The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

ArchiveJanuary 2015

Comparing specialist bike shop software to Retail Manager from MYOB

January 9, 2015
3 Min read
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The Tower Systems specialist bike shop software plays in a completely different field to MYOB’s Retail Manager software.  While both software packages offer Point of Sale facilities, only our software offers facilities which serve the needs of today’s specialist bike retailer.

MYOB’s Retail Manager is a successful mass market package and therefore remains generic in the services it provides.  This is how they keep their price down, by not offering specialist facilities.  It is a business model which has served them well.

We have gone the other way and created specialist bike shop software because we understand that this will help bike retailers make more money from their businesses.  Bike retailers can leverage our specialist facilities to drive revenue and build businesses of greater value for when they decide to sell.

Specialist bike retailers see themselves and quite different to mass merchant bike retailers.  One way of leveraging their specialist focus and services is through specialist bike shop software.  Those who don’t see their business as different opt for mass merchant software and miss an opportunity to drive their unique selling proposition at every opportunity.

Here are some of the bike shop specialist areas where our software is quite different to the generic MYOB and other software:

  • Loyalty marketing.  Bike customers are more valuable than the first tracking.  By tracking purchases through a robust loyalty management and marketing system, bike retailers using our Tower Systems software are able to extract greater value from each customer.
  • Text message customer communication.  Letting customers know when repairs are ready to be collected, special orders have arrived in-store and special offers are available helps better connect specialist bike retailers and their customers.  MYOB does not have these facilities.
  • Multi store facilities.  Centralised internet based multi store facilities.  What we offer beats the current MYOB offer hands down.
  • Supplier connection.  By connecting with key bike shop suppliers, processing electronic invoices and creating electronic orders, we are helping bike retailers cut labour costs.  This makes our software considerably more valuable than generic software when it comes to managing business payroll.
  • Theft management.  By connecting the bike shop software with a sophisticated security camera system, bike shop owners are able to leverage better management of the employee and customer theft risks.  This is another difference between generic POS software and our specialist bike shop software.
  • Serial number tracking.  A full service bike shop wants to provide a more professional and complete service to the mass merchants.  Serial number tracking is one such example.  This can help with insurance claims.  It can also ease the registering of the purchase with the manufacturer.
  • Repairs management.  Tracking a repair from when it is presented to when it is collected can be a real time saver for a bike shop.  Doing this work manually costs time and leads to mistakes.  MYOB offers no such facility.
  • Managing custom built products.  Being able to track the assembling of a number of items and labour into a saleable product is important for a specialist bike retailer.  MYOB cannot handle this.

Bike retailers who see their business as different to that of a mass merchant selling bikes prefer software which respects and supports their difference.  This is the Tower Systems AdvantageTM.

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Beautiful software helps jewellers enjoy their businesses

January 8, 2015
2 Min read
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Jewellers who choose software designed specifically for a jewellery shop have more benefits to gain for their businesses than those who choose a generic everyday POS product for their business.

Whereas there everyday POS software is designed to serve the needs of any retail business, good POS software designed for a jewellery shop has facilities specific to that type of business.

Jeweller specific facilities are important if your jeweller shop is to more effectively compete in a robust retail online and high street retail environment.

Jeweller specific facilities in good jeweller software that can benefit a jeweller retail business include:

  1. Customer LayBy or Lay Away facilities.
  2. Employee sales tracking.
  3. Shopper loyalty – in various forms and to a range of standards.
  4. Electronic invoice support from jeweller suppliers.
  5. Printing specialist jeweller labels.
  6. Handling diamond and other stone details.
  7. Serving the need to make up and item such as a ring from metals, stones, clasps and labour.
  8. Supporting bundling items into gift packs.
  9. Seasonal catalogues such as for Christmas.

Plus much more.

Good software designed specifically for jewellery businesses can help a jeweller make far more from their software investment than they would make from an everyday retail POS software package even if the everyday POS software package is much cheaper.

Tower Systems specialises in providing jewellers with beautiful software.www.towersystems.com.au. 

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Tower Systems at CES in Las Vegas

January 8, 2015
1 Min read
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intelFrom in-home innovation to retail innovation to tech trendy to geekery, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year is proving to be an exciting playground for the Tower Systems representatives we have there.

While CES is an opportunity to meet with hardware suppliers, it is more about spotting trends and considering these in the context of what we do with small and independent retailers and specific marketplaces in which we serve.

The trip is proving to be a good opportunity to network with some Australians attending this year.

Taking time out of the day to day to consider future possibilities is useful, especially at the start of the year.

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Australian magazine publishers encouraged to improve barcode placement consistency

January 7, 2015
1 Min read
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Screen Shot 2014-12-31 at 11.29.09 amThe Australian Newsagency Blog has called on Australian magazine publishers to locate barcodes in a consistent place on magazine covers.

We support this push. It would improve sales efficiency and cut returns processing time for our 1,850+ newsagency business customers.

The current placement of barcodes costs newsagents and other retailers time and money. The proposed change would benefit all stakeholders. This is why Tower Systems supports it.

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Tower Systems the industry standard garden centre software

January 6, 2015
1 Min read
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Now serving close to 100 garden centres and nursery businesses nationally, Tower Systems is established as the industry standard garden centre software.

Garden centres use the software in a range of areas from inside the shop to outside where plant stock are managed.

