The delivery notebook was used for years in many seltzer delivery businesses: the daily route, what each customer orders, how many siphons they have, and how much they owe. The problem arises when the business grows. More customers, more routes, and more delivery people mean that the information ends up scattered across several notebooks, in each delivery person’s memory, and in WhatsApp messages.
In this article, you’ll learn when it’s a good idea to switch to a new system, what it needs to include, and how to make the switch without disrupting distribution.
Signs That Your Soda Business Has Outgrown Its Notebook
- You don’t know for sure how many siphons and jugs you have on the street.
- There is no clear record of who has the dispensers provided on a loan basis.
- Customer Balances are reviewed once a month, by which time the debt has already grown.
- If a delivery person is absent, no one else knows their route well.
- You spend hours entering data from your notebook into a spreadsheet.
If you can relate to two or more of these, the notebook is already costing you money.
What Features Should a Soda Machine System Have?
Customers organized by route. Each customer’s address, visit date, and usual order.
Balance of containers per customer. Siphons, jugs, and crates delivered and returned, with the balance always up to date.
Loaned equipment. What dispensers or equipment does each customer have, and since when?
Customer balances. What each customer owes, what they paid, and when—so we can collect payments on time.
App for delivery drivers. So they can view their orders and record deliveries, packaging, and payments right away from their cell phone.
Simple reports. Sales, pending shipments, and outstanding debts—all without having to create spreadsheets by hand.
How to Make the Change in 4 Steps
1. Start with a tour. Load the customers for a single trip and use it as a test before adding the rest.
2. Pick up trash on the street. Take advantage of your weekly visits to determine how many siphons, jugs, and dispensers each customer has. That’s your starting point.
3. Train the delivery person in one day. The important thing is to record every delivery, package, and payment as it happens, not at the end of the day.
4. Use the workbook and the system together for a week. Compare the numbers. When they match, you can put the notebook away.
How Yaku Solves It
Yaku brings together customers, routes, packaging, loaned equipment, and customer balances in a single cloud-based system, complete with an app for your delivery drivers. See how it works in our seltzer delivery software.
Conclusion
Going paperless doesn’t mean changing the way your soda delivery business operates—it means stopping relying on memory and paper. With a system in place, you know which containers are out on the street, who owes you money, and how efficient each route is.
Sign up and try Yaku for free for 7 days. Plans start at $24 per month.
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