each accounting period? If planned programs are limited,  profits  can  be  minimal.  If  an  extensive program is planned, profits must be near the max- imum.  Once  the  markup  percentage  has  been determined,  it  must  be  applied  to  the  items.  There are  various  methods  of  applying  the  markup.  A single markup may be applied across the board. A higher markup maybe applied to luxury items. There  is  some  merit  in  each  of  these  methods. Another   consideration   should   be   the   ease   in making change. Whenever possible, prices should be  rounded  to  the  nearest  nickel. Each item of ship’s store merchandise in the retail outlet should be individually marked with the selling price. (The exceptions to this rule are listed  in  the  NAVSUP  P-487.)  In  marking  each item  with  the  selling  price,  you  will  promote greater  efficiency  in  selling,  merchandising,  and inventorying.  This  method  will  also  help  you  to prevent   price   manipulations.   You   can   order adhesive-backed,  machine-marked  tickets  that  you can  place  on  each  item  without  damaging  or defacing  the  merchandise.  These  tickets  are designed so they will not detract from salability of the item. Attach the price tickets uniformly for similar types of items so the items can be readily visible with as little handling as possible. Do not use   crayon   or   grease   pencils   to   price-mark individual  items.  You  can  find  procurement  in- formation on hand-held labelers and price tickets by  consulting  the  NRS  Visual   Merchandising Supplement  for  Ship’s  Stores  Afloat.   You  can procure  hand-held  labelers  and  price  tickets  by submitting  an  Order  for  Supplies  or  Services/ Request  for  Quotations  (DD  1155)  to  the  Navy Resale  and  Services  Support  Office,  Staten  Island, New  York. As  part  of  the  ship’s  store’s  policy  on  pric- ing,  a  price  list  should  be  available  as  a  ready reference  for  the  ship’s  store  operator  to  use  to verify  prices.  A  copy  of  the  ship’s  store  Inven- tory Count Sheet (NAVSUP 238) should be used for  this  purpose.  Any  changes  to  the  price  list  will be  made  in  ink  or  indelible  pencil.  Fountain  or snack  bar  items  should  be  priced  in  the  same manner as other resale items discussed earlier in this  chapter  except  that  a  sign  should  be  con- spicuously posted at the activity to display prices of  finished  fountain  products.  Upon  receipt  of merchandise  in  the  retail  store,  the  retail  store operator should price the merchandise according to  the  retail  price  listed  on  the  transfer  document. Merchandise can be re-marked only by authority of a Retail Price Change (NAVSUP 983). In the event  of  revaluation  of  standard  Navy  clothing, merchandise can be re-marked on authority of a Report  of  Survey  (DD  200). Cash  Handling As  a  leading  Ship’s  Serviceman,  you  may  have the  responsibility  of  ensuring  that  ship’s  store  per- sonnel adhere to the regulations governing cash handling. As you maybe assisting the ship’s store officer in maintaining financial accountability, it will be important that you be thoroughly familiar with  cash-changing  procedures. The  first  thing  you  should  remember  is  that all sales in the ship’s store must be made on a cash basis. The only exception to this rule is when sales of fountain products are made to private messes on a credit basis. Even then, sales such as these can  be  made  only  on  a  one-time  basis  and  pay- ment  must  be  received  before  the  end  of  the accounting   period. Only  the  following  items  can  be  accepted  as cash  for  sales  made  in  the  ship’s  store: 1.  U.S.  currency—All  U.S.  currency  can  be accepted  as  cash  for  ship’s  store  items. 2. Traveler’s checks—To be accepted as cash for sales in ship’s stores, traveler’s checks drawn in  favor  of  the  purchaser  must  not  exceed  the current  designated  amount  over  the  amount  of  the purchase. 3.  Personal  checks—To  be  accepted  as  cash for sales in ship’s stores, personal checks drawn by the purchaser must be on a U.S. bank account and  stated  in  terms  of  U.S.  currency.  Also,  per- sonal checks must be inscribed with the printed name of the purchaser and magnetic ink routing numbers. For personal and traveler’s checks to be used as cash for sales of ship’s store merchandise, ad- ditional   information   must   be   placed   on   the checks. Generally, personal and traveler’s checks must bear the signature, social security account number, and duty station of the purchaser. The ship’s  store  operator  must  witness  the  purchaser’s endorsement  of  the  check  and  must  positively identify   the   purchaser   and   the   purchaser’s signature  by  checking  the  purchaser’s  ID  card. You should remember that the additional infor- mation  is  required  and  necessary  for  the  ship’s store to be able to collect on uncollectible checks. You  should  consult  the  P-487  for  details  on  the information  that  is  currently  required  before  a check can be accepted as cash for ship’s store retail items. 6-8