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Everything You Need to Know to Accept Government Benefits Programs in Your Store – [Inventory Guide]
- Universum Solution
- May 27
- 4 min read
Updated: May 30
Government assistance programs represent a great opportunity to increase your sales and attract new customers. However, if you wish to receive these payments, you require more than just good intentions: you need a well-prepared system and a clear inventory.
Let's start by remembering which are the three most recognized programs and the cards your customers can use as a payment method, bringing more money to your supermarket. You must keep in mind that these three (3) programs are different and target specific audiences, in addition to the fact that they handle official listings that include specific and/or approved products. Some of them may coincide; you must make sure the products are the right ones, depending on the program you wish to apply for.
SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program): Aimed at low-income families, who, through the EBT Card, can purchase eligible products in supermarkets and established stores.
It includes basic products of the family basket, nutritious and organic foods.
Check out all about the SNAP program here
WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) Program: Aimed at pregnant women, infants, and children up to 5 years old, who, through the WIC Card, can purchase food and wellness products in supermarkets and established stores.
Food products are focused on the nutrition of mothers and children. Includes infant formulas as well as organic and balanced nutrition.
Want more information about the WIC program, this blog is for you. Click here
OTC (Over-the-Counter) Program: It is a program within the Health benefits, aimed at senior adults, who, through the OTC Card, can purchase over-the-counter medicines and food.
Among some of the products included are nutritional shakes, infant formulas, electrolyte drinks, energy bars, and sugar-free or gluten-free products. Supplements and vitamins are also included.
To learn more about the OTC program, click here.
Order in your inventory is not optional; it is essential:
Keeping a well-organized inventory allows you to classify eligible products by categories, codes, and proper prices. This not only makes day-to-day management easier, but also ensures that products approved by government programs are ready to be processed correctly for each sale.
To accept EBT, WIC, or OTC payments, you need a POS system that is compatible with state and federal regulations. This system allows you to scan products, automatically validate their eligibility, and securely record transactions. Without a proper POS, you could lose the opportunity to serve hundreds of customers who depend on these benefits.
Categories: This has to do with the registration of a group or type of product. The main advantage is that you can organize and locate the items, which facilitates the sale and subsequent analysis in the sales reports.
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How to organize categories? Here are some examples: Cold meats category, Vegetables-fruits, Personal care, Household, Beverages, among others.
If you have a good POS that allows you to organize your inventory by categories, take advantage of it when keeping the codes and prices of eligible products updated according to the program and sort them according to main categories, for example:
SNAP program eligible products.
WIC Program Approved products
OTC Program OTC Products
Products: What are they? What's the quantity? What's the price, and where are they stocked? You can also include an expiration date to rotate them with promotions or take them out of stock, if they are outdated.
Assign the correct codes: Very important, have a list and place the codes that belong to each product.
UPC- Universal Product Code: Refers to the standard bar codes used to identify products in the United States. They generally have 12 digits and are set by the manufacturer. These codes allow you to scan the product instead of typing it manually, and make the sale process faster and smoother.
UPC: 049000050103: Coca-Cola can
PLU (Price Look-Up) Code: Refers to 4 or 5-digit codes, which are generally used to reference products such as fruits and/or vegetables.
PLU: 4603: Eggplant/Berenjena
Remember that to increase your profits with government programs (EBT, WIC, and OTC), keeping your inventory updated with eligible products, making sure that the UPC codes match exactly those approved by the state where you operate, is a must.
💡 Here are some tools to verify Codes:
If your inventory doesn't meet the requirements or regulations, Universum is working on the creation of a pre-established inventory. A tool that will help you improve your uPOS experience and allow you to have the most common market products in the United States already within your system.
The advantages of accepting these programs are many, but we have to highlight the fact that you will gain the loyalty of customers who use these cards as payment methods, more sales, more profits, and more constant buyers!
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