The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

News from Tower Systems about locally made POS software for specialty local retailers.

CategoryCustomer Service

5 steps to cutting shopper theft in any retail business

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We are often asked for advice on reducing shopper theft in retail, because of experience advising on this in the past and because off our service as expert witnesses working with police, prosecutors, insurance companies and retailers.

We are an engages POS software company, offering services beyond the POS software itself, helping local small business retailers to reduce overheads, lift shopper theft overheads.

So, with that in mind, here are: 5 steps to cutting shopper theft in any retail business

1. Understand why shopper theft happens

Retail businesses are often targeted by thieves because they offer merchandise that is easily portable and typically not well secured. To reduce shopper theft, it’s important to understand why people steal from retail stores in the first place. Common motives include financial need, opportunity, and addiction. Understanding comes from knowing for sure what is being stolen and, as much as possible, when.

2. Improve store security

One of the best ways to reduce shopper theft is to improve store security. This can be done in a number of ways, including increasing the visibility of employees, installing surveillance cameras, and using security tags on merchandise. One good step to security is where you place often stolen items.

3. Train employees

Employees are often the first line of defence against shopper theft. By training employees to be aware of potential theft and how to prevent it, you can reduce the chances of theft occurring in your store. Training should start with transparency as to what is being stolen. This can create a goal for the team, to reduce it.

4. Use technology

There are a number of technological solutions, like POS software from Tower Systems, that can help reduce shopper theft, including retail security systems and loss prevention software. These solutions can help to deter thieves and make it easier to catch them if they do steal. It starts with understanding, and the Tower Systems POS software solution can provide this.

5. Be proactive

The best way to reduce shopper theft is to be proactive about it. This means being aware of the signs of theft and taking steps to prevent it from happening in your store. By taking these steps, you can keep your retail business safe from shopper theft.

If you follow these tips, you can cut shopper theft in your retail business and keep your store safe. Remember, the best way to reduce shopper theft is to be proactive and take steps to prevent it from happening in the first place.

While complaining can make you feel better about a situation of shopper theft, actions are what matter. Tower Systems offers its POS software customers a structured approach to reducing shopper theft. It’s part of the comprehensive site local retail POS software support services provided by the company.

Real people make and support POS software for real local retail businesses

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We kinds smile when we see POS software companies use avatars on their website. here at Tower Systems we prefer to be authentic, showing ourselves for it’s us who will serve you. Well, us and and awesome team of software developers, help desk people, trainers and back office admin people.

Here’s a video we made recently where we speak to this authenticity.

Personal customer service is a valuable difference from our POS software company

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What’s happening today and every day at our POS software company Tower Systems is a perfect example of personal and authentic service mattering.

Our POS software help desk is open, calls are being answered by humans who work directly for us, locally and not through some offshore low labour cost call centre. Our customers are getting to speak with real people who know our software and understand local retail.

That our POS software customers can do this without going through a call centre or a computerised phone systems that gets you pushing button after button. They can also reach us through a private Facebook page, a customer engagement area of our website or through other social media platforms. We make POS software customer service access easy.

Personal service matters in retail and in businesses that support local retail. We are grateful to be able to provide this level of personal service to our local small business retail customers.

We know that being accessible is key to a good customer service experience … from pre sales to sales to installation to training to support to accounts queries. This is why we are so accessible.

It’s a big point of difference in our POS software company, a difference customers tell us they like and appreciate.

A good way to compare POS software companies is to see how many actual names, full names, mobile numbers and email addresses you can find on their website. If they have faith in what they do they will list plenty, especially of their leadership team. If they are not sure of what they offer they will guide behind general details and no or few names.

On our POS software website, prospective customers can watch videos of our team, too, videos in which we talk about our software and show parts of it. No cartoons here. rather, we publish real people from the business, real members of our team speaking to what we offer and how it may be of service. This is important as authenticity is key from a POS software company.

Now, to be sure that contact is easy, here is some of what we include in every customer email and newsletter …

  • MANAGEMENT.
    • CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER: csm@towersystems.com.au.
    • CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER. Gavin Williams. 03 9524 8000. Email gavinw@towersystems.com.au.
    • CEO: Mark Fletcher. 0418 321 338. Email: mark@towersystems.com.au.
  • SALES. Please call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

We make contact easy and direct. It’s a key first step in any good POS software customer service experience. This is especially true and important for local retail POS software.

