Tower Blog

A blog about smart POS software for independent small businesses.

Advice for local small business retailers on the art of being local and driving traffic and sales

14 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Being genuinely local for any local business sounds easy, right? It can be challenging because of different expectations and experiences.

As a POS software company that only developed software and sells to small business retailers, we have plenty opt experience with retailers on thinking, living and acting local. We share this advice with our customers. Here in this post we share some of that advice, to provide a taste for the extent of business inspiration and management we provide our customers.

Being local in retail is more important than ever.

Yes, even with online, being local really does matter.

Local can mean different things to different people – it does not necessarily mean geographic proximity. Being local could be about the level of care and attention you provide customers, the additional advice you provide, that you live locally, that you source locally or that you serve the local community personally.

Locally sourced products could be products made in Australia. For example, detailing where a product is made and the family behind it pitches local compared to a similar product imported from overseas.

You can use your Tower Systems POS software to pitch local in a range of ways:

  1. Shop local yourself. Be seen doing this.
  2. Hire local. This shows you adding local economic value.
  3. Talk local. Know local news. Share it on your business social media pages.
  4. Include notes on receipts.Add product care instructions, use instructions or other useful information automatically on receipts – making your receipt a useful information platform.
  5. Tell people where you source products. For a product made by a family or small business in Australia, include details on the receipt. Shine a light on this local product – provide extra information so your shoppers can feel more locally connected.
  6. Include a SHOP LOCAL pitch. Add an image of a poster or some other promotion of the benefits of shop local to every receipt, reinforcing the value of shopping local. Tower Systems has images you can use for free – in the downloads section of our website.
  7. Thank your customers.Include text personally thanking customers shopping with you. Put our name to the message. Include your mobile. Big businesses do not do this.
  8. Track local product sales.Be aware of suppliers of locally made products and report on the performance of these through various reporting tools.
  9. Thanks for shopping local vouchers.You can use the discount voucher facilities in the software and call them Thanks for shopping localorLocal shopping reward. This reinforces a value for shopping with a local business – offering $$ discount off the next purchase based on rules you establish.

It is not enough to tell people to shop local, you need to demonstrate the value of this, you need to live it transactionally in your retail business. The best way to do this is through systems and processes in your POS software.

How firearms business POS software helps retailers run more successful businesses

13 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Tower Systems is grateful to serve Australian firearms retailers with POS software made for firearms businesses.

Made for firearms retailers, this POS software is specialty in nature and service. It has been developed with firearms retail business owners and managers to pro9vide POS software that works for them.

Ruch in firearms retailer specific benefits, this POS software continues to evolve to serve the needs of these businesses. Here are some of the benefits fo the firearms POS software:

  1. Sell accurately by weight or measure – by whole numbers orfractions.
  2. Leverage you. If your knowledge is a differentiator, offer it through structured opportunities in the software. This is a stand out benefit.
  3. Easier record keeping with serial number tracking of items sold. Get it right at the counter from the beginning.
  4. Ensure compliance with structured age checking.
  5. Easily handle special customer orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
  6. Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to you for this.
  7. Maximise the basket with easy to use one-time shopper loyalty tools.
  8. Trade and club pricing profiles. Set pricing rules based on customer type.
  9. Pre-orders – Easily pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  10. Differentiate with informative receipts. These can include product care, use and safety information based on what customers buy.
  11. Differentiate with bundles. Selling items bundled together makes price comparison hard.
  12. Track who sold what.
  13. Time saving invoicing and account management – manage accounts in a way tailored to yourbusiness.
  14. Market to customers based on past purchases.
  15. Save time by importing electronic invoices.
  16. Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
  17. Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
  18. Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
  19. Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software.

Tower Systems is grateful to firearms retailers, large and small, city and country, for their support of the software and the regulators who work with us to ensure we meet needs of all stakeholders in this appreciated retail channel space.

POS software helps small business retailer be strong competitors

12 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Choosing the right POS software can be key tot the success of any retail business, especially a small retail business.

Okay,  this seems like a motherhood statement. It is. But there is more to it than that.

The right POS software can be a proactive support for the business, I can guide business decisions, early detect employee theft, dramatically cut mistakes, guide product placement in-store and help bring shoppers back more often. These are all practical deliverables from good POS software. Indeed, these and more.

Any software can ring up a sale and track what is sold. Those steps are barely the beginning of what good POS software should do.

This is why retailers need to take time to assess software, to see how it has evolved with the needs of physical and online stores, and see what it offers in terms of helping independent small business retailers to leverage opportunities to be truly competitive.

