The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

ArchiveJuly 2016

Gift shop software helps small businesses compete with stronger K-Mart and Target

July 12, 2016
3 Min read
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K-Mart and Target have significantly overhauled their gift and homewares offerings, expanding into design aesthetics and product categories new to them and in doing so presenting a tough competitive challenge for small and independent gift retailers.

Rather feeling defeated by these big businesses, small business retailers can effectively and successfully compete by being engaged with their businesses in fresh and exciting ways of their own.

At their heart, K-Mart and Target are all about mass, volume whereas small businesses are about being personal and local, genuinely personal and genuinely local.

There is where Tower Systems can help small gift shops and small homewares shops compete with the retail giants K-Mart and Target. We sell only to small and independent retail businesses. All our 3,500+ customers and small businesses. We like it like that.

Embedded in our software are touch points through which we reinforce the value of personal local service. These touch points make it easier for our customers to reach local shoppers and through this to better compete with the big retailers.

The Tower POS software also provides data insights that help small business retailers to see opportunities they may have missed – basket analysis, product relationships, supplier performance and comparative performance analysis … these all provide feedback and insights that retailers can leverage to make quick decisions.

Speed is something small business retailers can leverage in that a decision can be made and implemented in minutes that a big business could take weeks to deal with. Good software helps guide faster local business decisions. This is a massive point of difference in fact between small and independent gift and homewards shops compared to the giants of K-Mart and Target.

Here are sixteen ways the Tower System gift shop software can help gift and homewares retailers compete:

  1. Easy to use yet structured and professional Lay-By.
  2. Customer special orders with TXT message when stock arrives.
  3. Professional gift cards with your logo and proper management of balance.
  4. Easy to produce gift vouchers.
  5. Gift receipts that can be wrapped with a gift (no pricing).
  6. Intelligent receipts with product care information.
  7. Easy handling of hampers and bundled offers.
  8. Supplier performance comparison.
  9. Employee performance management and rewards.
  10. Importing electronic invoices from gift shop suppliers. We work with for you.
  11. Linking to your website to manage a common stock file.
  12. Loyalty options including traditional points as well as front end loyalty to drive infrequent shopper engagement.
  13. Inventory management to guide you to a more efficient inventory level.
  14. Theft reduction tools to reduce the opportunity of employee theft.
  15. It’s easy to use.
  16. It’s regularly updated based on user suggestions.
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A note on POS software and credit card access in small business retail

July 11, 2016
2 Min read
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The Tower Systems POS software does not store credit card numbers of customers who use cards to pay in shops using our POS software.

The customer presents their card to the Tyro terminal connected to our software the processing of the card details is done 100% by Tyro with no details being shared with our POS software other than payment success or otherwise.

This approach – of us not storing credit card details for retail transactions – is vital in providing peace of mind for retailers and their customers around customer credit card access and fraud mitigation.

Our view is: storing a retail shopper credit card number in POS software is a big mistake. It puts the security of the card number at risk. Customers will not like it.

We suggest retailers not use POS software that stores customer credit card numbers.

Our Tyro and other bank EFTPOS integrations meet the high standards set in Australia and New Zealand for electronic transactions using credit and other banking cards. Our connections are tested and authorised. They are secure.

Tower Systems takes fraud mitigation seriously.

Update: The lone voice of POS Solutions, Bernard the owner of the business, is back from a long vacation and rather than discoing topics to write about for himself, he writes about what we write about it. You can see it today on their site. They don’t name us. They rarely do. Instead, the use terms like: One software company, I know well. Yes, that’s us. His post is a ramble whereas the facts we have presented here are focussed. The two posts speak to their respective companies.