Staying close with our POS software customers

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We posted a print newsletter to our customers early last week.

While weekly email is our prime outbound contact, we find a regular print newsletter is appreciated by plenty. We have some terrific news to share about 2022 plans as well as a resider of our customer service contact points and more.

Being accessible to our small business retail customers is key, and even more so in the disrupted situation of local business today. As a human contact business and this newsletter is another example of our commitment.

Small business POS software help desk coverage over Christmas and the New Year

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The Tower Systems POS software help desk will close at 12 noon December 24 and reopen at 8:30am December 29. Here is what we announced first to our customers early this month – the Christmas New Year hours (In Australian eastern Summer Time):

  • December 24. 7am to 12 noon.
  • December 25. Closed.
  • December 26. Closed.
  • December 27. Closed.
  • December 28. Closed.
  • December 29. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • December 30. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • December 31. 8:30am – 2pm.
  • January 1. Closed.
  • January 2. Closed.
  • January 3. Closed.
  • January 4. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • January 5. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • January 6. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • January 7. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • January 8. Closed.
  • January 9. Closed.
  • January 10. 7am – 6pm.

The Tower Systems help desk after hours numbers and escalation points will continue to operate throughout.

Tower Systems POS software help desk Christmas and New Year hours

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The Tower Systems POS software help desk will close at noon December 24 and reopen at 8:30am December 29. Here are the Christmas New Year hours (In Australian eastern Summer Time):

  • December 24. 7am to 12 noon.
  • December 25. Closed.
  • December 26. Closed.
  • December 27. Closed.
  • December 28. Closed.
  • December 29. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • December 30. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • December 31. 8:30am – 2pm.
  • January 1. Closed.
  • January 2. Closed.
  • January 3. Closed.
  • January 4. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • January 5. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • January 6. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • January 7. 8:30am – 5pm.
  • January 8. Closed.
  • January 9. Closed.
  • January 10. 7am – 6pm.

The Tower Systems help desk after hours numbers and escalation points will continue to operate throughout.

Log4j advice for small business retailers from our POS software company

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Here is part of the advice we shared with our POS software customers yesterday about the Log4j exposure:

The Australian Cyber Security centre has published comprehensive information and advice about about the Log4j zero-day flaw. We recommend you read this.

ZDNet has also published a good explainer.

Our Retailer POS software is free from this exploit as we make no use of Java whatsoever. On your network, however, you may be at risk. Some routers, for example, use the problematic code. We are checking all our internal systems and hardware that could be exposed. Our hosting partners are doing the same.

Here’s what you need to do: Run every security update you are told to run, and do this for the next few weeks. If you can, check for security updates for your routers and other devices attached to your network.

Melbourne Cup day POS software support

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It’s Melbourne Cup day today and o0ur head office is closed. But fear not, our POS software help desk team is here for your assistance. All our numbers are live and working, ready for your calls.

Supplier electronic invoices and stock files easy with POS software from Tower Systems

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Through our Tower Systems POS software we make it easy for local small business retailers to load electronic invoices and supplier stock files and inventory images provided by suppliers.

Our approach follows worldwide standards in this regard, and has done so for many years.

We will work with any supplier to facilitate ensuring their electronic invoices, stock files and image files are easily loaded through our POS software for the retailers we partner with.

Our work includes helping suppliers to tune files for easy loading. We do this work for no cost to retailers or suppliers.

By loading electronic invoices, stock files and product image files, retailers are able to load more accurate data into their Tower Systems POS software and this benefits their business as well as their customers and their suppliers.

We have worked with suppliers across many different specialty retail channels and through professionally structured EDI processes to more loose or free flowing links. We can tailor our approach to what works best for suppliers and for the retailers they supply.

We are used to working with large supplier IT departments right through to sole trader suppliers who have no It department. Our help is universal, regardless of size. Our focus is on serving the needs off our POS software customers. This is paramount to us.

As our work has evolved to include delivering POS software connected websites, we have focussed more on accurate product descriptions as well as product images, to make it easier for retailers to transact online through accurately representing products.

Our work has included with suppliers in the following product categories: bikes, jewellers, garden centres, fishing, homewares,  toys, games, sewing, gifts, newspapers, magazines, stationery, firearms, confectionery and more. It is a diverse mix of suppliers we have worked with and helped.

