an inspection, any wine merchant who is unable to produce it within 60 days is liable to a €7,500 fine.

The solution

If you already have a cash register or are planning to acquire one soon, we recommend that you find out how easy it is to obtain the famous certificate.

Fortunately, there are many cash register software packages that comply with the legislation, such as Tiller, XL Soft and Orchestra (a specialised solution for bars and retail outlets). But if you want to save on the cost of cash register software, you should know that some tools, such as Hiboutik, are free if you use the basic functions.

• Easy to use, Hiboutik helps you manage your receipts, sales, customers and stocks on any device (PC, Mac, tablet or smartphone) with an internet connection.
  
• Above all, it provides you with an individual certificate of compliance with the 2018 Finance Act, which you can download directly from your Hiboutik account.

Software that meets the specific management constraints of wine merchants

The problem

Like any other business, a wine cellar needs to take into account a number of tasks (stock management, invoicing, accounting declarations, etc.) that are inseparable from its sales activities.

However, your business is unique in that it has to deal with specific regulations associated with the sale of alcohol.

Stock management, in particular, requires special attention:

• First of all, as a wine warehouseman, you have to issue your MRD (Monthly Recapitulative Declaration) so that customs can know how much wine has entered and left your cellar. However, this stock accounting (which involves regularly tracking the outgoing and incoming flows and quantities of items in stock) quickly becomes complicated because of variables specific to the business, such as the sale of wine by the glass or wine tastings.
  
• On the other hand, accurate stock management is also an economic issue, as stocks always represent a financial asset.

The solution

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software, also known as PGI (Progiciel de Gestion Intégré), is part of the large family of professional software. These tools, which are extremely useful in business, offer a range of functions including :

• accounting management
• sales management
• human resources management
• stock management, etc.

An ERP solution should therefore be considered for managing your winery. And while there are more generalist software packages like EBP, some are better suited to the specific needs of the business described above. Vitisoft is a very good example of what an ERP for wine merchants and wine professionals in general can offer.

Vitisoft features :

Among the many functions offered by the solution are :

• advanced stock management, with instant updates based on movements,
• a precise inventory on a given date, to automate as far as possible the production of your declarations (DRM, DSA, etc.),
• a cash register system that complies with anti-fraud legislation, etc.

As a result, software like Vitisoft improves your day-to-day productivity by allowing you to concentrate more on high-value tasks, while helping you to ensure that your actions are compliant.

Wine merchant software: what are your business development needs?

Software that strengthens customer relations

The problem

Maintaining customer relations is one of the prerequisites for the success of your business.

As a wine merchant, you need to stand out from the crowd, especially in the mass retail sector.

Your value proposition obviously depends on the nature of your offer (competitively priced wine, original vintages, promotion of a specific terroir, organic wines, independent winegrowers, etc.).

But the way in which you develop your customer relations and loyalty also plays a key role. Understanding your customers' tastes and expectations, and being able to offer them personalised selections or a loyalty card are all valuable assets.

The solution

A great deal of software has been developed to manage customer relations. They are called CRM, for Customer Relationship Management. Others are called ERP (mentioned above), when they offer modules for managing your customer base. Finally, some tools are specifically designed to meet the needs of wine merchants.

Take Cavilog, for example, a global solution designed to manage wine cellars.

• One of Cavilog's loyalty-building features is a mobile wine cellar application that allows customers to track their purchases and loyalty points.
  
• For your part, you can communicate more easily with your customers about new products, promotions, events, etc.

Create promotional operations with Cavilog :

Software for selling your bottles online

The problem

To withstand the competitive pressure from supermarkets, and to keep up with new consumer trends that are leaving more and more room for e-commerce, you need to consider the challenges of selling wine over the internet.

By multiplying the channels, you multiply the opportunities. In fact, in 2017, 32% of these sales were made by retailers who also had a physical shop (source: cavistesprofessionnels.fr).

But if you do venture into internet sales, bear the following facts in mind:

• Part of your customer base is made up of non-experts, for whom good advice is all the more valuable... even when selling online. As a result, you need to offer a clear site, with detailed product sheets that guide newcomers and provide them with all the information they need to make the right choice.
  
• While it is possible to sell wine on marketplace-type platforms, we suggest that you have your own website. Remember the importance of customer relations! Thanks to your website, you can communicate more easily with your customers, and build an environment that reflects you, your value proposition and your world.
  
• Finally, don't lose sight of the obligations specific to all online sales, such as compliance with the e-contract, which includes a clear presentation of your commercial offer, and the right of withdrawal.

That's why you need to choose carefully the software that will enable you to sell on the Internet.

The solution

These days, it's perfectly possible to open an online site without needing any development skills.

Prestashop Ready is one of the platforms offering this kind of service.

• With the help of this user-friendly software available in SaaS mode, you can create an online shop that reflects your image in just a few clicks, with no need for any technical skills whatsoever.
  
• Prestashop also hosts your site and provides you with a domain name.
  
• Finally, the solution contains over 600 functions (stock management, different payment methods, customer relations, etc.) so that you can ensure your sales while remaining focused on your core business.

Software that works on the move

Finally, consumers are keen to discover new things, new vintages and new terroirs. Being a wine merchant therefore implies a great deal of curiosity about the world of wine, as well as an ability to renew oneself, all in keeping with the values of quality and tradition.

What does this mean?

A good wine merchant is one who gets out and about, discovering future treasures (and creating sales opportunities for himself) at trade fairs or directly in the vineyards.

But you still need to have effective working tools when you're on the move!

The solution

That's why you need to make sure that any software you might need is functional when you're on the move.

Among the solutions mentioned above, note that the Vitisoft wine business management software offers a MultiSalons module. This allows you to invoice and register new customers, using a tablet for example, at a remote point of sale such as a trade show.

Cavilog is available on smartphones and tablets in a responsive way. So you can continue to manage your business even when you're not in the shop.

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Tradition meets modernisation

After this overview of the needs inherent in the wine trade, one thing is clear: the profession is constantly changing. As a result, working methods are changing, and it now seems complicated to run your business the old-fashioned way, using office tools such as Excel, for example.

Today's wine merchants need to be equipped with high-performance IT solutions capable of meeting two main objectives.

Firstly, you need to simplify your business processes so that you can free up time to devote to activities that are much more relevant to your business, such as marketing or event organisation.

What's more, you need to satisfy an increasingly demanding and connected customer base.

So make your business sustainable and profitable by initiating or consolidating your digital transformation.