The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryProduce store software

Our POS software helps local retailers hire and retain employees

July 22, 2022
2 Min read
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Finding employees is a challenge for many businesses in 2022. It is especially tough for local retailers.

Our Tower Systems POS software helps local retailers hire and retain employees, and here;’s a short video on how we do this:

Of course, there is more to this than we cover in the short video.

The key, however, is how much people enjoy their job. By providing learning opportunities, structure and certainty, our POS software can help employees in local retail businesses love their jobs more.

The structure offered within the Tower Systems POS software helps retail employees spend less time on mundane tasks and more time nothings that benefit the business, and through this, themselves. It also helps them help customers, and everyone loves that!

Loving your job starts with being good at it and being good at a job in retail starts with having good software to use to enable you to serve the business and its customer well. There is where the 4 points covered in the video play.

Tower Systems offers access to a knowledge base, a live, searchable, online documentation resource. Each article is training, writing in plain English, offering dot point step by step advice on how to do things, and why. It its perfect training for anyone wanting to learn how to use our POS software.

Our POS software is elegant, enjoyable, efficient and of current design. All of this matters as retail employees can be sure they are using something up to date, something relevant, and learning skills that will be transferable either within the retail business or in another retail business where they move.

We back up our training with one on one training opportunities for anyone keen to go further. This training is tailored to specific business needs. We are grateful to have served many of our customers with this personal training.

We also offer group training, which is recorded for people to access wherever and whenever they wish.

We know that the better retail employees understand a business and the tools it uses, the more valuable they feel and value is central to enjoyment … and retention in a business.

These are just some of the ways Tower Systems helps.

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Local high street retail continues to benefit from people working locally

July 12, 2022
3 Min read
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Just about all local high street retailers will tell you trade is good, even if the face or a returned wave of covid infections.

High street retail is strong because shoppers are concerned abut big shopping centres. They prefer the easier local high street situation for shopping. We hear from shoppers that they feel this situation is safer for them. So, in a comparison of a shopping mall visit versus a high street retail visit, for plenty of shoppers the preference will be the high street visit.

The other reason local high street retail is strong is because plenty who shifted to work from home at the start of Covid have not returned to the city, to big offices. People are loving working from home, living and working locally … and, local retailers are loving serving them, helping out with new needs of this now more regional office based workforce.

We are not part of the camp calling for workers to return to the office. For our customers and even for our own business we support people working where they are able, where they are happiest. This is good for local communities, and especially good for local high street retail.

Of course, our views are selfish in that the vast majority of our Tower Systems POS software customers and local high street retailers. Jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, pet shops, games shops, sewing shops, fishing shops, charity shops, music shops, produce businesses, newsagents, camping shops, firearms dealers, convenience shops … and more.

These local shops benefit from shoppers preferencing local high street retail over a shopping mall or shopping during a lunch break from office work in the city.

Plenty of local retailers have adjusted their businesses to better serve these new opportunities that emerged from Covid and while some saw the shift as temporary, engaged retailers have planned for the permanent shift of some from city based work to suburban and regional work. The benefit for the local community of this shift is considerable as local retailers will spend more of what they make locally than a shopping mall big business or than a city based business.

What we are seeing in Australia, and globally, is a reset of how, where and when we work and having a front seat to this shift, this change, is a wonderful opportunity not only as an observer, but as a participant.

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See our POS software running live in one of our shops

July 11, 2022
3 Min read
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One of the benefits of us owning and running retail shops is that we can offer a live and behind the counter demonstration of our POS software.

Retailers considering our Tower Systems POS software can get in behind the counter, watch transactions, and even do transactions so that they get up close and personal with the software in a live situation. Better still, they can talk to our store managers and team members on a retailer to retailer level and ask any questions.

Typically, these visits happen without sales people there, offering a more authentic opportunity to see this POS software live.

We also have customer who watch from the customer side of the counter, to see how that plays out, the workflow and efficiency.

Some retailers like to look in the back room and see any back office management using our POS software – where stock bay be arrived into the business,s stock scanned out to be returned to suppliers or other more office related work undertaken.

Having shops available for retailers to visit is a unique situation. We are not aware of any other Australian POS software company that has this resource – shops they own and run where their POS software can be seen, used and observed first-hand.

POS software démonstrations are good and can show off the detail of how the software works. It is in-store where you get to see real life situations, how the software can help with queries, actually save time, genuinely cut mistakes and more. It is in smooth workflow in specialty retail settings that the Tower Systems POS software shines and we think our ownership of retail businesses is a factor on the tuning of our software to a level that it is easily seen as valuable.