The right POS software will also be purpose specific to the needs of a specialty retail business, serving needs inquire to the niche business channel and unique to the suppliers of the business. There are many interaction and integration opportunities that bring retailers together, that help them be smart and engaged together for mutual benefit. Niche channel specific software is the glue to make this happen.

Tower Systems offers specialty POS software for specialty retailers. We make what we sell and we ensure that each marketplace specific version of our software is finely tuned to the needs of retailers in each retail channel. This is what makes our software more useful and valuable to niche retailers than generic software.

Take our produce / farm supply /stockfeed business software. This is made specifically for these types of businesses. What we offer is made for them and made to work with their suppliers. This is very different to what you would see from general POS software. We are not general. We are specialist, deeply specialist.

How do you chooses there right POS software for your business?  Research, take your time and make sure that the software you choose reinforces, supports and enhances the specialist nature of your business.

Tips for politicians on how to kick start small business retail in Australia

11 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Every election, politicians say that small business is the lifeblood of Australia. Then, after the election, they forget about small business. No wonder trust in politicians by Australian voters is low.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy.

Small business retailers are nimble and able to lift local economies faster than big businesses and certainly better than  online businesses.

Here are six tips for politicians on steps they can take, decisions they can make to help lift retail, especially small business retail.

  1. Direct all politician electorate Christmas spending to be with local small businesses. For gifts, parties, cards, everything for a year. Have the results assessed independently. Ensure that spending is fair, too, to benefit a variety of local businesses, and not dolled out as political favours. Shop local, shop small.
  2. Run a national shop small shop local ad campaign. Make it educational, smart, encouraging …, guiding Aussies on the value to them from shopping local, shopping small. Help to understand the true value of shopping local, shopping small compared to the alternatives. The ad campaign should run regionally across multiple media platforms, giving preference to locally owned platforms with a track record for not managing their business to minimise tax.
  3. Local shops refresh grant. Give every local retail business a grant of at least $10,000 with the stipulation that it is spent locally tin capital works for the shop, to improve the shop. Proof of local spending is to be in the form of an invoice from a local tradesperson or company with and ABN and more than a year of trading as recognised by the ATO – to avoid fraud. Spending could be focussed: painting, electrical, carpentry, flooring, repairs. The management of this should be online with quick approval and payment. Note: the $10,000 is suggested as anything less could be cosmetic.
  4. Local artists grants. Offer cash grants to fund buskers for local high streets, to make shopping locally more entertaining. Make the application easy. Focus on local artists entertaining in their local community. This serves the dual purpose of injecting cash locally as well as fostering the local arts. The application process should be online, approval fast and payment immediate.
  5. Local visual merchandising supports. Keeping in-store displays can be a challenge for small business retailers. Fund a network of merchandisers to make a 2 hour call weekly on qualified independent small retail businesses, sub $1M turnover, ABN registered, trading for six months or more. With each visit to be about visual refresh of the shop. Cap the cam pain at three months assess the economic value. Only local merchandisers to be used – i.e. to an overseas agency who hires local contractors.
  6. Establish local currency systems. These work overseas on regional towns where local currency has more value than the national currency. It supports shopping local through a smart value structure. the government role could be on the tech back end to manage the currency – taking away capital cost from local councils. To find out more ab9out this, read up on the Bristol Pound.

This list could be much longer. It is offered here as a start, to gets people thinking of practical ways to support shopping small, shopping local.

The current disinterest by politicians in practical support for local small businesses has us on a path of business closures. Urgent action is needed to engage locals in supporting local businesses.

Thank you for shopping local this Christmas retail season

10 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Retailer Roam – portable POS software for small business retailers on the move

9 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Advice for small business retailers on shop layout

8 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The more a retail business looks like a traditional shop in any channel, the more it will be judged as a traditional shop, the more it will perform like a traditional shop. There is nothing wrong with this, if it is a conscious choice.

Through our work at Tower Systems we see awesome and successful retail businesses and less than awesome and not so successful retail businesses.

We encourage you to not run a traditional shop because there is no evidence in performance data or in retail history to indicate that a traditional retail model has any upside in the world today.

