The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

ArchiveMay 2015

Tower Systems helps small business retailers benefit from the immediate asset write-off in the federal budget

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Screen Shot 2015-05-12 at 8.58.58 pmTower Systems has begun an education campaign for small business retailers in Australia in selected specialist retail channels outlining how they can benefit from the immediate asset write-off opportunity announced in the federal budget last night.

Retail businesses turning over $2 million a year or less can immediately write off the purchase of our Point of Sale solution.

Our software delivers the productivity benefits the federal government is keen to see small businesses access.

How POS software can help small business retailers avoid dead stock costs

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POS software can do more for small business retailers than they may think. Good POS software, like that from Tower Systems, goes deep into the business, away from the sales counter, helping in many ways.

Help with avoiding and clearing dead stock.

  1. Know for certain what is not selling.
  2. Know how suppliers perform against each other and use this in your buying to reduce dead stock.
  3. Offer deals which make old stock look appealing such as BUY X and GET Y.
  4. Bundle products together into a package deal hamper to make them more appealing.
  5. Run time based sales.
  6. Know what sells with what and place on the shop floor accordingly.
  7. Use evidence in your data to negotiate with suppliers on dead stock.
  8. Include bonus offers to customers passively on receipts – marketing after they leave the shop.

How POS software can help small business retailers manage employees more effectively

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POS software can do more for small business retailers than they may think. Good POS software, like that from Tower Systems, goes deep into the business, away from the sales counter, helping in many ways.

Help with managing employees.

  1. Easily create rosters and share these with employees how and where they want.
  2. Track sales by employees.
  3. Track sales by time – allowing shift comparisons.
  4. How employees understand performance in the context of what they can do to help the business and themselves.
  5. Cut time taken on everyday tasks such as end of shift.
  6. Eliminate often frustrating tasks such as the daily backup.
  7. Give employees information that helps them more effectively serve the business.
  8. Bring certainty to the counter and help employees be more consistent.
  9. Provide employees with vital information about products so they can be consistently knowledgeable.

How POS software can help small business retailers in lease negotiations

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POS software can do more for small business retailers than they may think. Good POS software, like that from Tower Systems, goes deep into the business, away from the sales counter, helping in many ways.

Help with lease negotiations.

Landlords want facts when negotiating new leases, especially if a tenant is seeking a change in terms. Thanks to the metrics in our POS software, our customers have ready access to accurate data such as shopper traffic, basket depth, shopper efficiency, space efficiency among others. These and other data points help retailers to be more informed in landlord negotiations.

Thanks to our retail experience we also help retailers assemble information from the POS software so retailers can put forward the best case possible. We have done this many times working with retailers in different channels and different retail situations and even talking directly to their landlord to provide certainty and confidence as to the accuracy and value of the business data.

Sunday retail management advice: challenge your POS software help desk advice

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Sometimes, POS software help desk advice is not right. It could be they did not understand the question, that you did not completely explain the question or that they got it plain wrong.

A good POS software help desk will offer a structured escalation process where you can take any concern and have it considered away from the help desk. Such an escalation process will involve senior management and have at its heart good communication.

Tower Systems has a structured escalation process with three points of escalation outside of the help desk function. Customers can use this or they can bypass a step as all contact points in the escalation process are published regularly.

Tower customers can speak directly with the owner of the business, Mark Fletcher, on 0418 321 338.

We encourage customers to challenge help desk advice to ensure that the advice is right for the actual question or problem. This can be done in a respectful way with the outcome always on ensuring the best possible customer service experience.

Retailers who actively engage with the POS software help desk process usually achieve a more meaningful and valuable outcome for themselves and their business.

POS software customer: I love your training!

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We were thrilled to be able to catch up with a Tower Systems POS software customer some months after their installation so see how things were going.

I love your training, just love it. What they did in the shop was fantastic but it’s the videos I really love.

I love that I can get my staff to watch them and track their progress.

I know the importance of training and thanks to your videos I am seeing improvements in performance.

Better still, these videos help me make more money.

Tower Systems offers access to more than 130 professional videos for use by customers at any time and from anywhere. These videos significantly enhance the Tower customer experience.

Our video training library is part of a comprehensive training program of in-store, over the phone, group and local workshop training. Our offer is comprehensive and constantly evolving based on customer feedback.