By helping small business retailers to access electronic invoices, stock files and product image files, we help these local retailers and their suppliers. We are grateful to be of service.

Tower Systems serves more than 3,000 local retail businesses in New Zealand and Australia with specialty POS software made for a variety of specialty retail settings.

AFL grand Final holiday

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It’s crazy, but, hey, we’ll take it. Today is a public holiday here in Victoria for the AFL Grand Final, which will be played tomorrow in Western Australia. Crazy! But like we said, we’ll take it.

So, all Victorian based Tower Systems team members are off.

It’s business as usual though as we have enough team members working outside Victoria who can provide awesome customer services and sales assistance.

If you need us, we’re here to help. Our office numbers are working as are our after hours numbers.

Discounted POS software training for new owners of retail businesses using Tower Systems POS software

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Tower Systems offers discounted personal training for new owners of retail businesses in which the Tower Systems POS software operates.

This new owner training offers these new business owners the same level of training that a new customer of the Tower Systems POS software received.

While the vendor of a retail business should fully train a new owner in all aspects of running the business, often we find there is little training provided on how to properly use our POS software. This is why we offer a new owner POS Software training package, to ensure you are properly trained in the software.

Two days training is our recommended minimum for those new to our software. Usually, this costs $2,200 (inc. GST). SPECIAL OFFER: we offer you this 2-day package discounted.

This is a prepaid service. The training is delivered remotely, by one of our training specialists. It is tailored to each specific type of retail business.

The training will cover entering data, managing data, handling electronic invoices, setting up loyalty tools, reporting, bulk data manipulation, data security, backup, POS screen layout and more.

This training is exactly what we provide to new customers. It is an investment in the business and the future decisions you could make based on data managed by our software.

This training is not mandatory for new owners, not required. It is recommended, though. It provides each new owner with a level of knowledge they will find useful to get the most out of using the Tower Systems POS software in their retail business. And, that is out goal – to help them get value from the software.

It its easy for a business owner to think they know it. the thing is, none of us know what we don’t know. This is why the comprehensive new owner training is vital to any business owner if they are serious about running their business.

The Tower Systems new owner POS software training is another solution from us serving the needs of local small business retailers, helping them run more enjoyable, successful and valuable retail businesses.

We are grateful to our team of POS software specialists to be able to offer this.

Helping small business retailers in lockdown work on their businesses

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Tomorrow, we are hosting another free POS software Q&A opportunity for local small business retailers, offering help for those keen to work on their businesses.

With so many small businesses on the Eastern Seaboard of Australia in lockdown, we know this is an opportunity to help local retailers and team members to enhance their skills, to get more from our software.

We will offer practical advice and help. We will also be guided by questions and explore areas of concerns to the retailers who joins us for this Zoom meeting.

Those who can’t be with us live will have access to a video.

Lockdown Q&A for small business retailers

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We are hosting another of our popular lockdown Q&A sessions for small business retailers in our POS software community.

This next session will be Tuesday next week at 10am. We will have skilled team members from several of our teams from development to training to customer engagement. They will answer any and all questions, and take on board suggestions.

Since March 2020 we have been hosting these events, providing small business retailers opportunities to leverage quieter trade during lockdown.

Access is open to any retailers in our POS software community.

Business as usual for our POS software co. in Lockdown #6

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In Victoria we are now in our sixth Covid lockdown. Here at Tower Systems, it;’s business as usual. Our office is open as we meet the criteria for being essential, given the types of businesses we serve.

So, our office is open, providing all our usual services. We have a crew here taking care of essential office-based tasks.

We also have a wonderful crew working from home, around the country, providing awesome customer service.

From offering one-on-one POS software training to installing software to helping improve the quality of business data to being a sounding board, we are here in service of local small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand.

Thank you to our customers!

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What a thrill to have so many customers join our live POS software Q&A this morning. We were proud to show off some soon to be released POS software enhancements, discuss opportunities and more. In addition to the live meeting, there was live chat.

Sessions like the one we hosted this morning are regular for us as we connect with our customer community outside of the usual help desk and other one-on-one engagement.

We have a commercial licence for the Zoom platform. This enables us to record the session for wider release to those unable to participate.

To those at the meeting today, thank you. To those who will watch the video and provide feedback, thank you, too!

