For bookshops

A bookshop in the last week of August.

Every family through the door has a list, and every list is different. Books come from four suppliers on four different days. Some lists are complete by Friday; some are waiting on one title until October. Every box raises the same question: whose are these? Today the answer is a notebook, a spreadsheet and whoever was on the till when the order was taken. Parents ring to ask. Good staff spend the week sorting and phoning when they should be selling.

Book a demo See the week

1Monday morning

A parent arrives with a list.

Today: Twelve books, three of them already at home. You write it in the book, take a deposit, and promise a call.

  1. Take the order from the listPick the parent, tick the books they need, leave out the ones they have. Done in under a minute at the counter, or on your phone beside them.
  2. Everything waiting goes on one listEvery book you still have to order sits on a to-order list, grouped by supplier, with a worksheet you can send.
  3. Mark it placedWhen the order goes to the supplier, mark it placed with their reference. The parent’s order shows as on its way.
  4. For a long list, let them check itSend a link. They see every book and the price on their phone, take one off, and confirm before you order.

On the Scale plan the lists live on your website too: parents pick the school and year, tick what they need and pay or reserve at any hour, with no queue.

2Wednesday, delivery day

Three boxes from three suppliers.

Today: Open each box, check it against the invoice, find every name in the notebook, stack the piles, and start phoning.

  1. Upload the invoice, or scan the boxDrop in the PDF invoice the supplier emailed you and Leaption reads every line, down to the quantity. No invoice yet? Scan the barcodes instead.
  2. Every book finds its familyEach copy goes to the customer who has waited longest. Lists with a book still missing stay open; the missing book stays on your to-order list.
  3. Check, then confirmLook over the matches, correct anything that isn’t right. Nobody is told until you finish.
  4. Everyone in the box is told at onceOne button sends the ready text or email to every family whose list is complete, and names what’s still coming for the ones that aren’t.

Invoice reading and scanning are on both plans.

3Mid-September

Forty bags behind the counter, and nobody collecting.

Today: The bags take over the back room. Somebody goes through them with the phone on a quiet Tuesday afternoon.

  1. Ready message sentEvery family hears the moment their books arrive.
  2. ReminderGoes out by itself after the number of days you choose.
  3. Final reminderA last nudge in your own words: “We’ll hold your books until Friday.”
  4. A short list of people to phoneStill not collected? They appear on one list with a phone number, instead of in a bag you keep walking past.
  5. CollectedOne tap at the counter, and the order closes.

4Any Tuesday in March

Someone wants a book you don’t stock.

Today: A note on a slip of paper, a promise to ring, and a customer who rings you first.

  1. Take it where you’re standingName, number and the book, on your phone, while they’re still at the counter. Price is optional.
  2. It joins the to-order listMark it placed when the supplier order goes. Nobody has to remember it.
  3. The box landsScan it, or mark the order arrived from the stockroom before you’ve found a shelf for it.
  4. They get the text before you’re back at the tillAnd a reminder if they don’t come in.

5November

Your Christmas picks, selling while you’re closed.

Today: The window and the front table do the selling, but only in opening hours and only for people who come in.

  1. Choose the booksAdd each one with a line on why you picked it, in your own words.
  2. Set the dates and the lookOpening and closing dates, your colours and your logo.
  3. One button on your websiteCustomers browse and order on their phone. No account to create.
  4. Orders land beside your counter ordersPaid by card into your own Stripe account, or reserved to pay in the shop.
  5. Collected, or postedA ready message when they can collect, or a tracking number if you post it anywhere in Ireland.

Seasonal guides are on the Scale plan.

“Back-to-school used to mean boxes on every surface and a notebook we were terrified of losing. Now a delivery comes in, Leaption tells us whose is whose, and our customers know their order is ready before we’ve finished unpacking. I wouldn’t go back.”

Mary Hanna, Owner, Alan Hanna’s Bookshop

What you’d be on

Scale, because the two things that take the queue out of August and sell in December are on it.

Booklists on your website take the queue out of August. The Christmas guide sells while you’re closed. If you would rather keep the lists at the counter, Core covers the special orders, invoice reading on delivery day and the reminders for €15 a month.

Other shops

Gift shopsMakers and brands selling directAll shop types

See it with your own shop in mind.

Tell us about your shop and we’ll walk you through Leaption with a booklist, a delivery and a Christmas guide, the way your week actually runs.

Book a demo

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