The best way to not be considered a traditional shop is to not look like one. Here is some of what this means based on our experience:

  1. Keep visual noise to a minimum. This means less posters and signs. Let your products be seen and be the heroes.
  2. No old-school posters out the front of the shop or hanging in the shop except in exceptional circumstances.
  3. No old-school products stand near the entrance.
  4. Make the front third of the shop open with non-permanent fixtures that are flexible and easily moved. These are best if they are everyday items: tables, a couch, boxes and more. The more colour, texture and style the less like a shop your shop will feel and the more relaxed shoppers will be.
  5. Floor rugs are effective too, under a table fixture especially.
  6. No candy or William old products at the counter. Use the counter for products that are easily purchased on impulse, that play against expectations.
  7. A feature wall behind the counter that can be changed easily.
  8. Different colours and textures rather than the usual shop-fit look.
  9. Different lighting to highlight different part of the business.
  10. Less shop-fit made fixtures and more personally made or found items.
  11. Product placement such that it encourages people to explore. Embrace treasure hunt retail… where people wander the shop hoping to find treasure.
  12. Move tasks, pricing, returns and more to the shop floor. This will reduce shopper theft and increase sales.
  13. Have the least amount of staff resources behind the counter as possible. On the shop floor the same people can guide purchases.

Change is critical in retail today. Change beyond what has been traditional, change that helps you attract new shoppers and through them new revenue opportunities.

While we are  an indie retail POS software co. we are retailers and retail experts. We’re here to help our customers through software, and beyond.

Toy shop POS software helps indie toy retailers compete with big business

7 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The indie toy shop POS software from Tower Systems is rich in facilities and tools that help local indie toy retailers compete. From smart shop level engagement though to marketing to unexpected insights, this POS software is perfect for local toy shops. It is POS software build specifically for toy shops.

Specialisation is what sets you apart.  It is what sets us apart too.

From managing seasonal sales to respecting product care instructions to offering easy sell packs with multiple items, our specialty toy shop software can help you serve in valuable and appreciated ways.

We can help maximise sales with smart shopper engagement. This is where you easily leverage customer data to reach out with personal reminders, which can bring customers who shopped with you once back again and again.

Imagine easily reaching out to those who purchased Cards Against Humanity, Lego products, Harry Potter products, new Beanie Boos or Monopoly and inviting them to purchase a product extension?

Our front-end loyalty offer helps you leverage one-off and infrequent shoppers, to maximise their shopping visit. We have retailers reporting 10% and more revenue boosts from this loyalty tool big retailers cannot copy.

These are some examples of how Tower Systems leverages its toy shop specific software for you – with training and assistance specific to your type of business, to ensure that you maximise the benefits for your business.

Another way to use the software is with Humm, Zip Pay, Zip Money, buy now pay later services that settle immediately to you. These are integrated as a method of payment.

Our Toy Shop Software also offers:

  1. Catalogue management – making catalogue sales easy.
  2. Easy loading of electronic invoices from your suppliers.
  3. Linking to a website for online sales.
  4. Easily handling BOGO (buy 1 get 1 free) or other up-sell offers.
  5. Linking to Xero to cut bookkeeping and external accounting costs.
  6. Rewarding loyal shoppers with points, cash off next purchase or a mixture.
  7. Easy to use LayBy.

Here are four success stories…

Frank was thrilled the receipt for the birthday gift he bought his granddaughter had a link to advice that made him an expert when he gave her the gift. His granddaughter loved it. He is still smiling at being an expert.

Kath mentioned us on Facebook, saying she loves the care instructions we provide for the jigsaws she buys from us and the loyalty rewards we offer.

Working mum Clare appreciated ordering from our website and having the awesome and fun birthday gifts for her twins wrapped and ready for collection on her way home. She loved the surprise we included.

Mick loves each text message we send to say the next release of his collection is ready for pick-up. And, he loves the reward for being a collector.

Every day, local indie toy shops in Australia serve customers like Frank, Kath, Clare and Mick with personal local service. Specialist indie toy businesses need specialist software to serve these and other types of specialist needs.

Easy access produce business POS software helps rural supply businesses serve local farmers

6 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

We are grateful for the love and appreciation shown for the launch of the rental pricing option that makes our specialty produce business software available for $199.00 a month. For this low monthly cost you get…

  1. Australian developed and supported produce business POS software – for farm supply, produce and stockfeed businesses.
  2. Produce business POS software updates as we release them.
  3. Unlimited licences for your business location. If you need an extra computer, there is no extra software cost.
  4. Shopify / Magento / Woo link. Easily sell online from your POS software.
  5. Xero link. Easing bookkeeping costs and streamlining accounting.
  6. Our OzBiz link. This helps you link to MYOB and Quicken through OzBiz.
  7. Tyro link – safe, fast and easy EFTPOS link for streamlined sales.
  8. PC Eftpos link. This offers easy EFTPOS processing for the major banks.
  9. Easy buy now pay laterthanks to Zip Pay and Humm – that Boomers, Gen Y, Gen X and others are using more and more.
  10. Support – help desk access, unlimited training, updates and more.
  11. User documentation. Access to our searchable knowledge base.