We have more retailers going through our softens for personal in-store demonstrations and hands-on use this week. It’s all organised through our sales team: sales@towersystems.com.au or 1300 662 957.

We do have retailers who just turn up at one of our shops and look and while there is no barrier to this, it’s more respectful of our retail team members if we schedule the visit as in the shops we put the needs of our retail customers and our retail team members ahead of everything else.

So, come see awesome locally made and supported POS software live in one of our shops, serve some of our customers and see whether it suits your own business.

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The little POS software ad that could

July 5, 2022
1 Min read
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We’re chuffed that our home made YouTube video has reached more than 23,000 full views in under 2 weeks. We are especially grateful because this ad shines a light on local small business retail and the role it plays in serving the local community.

This is what we do through our POS software, help local retailers serve their local community. And we love that role, love that we are able to practically help, through the software, into the community.

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Helping local retailers retain employees

July 4, 2022
2 Min read
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It is no secret that turnover is high in the retail industry. In fact, according to the National Retail Federation, the average turnover rate for retail employees is more than 70%. This high turnover rate can be costly for businesses, in terms of both time and money. Therefore, it is important for retail businesses to find ways to retain their employees.

One way to retain employees is to provide them with opportunities for growth and development. This could include offering training and development programs, as well as opportunities for promotion. Another way to retain employees is to offer competitive compensation and benefits packages. This could include things like health insurance, paid time off, and retirement savings plans. Finally, creating a positive work environment can also help to retain employees. This means providing things like a flexible work schedule, good working conditions, and a supportive team culture. By taking steps to retain their employees, retail businesses can improve their bottom line.

Here at Tower Systems we help retailers hire and retain employees in a number of ways. In fact, we made a short video about it yesterday:

Thanks to our structured training materials, employees in retail businesses using our software have a pathway of education that can hold them in good stead as they move forward with their career.

Being able to learn like this encourages them to appreciate their employment more, and this facilitates stability within the local small business team.

Retailers looking to staff their stores with the best talent should consider implementing these tips, structuring their business to be less labour reliant and more accurate when it comes to data. And, once you have the right team in place, be sure to use Tower Systems POS software to help manage and retain your employees. Our software is designed to make the retail experience as smooth as possible for both customers and employees alike. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you build a successful team that will keep your customers coming back for more.

See more at our website www.towersystems.com.au or call us for a human to human chat on 1300 662 957.

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POS software integrated dispatch facilities help local retailers deliver efficiently

June 27, 2022
2 Min read
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The dispatch facilities integrated within the Tower Systems POS software are providing to be a boon for local garden centres, produce businesses, farm supply businesses, pool care businesses and more.

Developed in close consultation with retailers undertaking local deliveries, some with a fleet of trucks and others using a single vehicle, this dispatch management software, which is intergrated within the POS software, provide tools for accurate record keeping and efficient management, to help the local indie retailer compete with the big end of town, but without their heavy cost overheads when it comes to dispatch management tools in the software.

See the dispatch tools for yourself in this demonstration of the software.

We back the tools with easily accessed training and support, to help people in the business to properly understand the tools and to leverage from them the maximum benefits for the business.

Using our Tower Systems software, you can also handle customer special orders, quotations, varied price models, pricing for community group members and community group fund raising programs that can increase shopper traffic.

This is a total package software rental solution including produce business software, updates, help desk support, supplier invoice imports and knowledgebase access.

There is no extra cost for more terminals, no fee based on transaction or sales volume.

This software is made for produce / farm supply / stockfeed businesses, made to help you maximise GP%, made to help you promote your USP, made to help you easily encourage shoppers to return sooner. It’s also made for garden centres that deliver soil and other products b y truck.

Any business that offers local delivery or dispatch services could benefit from this POS software integrated solution where the delivery is managed from the outset, professionally, accurately and with flexibility to serve a variety of needs.

We have commenced pre-release testing of our next Retailer software update, which includes a new dashboard offering valuable business insights designed to help you reduce dead stock, reduce labour costs, increase revenue and save you time. It helps you work on your business. This update will be available to supported customers.

Tower Systems makes what it sells, and we support it … locally.

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7 steps to choosing the right POS software for your local specialty retail business

June 23, 2022
4 Min read
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The POS software you choose for your indie retail business is an important decision. Get it right and the business could prosper and become considerably more valuable. Get it wrong and it could cost you plenty.