Regularly enhanced in close consultation with garden centre business owners and managers, the Tower Systems garden centre software is used in many areas in a business including (but not limited to):

  • Track retail sales.
  • Manage and encourage employees.
  • Market to customers.
  • Manage stock.
  • Link to multiple loyalty systems / programs.
  • Reorder from suppliers.
  • Receive electronic invoices from suppliers.
  • Provide plant care information for customers.
  • Manage LayBys.
  • manage and track services provided.
  • Manage bundling of products for single package sale.

This is specialist software developed specifically for garden centres in Australia and New Zealand. In 2015 new releases will further extend the reach of the software, making it even more useful.

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New POS software training opportunities

January 5, 2015
1 Min read
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We have been developing new content for our weekly online training workshops for retailers using our POS software.

In the next round of training opportunities to be released in the coming weeks you will see many new topics including these four:

  • How employees steal from retailers. Secrets from our top investigator and expert witness. Hosted by our COO Gavin Williams and for business owners only.
  • Basic hardware troubleshooting tips. Tips on how to fix basic hardware issues from our expert technical Services Manager Simon May.
  • Learning our POS software for Mandarin speaking users. Hosted by Jeremy To, our Mandarin speaking help desk expert.
  • Retailer software settings you will be shocked you have access to. Hold desk expert Colin Harris will show you settings you most likely don;t know exist that can help your enjoyment of the software

These sessions and the others yet to be announced will provide fresh training opportunities for our retail business partners in 2015. We are excited to be offering fresh practical training for small business retailers and through this to demonstrate our commitment to driving business performance as well as business efficiency.

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Another good weekend of POS software support

January 5, 2015
1 Min read
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I can’t thank you enough. I know I made a mistake not having virus protection and your people helped me anyway.

One of our POS software customers this weekend was hit with a virus and we helped them overcome the resulting challenges. Their appreciation was terrific. Kudos for a job well done by one of our team members.

We are proud here at Tower Systems of the dedicated team of professionals who care for our customers.

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Sunday retail management advice: professional management of the sales counter

January 4, 2015
2 Min read
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In our work with small business retailers we have been fortunate to see many different sales counter situations. The best retail sales counters are the ones run in a structured and professional way.

We are often asked for advice on management of the counter. Here are nine points of advice for counter management (outside of direct sales) which our customers have found useful. This list is our retail management advice today.

  1. No food or drink to be visible to customers unless it is packaged and for sale.
  2. No personal staff items like bags, purses, wallets or mobile phones to be visible at the counter.
  3. Clean the counter at least every day.
  4. From the customer side, remove all products from the counter once a week, clean and rebuild.
  5. Keep counter messages, signs and notes that shoppers see to a minimum. Every note, sign or message must have a purpose that speaks to the mission of your business.
  6. When employees purchase from the business have them purchase from the customer side of the counter.
  7. Have a rule on how many people you have behind the counter at any time. Too often retail employees use the counter as a refuge. More impulse purchases are achieved by working the shop floor than at the counter.
  8. Dramatically change your counter at least once every three months – as much for your team as for your customers.
  9. When assessing the counter for product placement, cleanliness and being on-topic, do so from the customer side. How it looks from behind the counter is far less relevant than from the customer side.

In helping retailers use our Point of Sale software we often find ourselves helping beyond the technology. Developing and sharing this list is one example of our broader help of small business retailers.

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No vacation here

January 3, 2015
1 Min read
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Tower Systems is not one person or even a few people. Tower Systems is a team of IT and customer services professionals working together to deliver to small and independent retailers excellent POS software backed by excellent service.

Through the year when people take a break to refresh and recharge other team members step in to ensure continuity of service. Our services continue right through, even this blog and our other public facing contact points.

Being available regardless of individual leave situations is essential in any business serving small business retailers as these businesses themselves never close.

Customer service is as much about easy contact access as it is about the knowledge shared. Often we find contact is about talking through questions and processes more so than problems as such.

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POS software support kudos: thanks for being human

January 2, 2015
1 Min read
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Thanks for being human.

This is what one happy customer calling our after hours POS software help desk line said. Earlier on Jan. 1, 2015 they had called their bank and their internet service provider and got lost in the maze of automated phone systems. With us, the phone was answered by a human and the question was quickly answered.

We loved their response to our service.

Thanks for being human.

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Pet shop software helps pet retailers connect with suppliers

January 2, 2015
1 Min read
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Pet shops using the pet shop software from Tower Systems are enjoying access to electronic invoices for easy and accurate arrival of new stock.

Eliminating the need to manually type in invoice details certainly saves time in pet shops. More important than the time saving though is the certainty of data accuracy. Accurate data feeds into better quality business decisions for the pet shop businesses and with their suppliers.

Tower Systems has a program of consistency for connecting pet retailers and their suppliers through electronic stock files and invoices. The company has a structured approach through which it brings on new suppliers – to ensure their data meets appropriate standards for serving the needs of pet retailers.

2015 will see more pet shop suppliers join the Tower EDI community.

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Newsagency sales benchmark study announced

January 1, 2015
1 Min read
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Tower Systems has announced details of its next newsagency sales benchmark study – covering trade from October through december 2014 and compared to trade in 2014.

The Tower newsagency sales benchmark is the most comprehensive study of newsagency shopping basket data. It is also the longest running benchmark study.

All Tower newsagents have been invited to participate in the latest benchmark study. the results will be published later this month.

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