Previewing new POS software update for customers

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We are hosting a live preview of our latest POS software update this week, sharing a live demonstration of the latest software vis a customer-only Zoom meeting.

At this session we will be showing some new facilities as well as other enhancements in the software, including a new fast-tech reporting solution that is sure to be loved.

This Zoom session is the next in our series of customer / software development team engagement through which our customers can ask questions, provide feedback and play a more active role in what is considered in our POS software update process.

We are recording the session and making it available by way of registered private link for customers unable to be with us live to view.

There is no doubt here at Tower Systems as to the value of these customer engagement sessions. We are thankful that customers embrace the opportunity.

The end of the financial year

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Wow, what a year it has been, this 2020 / 2021 financial year.

As we sit here in our Hawthorn, Victoria, office early this morning, looking back on the year, beyond the challenges and opportunities, yes, opportunities, of the coronavirus pandemic, this year has been big on plenty of fronts, very big in fact.

  • New software. We are grateful to our team of dedicated software developers who have enabled us to deliver some beautiful new facilities in our POS software. These new facilities have been an important part of key software updates tested and then released to our customers.
  • New services. Thanks to the dedication of our help desk team we have launches some new services in the last year, which have been loved by our customers as they have sought to gain even more value from our POS software.
  • New under the hood. We have been working on our internal systems, delivering new tech with new facilities that help in serving our customers. We are so thankful to have been able to do this.
  • New connections. Thanks to engagement by our customers we have made new connections though our online workshops, our community calls and more as we have leveraged different ways we can reach out to our customers and talk with them. these conversations are truly beneficial in us and them getting more from the POS software and the relationships it facilitates.
  • New customers. This is the icing on the cake for us, so many new friends, new connections, new businesses to work with, learn from and share with. Every new customer is this and much more and for this we are sincerely grateful. Indeed, the number of new customers is quite stunning. This year has been a good year for new customers.

We are ending this financial year on a high, and for that we are truly grateful. We are encouraged, too, for what the next financial year will bring, where it will take us, what we will discover and those we will meet.

We understand that for some, these times are not so great. Based on our experience, offer …  plan for better days, train for strength and endurance. Cultivate your land so that it offers abundance for you and all who work with you in your business. yes, it can sound a bit twee … but it is true. The successes we have in business are usually down to planning and commitment to professional and efficient execution.

Roll on 2021/2022, if you anything like this last year it will be awesome!

Help for businesses forced to temporarily close due to Covid

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In late February 2020 we put in place a set of measures, assistances and advice to help any of our customers forced to close temporarily due to Covid.

Those measures, assistances and advice remain in place today, accessible to all of our customers.

As businesses in NSW are today further impacted by Covid transmission suppression moves by the state government, we are here to help in specific and tangible ways.

Today, Saturday, for example, we have been taking calls for help from business owners with businesses in NSW with queries about transacting online, engaging with click and collect or closing from shopfront trade. There are several opportunities in our software and our broader customer service arrangements to help our community of customers.

New POS software customer newsletter out now

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Last week we mailed our latest customer newsletter to our POS software customers. We do this regularly, we well as our weekly customer emails, as some customers prefer to read a print copy.

Across the two pages of the latest customer newsletter we share plenty of news about our specialty retail POS software, our latest customer service survey, new advice sheets published, new staff, up to date support contact details and more.

Communication is important to us, and we know it is important to our customers. The print newsletter is something we have published for decades and while email is our prime channel of outbound communication, the print newsletter helps us reach those who are less engaged with email.

Between the newsletter, emails, phone calls and our regular Zoom meetings, here at Tower Systems we offer our customers many touchpoints through which they can learn more, influence more and enjoy more.

We surveyed our POS software customers

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We surveyed our POS software customers recently and have found the results most useful. While we follow up each help desk call with a quick service survey, this latest survey was broader. It’s also part of a series with which we are engaging, but more on that later.

This latest survey was focussed on understanding value. We did this across ten questions and compared the results with benchmark results, to see where we sit.

Plus, we have followed up with some customer who asked for contact direct without leadership team.

Being accessible is key to our customer engagement – through surveys like this latest one, our escalation process, our regular online workshops and also through one-on-one calls.

We are grateful to the customers who completed this survey and the hundreds who have taken part in other surveys over the last year. Every feedback point is appreciated and valuable.