In thinking about the software you want, think about your business. The software you choose needs to serve your needs. Here are some headline level thoughts … 7 steps to choosing the right POS software for your local specialty retail business

  1. If you see your business as specialist in nature, the software you choose should be specialist.
  2. If part of your business pitch is to shop local, choosing locally made and supported software supports your pitch. Local software is software made and supported in Australia.
  3. If you want to be known as the local specialist, you need software that helps you do this consistently and effectively.
  4. If you do repairs or maintenance of any sort, you need software that can handle this.
  5. If you sell items bundled such as a rod, reel and line pack, you need software that can handle this.
  6. If you are in a tourist area and sell to people once, or once a year, you need software with loyalty facilities to maximise their rare visits to your shop.
  7. If you sell products by weight or measure, you need software that can do this, you want software that allows you to sell by fractions.

Think about these things and think about what you want in software in your business to help you stand out. If it does not feel right, say no thanks and look elsewhere.

Here at Tower Systems we will tell a sales prospect if we think our software is not a good fit based on the needs they have explained to us. There is no value to us or the sales prospect in them going with software that is not a good fit.

We have won plenty of customers who made a poor choice before landing with us. We take care to ensure we fit their needs because the last thing we want for them is another poor tech experience.

There are many generic and cheap point of sale systems in the marketplace. Price does matter. You would know that in your business. Think about the shopper who wants a full kit but says they want the cheapest. Think about your advice to them. If you say price does matter and that you get what you pay for, the same is true with retail business software.

A small higher price today for the right software could save many times the gap between it and cheap generic software.

So, work out what you want. This must come first, ahead of any budget.

Be flexible. Once you have chosen software, follow the advice provided by the software company and the expert they send to your business to train you. If they suggest changes to your business processes, embrace them. While changing what you do can be frustrating, software designed specifically independent specialty retail businesses is specialist in nature and it does what it does based on years of development and feedback from many customers.

Be disciplined. Software is like a machine. It needs the right fuel. For software, that fuel is data. Ensure everyone in your business is disciplined in how the software is used. From the moment stock comes into the business to when it is sold. Track it. This will help you make better business decisions.

Be engaged. Your software company will want a two-way relationship If you have suggestions, share them Play a role in the continued evolution of the software. This helps you and other businesses in your channel.

Save time. The right software will help you eliminate manual processes. Embrace these opportunities as much as possible. Time saved is time you can invest in yourself or in the business. Seek time saving opportunities out.

Be realistic. Any new software will be a challenge. Know that you will have some rough days learning the new things. Accept these by focussing on the main goal of enjoyment and efficiency once you know the software well.

The software you choose reflects your business. Take your time. Be certain about what you want. Invest well and the right software will easily pay for itself.

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How the Tower Systems POS software helps retailers navigate supply chain challenges

June 20, 2022
2 Min read
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Supply chain challenges are impacting retailers across many sectors. The challenges are not new, certainly not in the last two years at least. Here in mid 2022, the supply chain challenges are more impactful than before, and local retailers are being hit hard.

In the face of the unknown as to inventory arrival, some retailers ignore revenue opportunities.

In our POS software we have facilities that they local retailers win business and lock-in revenue despite supply chain uncertainty.

From managing inventory to capturing revenue for forward orders to easily shifting from one supplier to another, our POS software provides retailers impacted by supply chain challenges with tools that can provide appreciated flexibility.

With plenty of products impacted by supply chain challenges, customers are happy to wait if there is certainty they will eventually receive the products. This is where our software shines as it manages these special orders, providing the detailer with a structured framework through which to manage the opportunity and the customer the confidence that the retailer has it covered. By systemising the approach, bringing certain structure to it, the retailer can capture revenue early and the customer can be calmed knowing the retailer has their back.

Good POS software helps local retailers navigate often complex situations that are outside their control, offering the local retail business revenue stability that is key to on-going trading.

Through our work across a range of retail channels we are well aware of and across the detail for supply chain challenges. We have helped retailers who acted to stock pile inventory to see them through, managing that inventory across multiple locations. We have also helped retailers work with other retailers to share inventory across multiple businesses.

These are just two ways we have practically helped local retail businesses deal with the latest supply chain challenges impacting local sales.

Offering flexible POS software, we have been able to provide local retailers with pathways though supply chain challenges that are usually only available to bigger businesses. We arebgrateful for a local small business retail community that works together.

