Every sale is really two movements
When a customer takes a filled cylinder, two things happen: stock leaves your vehicle and an empty should come back. Recording only the sale gives you revenue but loses the asset, which is why cylinder counts drift over a year.
Filled and empty are different stock
Treat filled and empty cylinders as separate items. A vehicle that left with 60 filled and returns with 44 empties has a story to tell, and it is invisible if both sit in one 'cylinders' number.
Deposits are your insurance
A cylinder deposit should sit against the customer, not in a general ledger line. When the customer stops buying, the deposit is what covers the asset - but only if you can show how many cylinders they hold.
Plan refills around the round, not the other way round
Refill capacity is usually the constraint. Knowing how many empties are due back tomorrow lets you book plant capacity accurately instead of guessing and running short mid-week.
FAQ
- How is cylinder distribution different from bottled water?
- Operationally it is very similar - both are full-out, empty-in businesses with deposits and route selling. The main differences are safety handling and the refill cycle at the plant.
- How do I stop losing cylinders?
- Record empties on every stop, keep a per-customer outstanding balance, hold a realistic deposit, and review the oldest outstanding cylinders every month.