Design a prepaid distribution network for multiple outlets
Before you open another outlet, decide who can sell, who controls its float and who can look up a sale that hasn’t come back with a result. A customer with a receipt should be able to go back to the shop and have staff find the original order, even if the shop and distributor use different systems.
| Design decision | Minimum to agree |
|---|---|
| Territory and catalogue | Outlets, products, approval owner and opening date |
| Wallet or stock | Funding owner, per-outlet limits and daily balance evidence |
| Sales evidence | Unique references, outlet identity and export owner |
| Support | Person who handles the first report and supplier escalation |
| Settlement | Cut-off, finance reviewer and exception register |
By Freepaid · Published
Map the work before you assign a territory
Draw four boxes for the distributor, the person supervising the outlets, the outlets and finance. Add the work between them. The distributor confirms the catalogue and makes sure each outlet can submit sales. The supervisor approves new operators and handles issues that cross shifts. The outlet records the sale and helps the customer. Finance checks that sales, wallet movements and deposits agree. A small company may use the same person for more than one role, but each action still needs an owner.
A shop with two tills and reliable internet can report more readily than a shop with one operator and intermittent coverage. Agree which products each shop can sell, when it can send reports and how it will get hold of a supervisor if a sale stays pending. Give each outlet and till a unique identifier so finance can separate similar sales made on the same day.
Choose the funding model with a failure case in mind
A central wallet simplifies the view of total funds. It also needs effective per-outlet controls if several outlets can spend from it. Outlet-level funding limits exposure and makes spending easier to allocate, but it can leave one outlet short while another has unused float. Where stock consists of issued voucher PINs, keep a separate record of which PIN stock was assigned and who holds it. Use masked identifiers in management reporting.
Consider a hypothetical network of four outlets. Two larger shops forecast R1,200 each per day, and two smaller shops forecast R400 each. Planned daily value is R3,200. Giving all four an equal R800 ceiling leaves each larger shop R400 short of forecast while allowing each smaller outlet R400 above forecast. Use forecast-based ceilings, then test a weekend or month-end run and review where each estimate differs from sales. Limits depend on demand, funding times and the authority given to each outlet.
Set the reporting rule that resolves a dispute
Use a report that shows the internal reference, supplier reference where available, outlet, till, product, amount, date and outcome. Keep three views distinct.
- Sales confirmed for the customer.
- Value charged or credited by the supplier.
- Money collected and deposited by the outlet.
At each cut-off, assign every unmatched item to a person. A sale whose response never arrived needs a check against the original reference. A cash shortfall needs a till review. A missing invoice entry needs a finance query. Sending all three to the same shared queue without a reason slows the close.
If the supplier omits the branch, link the supplier reference to the outlet in your own register. Check that the next shift can find it and that finance still has the branch ID after exporting the file.
Test the network with two outlets first
Pick outlets that operate differently. Run a normal day, a funding shortage and a pending sale through the approved test process. Ask the next shift to find the evidence without help from the original operator. Then check that finance can reconcile confirmed sales, the supervisor can restrict an account and the operator knows when to stop and escalate.
Record how long it took to onboard each shop and reconcile its daily sales, plus how many cases are still open. Expand after support and finance can account for the trial orders. Start with the products each outlet can operate and support reliably. Freepaid bulk airtime · Freepaid point-of-sale airtime
What to record before each outlet opens
Make a one-page launch record for every new outlet. Include the approved catalogue, account owner, limit, operator training date, first reconciliation date and an alternate contact if the supervisor is away. Have finance confirm where the opening balance comes from before the first sale. A distributor should be able to remove one outlet from the release schedule without changing the orders, stock and support cases already recorded for the other outlets.
More in this series
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- Agree on reporting with an airtime distribution partner
- Set stock and wallet thresholds for remote outlets
- Audit prepaid sales across independent franchise branches
- Manage a prepaid campaign with a fulfilment partner
- Add prepaid value to a loyalty platform partnership
- Plan airtime distribution at a large event
- Control prepaid distribution when some outlets operate offline
- Close an airtime distribution account cleanly
- Start selling airtime at an existing shop
- Reconcile prepaid airtime purchases at month-end