Tower Systems is a local Aussie POS software company seeing a range of local specialty retail channels.

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With buy now pay later facing so many problems, LayBy is back in vogue

June 16, 2022
2 Min read
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Buy now pay later businesses are having a rough ride. They face challenges due to the ease with which people can get credit, their break fees, the cost to retailers of offering the payment method and the entry of new competitors into the space – like banks and Apple.

It feels like the glory days of buy now pay later as a traffic driver for retail are over.

In our Tower Systems POS software we have good LayBy tools, which any retailer can offer and manage easily. We developed these many years ago and have maintained them. Today, we have some retailers handling thousands of LayBys every year. We bring structure and support to offering LayBys in any local business.

Here is a 6-minute video we shot about this yesterday morning.

Using the LayBy tools in the Tower Systems POS software, small business retailers can offer professional management of LayBys including:

  • Structured terms and conditions.
  • Collecting a deposit every time.
  • Managing payments.
  • Handling the adjustment of what is in a LayBy.
  • Managing the collection of the LayBy.
  • Understanding the total LayBy situation of a business.
  • Knowing the location of a LayBy.
  • Feeding LayBy data through to any connected accounting software.
  • Giving even casual employees a structured process through which they can be certain with LayBys.

Best of all, the LayBy facilities in the tower Systems POS software help a retail business to bring structure, certainty, to the LayBy offer in a business and this leads to good business, efficient business, profitable LayBy business.

We make LayBy easy but certain, a differentiator on which local retailers can rely to win business and provide a service local shoppers love.

For too many retailers, offering LayBy can be a grind, problematic to manage. Using our LayBy tools we offer structure. many retail businesses in our POS software community find this useful to LayBy being a more enjoyable part of their businesses. We like this. One of our goals is to help small business retailers enjoy their business more.

With the advent of BNPL, LayBy can be a small business win, a true differentiator, and Tower Systems helps achieve this.

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What makes the Tower Systems POS software for produce / rural supply / farm supply businesses worth considering?

June 14, 2022
3 Min read
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Only you can know which POS software is right for your rural supply / farm supply business. You can only reach this conclusion once you have researched the software out there, seen it first hand, and matched it against the needs in your business.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve many local rural supply / farm supply / produce with produce business POS software. This is specialty retail POS software made for these specialty retail businesses.

Our off the shelf software is designed to serve many needs of these unique local rural businesses, to help them serve farmers and other with the sale of materials, stockfeed and more.

We see some software companies out there saying they are the best. They can’t know that, just as we can’t know that about our software.

What we do know is that we try our best, and that our software continues to evolve, based on customer feedback. Indeed, customer feedback is key to our software evolution.

Our advice when you see a software company saying they are the best is to ask them to prove it, to show what they know about other software that makes theirs the best.

All we know is what our produce / farm supply / rural supply POS software offers, and it is plenty.

  1. Dispatch management. Smart. Intuitive. Developed in the field with real users.
  2. Quote and invoice management. Strong, flexible, fit for purpose.
  3. Customer delivery management options.
  4. Sell from anywhere, anytime option through Retailer RoamTM.
  5. Trade pricing profiles supporting pricing flexibility for your customers.
  6. Customer account management: Professional and accurate control.
  7. Sell by weight, including fractions.
  8. Bagging up feed. Bag feed into smaller packs, with accurate stock data.
  9. Pre-orders – pre-sell stock and be ahead of the game.
  10. Special orders – easily manage special customer orders.
  11. Genuinely informative receipts. You control design and detail.
  12. Colour / size / style. Track what you sell at a granular level.
  13. Awesome loyalty through which you can easily differentiate.
  14. Seasonal reordering. Easily reorder inventory based on seasonal sales.
  15. Weatherproof labels.
  16. Electronic supplier invoice support – cut mistakes and save time.
  17. Easy Shopify website integration.

This list is only the start. Our software offers much more.

Beyond the software, here are features of a relationship with Tower Systems…

  • We are local. Local matters in local communities. Tower Systems is Australian owned, developed and supported. Call us and a human answers the phone.
  • Our training is personal, in your business. We think people learn better from face to face training.
  • Unlimited free training. Long after you install the software, ask for free top-up training and all we will organise it.
  • New customer care. All new customers have a separate specialist team with which they connect, to ease settling-in.
  • Customers guide our software enhancement. We offer a transparent, democratic, process for guiding software update content.
  • Produce business specific. This software is developed for your type of business.
  • In the cloud or in-store. You choose where the software runs.

