Guide - Deposit Return Scheme

Introduction

The following section is an in-depth guide to setting up deposit items and linking them to products as part of the Deposit Return Scheme recently introduced in the EU.

For additional information regarding the scheme, please click here (External Link) or here (External Link).

Deposit Return Scheme

The Deposit Return Scheme section is located in the Stock Manager. This can be found under Stock > Stock Manager. Please see below screenshot.

Setting Up Items

Once in the Stock Manager, you will need to setup Deposit Return Scheme items. This should include the following:

1. 15 Cent Deposit

This is for containers between 150ml to 500ml

1. 25 Cent Deposit

This is for containers over 500ml to 3 litres

This information is based on current official guidelines (Jun 2024)

Setting up the Deposit Return Scheme items is a very similar process to setting up a regular stock item. An in-depth guide for creating new stock items can be found here. This process will be used to setup the Deposit Return Scheme items, with a few key differences.

1. Barcode

Each Deposit Return Scheme item must have an unique barcode. You can either choose your own barcode for each item or have the software generate a new barcode. The chosen barcode will then be used in the Reserved Barcode system. The Reserved Barcode system is explained in more detail in here.

1. Decrement

Each Deposit Return Scheme items should have the Decrement function set to FALSE. The Decrement function can be found under the Further tab when making a new product. Please see below screenshot.

You will need to use this process to create both the 25 Cents and 15 Cents Deposit Return Scheme items. Once you have created both items, they should appear in your Stock Manager. For our example, we have named our Deposit Return Scheme items, DRS - 25 Cents (Refundable) and DRS - 15 Cents (Refundable). Please see below screenshot.

Reserved Barcodes

When creating a Deposit Return Scheme item, you must give each item an unique barcode. This barcode can either be generated by the software, using the standard barcode generation method or you can choose your own unique custom barcode.

For our example products, we used the barcodes 3000230 and 3000231, which were auto-generated by the software on our demonstration store. Please note, these barcodes may already be in use in your software and you will likely have different barcodes for your Deposit Return Scheme items.

The Reserved Barcode section can be found under the Automation tab, in the Stock Manager. Please see below screenshot.

Once in the Automation tab, you start by clicking on the Assign Barcodes button. Please see below screenshot.

Clicking the Assign Barcodes button will open the Reserved Barcodes window. Here you will reserve the barcodes from the previously created Deposit Return Scheme items. Please see below screenshot.

Barcode Assignment

To start the process in the Reserved Barcode window, you start by pressing Add. Pressing this will allow you to add item details to Barcode Assignment section. Please see below screenshot.

Once you have pressed Add, the next step is finding the item. This is done by either pressing the Find Item button, the normal find item window will then open, or by scanning the barcode directly into the box. Once you have located and selected the product, its barcode will appear in the barcode box and it's name will appear in the Item box. Please see below screenshot.

Once you have selected the item, you will next need to select a Purpose for this Reserved Barcode. When first setting up a Reserved Barcode item, the Purpose list will be empty. You can add in new Purposes by typing in the Purposes' title directly into this box. The Purpose will then be selected in a drop down menu. Please see below screenshot.

Once you have selected the Purpose for this barcode assignment, you can also set a Note or the On Hold status.

1. Note

The Note field is for any additional information you would like to add that relates to the barcode assignment. This notes field is only visible on this screen.

1. On Hold

The On Hold function is design to prevent a barcode assignment from applying. This option must be set to No, in order to function. If this option is set to Yes, the barcode assignment will NOT function.

Once all the details have been set, you can press the Update button to create the new barcode assignment. This Update button is also used if you are making changes to existing assigned barcodes.

Once the information has been assigned, it will appear on the left hand side of the screen. Please see below screenshot.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Each Deposit Return Scheme item must be set up in a different scheme!

Linking Items to Reserved Barcodes

Now that you have setup the Deposit Return Scheme items, you will now use the Connections function, in combination with the Automation tab in the Stock Manager. Please see below screenshots.

Setting up the Connections

When setting up a connected item, you first start by selecting the item you wish to connect to the Deposit Return Scheme item. For example, we will be selecting Coca Cola - 375 ml and connecting it to our DRS - 15 Cents (refundable) item we setup earlier.

Once you have selected your item in the Stock Manager, go to the Connections tab and search for the the Deposit Return Scheme item by pressing Add Connected Option To Product. Once the Deposit Return Scheme item has been selected it should appear in the Connections tab. Please see below screenshot.

You can now move on to the Automation tab and setup the Auto Add Connection in Basket feature. By default, this option will be set to OFF. Please see below screenshot.

In this section, you simply slide the Auto Add Connection in Basket option to ON. From that point forward, our example item, Coca Cola - 375 ml when entered into the cart, will also automatically add the DRS - 15 Cents (refundable) to the cart. Please see below screenshot.

This item is now setup on the Deposit Return Scheme.

Each item that qualifies for the Deposit Return Scheme will need to be setup using this method. If you wish to add items to the Deposit Return Scheme in bulk, please see the next section.

Bulk Adding Connections

IMPORTANT NOTE: When setting up multiple item's connections, you must first setup the Reserved Barcodes. Please click here for details on their setup.

To setup multiple items on the Deposit Return Scheme in bulk, you must first find the items in the Stock Manager. This search could be done by, for example, Item Name, Type or Supplier.

Once you have located the items you wish to connect to the Deposit Return Scheme, you need to highlight the items and then under the Automation tab, click on the Assign Selected Items to Connection button. Please see below screenshot.

Once you click on the Assign Selected Items to Connection button, you will see a new window with all Deposit Return Scheme shown. Please see below screenshot.

At this point, you will highlight the appropriate Deposit Return Scheme option and press Accept. You will then see a confirmation box. Please see below screenshot.

You have now successfully linked multiple items to the Deposit Return Scheme.

Data Examples

Please find below some example of scheme names and items. These are for reference purposes only.

DRS - 15 Cents (Refundable)

This Deposit Return Scheme is applied to items that are between 150ml and 500ml. The range could include items like Coca Cola - 375ml and Coca Cola - 500ml.

DRS - 25 Cents (Refundable)

This Deposit Return Scheme is applied to items that are over 500ml up to 3L. The range could include items like Coca Cola - 1 Litre and Coca Cola - 1

This information is based on current official guidelines (Jun 2024)

If you have any additional questions about the above guide, please contact our Support Team on either 03303 800 142 or [email protected].

If you're a new customer and interested in joining Premier EPOS please click here for more information and to book your free demo.