The $199.00 is charged per 30 days, in advance. Access can be cancelled at any time. You can also choose to purchase the produce business POS software outright.

We have a structured and personalised on-boarding process, done in your business:

  1. A pre-installation training and information pack to help you be ready in your business and with hardware.
  2. Pre-installation planning. A structured phone meeting to plan the installation and to go over the training, ensuring we cover what matters to you and your team.
  3. On-site installation and training. On-site installation of and training in the Tower software anywhere in Australia for up to two days incl. travel.
  4. Data conversion. Conversion of all data possible (within reasonable time constraints). This is a two-step process:
    1. Pre-conversion. With your permission we extract data to be checked for layout and consistency.
    2. The conversion itself. This is done as part of software installation.
  5. Personal priority support. New user priority support through a specialist area of the new customer help desk.
  6. Personal post-installation follow-up. A separate structured call to check knowledge and use processes.
  7. All travel costs to and from the installation.

Here are some of the produce business specific benefits produce business owners and managers tell us they love about our software:

  1. Invoicing and account management – easily manage invoices and accounts: produce picking slips, feed data to Xero, account for freight.
  2. Trade pricing profiles for easy price management.
  3. Pre-orders – We make it easy for you to pre-sell stock.
  4. Special orders. Manage orders for specific customers.
  5. Awesome loyalty through which you can easily differentiate.
  6. Pricing profiles. You can set pricing rules based on types of customers.
  7. Seasonal reordering. Easily reorder inventory based on seasonal sales.
  8. Weatherproof labels.
  9. Loading electronic invoices from suppliers.
  10. An automated link to Shopify, Magento and Woo including images.

Melbourne Cup holiday

5 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

While our head office is closed today for the horse race that stops the nation, we are here taking calls and helping our customers. Our after hours numbers are active too as we know that many retailers are open today.

Produce business POS software benefits help drive business growth and productivity for these rural and regional retailers

4 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The Produce business POS software from Tower Systems is purpose built for produce / farm supply / stockfeed businesses. It serves these regional and rural diversified businesses in myriad ways, delivering benefits the business owners and managers love, benefits like:

  1. Time saving invoicing and account management – manage accounts in a way tailored to yourbusiness. You can easily account for freight, produce picking slips, manage accounts, feed data to Xero and MYOB and do more.
  2. Sell accurately by measure – by whole numbers orfractions.
  3. Sell by weight.
  4. Special orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
  5. Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to youfor this.
  6. Trade pricing profiles. You can set pricing rules based on types of customers.
  7. Pre-orders – We make it easy for you to pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  8. Bagging up feed – Easily manage bagging up a bulk feed delivery into smaller, saleable lots, while keeping accurate stock on hand data.
  9. Making your own feed mix. We help you track managing bulk quantity ingredients and mixing these into saleable packs of your own brand of seed mix. What an awesome point of difference for your business!
  10. Differentiate with informative receipts. These can include care, use and safety information based on what customers buy.
  11. Be accurate with all-weather product labels.
  12. Differentiate with bundles. Selling items bundled together makes price comparison hard.
  13. Market to customers based on past purchases.
  14. Save time by importing electronic invoices.
  15. Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
  16. Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
  17. Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
  18. Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software.

Working with suppliers to these businesses as well as with business owners and managers, Tower Systems has fine tuned its software to serve these businesses with robust and useful POS software that goes beyond traditional POS software. This is what matters to these highly specialised businesses.

More shop local collateral from us supporting indie retailers in a ship local pitch

3 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Advice for small business retailers on serving local shoppers

2 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Being local matters in small business. As a small business focussed POS software company, we understand. Here are ways for any local retail business to be more locally engaged.

  1. Be visable locally: at community events, cafes, restaurants, pubs, schools, walking, clubs and markets.
  2. Understand local. Learn the local terms, speak the lingo.
  3. Buy locally. It sends the wrong message if you pitch shop local yet you purchase stationery online and have it delivered or if you buy your pet food online and have it delivered. Source locally as much as possible and be obvious about it.
  4. Facilitate local connections. Have a local community noticeboard in-store.
  5. Provide local receipts. Use your receipts to share local information. This could be local advice relating to what you sell or other local insights that add value to the relationship with your business.
  6. Talk local. Where you source locally, show it with products. Note that local can be a flexible term. For example, you may have a product sourced from Australia that some would consider local if the alternative is an imported product.
  7. Give locally. Five local charities priority with your time and money ahead of non-local charities.
  8. Hire locally. When you place a notice looking for a new team member, note preference given to local candidates.
  9. Share local knowledge. If you sell provides the use of which would benefit from local knowledge, have that served automatically by your POS software on shopper receipts.
  10. Share local on your Facebook page. Talk about local activities on your business Facebook, show your local connection.
  11. Explain why local matters. When you pitch on your Facebook page or noticeboard your support for a charity, explain that it is through local community support that you are able to help the local community.
  12. Offer a locals only discount.