If you own a local farm supply / produce / rural supply business and are looking for software, consider Tower Systems, check us out and see whether our POS software could serve your needs.

What makes Tower Systems worth considering? It’s that we will serve your need to find what’s right for you.

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Helping local small business retailers surf

June 9, 2022
1 Min read
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Learning how to use POS software is like learning to surf on so many ways. It’s about knowing when to push off, which wave to catch, how to balance, how to ride it is and when yo feel exalted.

It’s kinda how we approach training, mentorship and support here at Tower Systems for our 3,000+ local retail business POS software customers.

Every local retail business has different waves, different challenges and opportunities. Every local retail business owner and team member has different skills. We know that a one size fits all approach does not work, that there is no corporate approach you can take to implementing POS software. It’s why our approach is personal, fit for each customer business.

We like the surfing analogy because it reflects the unexpected we see in local retail, the need to be flexible, to read the waves and to adjust accordingly. This is what our POS software helps with, and our training guides local retailers on this.

Tower Systems is not your average POS software company.

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Small business retail advice: attracting new traffic

June 7, 2022
2 Min read
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Attracting new traffic, new shoppers, is vital for local retail businesses. Every new shopper adds value to the business today and into the future.

We are always looking for businesses that do this well, in ways not traditional for that type of business. We found one a few weeks ago in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin – the Avant Cafe & Cycle shop. Here is a new video from us in which we explore what we like about what the folks at Avant are doing, what we learned from them.

They offers are well defined, quality and complimentary, yet able to successfully stand along … and that is key to any business attracting new traffic for specialty products or services – they need to be able to stand alone as that strength enhances the value of the combined offer.

Pursuing new traffic is the single most important business management activity for you and your business.

We suggest pursuing new traffic is a meditation point for any local specialty retailer… new traffic, what it is, what it means and how you can attract it. 

When you approach any management or strategic activity in your business, think about what this task or activity will do to attract new shoppers.

It is not enough to do something in your shop for that is only seen by people in your shop.  What are you doing to promote this outside your shop?  … because that is where new traffic is to be found.

This is not something for your suppliers to do. It is up to you. Only you and your actions can attract new traffic.

Pursuing new traffic is about far more than putting new products in your store. Indeed, stock is only one of several steps that are all connected in pursuing new traffic. However, stock is the start. Stocking new lines never offered in the business are the best first step to take to bring in people who do not shop with you today.

What they are doing at Avant is attracting people who love and appreciate good coffee while at the same time attracting local cyclists and people wanting to purchase bikes or have their bikes serviced.  Each of these separate areas does well, and they compliment each other.

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“I just want to be seen, to be noticed” … how can my local retail business do that, be noticed?

June 3, 2022
3 Min read
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It can be a struggle in local small business retail to be noticed. You can feel helpless, under-resourced, too small to be heard. The negative self-talk can have you doing less, being heard less, noticed less.

In truth, local small business retailers have the best voices, the most authentic voices, the most valuable voices for the local community.

The best way for any local retail business to be promoted is through word of mount and word of mouth depends on customer service and value appreciation.

The Tower Systems POS software helps nurture word of mount. Better still, it helps support the value appreciation. It does this by demonstrating value consistently, at shopper touch points, in ways we see them appreciate, and talk positively about to others.

Our local small business retail helps retailers systemise and structure these activities so that the value of the business can be felt and understood in ways that support the growth of the business through the attraction of new shoppers, thanks to word of mount commentary.

Local small business retailers can compete against big, well-funded, businesses.

The key is to be yourself in what you do, what you offer and how you communicate. This is where the Tower Systems POS software helps as it comes from an understanding of the challenges of local small business retail and the value these businesses offer their local communities. Our software, which is only used in indie retail (no big business) offers subtle platforms for sharing the massages core to the business and ways the business can add value that are exclusive, unique.

Imagine the delight a shopper feels when they are given something unexpected, something they can use right away, something that appreciates their business in your shop that day … and that they have been given this without having to sign up for anything, without having to fill in a form, without having to give any personal details. This is a measure of trust between the business and the shopper. It has the shopper more engaged, more trusting and moire keen for the opportunity.

This is one way our POS software helps local small business retailers provide appreciation that is talked about, mentioned, raved about. We have seen this help bring new shoppers to local retail businesses.

This is one of plenty of ways the Tower Systems POS software can help local retailers be seen, be noticed, and flourish.

