Booksellers Association - Batch and BatchLine

Welcome to Batch and BatchLine POS

Screenshot of Batch website

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.

“The new look Batch Payments is a massive improvement and hugely intuitive. With all of the functions on one page, there is much less clicking and navigating, instead you can just get things done quickly.” - Adam Hewson, Sheen and Kew Bookshops

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.

"We’ve used the Batch payments scheme and Batch returns for a good number of years. Batch makes it easier and more efficient to clarify which invoices and credit note are relevant to which supplier in any given month and helps to reduce bank charges." Claire Grint, Cogito Books, Hexham

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

Linking to BIS, 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. BIS (Batch Integration Software) is a program that allows invoices and credit notes to be downloaded from your Batch account to a PC. The transactions are then imported into Sage Line 50 Accounts or Instant Accounts and each transaction is applied to the appropriate supplier record in the purchase ledger. (Charges apply.) Similarly, linking Batch to Xero or QuickBooks gives booksellers more time to focus on the important business of selling books. The latter are free of charge.

BatchLine POS

BatchLine POS and its till software Open Bravo is the UK’s most popular stock management system for many reasons. It manages your stock, has direct ordering facilities, 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. There is also the advantage that, because BatchLine is owned by the BA and run for the benefit of members, 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 or to speak to a current user.

"We use Batchline for all our stock management, customer records, ordering and managing our returns. The shops would be lost without it! The system has so much information and functionality and we’re constantly finding that it does new things." - Sarah Dennis, Mostly Books and Borzoi Bookshop

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
- BA Conference Skills Labs 1 & 2 on the BA Learning Platform
- Batch website
- Facebook
- Twitter

The Batch team:
Martin Beach, Senior BatchLine POS Support Technician
Izzy Carlile, Director of Operations
Tristan Constantine, BatchLine Technician
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, Managing Director

Contacts for all services:
mail@batch.co.uk
www.batch.co.uk
Switchboard: +44 (0)203 832 2430