Too often small business retailers call for people to support local businesses. It can be more valuable if you show what local looks and feels like, so people in the community understand the benefit for them from supporting you.

To Tower Systems, local is small business. We only sell our software to small businesses because we believe in the importance of small business in any economy. Small businesses are our local community.

Gift shop POS software benefits help small business retailers

1 November, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The gift shop POS software from Tower Systems delivers valuable benefits that help gift shop retailers to run more enjoyable and successful locally focussed businesses.

Here are some of the benefits delivered through this gift shop POS software.

  1. Get one-time-only shoppers spending more thanks to an easy to pitch loyalty system embedded in the software.
  2. Leverage you. If you believe your knowledge is a differentiator, offer it through structured opportunities in the software.
  3. Encourage customer happiness by serving product care info. on receipts.
  4. Easily handle special customer orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
  5. Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software – including image flow.
  6. Go cashless if that is your goal – we make it easy and affordable.
  7. Save time with electronic invoices from suppliers.
  8. Use tags to get a fresh perspective, side-view, on stock performance.
  9. Bundle items together to make price comparisons harder and thereby increase sales.
  10. Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to youfor this.
  11. Trade and club pricing profiles. Set pricing rules based on customer type.
  12. Make money from pre-orders – Easily pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  13. Differentiate with informative receipts. These can include product care, use and safety information based on what customers buy.
  14. Track who sold what.
  15. Say goodbye to LayBy – with integrated buy now pay later options.
  16. Market to customers based on past purchases.
  17. Save time by importing electronic invoices.
  18. Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
  19. Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
  20. Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.

Tower Systems is not an average POS software company. We are a small business, indie business, focussed POS software company developing valuable and valued POS software in Australia and New Zealand for Australian and New Zealand based specialty retailers.

Our specialisation in serving gift shop retailers is focussed, delivering specialty software for these specialty local and independents retailers.

Happy halloween

31 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

It’s Halloween in Australia. We have been helping retailers celebrate. Here is a terrific poster from our in-house creative team that was created for one group. Boo!

Awesome Retailer Roam, portable POS software

30 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Retailer Roam from Tower Systems is the perfect App for retailers on the move, who want to sell anywhere, anytime, even while there is no internet access. This is truly portable POS software for indie retail businesses.

Helping newsagents navigate the challenges of change in print media

29 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

For many years, at the Australian Newsagency Blog, we have offered advice, support, opinion and guidance to small business newsagents, helping them to navigate changes and embrace opportunities in their channel.

As the POS software company with more newsagents as customers than all the competition combined we are invested.

Last week, Bauer Media announced their planned take over of the Pacific Magazines business. Here is a post from the Newsagency Blog, by us abut this:

What could the Bauer acquisition of Pacific Magazines mean for newsagents?

While there are regulatory processes to play out and finalisation is anticipated to be months away, the news yesterday that Bauer Media and Seven West Media had reached agreement for Bauer to acquire Pacific has captured the attention of plenty in our channel.

The most common question in emails and calls that I received yesterday from newsagents was what does this mean for us?

I think asking this question now is late. I say this because rationalisation of print media businesses has been happening for some years and has been discussed widely here and elsewhere in our channel.

If you are asking today what it means, you are already behind. If this is you, I encourage you to invest time now to catch up.

If the Bauer / Pacific news has come at a shock and you are wondering about the impact, act now, make decisions that focus on propelling your business forward. No supplier will do this for you – putting your business first in every decision.

While I don’t know what a Bauer acquisition of Pacific will or could mean, we can reasonably speculate that there will be changes over time. It cannot 100% be business as usual.There will have to be changes given the challenges faced by some of the titles involved. One benefit of single ownership of an expanded stable of titles at Bauer would be co-ordinated management of all titles. This could mean less cannibalisation between competing titles through more thoughtful and complementary coverage.

Many of us in the newsagency channel have been actively working on chasingnet new traffic for categories outside of legacy product categories for our channel for years. There have been hits and misses through. Such is the experience of chasing change.

