The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

ArchiveNovember 2016

Free small business training on the Gold Coast today

November 10, 2016
1 Min read
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We are thrilled to be providing free face to face training for small business retailers on the Gold Coast today through another of our social media masterclass sessions.

This training fits well with our POS software and its opportunities for helping retailers to attract new traffic shoppers.

It leverages our experience in starting and running several successful social media presences for small retail businesses we run ourselves. The session draws on that experience and demonstrates live how we are using social media to attract new customers to our own businesses.

This free training is another way we put the Tower Systems message or empowerment for small business retailers out there for more to see and feel.

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More retailers are embracing omnichannel retailing with Tower Systems

November 9, 2016
1 Min read
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We were thrilled to see another retailer turn on a beautiful website connected to our POS software tidy as the next step in their well-considered omnichannel retail strategy.

We are glad to be part of this journey. Directly, too … not relying on another web company to do the work.

The depth of skill in our POS snd web development teams and the vision of the leadership of these teams enables us to deliver the type of solution we have delivered today.

We are proud of another win for small business retail and proud to be leading more to genuine 24/7 trading through beautiful POS software integrated websites.

Our web portfolio is brimming.

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Watching the US election

November 9, 2016
1 Min read
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14917154_1641795449451971_1938895228810990628_oWe projected live coverage of the US election result in a common part of the head office today, so everyone could keep up with the action. The US election has been a popular water-cooler topic in our office over the past year. This public projection today is another example of different and connected work place outside what you might expect for a POS software company.

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Enhanced Australian Fishing and Outdoors Store Software

November 9, 2016
4 Min read
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Tower Systems is thrilled to be rolling out enhanced Fishing and Outdoors Store software to its customers.

Fishing related retail is unique. This is why fishing and outdoors retailers need software designed for their businesses and not for a café, clothing shop or basic gift shop. Tower Systems offers software designed for fishing and outdoors businesses.

OUR SOFTWARE IS MADE FOR YOU.

Fishing and outdoors shops have unique needs. Your business is personal. You need a software company committed to serving you and committed to helping you more efficiently transact with your suppliers.

From the sales counter to the back room, our Fishing and Outdoors Shop Software is fit for purpose. It is not everyday POS software. No, this is Fishing and Outdoors Shop Software.

WE MAKE IT EASY TO GET UP AND RUNNING.

We come to your business, install the software and train you and your staff, face to face, jargon free. We provide personal support as you settle in.

WE REMEMBER YOU.

After the installation is done you can call us for help and a real person answers, with their name. Our help desk is in our Hawthorn office. You are welcome to visit at any time.

YOU CAN KEEP LEARNING.

You can watch any of our 130+ training videos at any time. Plus, you can access our knowledge bade from anywhere – this is like a live and searchable manual.

YOUR SOFTWARE KEEPS EVOLVING.

Thanks to advice from our customers your software continues to evolve, meeting changing needs, keeping your business up to date.

WE HAVE YOUR BACK.

If you are confronted by employee theft, customer theft or falling business performance, we are there for you. We have experience with police prosecutors, helping to convict employees who have stolen. We have helped turn around businesses confronted by trading challenges.

Tower Systems is not your usual POS software company. The best evidence of that is that I am writing to you. I am the founder of the company. My contact details are on this letter. I personally stand behind what we sell.

HOW THE SOFTWARE CAN HELP.

Using our Fishing and Outdoors Shop Software you can easily:

  1. Sell fishing licences for Victoria and New South Wales – from within the software.
  2. Handle customer special orders.
  3. Offer Gift Cards.
  4. Sell products as hampers / packs / bundles.
  5. Sell by weight – like bait.
  6. Offer LayBys.
  7. Run Catalogues.
  8. Offer traffic-driving shopper loyalty – $$$ off the next purchase based on rules you set. Successful loyalty offer for independent retailers.
  9. Offer the more traditional points-based shopper loyalty.
  10. Import electronic invoices and stock files from suppliers.
  11. Reorder based on accurate data – reducing the cost of dead stock.
  12. Handle BOGO: handling Buy One get One Free offers.
  13. Offer MultiBuy – like a coffee card, free product over time.
  14. Save time with the Xero accounting interface – cut bookkeeping costs.
  15. Link to Magento and Shopify – connect to your website.
  16. Save time & cut mistakes with EFTPOS integration.
  17. Save time on stock takes.
  18. Print professional receipts with your logo.
  19. Track product serial numbers.
  20. Age check for items with a minimum age requirement.
  21. Use up-sell prompts for staff.