Together, we can do this. We’ve got your back!

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POS software for spare parts retailers helps manage inventory, reduce theft and save time

May 26, 2022
3 Min read
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Tower Systems is grateful to see its POS software serve spare parts retailers in an often neglected space of retail.

This opportunity has grown out of other specialty retail channels in which we serve. Tower Systems has served bike shops, jewellers and farm supply businesses with spare parts inventory software for many years.

Growing out of our workshop management software, our spare parts inventory software became critical to accurately recording sale and use of spare parts in repairs as well as over the counter to customers.

Offering tracking by brand, use, supplier, barcode, SKU and more, this spare parts inventory software works in a range of situations and businesses. Motor bike businesses, trailer sale and repair businesses, bike shops, jewellers, outdoors businesses, farm supply businesses, pool maintenance businesses … they can all use this spare parts inventory software.

Within the software, you can ember use and care instructions for each product. While this is optional, it offers the business the ability to be more than a seller of products. Selling products with information, intellectual property, can differentiate the business and this is key to return business.

Managing spare parts inventory in multiple locations can be handled. Pricing, too, is flexible with the ability to offer flexibility to shoppers based on purchases and other factors. This is software that has been road-tested in a range of retail settings.

Retailers are able to bundle multiple spare parts together into a package that you sell. This can make price comparison harder. It can also better serve customer needs if some spare parts are always bought with other spare parts.

In addition to managing inventory, this spare parts inventory software offers multiple reporting tools that enable various views of inventory performance. The flexibility in the reporting is useful and a key factor in the software serving needs across several types of spare parts related businesses.

Accessible in-store, online and through a remote POS solution, the spare parts inventory software from Tower Systems is a software solution for many different businesses.

The best way to see if the Tower Systems spare parts inventory software is suitable for your needs is to see it. The company can organise a demonstration easily, when it suits you. Send an email to sales@towersystems.com.au and one our skilled software advisors will get back to you and show you as much of the software as you would like to see.

Tower Systems serves more than 3,500 independent small business retailers across a variety of specialty retail channels. That several of these retail channels depend on spare parts inventory software positions Tower Systems well to offer service to others with this need.

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The best loyalty solution for local small business retailers

May 10, 2022
4 Min read
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If your local retail business competes with big businesses and online businesses, you are likely copying them and their approach to loyalty. Points are the common approach. The world is obsessed with points, chasing them, collecting and trying to spend them.

But who knows that they are worth?

Each point is not the same whereas each dollar is a dollar everywhere.

The Tower Systems POS software offers a points based loyalty solution embedded in the POS software – for businesses that like to copy big business. The businesses that like to innovate, be different and stand out, however, use the discount vouchers facilities in our POS software. In these facilities there are no points accrued. rather, loyal shoppers accrue dollars. See how:

With hundreds of local small business retailers using the Tower Systems discount vouchers we have good data to speak to when encouraging local retailers to embrace the opportunity.

For years, retailers, especially independent and small business retailers, have been told to follow retail giants and reward loyal shoppers with points that can be redeemed for gifts and discounts.

Dutifully, many small business retailers acted on this – but without a thought-through strategy to achieve the best outcome for the business.

Without a financially rewarding outcome for a business, a loyalty program is worthless.

This is why retailers, in any retail channel and in any retail situation – high street, shopping mall, rural and or regional – need options in terms of shopper loyalty rewards.

While a points based program is useful, it could be that the business will benefit from a different approach.

Good POS software will offer flexibility. This flexibility can add thousands of dollars to the bottom line performance of a retail business each year.

Change the game: front-end loyalty

By using an approach we at Tower call front-ending loyalty, retailers can achieve more from first-time and infrequent shoppers. Front-ending loyalty brings a reward to the front in an effort to engage shoppers in additional purchases sooner.

Too often loyalty has been all about total spend over a year whereas above average spend in just one visit can be more valuable to a business.

It’s an approach that can encourage those who do not shop with you to purchase something else right away, to get the value of the cash discount offered.

Regular shoppers can spend the cash discount right away or come back within any time limit you set.

We started trialling this front-ending loyalty strategy in February 2013 in several retail businesses. We did it using the Discount Vouchers facilities in the Tower Systems software.

Building the basket

From the first day we saw shoppers changing behaviour.

One chap came in to purchase a specific item. When he was handed the receipt the voucher was pointed out to him – offering $2.00 off his next purchase. He was not a regular and so spent the $2.00, and more, right away on another item. He received another voucher and purchased a third item. In all, he spent three times as much as the original purchase – all because of the Discount Vouchers he received.