There is no doubt we are in a period of extraordinary change in print media. Change is being driven by how news is delivered into our hands, how and when we engage with news and information, what constitutes news and entertainment, what people will and will not pay for, who is a publisher (all of us?) and how print mastheads and stories are packaged and priced.

The Australian market is small. I think that is a factor playing out here too. Print media products need critical mass. We miss that in some markets here.

Thinking about what could change as a result of the announced acquisition… It would not surprise me to see: the days of magazine delivery changed, maybe to one a week; the closure of some weekly titles; the launch of a new weekly title; changes in monthly titles; greater accessibility for over the counter purchase of titles.

What should matter most to newsagents today is focus of the business changing net new shopper traffic, broadening the shopper appeal through new products, driving overall business GP%, growing online sales so the business is less reliant on local shoppers and chasing opportunities through pursuing what we don’t know our businesses can achieve.

The Bauer / Pacific announcement is an encouragement for us to work on our businesses, to pursue change, to make our businesses more valuable in the future.

All of this, of course, means more focus away from the newsagency shingle.

Fishing, bait and tackle POS software helps local retailers grow their businesses

28 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The fishing, bait and tackle business POS software from Tower Systems is purpose built for these businesses. It is rich in functionality unique to these businesses, enabling them to leverage their specialisation in their local communities.

This is what vertical market POS software is … software highly customised and tuned to the needs of a specifically retail market. It is specialty software for businesses that serve in specialty retail niches.

Fishing, bait and tackle businesses are specialty retail businesses. They offer unique products and services, for the local community and those fishing in the local community. They are niche businesses. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve them with niche software.

Our fishing shop software is truly niche, offering facilities that are fit for purpose, facilities such as:

  1. Selling products such as bait by weight.
  2. Sell by fractions. Often, products to two decimal places are sold – we track this.
  3. Offering local fishing location advice auto-served on receipts.
  4. Selling fishing licences.
  5. Selling rod / reel / lure etc bundle packs.
  6. Tracking and managing repairs.
  7. Tracking serial numbers for high-end serial numbered products.
  8. Offering fishing club deals and specials.
  9. Enabling selling at local fishing events without the need to take the POS software … thanks to the Retailer Roam software that serves in this space.
  10. Receiving invoices from suppliers in electronic form.
    Handling season catalogues and accurately tracking price and product details.

Here are other reasons the fishing, bait and tackle POS software from Tower Systems is good for local fishing and outdoors businesses:

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

Fresh thank you for shopping local collateral from us

27 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Free collateral created by us for indie retailers in our community.

Shopify connects POS software solution for small business retailers

26 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Here at tower Systems we develop POS software and we develop websites. Our web development is done in Magento, WooCommerce and Shopify. In each case, our websites are seamlessly connected to our indie retail focusses POS software.

We offer fixed price quotes for web development, for beautiful sites for any type of retail business connected to our POS software.

Quoting on web development can be inexact as changes to the requirements can develop over the course of a project. In any proposal from us, we seek to mitigate risk and provide certainty on which you can rely for us to deliver the specific outcomes noted. However, the proposal is based on our understanding of your needs.

If any customer feels we have missed anything in a proposal, please advise as it will impact the quoted price.

We provide a complete written proposal that addresses all the questions we are usually asked and questions we asked ourselves when developing our own websites for our businesses and businesses in which we have a share.

While much web development for Australian businesses is done either by individuals working from home or outsourced overseas, our web development work is undertaken by our team, working full time for us, here in Australia. The challenge is, this makes it more expensive.

A web developer in an outsource location can cost as little as 10% of professional Australian developer costs. Australian developed websites are more expensive. It is why our quote comes in at the price it does. In our experience using outsource people ourselves on unrelated projects – you do get what you pay for.

Senior management of Tower Systems oversees all our web development work.

  1. Our in-house web team is led by an experienced IT professional who also has retail experience out of our head office. They are a skilled IT professional who has worked with us for three years. They come from a help desk and retail background and understands the software and how a website connected to a POS should be implemented. You will have direct access to them through this development process.
  1. Our leadership team, COO and CEO, personally oversee the web development projects for clients as we want to ensure that we deliver on our promises and that we provide our customers with a commercially valuable outcome.

Kicking off the weekend with a trade show for pet related retailers

25 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

We are grateful for the opportunity to be at the Eastern Distribution buying event in Melbourne tonight … showing off our POS software for pet stores. www.towersystems.com.au/pet-shops

The only Australian developed software for jewellers

25 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Tower Systems offers the only Australian developed and supported jeweller POS software.

