The assistant manager’s manual

This manual is for the key-holder who receives stock, approves at the register and opens on the weekend. Read it with the office open in another window: every chapter is one thing you will actually do, walked step by step, with a screenshot of each page you will see — and where a step belongs to someone else, the walk says so.

What you need. An assistant manager’s sign-in to the office, and a few minutes per chapter. Nothing here changes your records until you press a save button yourself; the walks show where things are and what happens when you act.

The example shop. The screenshots and the figures come from Linden & Vale — a fictional Toronto boutique with a year of trade, born for these pages. Every figure below was read from its own records on 17 October 2026; nothing is typed by hand. Your own shop’s pages will show your own figures in the same places.

1. Receive stock against an open purchase order

In the office this is the play Stock arrives — from purchase order to the shelf — How goods enter your business on paper and in fact: you order from a vendor, the order is approved and issued, and when the boxes arrive a receipt records exactly what came in — your stock figures move only when the receipt posts.

The mechanisms in this chapter: Lists — finding things · A record page

What you will do

The order was raised by you or by the manager; its approval and its issue are the manager’s. When the delivery lands, you start the receipt against the order, capture the quantities that actually arrived, and post it — your stock figures move only when the receipt posts, and a mistaken receipt cancels instead.

The walk

This walk starts wherever you are in the office.

Step 1. The order is the agreement — what you asked the vendor for, at what cost, for which location. Open Purchase orders and create one; add the lines you are ordering. Open Purchase orders.

Step 2. Not yours — Submit, approve, and issue it is a manager’s step.

Step 3. The receipt is the arrival record — what actually came, against which order lines. Start a receipt for the order and capture the quantities that arrived. Open Receipts.

Step 4. Posting moves your stock figures — until then nothing is on hand; a mistaken receipt cancels instead. Post from the receipt page once the quantities are checked. Open Receipts.

What you see

The floor item of Tops style 1 (FW25) (BTQ-V-0001-MIDWASH-XS) stands at 0 on hand · 0 available — a posted receipt is what moves that figure.

Try it

• Open Purchase orders and read one that is issued and waiting for its delivery.
• Open Receipts, start a receipt against it, and capture the quantities line by line.
• Post the receipt; open the stock card of one line and read the on-hand figure move.

Where to learn more

• The receipt record and its operations: Receipt; the purchase order: Purchase order.
• The same walk as the office runs it: Stock arrives — from purchase order to the shelf.
• Your course lists the tasks you can do end to end; this one is walked here as your part.

2. Correct stock on hand, with a reason

In the office this is the play Correct stock on hand, with a reason — Write stock on or off outside buying and selling — corrections, damage, shrink — with a reason code, move stock between buckets without changing the total, and read the full movement story of an item.

The mechanisms in this chapter: Lists — finding things · A record page

What you will do

Write stock on or off outside buying and selling — a correction, damage, shrink — with a reason code that stays on the item’s ledger forever; move stock between buckets, sellable to damaged, without changing the total; and read the item’s whole movement story in order.

The walk

Where it starts: the office’s Inventory items page.

Step 1. Write stock on or off with a reason code — a signed movement, recorded forever.

Step 2. Move stock between buckets — sellable to damaged — without changing the total.

Step 3. Read the item’s full stock story at the location — every movement, in order.

What you see

Last month the example shop’s shrink read 1 reasons · -1 units — every write-off a reason on an item’s ledger.

Try it

• Open Inventory items and open one; read its on-hand and available figures.
• Write two units off with a reason, and read the stock card: the movement, signed with your name.
• Move one unit from sellable to damaged and read the total — unchanged.

Where to learn more

• The inventory item record and its operations: Inventory item.
• The same walk as the office runs it: Correct stock on hand, with a reason.
• The course in the office: on the Playbook, open Learn and the lesson Correct stock on hand, with a reason.

3. Approve what the till may not do alone

In the office this is the play Approve what the till may not do alone — A discount, a return or a void above someone’s limit files an approval request; a manager grants it — lending their authority to that exact act — or denies it.

The mechanisms in this chapter: The office at a glance · Lists — finding things

What you will do

A discount, a return or a void above someone’s limit files an approval request from the register. As the key-holder you read the request, grant it — lending your authority to that exact act — or deny it. The requests wait in the Needs attention panel and on their own list.

The walk

Where it starts: the office’s Approval requests page.

Step 1. Ask for approval of the blocked act.

Step 2. Grant it — your authority unblocks that exact act; never self-approve.

Step 3. Or deny it.

What you see

The example shop is Linden & Vale; every approval its tills ask for stands on this list with the name of the key-holder who granted or denied it.

Try it

• Open Approval requests and read what is waiting and who asked.
• Grant one and read its page: your name, the moment, the act it unblocked.
• Deny one and read the words the register will show.

Where to learn more

• The approval request record and its operations: Approval request.
• The same walk as the office runs it: Approve what the till may not do alone.
• The course in the office: on the Playbook, open Learn and the lesson Approve what the till may not do alone.