Around 33% of all vouchers redeemed are used the day they are received. This shows customers building the basket – adding to their purchase that day as a result of the voucher. This makes each visit more valuable to us.

Bringing shoppers back

Around 33% of redeemed vouchers are used within seven days of issue and the remaining 33% are redeemed up to four weeks after issue.

Here’s another real story: A month after we started trialling this new approach to loyalty, a customer came in and used a voucher she had picked up a couple of weeks earlier. She was happy to get $5.00 off a $45.00 item she wanted. This resulted in another voucher so she bought another item for $29.95.

This customer said she would be back. Two weeks later she was.

You control the business rules covering how vouchers are issued and redeemed. You control your financial exposure at all times.

Like any good loyalty program, you need good levers with which to drive shopper engagement and to deliver the benefits it needs to justify the investment.

The Discount Vouchers facilities in the Tower software have this.

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5 ways to make your local retail business more competitive

May 3, 2022
3 Min read
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Every day can feel like a grind in local small business retail. A grind competing with big businesses, a grind competing with online businesses. It can wear people down if they let it.

The key is to not let it wear you down.

It starts with loving your business, believing in it, respecting it and making it stronger at the core. That’s what this advice from Tower Systems is about today, making your business stronger at the core, by making the business more competitive.

5 ways to make your local retail business more competitive

Now, before we get into them they will feel easy, even lame. The thing is, these are deliberately everyday things you can do without a budget, just with a small time investment.

These are all things your POS software, like the Tower Systems POS software, can help with if you wish.

1. Offer something unique that your competitors don’t. This could be a unique product, service, or even just a specific focus or niche that you cater to. have a point of different. This matters a lot. Create it, embrace it, leverage it. This point of difference is you, it is your reason, your go to, your 7 second pitch.

2. Make sure your prices are competitive. This doesn’t mean always having the lowest prices, but rather offering a good value for what you’re selling. Value is something you create based on how you bundle items, how you source to differentiate, how you make raw price comparisons hard.

3. Offer excellent customer service. This could be something as simple as providing a great experience in your store, or going above and beyond to help your customers. make it personal, different and valuable. At each contact point provide that extra bit that helps people make better use of what you sell.

4. Use marketing and advertising wisely. Make sure you’re targeting your ideal customer, and using the most effective channels to reach them. When you market, market you, your point of difference – always ahead off price as price based shoppers are not loyal.

5. Stay up to date on industry trends. This will help you anticipate changes and stay ahead of your competitors. It will also help your business be a resource, and that will bring people back.

Being more competitive in local retail is all about you and the core of your business. get this right and worries about competitors out there, real or imagined, will fade away.

Tower Systems through its POS software helps with this and more. We have embedded in our software opportunities for you showing your competitive advantages, giving shoppers lived experiences they will love.

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More retailers switch from MYOB Retail Manager to Tower Systems POS software

April 29, 2022
3 Min read
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We are grateful to have welcomed more retailers to the Tower Systems POS software community from the MYOB Retail Manager software.

With MYOB making their intentions re the future of Retail Manager clear, retailers, community groups, clubs and others using the software are looking for alternatives, solutions o9n which they can rely into the future.

Tower Systems has helped many businesses and groups move from MYOB Retail Manager to the Tower Systems POS software. We do this in a structured and methodical way, working with our customers to bring across what they trust and helping them setup in a new world with fresh data fresh settings and, best of all, comprehensive training and one-on-one support.

We have many customers in many different retail settings who have made the switch from MYOB Retail Manager before. They can speak to the software as well as our support processes that have helped them land where they are. People switching from MYOB Retail Manager today can rely on the experiences of others. They can also trust the Tower Systems commitment to continual evolution of its POS software in service o0f the needs of specialty retail.

Like any new installation of our POS software, we start the relationship wanting to ensure we understand the needs of a business. This actually starts before prospective customers even sign up with us. We want to make sure we can meet their needs. So, we start a discovery process before anything else. If our software does meet their needs, then it’s full steam ahead with comprehensive training in how to use the software and easy to access customer service for any query customers may have once the training is completed. We make it easy to learn and easy to continue to learn long after the software is being used in a business.

We differ from the old MYOB approach in that we provide all our own training, we are very accessible – through to our leadership team, our software is regularly enhanced, documentation is regularly updated, and, support access is easy and direct … by phone, email in person, text message or through social media. We make it easy for you to reach us when you need us.