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Small business management advice: 20 tips for Christmas in July

July 10, 2016
2 Min read
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A fun event for any small business retailer is Christmas in July. Here are twenty tips to get you started on the opportunity:

  1. Check with your local council or business association as to what they have on – more and more are running Christmas in July events. Be sure to check with charities too.  A quick search online shows plenty do. Talk to suppliers to see whether they have anything which could help you embrace the opportunity.
  2. Run the Christmas in July campaign over no more than two weeks in July. One week could be enough.
  3. Choose dates which are away from any other promotion – it works best with little competition.
  4. Get all employees together, seek their ideas and explain the value of the season you are creating.
  5. Set aside a defined space at the front of the store.
  6. Dress the team and the store to suit the Christmas theme.
  7. Display any spare Christmas stock from last year.
  8. Play Christmas music.
  9. Choose a day for an extra special celebration and make this an all-out focus.
  10. Have a competition for the kids around the theme. This could be a coloring competition –display their works of art as parents and family will visit to see.
  11. Create a giant Christmas stocking which one lucky customer can win.
  12. Use the event to discount slow moving items – try and create a real sense of bargains.
  13. Promote the event using a flyer to houses around your location – it is a great way to draw people into your shop. On the flyer, promote the activities and any specials.
  14. Call the local paper and get their attention.
  15. Connect with a local charity that is busy at Christmas time and use your Christmas in July event to raise funds for them.
  16. Use the promotion to drive interest in Lay-by for more expensive items. The sooner you lock people in on more expensive items the better.
  17. Consider running the promotion with other retailers – the more noise you create the better.
  18. Don’t wait for suppliers to offer products – ask what they have.
  19. Being Winter in Australia, Christmas in July is your opportunity to have a cold Christmas event.
  20. Have fun.
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Updated stock files for POS software users

July 9, 2016
1 Min read
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Tower Systems has tested the following POS software stock files for customer use. These are all on our website and live:

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Free training for small business retailers to increase sales

July 9, 2016
1 Min read
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Small business retailers using the POS software form Tower Systems have access to best-practice free POS software training every week. This coming week we are re-running one of our most popular live workshops, on how to use discount vouchers to drive retail sales:

Meeting Name: Increase Sales Now! Start using Discount Vouchers.
Date: 13/07/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Start using Discount Vouchers to grow your business. A great introduction to this great feature.

This interactive live session takes small business retailers through the process of setup and use of the popular discount voucher offering.

Tower Systems is proud to be continuing to deliver these free training opportunities for our customers – year in year out. It is a Tower Systems difference live and in action for our small business customers.

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Tower Systems POS software on show at Gift HQ this weekend

July 8, 2016
1 Min read
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Our team is in Brisbane and ready for the Gift HQ trade show that starts tomorrow morning in Brisbane.

On show on our stand will be new software that helps gift retailers to drive shopper engagement. We will also be showing off our smart integrations that help retailers. These include our integrations with Xero, Magento, Shopify, Tyro and our smart Business Intelligence platform.

Trade shows like Gift HQ are vital in that they provide us an opportunity to connect with shoppers, gain feedback on our new facilities and provide personal training to users connecting with us at the event.

Gitf HQ is one of sixteen trade shows we will do this year, one of sixteen trade organised events where we personally face to face connect with customers and prospective customers.

We are grateful for the opportunity and appreciative of the time small business owners will give to connect with us at the event.

GiftHQEmailJuly16

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How to get the best customer service experience from your POS software company

July 7, 2016
2 Min read
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Tower Systems has a structures process in place for customer service contact with the business. This process has served Tower customers well as our user numbers have expanded to more than 3,500 retail businesses. The service is personal with our customers knowing the name of the person they are speaking with at each point of contact.

Because things can go wrong and expectations can sometimes not be met, we have an established escalation process to ensure our customers have access to more senior contact points in the business.

Here is the documented How to contact us information provided weekly to Tower Systems customers. This demonstrates are transparency as well as a commitment from the leadership team at Tower Systems about making contact with us easy:

HOW TO CONTACT TOWER SYSTEMS.

