A free product can disappear from the van with barely a note. Perhaps a driver gave it to a site contact to introduce a new line, replaced an item after a complaint or ran a test vend after clearing a fault. No cash changed hands, but stock still moved and the reason may matter later.
A short, consistent record keeps those products out of the grey area between sales, service and promotion. It also makes it easier to answer a site owner’s question without relying on the driver’s memory.
Give each free item a clear reason
The phrase can cover several different events. A promotional sample is not the same as a failed vend replacement. A test product used while checking a machine is different again. If every event receives the same label, the record will say that stock left the business but not why.
Use a small set of plain reasons that suit the round, for example:
- promotion or new product trial;
- customer complaint or failed vend replacement;
- machine test;
- site goodwill agreed by the operator; or
- damaged or unsaleable stock removed from circulation.
That last item may belong in a wastage record rather than a sample record. The point is to describe what happened accurately, not to force every non-sale into one bucket.
Capture the details while they are fresh
The driver should make the entry at the site, or as soon as the stop is complete. A useful record normally includes the date, site, machine, product, quantity, reason and team member. Add a brief note where the standard reason does not tell the whole story.
Specific notes are much easier to use than vague ones. “Two bars given to manager after coin jam complaint” explains the quantity and links it to a service issue. “Samples” does neither.
If your business requires approval above a quantity or value, record who authorised it. Keep the rule proportionate. A driver should not need an office phone call to run one test vend, but repeated or unusually large giveaways deserve a second look.
Do not turn a free item into fictional takings
A free product should not be entered as cash collected merely to make the stock movement visible. That can distort takings, commission and machine comparisons. Record the collection from the machine as it happened, then record the free item separately under the correct reason.
The same separation helps with site commission. If commission is based on cash takings, a promotional product may sit outside the collection total. If the site agreement uses another basis, follow the written terms. Either way, the supporting note should make the treatment clear enough for somebody else to follow.
This matters when reviewing machine performance too. A product trial may explain why stock movement and cash do not match in the way expected. A replacement may point to a payment or vending fault. Neither should quietly become a sale.
Check the VAT and accounting treatment
Everyday language and tax language do not always mean the same thing. HMRC defines a sample as a specimen intended to promote sales and let someone assess the product’s characteristics and qualities. Its guidance says qualifying free samples supplied for marketing purposes are not liable to VAT. Items that do not meet that definition may need different treatment.
HMRC’s Business promotions VAT notice distinguishes samples from business gifts and other promotions. If you are VAT registered, use the reason and quantity recorded on the round to support the treatment agreed with your accountant. Do not decide that every free item is a qualifying sample simply because the driver used that word.
HMRC also says VAT records should be complete and up to date, and that businesses must generally keep their VAT business records for at least six years. Its VAT record-keeping notice sets out the wider requirements. Your accountant can advise how those rules apply to replacements, gifts, promotions and wastage in your business.
Review patterns instead of policing every item
The purpose of recording free products is not to challenge every small decision. It is to make patterns visible.
Several replacements against one machine may justify a service check. Frequent test vends could point to a recurring fault or a driver who needs a clearer testing procedure. A promotion that continues without a review date can become an unnoticed habit. Look at exceptions and repeated reasons, then ask a practical question about each one.
A monthly review can be brief. Check unusual quantities, repeated entries at one site and records with no clear reason. Compare them with fault notes, complaints and promotions already approved. Correct the classification if needed, but keep the original history rather than replacing it with a tidier story.
How VendMetrix fits the process
VendMetrix includes free sample logging alongside cash-ups, bank deposit records, a running safe balance and operational reports. That allows an operator to keep a non-cash item distinct from the money collected during the visit.
The live VendMetrix site currently describes stock monitoring as coming soon. Free sample logging should therefore be treated as an operational record, not as a claim that the current system provides full stock control. The useful discipline is simple: record the event once, give it the right reason and keep it attached to the round’s history.
A quick free sample checklist
- What left the van or machine, and how many?
- Was it a promotion, replacement, test, goodwill item or wastage?
- Which site and machine did it relate to?
- Who recorded it, and was approval required?
- Was it kept separate from cash takings and commission?
- Does the VAT or accounting treatment need checking?
- Is there a repeated pattern that needs action?
A small entry at the point of service is far more useful than trying to reconstruct a month’s worth of giveaways from memory. It gives the operator a clean explanation for the stock movement without pretending that a sale took place.