If you are using MYOB Retail Manager in your business and you want to consider an alternative, Tower Systems is here for you. We’d love to find out more about your needs: 1 300 662 957 or sales@towersystems.com.au.

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How local small business retailers can be a big retailers in the shopper loyalty stakes

April 26, 2022
3 Min read
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Rewarding shopper loyalty in retail businesses has become industrial in scale, which means it is less personal, and more about the retail business than the shopper.

Too many local small business retailers think the best way to compete with big business loyalty offerings is to copy them, which means offering points to shoppers that they can then use somehow in the business.

What are points worth?

That’s the million dollar question. or, maybe, the million point question.

Because … in one shop a point is equal to a dollar, in another, it takes 1,000 points to equal a dollar, while in another it takes 10 points to equal a dollar for selected items in the shop but not everything they have available.

No wonder shoppers are confused as to the actual value of loyalty points. They are confusing.

While our awesome local retail POS software serves a points based loyalty offering, because our POS software customers wanted that, we also have an awesome, and better we think, loyalty solution that is $$$ based, that shoppers understand, and love – we say love because we have seen and heard shoppers say this. Better still, we see shoppers love our $$$ based loyalty solution through their spending patterns.

What we offer in our POS software loyalty solutions is flexibility, transparency and easy engagement.

You can have your Tower Systems POS software loyalty solution live in minutes.

It costs nothing to setup.

What you invest in it is 100% your call.

What shoppers get from it is 100% your call.

It’s a standard part of our POS software – you don’t have to pay us or anyone to participate.

Shoppers don’t need to register, which means more will engage.

This is about driving sales, as that’s key in any retail business.

Sure, likes are nice and follows are great and having plenty of members in a loyalty program makes your chest puff out … b u t  what really matters, what matters the most in any shop, in any retail business, is the business you put through your register and it is this business, what you sell and what you make from all that, which pays the bills, pays your people, pays you.

The Tower Systems approach to shopper loyalty through its local retail POS software offers a points based solution. but, better still, is the $$$ based offer that any customer can understand and with which any customer can engage, including those one-time customers you will never see again – those customers can do 2, 3, heck, even 4 transactions in a single visit. That’s what we have seen when retailers turn on our awesome POS software loyalty solutions.

Tower Systems makes POS software for local specialty retailers like jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, pet shops, newsagents, toy shops, sewing shops, homewares shops, gift shops, firearms dealers, adult shops, bookshops, farm supply businesses, mobility scooter businesses and pool maintenance and supply businesses.

It is this specialisation, this service of local small business retail that helps us provide solutions for shoppers who do shop local and who can be loyal, providing wonderful and valuable business to the local high street retail economy.

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Tower Systems helps retailers separate online and in-store revenue for easy reporting

April 20, 2022
2 Min read
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If your shop sells online and in a physical store, how easy is it for you to report on sales revenue by location of the sale?

How easy is it for you to report in-store sales versus online sales?

We think this should be easy.

Online sales have a different set of costs compared to in-store sales. There are different customer acquisition costs, too, and different fulfilment costs.

By separating out the reporting of sales based on the platform through which sales are transacted, Tower Systems provides retailers using its POS software with insights that could be valuable in better understanding the business, and thereby better taking those next steps in the business.

This level of reporting in the Tower Systems POS software is differentiating for the business, it is helping Tower Systems to win customers, for which we are sincerely grateful.

When we shared our innovative approach with our customers, there was much joy. The enhancements were not sought out by our customers. We did it because we saw the need in our own retail businesses. So when the enhancements were released in an update a while back, customers were surprised. It was like giving them a nugget of gold that made their use of our POS software even more valuable. We are so proud of delivering this and delivering what’s next in this space, and next again.

While our POS software connected Shopify, Magneto and Woo customers can get the online sales data from those platforms, by bringing it together in the POS, which manages data for all sales – in-store as well as online – made sense to us. It’s a time saver for retailers and retail business managers. It is a good decision feeder by placing this data, these insights, in one place.

This is a good POS software move, a value-add, a way the Tower Systems POS software enhanced the user experience and the value they can mine from their use of our POS software.

Maybe you can tell we are excited. Well, that’s because of customer feedback. Yes, it’s been terrific, for which we are even more grateful.

2022 is a good year for local small business retail and we are happy to be part of the story evolving in many main street settings in Australia and New Zealand.

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