Queen’s Birthday holiday hours

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While our office is closed today for the Queen’s Birthday pub lic holiday, even though it is not our birthday, we’re offering customer support through our after hours numbers and additional capacity if needed.

POS software customers engage in software ideas forum

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We are grateful for the terrific session with our POS software customers last week in which we discussed software enhancement ideas and how our transparent software Ideas platform works.

Established in March 2009 and inspired by US author Jeff Jarvis and his book What Would Google Do?, the Software Ideas platform has been a wonderful Gide to opportunities for software enhancements as much as for customer education – when ideas suggested already exist in the software.

The Tower Systems customer forum last week explored several POS software enhancement idea suggestions and shared with customers how to submit ideas and vote on them.

What makes a good software enhancement idea?

  1. Something that removes a pain point. We call pain points friction. We are keen to remove friction. It could be an extra keystroke, a screen design that could be easier to follow, more meaningful text. This type of change request is usually about us editing what we have today.
  2. Something that adds value to your specific retail channel. We are a vertical market software company, with software for specific retail channels. The more we serve the needs of a retail channel the more sales we can expect … and all customers benefit from this.
  3. Wide appeal. We like changes that will benefit many hundreds of retailers. We all like to think that how we run our businesses is how everyone in our niche should run their business. It’s not as simple as that. So, in making a software change or enhancement suggestion, please consider broad appeal beyond your business.
  4. Easy. We are not afraid to take on complex changes, we love easy changes as an easy win is good for us and good for you. Each changes are easy to put at the top of the queue.

Our transparent approach to software ideas is a differentiator for us … for which we are grateful.

Tower Systems is a vertical market POS software company serving a range of specialty retail channels with software tailored to their needs. It is this specialisation that is served by the company’s transparent approach to harvesting ideas from customers as it leads to better software for the niche retail channels.

New customers loving our new customer focus

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We have a separate focus within our help desk team that is solely for new customers … to help them settle into the software and land with comfort in the use of our POS software.

This focussed work solely with new customers helps them enjoy the software more, and sooner.

Their early feedback helps us help them tune the software through its many settings so that it is better in it’s service of our customers.

We are grateful to be able to offer this and appreciate our new customers who love the service. It means a lot.

Transparency matters when considering POS software companies

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When considering a POS software company for your retail business, consider accessibility. While the software itself is important, knowing how to drive it and how to leverage it matters as it is this that will determine how much value you get from the POS software.

Transparency is key. Here are examples of POS software company transparency, in areas where customer value is the core focus. These are all things we offer here at Tower Systems:

  • Regular customer forums with our leadership team, including our software development management team – to preview new facilities in development as well as to ask any questions or provide any feedback.
  • Use of professional platforms for group meetings and sessions, such as a commercial licence for Zoom, rather than cheap or free platforms that are not of the same quality or that may not offer the same security. Professional software companies use professional tools.
  • A structured process for suggesting and voting on POS software changes.
  • Easy access to a clear escalation process should there be a query or request for further assistance on any issue.
  • Unlimited top-up training after the software is installed and setup.
  • The ability to understand and assess software changes before you decide whether to install the software update. Software that is auto-installed without user input or control of limited, often frustrating.
  • Easy access to the CEO level of the business.
  • Access to the business through multiple entry points: phone, email, social media, web form and more. Being able to make contact where it works best for you is key.

Why do these points matter? It’s simple, really … the value you derive from the POS software in your business is more likely to be determined by the level of service from the POS software company than the software itself. Not always is this the case, but often it is. Good software backed by poor and non-trans[parent service will not be good software for you.

This is why it is vital to thoroughly investigate the company behind the POS software, to fully understand the people and their service model. This will guide your decision and help you see if the company is as helpful as it needs to be in service of your business needs and goals.

Bringing more retail experience to the POS software help desk

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Last week, we added a ne team member to our POS software help desk, someone with fifteen years retail experience, most of that using our POS software in business, not just one shop but several.

Their retail experience is terrific as is their knowledge of our software and their ability to train retail employees in the use of our software.

We are grateful to find this new team member and expand our head count to accomodate their position.

We are also grateful to our growing customer base for encouraging the head count growth. 2021 is just over four months old and already it is a terrific year for Tower Systems, and this plays well for our customer community.

We did let our customers know a couple of weeks ago about the new team member. Their support has been terrific.

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