The new approach to stock take using POS software

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Demonstrating its commitment to innovation, the latest release of POS software from Tower Systems offers a completely new stock take facility.

Completely re-designed from the ground up, this new stocktaking facility works as well with tablets as it does on your traditional desktop.

Packed with new features, this new stock take facility is available for the end of financial year stock take retailers will undertake over the next two months.

Tower Systems is committed to providing its small business retail partners a continuously improving POS software experience through considerable investment in software development.

Excellent pet industry conference for Tower Systems

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IMG_6331Tower Systems has had an excellent three days this week at a major pet industry trade show where our software was presented on the trade show floor as well as from the conference floor where the business benefits of the Tower software were discussed explored.

A big thrill of many or those representing Tower Systems at this important event was the enduring friendships made. What a wonderful experience.

Using POS software to drive preorders

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prePreorders are important in several specialist retail businesses. They can help you lock-in shoppers long before product is available. Offering the service is often appreciated, especially by collectors who want to be first with a new product in their area of collection.

Using smart facilities in our POS software, retailers are able to easily manage preorders from payment to order tracking to customer communication.

Our preorder facilities are all about helping retailers grow their businesses and ensuring they do not lose sales.

The more structured your processes around special orders and preorders the more support you will achieve from customers.

Developed with retailers specialising in preorders, the Tower POS software serves this need well.

How POS software helps small business retailers from the front door to the back office

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Software is only as valuable to a business as the contribution it makes. This contribution can be measured in time and money for its from these two that all other benefits flow. Here are ways our point of sale software will help gift shops, jewellers, bike retailers, pet shops and more make more money and free time

  1. Better customer service. Our software guides the sales process and gathers all necessary information, freeing retail staff for selling.
  2. Saving time. Using our software, sales are processed quickly. As retailers ourselves we have focused on delivering fast and efficient processing for sales.
  3. Reducing theft. Stores without a POS system are more susceptible to employee theft. In fact nearly 50% of retail shrinkage comes from employee theft. Our software can help to significantly reduce or eliminate these occurrences. We draw your attention to suspicious behaviour. For more security, you can password protect any area that you do not want employees to be able to access.
  4. Better decisions. We provide access to real-time information. Whether you have one store or 30 stores, you have instant and up to the minute access to sales numbers, stock, margins and more. This ability to have instant and accurate information enables you to make the absolute most out of your investment.
  5. Increased sales. In many ways throughout the business we help with this.
  6. After sales marketing. Using our loyalty program you send targeted letters, emails, and direct mail to customers based on purchases and other criteria. We have several loyalty options.
  7. Payment integration. With integrated Eftpos you can un clutter the counter, streamline sales processing and make record keeping easier. Time and money saved.
  8. Reduced mistakes. Using our software you can cut paperwork and this cuts mistakes. You can rely on the software to advise sales data and thereby stop you buying products which are not selling. Good retailing begins with good buying.
  9. Better integration with suppliers. Thanks to the supplier links in our software you are able to give suppliers data in return for better deals. There are many case studies in our files of this working to the benefit of our retail customers. Good retailing begins with good buying.

POS software training videos loved by small business retailers and retail employees

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trainingvideosTower Systems offers retailers using its POS software free access to a video training portal where the software can be learned at the pace of the learner.

Retailers love this training resource. They love that they can tap into training anytime anywhere. They also love that the training is arranged by curriculum. They love that they can track employee progress.

With more than 130 professional videos, the owner training resource is valuable and extensive – with new videos added this year.

This resource alone is a reason some retailers join our community.

Looking forward to the Just For Pets conference.

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We have a sizeable team flying to Hobart today for the national Just For Pets conference. Just For Pets is a pet retail buying, marketing and management group. We are proud to be their pet shop software partner.

We will have our new Pet Shop software on show at the conference along with insights and assistances to help the Just For Pets retailers get more from their Tower Systems software.

Our involvement kicks off tonight at the welcome function which we are sponsoring.

Small business retailers love free POS software training

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Screen Shot 2015-04-27 at 6.33.19 amHow do you know which software company is the best? beyond the software itself, after sales service is the key. Tower Systems is a leader in the field of consistently good, engaged and valuable after sales service.

For years, Tower Systems has offered free weekly live training workshops – accessible online. They continue today.

Hot topics soon book up. Tower Systems responds by adding more sessions. Our customers love this. We love it too!

