According to one theory, P’s & Q’s refer to the Pints & Quarts in a tavern back in the 17th century. The bartenders were watching the alcohol consumption of their patrons, in-order to keep track of inventory and to ensure all alcohol consumed, had been paid for. Percentages are hard to calculate in this inventory situation, just breaking even, would be a savings.

In a client’s office, we discussed their inventory. They have employees who place orders for products, specific to the customer’s request. We discussed accuracy, quantity, pricing, returns due to damaged or incorrect product sent or ordered. Some of the products had expired, and should have been returned for a refund. Ordering was handled by multiple employees, with no central hub to communicate. Potentially, bulk ordering could have taken place resulting in a significant savings as well as other avenues to obtain product at lower prices. The ‘system’ just developed over time. There were no procedures in place. This discovery in the established ‘system’ had also allowed for money down the drain. It was a slow, annoying, dripping faucet, siphoning the revenue, for really no reason other than not having the proper procedures in place. While it may have been slow the point is, it was occurring, consistently and to the best of knowledge, for quite some time.

So, are you watching your P’s & Q’s? How are you doing that? When you assign a task to an individual within your company, you make the decision to delegate. Great! What is your developed procedure verifying the actions required to manage the information, complete the process and necessary details are to be handled? Certainly, it isn’t that physically you are reviewing and touching every aspect. That would seem pointless in delegating as well as very costly, to have two people doing the job of one. How many tasks do you have in your company with no procedure to follow and no verification steps in place? How about payroll? Does someone, other than an employee, review the data before paychecks are issued? How about purchases for your company? Who verifies purchases were needed, utilized and/or sold in your company? It’s like a recipe. If you don’t have the recipe card to follow, most likely the ingredients will not be accurate and the end result may not be good for the eating.

When reviewing your procedures, hiring a resource from outside of your internal circle can be extremely cost effective. Most often, the cost of the Expert is paid for in savings and increased profits.

Creating procedures can be complicated, timely and cumbersome. External Experts come with a clear perspective and the experience needed to develop procedures to keep your company profitable and a manageable Team. Reach out to the Experts. Contact OrganizerForU today to verify your P’s & Q’s are all accounted for.