Supplier notes
Weekly rituals that survive load-shedding
Ops cards that still work when power dips.
Paper first, power later
When load-shedding bites, every founder suddenly remembers the power of a pen. In our Ritual Pack, I always keep a printed version of the weekly ops cards. I learnt this from Sarah, who runs Kamohelong Fresh in Tembisa. She prints her cash tracking and supplier deadline cards every Monday, before the first scheduled outage. She sticks them above her trestle in the storeroom, next to the emergency LED lamp. Even when WhatsApp and Wi-Fi get patchy, she and her cousin Mona tick off each task by hand. Pen and paper keep the rhythm. No fancy backup needed. Honestly, I sometimes find it even quicker.
Stay sharp with a weekend check-in
Rituals do more than survive Eskom dips. They cut through weekly fuzz, even when staff are frazzled and you have to approve a VAT201 without a laptop. Every Friday before sundown, I do a handwritten review: cash in, suppliers to chase, bank batch payments, any SARS reminders. If you use our Ritual Pack, the cadence card is designed for this kind of no-excuse reset. In Klerksdorp, we have a jam maker who swears by her 15-minute paper handoff every week, especially when the Wi-Fi flickers. It helps avoid Monday morning drama with missed invoices or forgotten supplier notes.
Tembisa's cash box trick
Let me tell you about what really works when power cuts your speed. Nathi from MidCity Tyre & Fitment in Tembisa keeps an old-school cash box under the counter with a backup logbook. Last month, when they lost power three days in a row, he used the Ritual Pack's checklist to prep payouts and receipt slips without having to open his phone even once. His trick is to prep three days' worth of float, copy receipts by hand, and reconcile with the online system once power returns. It's simple, and it means no supplier is left hanging for payment or collection.
If you want to keep things moving, have a look at our ops checklist for paper-first routines. Nathi's old green logbook is living proof that you don't need full bars to keep your cash accountable.
Supplier calls before the outage
Load-shedding never hits everyone at the same hour. Jozi’s grid is a maze. I make my supplier calls first thing, before Stage 5 makes everything go dark. Get your bulk orders into the system first, and confirm deliveries or credits over the phone if the POS is offline. This routine saves headaches at month-end, when your local Welkom supplier is juggling five different load-shedding stages. For bank matters, I note payment cutoffs on my Ritual Pack cards so I don’t get caught out when FNB’s portal freezes. With SARS eFiling, I jot down submission deadlines for EMP201 or VAT201 on paper and check them off as soon as the power returns. If you need to prep COIDA or CIPC filings, double-check your supporting docs and snap a phone pic before any planned outage.
Supplier relationships really build when you let them know you’re thinking ahead. They’ll remember a founder who calls at 7:30 sharp with orders ready, not someone who panics at 3pm when the grid goes down. For reference, I use our supplier shortlist every week to keep the right contacts close.
Quick cues for load-shedding ops
It’s easy to forget the little things in the dark. These are the cues I check every week (sometimes I double up, honestly, if I forget after a Highveld downpour). Small habits keep your week from falling apart, no matter what Eskom or the weather throws at you.
- Print out all ops cards before Monday’s first outage
- Mark supplier and bank cutoff times in red pen
- List key SARS, CIPC and landlord deadlines on paper
- Check which supplier hubs have generator backup
- Leave two pens and a spare phone charger in the cash box
Rituals that keep the team together
Ops rituals aren’t just about paperwork. They anchor a team in tough weeks when WhatsApp goes out, the kettle won’t boil, and the landlord is slow to fix the lights. In Welkom last winter, I had a client running a furniture restoration shop who did a daily check-in with her crew using printed Ritual Pack cards over morning tea. Staff still joked about the power, but tasks got done and morale stayed solid. If you want to build habits that survive chaos, check the cadence guide or swap notes with others in the team rituals thread. These small check-ins, even scribbled on a R50 notepad, can save your month.