We make what we sell. Our jeweller software is 100% ours. This matters because we can offer a level of support, training and assistance beyond because it is our product, made for jewellers, made to help jewellers run more efficient, valuable and enjoyable businesses.

While other businesses sell jeweller software in Australia, from what we have seen nit is software from overseas, made by others, maintained by others and controlled by others.

Here at Tower Systems we make what we sell and we stand by it and ensure that it serves the needs of our customers.

This matters to jewellers. Our software offers a solution for local market needs. This is differentiating for us. It is also differentiating for jewellers as they can leverage tools that help them focus on delivering local solutions for local shoppers – this helps with shopper outreach and service.

The Tower Systems Jeweller POS software is innovative, flexible and deeply tailored to the needs of local jewellers. We provide a platform of tools for efficient and creative business management and marketing.

Here are benefits jewellers using our jeweller POS software tell us they love:

  1. Easily and accurately sell items by weight or length.
  2. Track serial numbers of what you sell.
  3. Include your own product care information on receipts.
  4. Buy now pay later integration for over the counter sales.
  5. Automate reminders and offers for birthdays & anniversaries.
  6. Automated workshop management tools including text message & email notifications save time.
  7. Benefit from advanced stock performance metrics and tagging.
  8. Easily bulk manage inventory.
  9. Sexy jeweller specific hardware.
  10. Portable POS software on iPad, Surface or similar to sell anywhere, any time.
  11. Reduce the headache of lay-bys with several buy now pay later options.
  12. Perform effortless stocktakes, orders and sales on your phone or tablet.
  13. Save money on bookkeeping by integrating with accounting software.
  14. Offer an online catalogue easily (Shopify, Magento & WooCommerce).
  15. Bring customers back more often with our unique loyalty tools.
  16. Load electronic invoices from suppliers.

We are grateful to the hundreds of jewellers in our jeweller POS software user community today. Their advice, support and encouragement are inspiration to us daily. Thank you.

Helping Australian newsagents transform their businesses

24 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

Tower Systems through its newsagency software as well as through its ownership of the newsXpress newsagency marketing group is helping Aussie newsagents transform their newsagency businesses.

Through smart tech tools in the POS software, website connectivity as well as in-store management guidance and out of store marketing, newsXpress is delivering terrific benefits to members and helping newsagents find a good path through a period of extraordinary change.

The days of the old newsagency is Australia are over as new and exciting businesses emerge. These new model businesses are offering less in the way of old-school newsagency products and more in the areas of exciting, innovative and fun products that serve consumers today and into the future.

Speaking at a recent newsagent forum, the newsXpress pitch was simple:

We give newsagents hope by providing options for finding new customers, by helping to farewell out of date practices and by providing access to better margin products. We help newsagents enjoy their businesses more and make them more valuable. This is what we do at newsXpress every day … because, we believe in local small business retail. We are not locked into the shingle of the past. On the horizon, we see a bright future.

Here are 15 things newsXpress offers newsagents. While the full lis is considerably longer, these 15 often matter to newsagents looking for immediate boost in their business.

  1. Access to more than 100 preferred suppliers offering discounts off invoice from 5% to 25% and covering key categories including: gifts, plush, toys, stationery, cards and jewellery.
  2. A monthly DEALS envelope with extra special deals from newsXpress preferred suppliers.
  3. Valuable prizes for major seasons – where one of your customers wins a prize. The total newsXpress Father’s Day prizes worth more than $55,000.
  4. A loyalty program that drives card sales – 100% funded by newsXpress.
  5. Merchandise buying advice based on your own business sales data.
  6. Exclusive product opportunities for highly sought-after products.
  7. Information that helps you sell some products faster than your competitors.
  8. In-store business management advice, training and support.
  9. Regular capital city and regional member meetings where you can network with colleagues and tap into more excellent ideas.
  10. Help in controlling magazine supply.
  11. Free labour rate and other employee management advice from a skilled industrial relations lawyer.
  12. Discount shop insurance.
  13. Marketing support from regular newsXpress funded Facebook and other social media marketing.
  14. Christmas and key seasons catalogues offering excellent value for quality products with good margins – not chasing fickle low price low margin sales.
  15. That everything is optional– newsXpress members engage as they want.

While the traditional Australian newsagency is a thing of the past, newsXpress and Tower Systems are offering newsagents a path to a bright future through opportunities and options from the newsXpress portfolio.

New POS software Q&A for small business retailers

23 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

We participated win another Q&A recently where we answered questions act our POS software and its service of the needs of small business retailers.