    • Monday to Friday 7am to 6pm AEST and Saturday 7:30am to 3pm.
      • VIC (and national): 03 9524 8000.
      • NSW: 02 8556 1600.
      • QLD: 07 3136 6888.
      • SA: 08 8121 3366.
      • WA: 08 6317 0207.
      • NZ: 0800 444 367. Toll free.
    • After hours support for system down calls: 
      • 0418 554 963 or 0419 842 334
    • Email: support@towersystems.com.au.
    • Knowledge Base: http://support.towersystems.com.au/
    • Website home page: www.towersystems.com.au
  • ACCOUNTS.
    • Email: accounts@towersystems.com.au or call 03 9824 8000.
  • SALES. Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

FREE ONE ON ONE TRAINING.
To book free training, please email: bookings@towersystems.com.au
CUSTOMER SERVICE ESCALATION PROCESS.
If you any reason you are unhappy, here is our escalation process.

  1. Please provide as complete a description of the issues as possible.
  1. If you have multiple points, please number each.
  2. Please escalate by email to enable us to share with others here.
  3. Please note if your concern relates to a specific employee.
  4. Here are the escalation points, in sequence, for your use:
    1. CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER: csm@towersystems.com.au. The role can be done by one of several people. PH: 03 9524 8000.
    2. CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: Gavin Williams. 03 9524 8000. Email gavinw@towersystems.com.au.
    3. OWNER/MANAGING DIRECTOR: Mark Fletcher. 0418 321 338. Email: mark@towersystems.com.au.
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Best practice advice on how to do a stocktake using your POS software

July 6, 2016
3 Min read
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Here is some of the advice we published to ur POS software customers in the lead up to the end of the financial year – to help them efficiently and accurately handle stock take requirements.

Take the technology to the stock and not your stock to your technology.

For the process to be as easy as possible you will need a wireless network – vital for OH&S reasons.

The best way to do a stocktake in your business is by using a laptop (or laptops) or tablet computer with a scanner attached. This enables you to do the stocktake live with no impact on sales and absolute integrity of your stock on hand data.

While using a laptop (or laptops) or tablet computer may seem cumbersome, it is our best practice advice for speed, data integrity and the ability to address data issues you may encounter on the shop floor. It enables you to do management work to ensure completely accurate data.

The alternative is to use a PDE. The challenges with this are the many different PDEs and it is challenging to be expert in all plus the PDE counts at that time and you load the data at a later time – meaning a gap in time in which sales could have been done. While PDE software is available for live to data updates, we have seen this be problematic and so we do not use it.

Given the advances in technology, our best practice recommendation is either a laptop of tablet computer as either offers a better solution than a PDE.

We suggest you setup a Laptop or tablet and use Team Viewer or the like to connect in and count this way. This approach means you do not need to purchase an additional software licence for the laptop. Team Viewer is easy to setup. If you do need our help on this there would be a support cost.

For the physical stocktake, we suggest you approach the business aisle by aisle, counting and rearranging stock as you go.

Once you have completed your first full stocktake, our advice is you engage in a rolling stocktake, doing parts of the business, through the year. The Tax Office does not require businesses with full sock control implemented to do a stocktake at the end of the financial year. They will accept data from your system if you manage stock through the year.

On the stocktake itself, follow carefully our Knowledge Base advice. Choose the type of stocktake wisely. Backup before you commence.

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The streamlined retail counter thanks to POS software integrated with scales

July 5, 2016
1 Min read
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IMG_0852The authorised scale integration with the Tower Systems POS software helps retailers achieve a clean and streamlined sales counter.

Used in pet stores, produce stores, whole foods markets, supermarkets and other retail situations where items are sold by weight, the facilities enable retailers to transact accurately and to code.

Tower Systems respects the processes requirement by government for achieving authorisation of the scale integration tools. We met the criteria and achieved certification. This is important as it enables our customers to purchase our scale integrated POS software with confidence.

