How the checkup works
Each question describes a habit that keeps a route business’s money and records under control. Answer Yes if it happens every time, Partly if it happens some of the time or only for some trucks, and No if it doesn’t happen. If a question doesn’t fit your business, choose N/A and it is left out of the score.
Yes counts 2 points, Partly 1 and No 0. Each area is scored out of 100, and the overall score is the share of possible points across every question you answered. The scoring and the bands are our own rule of thumb from running snack routes, not an industry standard.
The checkup
Answer all 20 for the full score, or see results for what you’ve answered so far.
Your route business scores 0 out of 100
Bands: 80 to 100 strong, 50 to 79 some gaps, below 50 needs work. This is our own rule of thumb, not an industry standard, and it is not accounting, tax or legal advice.
The five areas
- Cash and settlementWhether every truck’s money is matched to its invoices the same day, and whether differences are tracked.
- Credits and stalesWhether returned product is written down with a reason, and whether you know what credits cost you.
- Pricing and marginWhether you know what each product and each stop earns, and whether prices keep up with costs.
- Stores and balancesWhether every store’s details, visits and open balances are written down where the team can see them.
- Records and systemsWhether taxes, permits and paperwork are current, and whether the business could run a day without the owner.
Most of the habits in this checkup come down to records that are written on paper today and checked by hand later.
In Tallysnack, invoices, credits and payments are recorded on the driver’s phone at each store, and the office sees each truck’s cash against its invoices at the end of the day.
Questions
Who is this checkup for?
Owners and office managers of direct store delivery (DSD) businesses that sell snacks, candy, chips, jerky or beverages to stores from their own trucks, from one route to about twenty.
What is a good score?
We treat 80 or above as strong, 50 to 79 as some gaps and below 50 as needs work. These bands are our own rule of thumb. The list of fixes is more useful than the number: it shows which habits to start with.
Why are some answers left out of the score?
Choosing N/A removes a question from both the points you earned and the points possible, so a question that doesn’t apply to your business doesn’t lower your score.
Should I take it again?
Yes, after you’ve worked on the fixes. Your answers stay in this browser, so you can change only the ones that improved and see the new score.
Is what I answer sent anywhere?
No. The checkup runs in your browser and your answers are saved only in this browser. Google Analytics records that the checkup was used or printed, but not your answers or your score. Use “Start over” to remove them.
Related for DSD teams
Fix the paperwork gaps in one place.
Tallysnack puts invoices, credits, payments and the end-of-day close on the driver’s phone and the office screen. We are building it now. Join the list for monthly updates on the build.
Who we are. Tallysnack makes route software for direct store delivery (DSD) snack, candy and beverage distributors. It’s built by a family that has run snack routes for more than 30 years, and it is in development. See how it works