4. Refund a return

In the office this is the play Take a return and refund it — Create the return, take the goods back — sellable or damaged as received — approve it, pay the customer back on the original method where possible, and close it. At the till with a receipt, one step does the whole walk.

The mechanisms in this chapter: Lists — finding things · A record page

What you will do

Open the return, take the goods back as received — sellable or damaged — approve it under your own name, pay the customer back on the original method where possible, and close it. At the till with a receipt, one step does the whole walk.

The walk

Where it starts: the office’s Returns page.

Step 1. Create the return.

Step 2. Take the goods back — stock returns bucketed as you receive it.

Step 3. Approve it — the approval names you.

Step 4. Pay the customer back — money out, permanently — and close it.

Step 5. At the till, with a receipt: approve, receive and refund cash from the drawer in ONE step.

What you see

The example shop counts in CAD and takes CAD and USD; a refund goes back the way the customer paid where it can, and the return keeps who approved it.

Try it

• Open Returns and read one that is waiting; open the order it came from.
• Receive the goods — sellable or damaged — and approve the return.
• Refund it and close it; read the return’s page once more and find your name on the approval.

Where to learn more

• The return record and its operations: Return.
• The same walk as the office runs it: Take a return and refund it.
• The course in the office: on the Playbook, open Learn and the lesson Take a return and refund it.

5. Open the Saturday drawer as the key-holder

In the office this is the play Open, run and close a till day — Open the drawer with a counted float, record cash moving in or out outside a sale, open the drawer without a sale when you must, freeze it for the closing count, and close it — the over/short is the shift’s record.

The mechanisms in this chapter: Lists — finding things · A record page

What you will do

Open the drawer with a counted float, record the cash that moves outside a sale — a paid-in, a paid-out, a drop — with a reason, open the drawer without a sale when you must, then freeze it for the closing count and close it. The drawer ledger lists every entry with its reason; the over or short at the close is the shift’s permanent record.

The walk

Where it starts: the office’s Till sessions page.

Step 1. Open the till with a counted float.

Step 2. Record cash in or out outside a sale — paid-ins, paid-outs, drops, pickups — with a reason.

Step 3. Open the drawer without a sale — counted, stamped, reason required.

Step 4. Freeze the drawer for the closing count, then close it — the over/short against the expected totals is permanent.

What you see

The example shop’s drawers count in CAD; the over or short at the close is permanent on the session’s record.

Try it

• Open Till sessions and open the drawer with the float you counted.
• Record a drop to the safe with its reason, and read the drawer ledger.
• Begin the close, count the drawer, close it, and read the over or short on the session.

Where to learn more

• The till session record and its operations: Till session.
• The same walk as the office runs it: Open, run and close a till day.
• The course in the office: on the Playbook, open Learn and the lesson Open, run and close a till day.

6. Post the count

In the office this is the play Count the shelves against the books — How the books stay honest: a count freezes a location’s lines, the counter works blind against the shelves, captures record what was physically found, and posting moves the books by exactly the differences — no more, no less.

The mechanisms in this chapter: Lists — finding things · A record page

What you will do

Set up the count for a location, start it so the counters work blind, capture what they find, and post the differences. Posting moves the books by exactly the variances — no more, no less — and the count becomes history.

The walk

This walk starts wherever you are in the office.

Step 1. The count names its location and why it is being taken — wall-to-wall, a scheduled cycle, or a spot check. Open Stock counts and create one for the location. Open Stock counts.

Step 2. Starting freezes the shelf list into concrete lines and hides the expected figures — an honest count is a blind count. Start from the count page when the counters are ready. Open Stock counts.

Step 3. Each capture records the physically-counted quantity — an explicit zero is a real answer; re-counts overwrite while counting. Capture quantities on the count page, line by line. Open Stock counts.

Step 4. Posting moves the books by exactly the variances and the count becomes history; a recount is a new linked count. Post from the count page once every line is captured. Open Stock counts.

What you see

Before a count, the floor item of Tops style 1 (FW25) shows 0 on hand · 0 available; a posted count moves that figure by exactly what the counters found.

Try it

• Open Stock counts and create one for the back room.
• Start it and capture two lines — an explicit zero is a real answer.
• Post it, and open one of the items’ stock cards to read the movement the posting wrote.

Where to learn more

• The count record and its operations: Count.
• The same walk as the office runs it: Count the shelves against the books.
• The course in the office: on the Playbook, open Learn and the lesson Count the shelves against the books.

With your assistant

Connect Claude or ChatGPT on the office page Connect your AI assistant.

Ask first: where am I, and what is next? The assistant calls whats_next and answers who you are, what needs your attention and what is yours to do.

The ready-made questions: Start my day · What needs my attention · Show me a report · Walk me through a play · Teach me.

You may ask for every ready-made report (24).

The plays you can run whole, by shelf: Catalog (1) · Pricing & money (3) · Customers (3) · Procurement (3) · Address book (1) · Warehouse (5) · POS estate (2) · Selling (4) · Payments & fulfillment (4) · Work (3) · Insights (1) · Integrations (1) · Manage (1).

A change is shown as a rehearsal first. It happens only when the person says yes, as them, within their access.

People, devices, card payments and new organizations stay in the office.