The photo shows a counter in place at one of the many retail businesses where our scale integration is in use. While the technology is vital to the business, it is setup such that it does not intrude on the customer experience. Indeed, the solution is setup to improve customer traffic throughput and thereby to provide a more enjoyable and accurate experience for customers.

This is another example of the Tower AdvantageTM for small business retailers who partner with Tower Systems.

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Comprehensive new POS software training opportunities for small business retailers

July 4, 2016
3 Min read
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We are proud to have scheduled the following free live online training workshops for users of our POS software. Click here for easy, fast and free online booking:

JULY
Meeting Name: Stocktaking in Retailer
Date: 06/07/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Missed EOFY? Catch up now. – Doing a stocktake in retailer and what option works best for you.

Meeting Name: Increase Sales Now! Start using Discount Vouchers.
Date: 13/07/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Start using Discount Vouchers to grow your business. A great introduction to this great feature.

Meeting Name: How to handle non EDI invoices to keep stock accurate.
Date: 20/07/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: See how easy it is to process invoice’s manually for suppliers that do not send electronic invoices to help keep your stock figures accurate.

Meeting Name: Free Up Cash in Your Business Today
Date: 27/07/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Find stock that isn’t selling and turn it into cash quickly.

AUGUST

Meeting Name: Reports that will change your business
Date: 03/08/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Reports in retailer that will help you drive sales and increase profit.

Meeting Name: Understanding the End of Shift Reports.
Date: 10/08/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Why is the End of Shift important? How do I check my settings are correct? What do the reports mean? And what parts of the report do I need to use for my accounting.

Meeting Name: Loyalty Programs. What works best for you.
Date: 17/08/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: There are 4 ways to do loyalty in retailer. Find out which will work best for your business.

Meeting Name: Trouble free handling of Cartons and Boxes in your retail business using Tower Systems
Date: 24/08/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Handle Cartons and Boxes of stock simply and easily. Especially useful if you sell singles and cartons of stock.

Meeting Name: How to discount easily for Seasonal Sales
Date: 31/08/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Quickly and easily setup automatic discounts for seasonal sales using catalogues

SEPTEMBER

Meeting Name: Using Targeting Marketing in Retailer
Date: 07/09/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Use marketing to target specific types and groups of customers.

Meeting Name: Retailer software settings you will be shocked you have access to.
Date: 14/09/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Help desk expert Colin Harris will show you settings you most likely don’t know exist that can help your enjoyment of the software

Meeting Name: Increase Sales Now! Start using Discount Vouchers.
Date: 21/09/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Start using Discount Vouchers to grow your business. A great introduction to this great feature.

Meeting Name: Re-Ordering stock with Retailer
Date: 28/09/2016
Time: 2pm
Description: Make Retailer work for you. Re-order based on solid data and spend less time on re-ordering.

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Small business retail advice: make every day your pay day

July 3, 2016
2 Min read
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There was a time when small business retailers could rely on selling their business for a handsome increase on the price they paid thereby providing a good pay day, when businesses sold for a good multiple of net earnings.

No more. Today, the best way to extract value from our businesses is to make every day your pay day, to not rely on your pay day being the day you sell the business.

The challenge is how do you do this?

Retailers need to look at their businesses differently. This starts with the mindset of every day being your pay day. Each decision needs to be considered in this context.

Focusing on profit today will give you a better result today and make your business more valuable tomorrow.

Here are some suggestions for making every day your pay day:

  1. Run with the leanest roster possible. Just about every retail business we review has capacity to lower labour costs.
  2. Have your best people working the floor, helping customers spend more.
  3. Have stunning displays that attract people from outside the shop.
  4. Have compelling displays in-store that encourage people to browse beyond their destination purchase.
  5. Always have impulse offers at high traffic locations.
  6. Charge more every time you can. Loyalty programs such as discount vouchers, bundling into hampers, multi buys such as 2 for 3 and other opportunities enable you to do this by blocking price comparison.
  7. Buy as best you can.
  8. Grab settlement discounts every time you are able.
  9. Promote outside your store using online and social media opportunities.
  10. Leverage adjacency information. Chase a deeper basket – people purchasing more each visit.