Sunday retail management tip: small business retail success starts with good measurement

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Measurement is key to the success of any retail business. This is especially true for small retail businesses.

Measuring sales, stock, employees and suppliers is mission critical.

Without accurate and consistent measurement, you are not able to make good business decisions or to hold others to account for their actions.

By measuring you can make better decisions.

Here are some simple rules for accurate measurement in retail:

  1. Only sell what you can track – by scanning a barcode or pressing a PLU (stock code) to track the item.
  2. Do not use department keys to sell items as this denies you the opportunity of tracking individual items you sell.
  3. Enter into your computer system everything you sell. Record stock you receive by supplier so that you can track supplier performance.
  4. Enter into your computer system everything you return to suppliers – consignment stock, returns or damaged goods.
  5. Record all sales and other activity at the sales register by employees.
  6. Reorder replenishment stock using your software to create orders for you.

If you are not tracking it you cannot manage it.

By making your business data driven you are better equipped to take the emotion and gut feel out of business decisions. This will improve decision quality and accountability and, hopefully, the return you achieve from these decisions.

Businesses which do not measure stock, suppliers, employees and sales accurately often find themselves faltering without knowing why – because they have no accurate data on which to base research.

Tower Systems promotes Newsagency of the Future workshops

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Tower Systems is funding Newsagency of the Future workshops for more cities. These sessions will explore changes which will affect the newsagency channel in the next few years, new traffic opportunities and changes newsagents can make today to improve their future. They will also spend time on the magazine supply model and open discussion about the proposed magazine supply rule changes.

Each session is free and open to any newsagent. The dates are as follows:

Click on the link for each city to book or book by emailing bookings@towersystems.com.au.

There will be more locations and dates added including TAS, WA, Cairns and Newcastle.

Our goal is for you to have practical steps you can take right away and new information to consider in your business planning.

What is unique about the Tower Systems jeweller software?

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The Tower Systems software for jewellers is unique in a number of ways. here are some of them:

  1. We are a software company, not a consulting business using software as a mechanism for driving consulting fees.
  2. We are in your business. Not a contractor we hire, not over the phone, when we install the system we do it in your business, working with you.
  3. Second-hand goods. These facilities have been developed with jewellers and authorities so you have the right records on hand.
  4. These facilities have been developed to help you streamline workflow and keep in close contact with customers throughout.
  5. Manufactured goods. From concept to manufacture, you can manage and track what you make for whom and when. This is a billing and management asset.
  6. Lay-by. Our Lay-by facilities have been developed in close consultation with jewellers, making them unique and comprehensive.
  7. We offer more facilities than any other system. These offer you flexibility for driving purchases in the current visit and for bringing shoppers back more often.
  8. You have access to extraordinary customisation through settings, enabling you to represent your business how you want.
  9. Embedded in our software are facilities for tracking how the software is used. This enables us to help you reduce employee theft.
  10. Retail focussed. A challenge of retail is to uncover opportunities early. Smart reports in the Tower software unlock information about opportunities in your business on which you can rely for business planning.

Free POS software workshop: The New Loyalty

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LoyaltyComing soon to capital cities and regional centres: The New Loyalty, a FREE workshop on an innovative approach to loyalty in retail comparing, points, BOGO, 2fer, buyXgetY and other shopper loyalty programs. This is an EXCLUSIVE event from Tower Systems for any retailer.

This workshop will take retailers being the scenes and share data from a range of businesses, showing how a good loyalty program is helping retail businesses grow in highly competitive situations.

Tower Systems at Hong Kong Gift Fair

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IMG_5968Tower Systems has been represented at the Hong Kong Gift & Premium Fair this week meeting with Australian gift suppliers and Australian gift retailers. This has been an excellent opportunity to spot trends and explore fresh opportunities for our gift retail partners back in Australia.

While we are not gift products wholesalers, we do work closely with them on a range of fronts and participating in this fair again this year has been a helpful experience in developing stronger relationships with suppliers for our customers.

The fair had more than 4,000 businesses in booths and it attracted over 100,000 retailers visiting these booths.

Serving hundreds of retailers using our Gift Shop Software, Tower Systems innovates through its software and the retailer / supplier relationships it supports. This is why being at this fair in Hong Kong is important for any software company which wants to ensure its offers are relevant to today’s gift shop.

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