Located in The Martin House, a turn-of-the-century home on Main St. in the resort village of Blowing Rock, NC, My Favorite Kitchen Things carries an impressive array of both common and unconventional culinary devices. The shop is owned and operated by Sharon Moore, a retired interior designer who started the business seven years ago as a decorative accessories store. It currently shares space in the Martin House with several other stores specializing in toys, dulcimers, music, and imports. We caught up with Moore recently to find out how she's using Catapult to manage her business.

Gadgets Galore : Catapult's Inventory Tracking

"The philosophy behind My Favorite Kitchen Things," explains Moore, "is to provide a wide range of intriguing culinary tools to a vacation population whose incomes are, in large part, disposable. I try to carry things people haven't necessarily seen in kitchen stores before." Moore certainly has the gadget spectrum covered. From garlic peelers, to potato chip makers, to pastry brushes, the shop touts a selection of kitchen items as diverse as one could imagine. "I'm constantly putting new and different things in front of my customers to see what piques their interests. Although I scan almost everything at the register, many of my items are somewhat obscure and don't have recognizable barcodes. I use Catapult's Open Department feature to create easily accessible subcategories for such items."

Catapult's Reporting Power

Moore makes frequent use of Catapult's many reports as well. "I run a Sales Activity report every Monday through Saturday to keep me abreast of my store's day-to-day transactions. I use the information to make sure we balance properly at the end of the day, and to help track down any looming discrepencies or errors," says Moore. "Catapult's Payroll report saves me many hours in comparison to the way I used to do the work. Being able to see my employee's time to the tenth of an hour is very helpful. And my accountant depends very much on the Collected Sales Tax report for preparing our monthly numbers."

Catapult University

Moore is a recent graduate of Catapult University, ECRS's 3-day intensive training seminar held monthly in Boone, NC. "As a non-technical person," she explains, "the training classes were very important in terms of helping me learn the Catapult system. The instruction, much like ECRS's technical support, was friendly and informative.

Catapult University Registration

To register for Catapult University, download and print the Catapult University Registration Form, provide the required information, and fax it to ECRS at 800-849-8910. For more information, contact Catapult University Director Wade Grimes at wgrimes@ecrsoft.com, or at 800-211-1172 ext 5012.