There are many ways you can use this software to help you personalise the shopping experience that make comparing your business to others difficult.

We help you shine a light on your point of difference.

For example, you can have product use and care information included automatically on receipts. This can be information you have written that sets your business apart from others.

You can use smart reports in the software to quickly gain a view of business performance:

  1. By supplier.
  2. By season.
  3. By brand.
  4. Comparing trading periods.
  5. By employee performance.
  6. By customer value.
  7. By day of week.

Good data easily accessed guides better business decisions – we see this every day in our work with small business retailers.

We would love to show you the latest Fishing and Outdoors Shop software, obligation free and to hear from you about the needs of your business

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Free social media marketing workshops for small business retailers

November 8, 2016
2 Min read
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In addition to owning Tower Systems I am a Director of newsXpress, a proactive marketing group for newsagents who are transforming their businesses. I am hosting a series of free workshops open to anyone offering access to the newsXpress training on how of use social media to find new shoppers for your retail business.

  1. Discover how to attract new shoppers with Facebook.
  2. Learn the most time-efficient way to post to Facebook.
  3. Look behind the scenes at the best newsagent Facebook posts and learn how to use these ideas in your business.
  4. Find out how to reach beyond those who like your page.
  5. See how to thoughtfully target Facebook posts so they reach those you really want to reach.
  6. Find out how to organise photos for the best possible impact.
  7. Join a discussion about what time of day it is best to post.
  8. Find out which posts Facebook users like the least.
  9. We will do posts live for in the workshop, so you can learn first-hand.

This session will be practical, offering ready to use advice suitable for any retail business. If you want to learn about how to use Facebook, Instagram or Twitter in your business this is a good session for you.  The session will also cover using your website to find new shoppers. Bookings now available for:

  1. ADELAIDE. November 9 @ 10am. Rydges South Terrace. Book now.
  2. GOLD COAST. November 10 @ 12 noon. Sofitel. Book now.
  3. MELBOURNE. November 15 @ 10am. Hawthorn Arts Centre. Book now.
  4. SYDNEY. November 16 @ 10am. The Lakes Golf Club. Book now.
  5. BRISBANE. Nov. 17 @ 10am. The River View Hotel Kingsford Smith Drive. Book now.

We will add Perth as well. The sessions will be interactive with plenty of time for questions. Spaces are limited as we want to ensure everyone can engage.

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The Tower Systems commitment to small business newsagents

November 7, 2016
2 Min read
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As the newsagency channel undergoes extraordinary change, suppliers to the channel are also changing. Supplier support is vital to the future of many businesses.

Tower Systems remains a constant support through its best-practice newsagency management software, newsagent support and newsagent marketing help.

With more than 1,800 newsagent customers, Tower Systems serves more newsagents than all other software companies combined.

For the record, here are our commitments to small business newsagents in Australia:

  1. Tower Systems will not leave the newsagency channel.
  2. We will fight for you. Beyond our software, outside of support, we will help with supplier issues, business strategy and other challenges you confront.
  3. No locked-in support fee. Taking support coverage is optional.
  4. Lower support costs.
  5. Fast support. Most calls are handled when you call. If not, we call back fast.
  6. Easy management access. The leadership team of Tower Systems is available if you need them. We take customer service seriously and personally.
  7. Updates when you choose. You are in control of when you load updates.
  8. You are listened to. We offer the only transparent, user driven, software enhancement suggestion service. All our customers are listened to.
  9. Free training. Long after you install our software you have access to free personal training to refresh knowledge or provide training on new facilities.
  10. More integrations. Our direct links to Xero, Magento, Shopify and more mean you have more direct link options to help you grow your business.
  11. Business management insights. We can look at your business performance data and provide a personal analysis of what we see
  12. Owner access. Our owner, Mark Fletcher, is easily accessible: 0418 321 338.

You can purchase our software, lease it or even rent it by the month. You choose the path most appropriate to your needs. We make doing business easy.

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A checklist for anyone considering buying a retail business

November 6, 2016
2 Min read
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A common question we are asked by people contemplating purchasing a retail business is what should I ask for when looking at buying a retail business?

The question itself, when asked, indicates how green a prospective purchaser is when it comes to purchasing a business.

