Progress Ahead
by Danny Summers
Were you with us last Thursday for our December GROUPtalk LIVE Session?
We were fortunate to have some of our Centers who received the new Best in Category Awards with us to explore "How are they do it". Tim Quebedeaux began the session by sharing new data on three of the key categories: Annuals - Perennials - Tropicals (be sure to watch the recording for these new data views). And Group Best of Category Award Centers shared ideas on what is working well for them in these categories. There were important details being shared during this 1+ hour session so if you missed it, you can watch the full session recording. It has been added and is now available on the GROUPtalk LIVE Series for 2024 page in The Group WebSystem.
In addition, we have also added the video of the Best of Category Awards Panel Discussion at The Fall Event 2024. It, too, is available on the same … GROUPtalk LIVE Series for 2024 page. This discussion covered more key categories and more of our Award Centers... lots of important details!
Simply login to and there, on your landing page, you will see the GROUPtalk LIVE Series link. You can watch all 2024 Series recordings on the Series page, including the Best of the Best Centers from November’s Session.
In the "What's New + Coming in January" area, Tim Quebedeaux mentioned in Thursday's session some important changes coming for both the Weekly Department Review (WDR) and Annual P&L Study through our Group Chart of Accounts.
Chart of Accounts - Changes for the WDR in 2025: Beginning with Week 1 WDR reporting, Centers will see a change in the Tropicals category, changing from the current Tropical Plants - Indoor & Out, to only Tropical Plants - Indoor. Those Tropical Plants traditionally planted outdoors will be moved to the Annuals category.
In addition, reporting Centers will see the two cells that report (1) Labor $ - Year-to-Date and (2) Labor $ - This Week This Year to switch. This Week This Year will be first (a simple switch).
Chart of Accounts - Changes for the Annual P&L Study: In addition to the Income and Cost of Goods Sold accounts for those highlighted in the WDR, Operating Expenses will see the current account 6057 as Internet, changes to Website. And Account 6058 will change from Yellow Pages (remember that?) to Social Media (Not labor dollars).
More changes to the Chart of Accounts are coming in the Wage and Wage Benefits/Salaries & Wages section, where Account 7014 as S&W - Officers will update to S&W - Officers/Owners. Next, Account 7015 will update from S&W - Seasonal to S&W Seasonal/Partime. Also, Account 7017 changes from S&W - Staff to S&W - Staff/Fulltime. And finally, Account 7019 as S&W - Support changes to S&W - Support/Contracted.
All of the above changes have been updated in the new Group Chart of Accounts, available in The Group WebSystem in Power Tools. You can also download a new PDF HERE.
There are more exciting additions coming to the Annual P&L Study for the 2025 reporting, which will come in January 2026.
Upcoming GROUPtalk LIVE Sessions:
Join us January 16th, to discuss the changes to the Weekly Department Review, Annual P&L Study and the Group Chart of Accounts.
Tim Quebedeaux says, "Change is not always easy, but it is a must to stay relevant. The changes we are making will give us better insights into the data as well as more tools to improve profitability.
It all starts with the Chart of Accounts. These few tweaks to the accounts above with more up to date descriptions will bring us forward into the future.
We will then dive into the newest part of the Annual P&L Study - Pricing. This will give us one more tool Group-wide to see where we stand with pricing and … SHRINK… I cannot wait! We will end with a tutorial on how to use the WDR. You all get the summary report weekly, but how many really take a minute to dive deeper? We will show you some of the more popular reports online that you can begin to use in 2025 to track the number weekly."
The February 13th GROUPtalk LIVE will feature Seawright & Associates' Jean Martin as she shares the message "Recruiting/Hiring/Onboarding for 2025...Turn “annuals” staff into "perennials" by updating strategies to attract and onboard employees while ensuring efficient and compliant hiring practices."
And Steve Kendall and Kim Nelson are working on several special GROUPtalk LIVE Sessions for both Technologies and Marketing areas of interest. More on those as they become finalized.
This week, if your Center has not been reporting to the WDR, watch for Tim to connect with you to discuss starting to report in January.
All in all, we have a lot of changes coming to help bring even more tools and information your way in 2025 to help you reach new heights!
Sharing is at the heart of The Group and your ideas are very important. If you have any trouble logging into The Group WebSystem, please let me know. Are you and your staff all subscribed to our eLists such as GroupEs, Retail-Grower, Retail-Landscape, Owners-Only, and a number of others? Need help subscribing? Let me know so I can show you how you can sign up.
Danny Summers
[email protected]
Tel: 678-909-7770
Cell: 678-761-7145
REMEMBER: Your interaction (by phone and email) with Group Service Providers such as Tim Quebedeaux, Sid Raisch, John Kennedy, Jean Seawright, and of course Danny Summers are included in your retainer!