Getting your stock ready before the wedding season
Two days of work a month before the season begins will save you the whole season's panic. Here is the checklist.
Season preparation does not happen during the season. Once the wedding dates begin, there is no window to count anything — stock is going out and coming back every day.
The right time is a month before, when the godown is full and everything is in one place.
1. Do a real count
Forget what the book says. Walk into the godown, count, and make three piles:
- Usable — could go to a function tomorrow
- Repairable — welding, screws, paint
- Finished — not worth spending another rupee on
Only the first pile is your real stock, and that is the number your accounts should carry. Get the second pile repaired before the season starts; mid-season you will not find a mechanic.
2. Look at last year's fullest day
There was one day last season when everything went out at once. Think back to it and work out what you ran short of.
That is what you will run short of again. Buy there — not across the whole godown.
3. Fix your rates now
In season you quote on the phone, and people in a hurry either undercharge or quote so high the booking walks away.
Write down the hire rate, the breakage rate and the transport charge for every item now. Make two or three transport slabs by distance — this much up to ten kilometres, this much up to twenty.
4. Collect old dues now
The month before the season is the best time to ask for money. People have harvest or previous work money in hand, and they need you for the next wedding.
Once the season starts you will have neither the time nor the leverage.
5. Book your labour and vehicle early
Tell the men you usually work with which dates you will need them. If the vehicle is hired, speak to the owner now. In season both get expensive and both get scarce.
6. Settle your advance policy
How much advance, by when, and what happens on cancellation — decide before the season and apply it to everyone equally. Different terms for different customers are impossible to remember and are where disputes begin.
Two days against a whole season
The entire list above is two days of work. Tent houses that do it have a quiet season. The ones that skip it spend every day looking for something.
Common questions
How often should I do a full count?
Twice a year — before the season and after it. In between, counting each booking's goods at return is enough.
How much advance should I take?
Most tent houses take 25 to 40 percent of the total. The exact figure matters less than applying the same rule to everyone.
Put your tent house on your phone
Date-wise stock, no double bookings, advances and dues, invoices — all in one place.
Read next
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