Here is a list of data we suggest retail business purchasers access from the vendor or their representative:

  1. P&L from the accountant for the last two years. i.e. not a spreadsheet created for the purpose.
  2. A good explanation of any add-backs.
  3. Sales data reports, for the last two years, from the POS software in use – to verify the income claim.
  4. Sales data reports from the lottery terminal to verify the income claim.
  5. BAS forms to confirm data in the P&L.
  6. A list of all inventory to include purchase price and date last sold for each item.
  7. A copy of the shop lease.
  8. A copy of any leases the vendor expects you to take on board.
  9. A list of all employees: name, hourly rate, nature of employment, start date, accrued leave.

This is good basic information that will enable any purchaser to undertake reasonable assessment of a business.

A good business will shine through the numbers just as a business with upside achievable by new owners will shine through.

Our advice to newsagents looking to sell who are concerned about this list is: think about it now and focus on your business so the data I have listed looks good.

Every day you make decisions in your business that impact many of the data points listed.

This is why we say every day is your pay day. Run a smart, lean and profit focused business and you will have a good pay day today and a good one when you come to sell.

The most appealing businesses are those that are easier to run and are making money.

Sure a purchaser can turn a business around. They should get the rewards if they are expected to do that for your business.

The price you can sell your business for will be based on what it is making now.

Getting the data ready for the sale of the business could, of itself, help you improve how you run your business.

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Specialist produce, stockfeed and rural store software

November 5, 2016
3 Min read
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Tower Systems is proud to offer Specialist produce, stockfeed and rural store software. This software has been developed by the specialty retail software development team at Tower System,s in close association with produce and rural store specialists.

Screen Shot 2016-11-04 at 12.34.26 PM

Australian designed and developed, this software provides access to a host of valuable functionality that has been fine-tuned for these unique and niche businesses.

  1. Fast POS: Sell to customers quickly with simple touch screen, mobile scanning & eftpos integration.
  2. Customer Loyalty: Offer discounts, points or vouchers to increase customer spend.
  3. Stock Management: Receive stock electronically from suppliers, stocktake, track performance & re-order.
  4. Targeted Marketing: Market to customers based on their behaviour & have them purchase more often.
  5. Accounting Integration: Financials flow across to leading software including Xero, MYOB & Quickbooks.
  6. Special Customer Orders: Handle all customer orders easily & automatically notify customers when stock arrives.
  7. Smart Reporting: Report on profit, stock, customers, suppliers & even seasons easily.
  8. Customer Accounts: Advanced email invoices & statements, debtor tracking & late payment reminders.
  9. Gift Vouchers: Paper, loadable card or electronic vouchers with fully customisable design.
  10. Webstore: Sell online by integrating with leading ecommerce platforms such as Shopify & Magento.
  11. VIP Pricing Profiles: Create structured pricing profiles and look after your key customers.
  12. Promotions: Run multi-buy, department, time based or up-sell promotions easily.
  13. Product Advice & Warnings: Automatic special use or hazardous goods warnings on receipts.
  14. Bulk Stock Management: Sell items by weight or length. Bag up bulk items into smaller bags easily.

In addition to these tools, the software offers excellent retail management tools, Xero integration, Shopify integration, Magento integration, scale integration and plenty more thanks to the comprehensive tools available in the Tower Systems retail management suite.

Introducing Tower Systems.
Tower Systems is an Australian software company that develops, sells and supports software for selected specialty marketplaces including pet and produce businesses.

We only serve independent retail businesses.

Our mission is to help retailers run more successful businesses. Our definition of success is a business that is making money, where the owners and employees enjoy what they do and where suppliers enjoy transacting.

Good software can play an important role in nurturing business success as it sits at the heart of the business: transacting sales, managing stock, tracking customer activity and shining a light on business opportunities.

What makes us different is how we engage. We go beyond what is traditional software company.

  1. We welcome working with your suppliers to create data links that save you and them time, data links that improve data accuracy, data links that feed more accurate business reports.
  2. We provide business insights based on data cultivated through the software – to business owners who ask. This is a free service.
  3. Our help desk provides context for advice. Rather than the turn it off and turn it on advice, our help desk team members explain the why, why from a business perspective the advice they are providing matters.
  4. Our software updates contain enhancements suggested and voted on by customers. You can have a direct say in the evolution of the software.
  5. Our communication is in plain English. While we are a company of IT geeks, when talking with customers we keep it simple. We know technology scares people. We don’t want it to scare our customers.
  6. We are accessible. You get to talk with real people all the time, including our leadership team.
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NZ POS software user meeting series completed

November 4, 2016
1 Min read
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We are grateful to our NZ customers who met with us in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch this week as we presented our latest software as well as our Xero, Shopify and Magento integrations.

We will be back with more NZ user meetings in 2017 as we continue to reach out for more face to face opportunities with our customers.