Here is part of the Q&A, taking you further into the solutions and service of Tower Systems through our POS software.

Do you have an online strategy for retailers in a group?

Yes. We can link stores together through one or more national websites to efficiently win business for local stores. Through this, we can provide stores with a dashboard to facilitate management of fulfilment. Alternatively, we can deliver local store websites for individual group members.

Does your software link direct to Shopify?

Yes. Plus, we link directly with Magento and WooCommerce (WordPress).

Do images flow automatically to a website connected to the business?

Yes.

Does your software link direct to Xero?

Yes. We are a Xero partner.

Can we sell gift cards and can I scan them?

Yes and yes. This is easy, fast, safe and secure. Guided by CPA advice, our approach to gift cards is best practice.

Can I alter a LayBy?

Yes. This is easy. It is also safe with an audit trail maintained.

Can I discount sales?

Yes. You can discount the whole sale or individual items. You can set this to be automatic for customers too thanks to discount profiles.

Can I print my own price labels?

Yes. You can print a single label or a group, easily. Plus, you have control over the design of the label.

Can I bulk edit stock records?

Yes. Our Stock Manager gives you powerful yet safe stock record editing tools that can save you hours of time.

Can I change supplier when ordering product?

Yes. Alternatively, you can easily turn this feature off.

Can I sell by weight?

Yes.

I have customers who want quotes, can the software do this?

Yes. And, you can convert a quote into a sale easily.

Do you come to my shop to train me?

Yes.

After the system is installed can I get more training?

Yes, it’s free.

Can I add an item or items to an invoice once it is entered?

Yes. Plus, you can decide if you want this password protected.

Do you integrate with buy now pay later?

Yes. We integrate with Humm, Zip Pay and Zip Money. Watch this space for more news soon as this is a rapidly changing area.

Does your software help reduce customer theft?

Yes, we have structured tools that help you identify theft and this is the best starting point to acting to reduce theft.

Does your software help reduce employee theft?

Yes. We have hidden tracking tools that we share only with business owners. Plus, we have been used by police to help with investigations and crown prosecutors in trials.

Does your software help me compare supplier performance?

Yes.

Can I sell fishing licences and other vouchers using the software?

Yes, for the states for which electronic licences are available through Touch Networks, a company with which we integrate.

Can I share local knowledge on receipts?

Yes. We think your local knowledge and connections are assets to be leveraged for the differentiation of your business.

Does your software offer loyalty tools?

Yes. We offer multiple approaches to loyalty, offering you flexibility. We back these with business training and expertise to help you maximise return.

POS software integrations help small business retailers

22 October, 2019 / / 0 Comments

The Tower Systems POS software offers small business retailers access to valuable and financially beneficial integrations that help these retailers to win more business.

Here are some of the integrations we offer. We say some as there are more that are classified, for commercial reasons. There are those who like to copy us so we figure why make it easy for them. Ha!

  1. E-COMMERCE: Magento. WooCommerce / WordPress. These are direct through partnership relationships, to the deepest level, delivering the best seamless functionality. Plus, for others, generic.
  2. ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE: Xero – this is genuinely direct. We are a Xero partner. Plus, we use Xero ourselves in businesses that we own.  MYOB. Quicken. Both of these are through a 3rdparty platform.
  3. EFTPOS: Tyro. Quest. DPS/Payment Express NZ. PCEftpos.
  4. BUY NOW PAY LATER: Humm. Zip Pay / Zip Money.
  5. TEXT MESSAGING: Message Media. Message Net
  6. OUR OWN ADD-ONS: Visual desk – smart and portable reporting.  Make My Appointment – calendar booking. Retailer Roam – sell anywhere.
  7. ANCILLARY: Federal government approved scale int.  Fuel / Postec. Touch Phonecards.

These are desktop and cloud hosted POS software integrations. For our e-commerce solutions, consumer facing websites, we offer substantially more integrations that go to a new level and deliver substantially more benefits. Our integration strategy for web is comprehensive, deep and flexible, in service off our customers who take their retail businesses online.

Integrations matter to businesses in this time of mass integration. We are on a cross platform world and POS software that integrates offers terrific flexibility to retailers working in spaces where integrations can be beneficial.

Since we develop the software we sell, lease and rent, we are in control of what we do and how we do it. We are not relying on another party to do the integration work. This makes us more flexible for and accountable to our customers.

Delivering integrations to our customers matters as we are in a  position to help them find new customers for their businesses by offering better services seamlessly across more platforms. Flexibility is key today and we are proud to be delivering this through our POS software and the POS software connected websites that we develop0 and deploy.

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