Booksellers Association - Batch and BatchLine

Welcome to Batch and BatchLine POS

Screenshot of Batch homepage

Batch Payments
See all your invoices, credits and delivery notes from publishers and distributors 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year. If you need paper copies, simply print them out. You can also make claims online giving you – and your suppliers – a permanent record of all requests. Choose which invoices to pay via Batch then make a single monthly transaction that cuts admin costs and time wasted on the phone. Batch can provide Payments’ customers with free EDI feeds for integration into stock control systems and other accounts packages. With its fresh new look and improved navigation, Batch Payments now brings even more benefits to users.

Linking to QuickBooks and Xero
The average bookseller is manually entering something in excess of 200 invoices each month, a task that can introduce errors that take time to sort out later. Integration with Batch Payments is a free service that gives booksellers more time to focus on the important business of selling books.

Batch Returns

Batch Returns is an easy-to-use web interface that takes the strain out of the returns process. Instead of waiting for a publisher’s rep to authorise returns, simply send a list electronically from the Batch Returns website and get an answer within hours. Then print out bar-coded labels and a picking list. The returns messages, just like everything that Batch does, can be provided in different electronic formats. The service is FREE to BA members.

"I don’t know how anyone manages their invoices without using Batch Payments. If I had to pay all my invoices manually, I wouldn’t have time to do anything else! The simplicity of being able to authorise an invoice and then a single payment being taken at the end of the month is just brilliant. It makes the day to day management of our finances so much more straightforward. Similarly, the returns functionality really streamlines our monthly process. Being able to submit returns and receive responses direct from the distributors through the system is invaluable and helps us manage our stock on an on-going basis." Sarah Dennis, Mostly Books Abingdon and The Borzoi Bookshop, Stow-on-the-Wold

“Batch Returns is now the de facto system for submitting returns in the UK book trade.” Matthew Hogg, Commercial Director, Macmillan Distribution (MDL)

BatchLine POS

Ours is the only EPOS system in the industry to be developed and run solely for the benefit of BA members. Paired with its till software, Open Bravo, BatchLine is the UK’s most popular stock management system for many reasons. It manages your stock, has direct ordering facilities to leading suppliers, lets you search the Gardners website then send an electronic order from within BatchLine, streamlines the goods-in process and helps you to return slow-selling lines thanks to integration with Batch Payments and Returns. The ability to see cost price and to resolve publishers’ price discrepancies helps with cash management. Integration with Dojo card readers and National Book Tokens help streamline the customer experience. There is also the advantage that, because BatchLine is owned by the BA, you aren’t tied into a contract: we simply require 30-days’ notice if you decide the system doesn’t meet your needs. Contact us to book an online demo, to find out about money-saving offers for new users or to speak to a current user.

"I love using BatchLine. It's an incredibly user-friendly way of replenishing from sales and its reports are a mine of information. The support team are great, too." Tom Rowley, Backstory, Balham

E-commerce solutions
BatchLine POS subscribers can take advantage of two low-cost options for transactional websites. The first is the web exporter, which produces bibliographical data and images as XML and CSV files for you to manipulate and to display on an existing website. The second option is to add a plugin that fully integrates with BatchLine POS and can be set to update a WooCommerce site as stock is sold or added. Plugin users also have the option to add a free ‘Peek Inside’ feature. For more details and prices, visit https://www.batch.co.uk/web/batchline/website-packages.

Batch and BatchLine POS Resources
- Batch For Booksellers on YouTube
- BatchLine POS Stock Management System on YouTube
- Batch website

The Batch team:
Martin Beach, Senior BatchLine POS Support Technician
Chris Backhouse, BatchLine Technician
Izzy Carlile, Joint Managing Director
Paul James, Administrative Assistant
Lorraine Kelly, Administrative Assistant
Sam Nicholls, BatchLine Technician
Simon Parker, Business Development Manager
Janet Ravenscroft, Sales and Marketing Manager
Roshni Sedani, Administration Manager
Kishan Solanki, Assistant Technical Business Analyst
Fraser Tanner, Joint Managing Director

Contacts for all services:
[email protected]
www.batch.co.uk
Switchboard: +44 (0)203 832 2430