This year, Tower Systems has delivered more than fifty in-person face to face user meeting opportunities, demonstrating a commitment to personal POS software support that small business retailers appreciate.

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Customer appreciation is appreciated by the POS software help desk

November 4, 2016
3 Min read
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We are thrilled with notes from customers over the last couple of weeks. here is  small selection:

  1. I just wanted to send you a little note about one of your support staff – Trav. Trav is very helpful, easy to talk to, returns calls and is a pleasure to deal with him. We always get great service from him. (That’s not to say that we don’t get good service from the rest of the team but I just thought Trav deserved a mention).
  2. Hi Mark, Just a quick email, I am guessing you may have heard about the huge amount of problems I have, maybe not. Well they have upset the whole works and I have been beside myself with only two years in. I hear of people who have negative things to say but never good, so hence my email, there have been numerous helpers but to date I would sincerely like to acknowledge the efforts of Travis and Michael, they stuck in there and with me and at no time did I feel or be made feel that I was a nuisance, as sometimes you hear the undertone in a voice but in fact they tried to humour me as I was getting upset, so please pass on my gratitude to them as they worked so hard to make things right.
    Thankyou
  3. This from a supplier we helped get data from one business to another business: Just wanted to drop you a note to sincerely thank you.  As a result of your support we were able to minimise any disruption to these customers in what were fairly unusual circumstances.
  4. Hi Mark, I have been wanting to do this for some time……& just never get around to it….so today is the day. I just wanted to comment about how fabulous the above staff member is to deal with.(not suggesting they all aren’t). He is always patient, helpful, always ready to get to the bottom of the problem & always up for a very quick giggle about something that has happened in our day !! I love dealing with him.
  5. Wow you guys are amazing. Thank you so much for your help. I am glad we changes software to Tower Systems. Thank you thank you.

Customer service is important to us. Every day we talk to several hundred small business retailers and employees. Each contact is as important as the other.

We are grateful for the opportunity to be of service.

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POS software Shopify and Magento integrations help small business retailers get online faster

November 3, 2016
2 Min read
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Thanks to full integration between the Tower Systems POS software and the Shopify and Magento platforms, Tower Systems is making it easier for its retail customers to get online efficiently and for a low cost compared to having the website developed externally.

The money you use a second software company to do the website you encounter additional costs and the possibility of a disconnect.

With the Tower software works with many different web platforms, it is the Woo, Shopify and Magento platforms that are the move valuable in terms of user numbers. Tower has solutions for all three, delivering easy and stable access both ways between POS software and the e-commerce platforms.

AheadWorks recently published the results of research covering market share of e-commerce platforms.

chart

These results reinforce the importance of the decision early on by Tower to focus on Magento, Shopify and Woo Commerce for our direct integrations and a more generic yet accessible solution for other links between our POS software and websites.

By offering the website development service as we do for Shopify sites and Magento sites we offer a one stop shop solution with one company responsible for the delivery and performance of the POS software and website integration.

Having done this for our own retail businesses we have live experiences and examples on which to draw.

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Accessibility is key to good small business POS software support

November 2, 2016
2 Min read
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Hi My name is Mark Fletcher. I am the owner of Tower Systems. My mobile number is 0418 321 338. My email is mark@towersystems.com.au.

The best was for a POS software company to demonstrate its commitment to accessibility of help for its customers is for the owner of the company to share their contact details.

This is what we do at Tower Sys6ems. In our correspondence. On our website. In our weekly customer email.

By demonstrating accessibility to the owner of the company we set the tone for accessibility throughout the company.

Small business owners and team members appreciate the personal. Retail is personal after all. We appreciate the personal here too. That is why our team members use real names and engage in real conversations.

Being real, being personal is key to a good POS software customer service experience.

Here is a video we shot in house about being personal in the context of POS software and what we do here at Tower Systems:

This video is another example of open and accessible communication. We have a large library of videos available for our customers to assist with training and business advice. The videos help our customers get more value from their relationship with us.

Our approach to being accessible is a differentiator for us. We are thrilled to be able to offer this to our customers.

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POS software support on the day that stops the nation

November 1, 2016
1 Min read
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We are running reduces POS software support today as Victoria is on holidays for the Melbourne Cup and the rest of Australia slows for the day and stops for the running of the cup.

Following a long-established tradition, we are running help desk coverage today with reduced staff from offices outside our Melbourne head office.

Our after hours numbers and management escalation numbers are available all through.

If you are betting today – we hope your horses win!

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