Be responsible for the profitability of your business. Don’t blame your suppliers, your landlord, your employees or some other external factor … it all comes down to you – the decisions you make and the actions you take.

If you relentlessly pursue profit with a clear focus you are likely to see profit grow. That’s better than waiting to make money when you sell because that’s less likely to happen in this market.

Doing all this relies on your measuring the performance of your business. The Tower software helps with this. It is easy.

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The federal election is finally here

July 2, 2016
1 Min read
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If your retail business is near a polling booth, have fun today with more people being out and about.

If your retail business has been affected by slow sales in the run up to the election, not long to go now.

There is no doubt that election campaigns challenge some retail channels. This is why multi-layered multi-faceted marketing is key so you are not relying on one or two freeways of deliver traffic to your shop.

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Q2 newsagency benchmark study launched for small business newsagents

July 1, 2016
2 Min read
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Tower Systems this morning launched its latest newsagency sales benchmark study:

Q2 2016 NEWSAGENCY SALES BENCHMARK STUDY.
I am preparing a fresh benchmark study for the newsagency channel to look at the latest sales trends overall and in key product categories. This quarterly newsagency sales performance study will help newsagents see the future based on the data trends. It will also reveal the difference between emerging newsagency model changes. Click here for my last report.

I see many newsagency businesses embracing tremendous change already in 2016. In the sea of change are wonderful opportunities. These opportunities are revealed in the business data in each business and in the benchmark results I publish.

How to participate.

  1. Please run a Monthly Sales Comparison Report for 01/04/2016 – 30/06/2016 compared to 01/04/2015 – 30/06/2015.
  2. Tick the category box. IMPORTANT.
  3. Tick to exclude home delivery and sub agent data.
  4. DO NOT tick the supplier box.
  5. Preview the report on the screen. Save as a PDF and email this to me at mark@towersystems.com.au.

I will email the results to all participating newsagents and publish the results on the Australian Newsagency Blog as a community service.

Tower Systems serves in excess of 1,750+ newsagents with best practice newsagency software.

Note: the study reflects performance as reported by a range of newsagency businesses trading under a range of brands.

The results of each study are backed up by circulation results published later by the Audit Bureau.

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Disaster planning: advice to help small business retailers trade manually

July 1, 2016
2 Min read
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While we never want it to happen and know it is extremely rare, we regularly remind our POS software customers they ought to be prepared to trade manually should they not have access to their POS software for some reason. Here is our advice, which has not changed in many years.

If you lose power, have a major hardware failure or have some other unexpected problem, your computer system on which you rely to record sales may not be available for some time. Here is our advice on how to handle such a situation:

  1. Track all sales. Write down the barcode of every item you sell and the price. When you are back up and running, enter these in. This maintains an accurate stock on hand count. When you are back online, enter the barcodes, ring up the sales.

Yes, that is it. Very simple. Also, very easy to not do and thereby compromise your business data.

To prepare you for this, do the following:

  1. Create a ruled sheet to use. Two columns: barcode, price.
  2. Copy the sheet a few times and setup on a clipboard. With a clipboard made up for each register you have.
  3. Tie a pen to each clipboard.
  4. Place the clipboards in an easily accessible space.
  5. Take out the clipboards and place next to each register in the event of your system being down and you needing to transact.
  6. You are good to go.

Recording sales on scraps of paper is not good business management. It invites error and fraud.

While no one wants your computer system to be down, being prepared for this is important business planning.

Footnote: knowing a competitor as we do, they are likely to point to this post as us identifying a weakness in our software. This would be untrue. This advice is an example of our POS software company providing whole of business advice for any contingency. It is what we do and for which we are appreciated.

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