The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

ArchiveApril 2018

Small business advice: how to serve local, authentically

April 5, 2018
2 Min read
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Being local matters in small business. Here are ways for any local retail business to be more locally engaged.

  1. Be visable locally: at community events, cafes, restaurants and markets.
  2. 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.
  3. Facilitate local connections. Have a local community noticeboard in-store.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Give locally. Five local charities priority with your time and money ahead of non-local charities.
  7. Hire locally. When you place a notice looking for a new team member, note preference given to local candidates.
  8. 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.
  9. Share local on your Facebook page. Talk about local activities on your business Facebook, show your local connection.
  10. 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.
  11. Offer a locals only discount.
  12. Be proud of local. Express this, often.
  13. Be seen local, shopping, walking, drinking.
  14. Talk local. Pick up on and use the lingo.

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.

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Small business advice: how to leverage social media without being controlled by the beast

April 4, 2018
3 Min read
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Social media is vital for every retail business. It is as important as opening the front door of the shop. However, its value is determined by the content you publish, by your call out to people.

we call it a beast because it can feel like you have never satisfied it. This is because so much social media content is disposable. You only have to watch how people engage with social media to see this.

Engaging with any social media platform is like feeding a beast that is forever hungry. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, they are all hungry beasts. They can feel overwhelming, intimidating and frustrating. Too often, small business retailers give up … and when they do that they turn their back on opportunities for their businesses to be discovered.

The best way to be successful with social media is to have a plan to be efficient about how you engage.

Here is everyday advice to help you efficiently engage with social media. While the example used is Facebook, it is useful for any social media platform.

  1. Post regularly, but try and do all the posts for a week at once, in advance, scheduling them for publication on dates and at times you set. This is important as people who setup multiple posts at once tend to cut the time spent doing the posts.
  2. Keep text on posts to two sentences.
  3. If you are not sure what to write, think would I include this in a radio ad, on a flyer or yell it from the front of the shop.
  4. Give something of yourself in your posts. Your voice is important.
  5. Share knowledge and insights that reveal your expertise and add value of the interaction of followers of your Facebook page.
  6. Post with a theme in mind for a week, for example post with context to a new season, school holidays or some other timing connected to your business.
  7. Include a photo, photos or a video with posts. Photos should have real people in real situations. This personalises your business.
  8. Photos do not need to be a whole product. A close up of a small part of a product could look more interesting.
  9. Do not try and sell.
  10. Repeat your best posts. Facebook content is disposable, people scroll past quickly. Give your best content a chance to be seen by re-posting, judiciously.
  11. Do not hire someone to post for you as your voice is what matters most.

They key goal of a retail business Facebook page is increase recognition and recollection of the business. Think about this as you write each post. Make sure the post progresses on this goal.

This business management advice is another example of how Tower Systems helps its small business customers beyond our POS software.

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Small business advice: how to quit stock in a retail business

April 3, 2018
2 Min read
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This advice has been prepared by us here at Tower Systems for small business retailers, independent retailers. We have created the advice as part of our suite of business management advice for retailers.

we help small business retailers beyond our POS software. We do this with support and advice, like in this article:

If you want to quit stock, quit it, quickly. Quickly means different things to different people. We think it means 7 days … gone and out of the shop in 7 days from when you decide to quit the products.

The easiest way to quit stock is for your shoppers to understand the deal. Understanding the deal starts with how you brand the sale.

A sign with SALE on it could mean anything. We suggest you NOT use this.

A sign with, say, 50% off could be confusing as they don’t know the starting price and some may not understand percentages.

A Sign with HALF PRICE is more easily understood but they still do not know the starting price.

If you really want to quit stock, we suggest you have tables or dump bins at price points: $1, $2, $5 – or that ever is appropriate to you.

We have tested this in retail, with customers. We have tried $9.99 priced an item at 50% off, half price and $5.00. The $5.00 pricing worked the best, by far.

This is our recommendation on quickly quitting stock: get the price messaging right.

If your price messaging is hard to understand or if there are too many different price messages you could be creating a barrier and this could stop you achieving the sales outcome you want.

Also: display the product for a sale. i.e. not pretty. Reorganise it daily. Keep it separate to the premium merchandise.

Tower Systems is a full service POS software company helping small business retailers beyond what is squall for a POS software company. This article is a fractional representation of the help and support we provide beyond what is usual in the POS software space, it shows the help, care and instruction we provide small business retailers.

This is the Tower Advantage. We are proud to offer it.

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Small business advice: How to stop your business data being useless

April 2, 2018
3 Min read
S

This advice has been written by us here at Tower Systems for use in businesses, particularly small businesses, where the business data has been found to be useless, faulty and / or of little value.

There is no doubt: poor business data = poor business decisions. We see this every day as to banks, accountants, business advisors and more.

If you ever hope to sell your retail business, accurate business data is vital, it will determine the price you achieve for your business.

Don’t be one of those business owners who only cares about accurate business data when you decide to sell as that could be too late.

Here is all you need to do to ensure you have accurate business data.

  1. Ensure you have a good department and category structure. This helps ensure the reports are useful. By good we suggest no more than fifteen departments and no more than fifteen categories within each department.
  2. Arrive all stock into your POS software. The best way to do this is to receive and import into your software electronic invoices from suppliers. This is done in Invoice Arrivals.

The slower way is to manually enter invoices into your software item by item. This is done in Invoice Arrivals.

If you created an order using the software and this order subsequently arrives, you can receive the order – to save time.

  1. Scan all stock you sell at the point of sale. Resist excuses like items are too small or too big or it takes too long or it is impractical. All these excuses can be countered.
  2. Scan all stock you return to suppliers. Use the Returns facility.
  3. Scan all stock you write off. Use the Write-off Stock facility.

Very simple, right?

Accurate business data is up to you. Not your software company, not your suppliers.

Accurate business data is 100% up to you.

Once you have accurate data, track business performance. Use the accurate data to see trends in your business, to guide better quality business decisions.

It is easy to create accurate business data. The operational and financial benefits are extraordinary.

How Tower Systems can help. We have articles in our knowledge base on everything discussed here. We also have training videos that show you what to do. We host weekly online training workshops, accessible from anywhere, where you can ask questions on any topic. Plus, supported customers have access to free one on one training.

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