The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

ArchiveOctober 2018

Cloud based POS software for small business retailers.

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Tower Systems offers small business retailers in specialty retail channels beautiful cloud based POS software.

No software to install. No software to maintain. No hardware to host the software. This is all taken care of for you. And it can be rented, pay as you go, with no capital outlay. It is easy technically and easy financially. We know plenty of small business retaile4rs who like this approach.

As you grow, add terminals without a challenge.

You can establish on your own cloud server, a dedicated server Tower sets up for you or on an existing cloud based server from the secure pool of tech available from Tower Systems at a moment’s notice.

Tower Systems can do all the work for you or work with technical people you have already in your community of service providers. We are genuinely flexible on this and are here to help in whatever way you want in establishing your cloud based POS software. The flexibility we o9ffer is based on many years of service to small retail businesses from single register operators to those with twenty and more registers from one location to fifteen locations.

This is available now and has been for some years. Tower Systems serves customers who operate their POS software wholly in the cloud. We can put you in touch with them and you can see if the hassle free managed cloud based approach is right for your business.

Cloud is popular for some businesses and not for others. This is why we say it needs to be a people’s choice, something a business owner chooses based on their specific set of circumstances.

When we so establish a cloud based POS software solution for our customers, we offer seamless backup and valuable security on which you can rely for a best-practice approach to securing the data assets of your business. We know this matters and are committed to delivering.

Oh, and if you want to run in a desktop situation, you can. The choice is yours. We have many customers happy with in-store desktop for the lo9ng term and o0thers who migrate to the cloud. It’s easy.

Why personal service matters to small business retailer POS software users.

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Personal service is a key differentiator in local small business retail. With most products being available in big and small business, in-store and online, personal service, local knowledge added local value really matter as a differentiator.

The same is true with POS software.

We see too many POS software companies that hide behind anonymity on their help desk, admin, sales and other customer facing roles.

Here at tower Systems we believe in personal service, we trust it and respect it as a small business owner need and desire.

Th8is is why when you hear from us you hear from a person, with a name. Our contact is real and authentic. You can be sure that the name is real and that you can ask for them again, to continue the relationship. We think this approach sits at the hearty of the relationship we have with our customers and foster with our sales products.

By operating this way, this personal way, we show our customers that we treat them as they want to treat their customers, with differentiating good and personal customer service, which adds value they can appreciate.

Whether it is a support call to the help desk, advice on tracking an employee theft situation, help to understand the financial performance of the business or a general business strategy discussion, here at Tower Systems we provide personal service where you can speak with the person providing the service.

We know of companies where staff use fake names. For ex ample, in one company, help desk people were told to use the name David so that customer contact felt consistent. None of the employees providing service actually had the name David. People soon see thr9ygh games like this. It is nuts in our view. That is why we are a8thentic, personal and real … trust starts with this honesty.

Next time you are providing a service in your business by phone, email or in person, see to do it in an authentic personal way as customers are more likely to remember your personal approach than if it is general, vague and without any personal context.

Halloween donut day

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We celebrated Halloween week today at our head office with a decent serving of donuts, including these four boxes and a couple more. It was a tasty treat. We let our customers know on our private Facebook page – in case help desk calls became hyper. hehe. The photo is from that Facebook post.

What a tasty treat!

Bigger, better, more customers – claims from POS software companies to beware.

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Facts matter in business. Provable facts, on which you can base business decisions. Too often we see POS software companies make claims without specific facts or that are plain wrong.

A company claiming they are the biggest in a marketplace should be considered with suspicion if a competitor says they have a specific number of customers. One is providing a specific number while the other is making a broad claim. The former, under consumer law, respects obligation while the latter could be claimed as puffery and therefore allow them to get away with it.

Facts do matter in business, especially small business, they end of the marketplace for retailers in which tower systems focusses.

Here, we eschew broad claims. We’d prefer to be specific. For example, we wrote recently that we have 29 firearms dealers using our software. At the time of writing that number was accurate. By the time, you are reading this it is bound to be more because even then we had sales that were yet to be installed. I mention this as a competitor, who makes a broad non-specific claim, seeks to use our honesty to say they have more without being specific.

We see this as a problem for the competitor as their generalisation reflects a flexibility with the facts, maybe dishonesty even. This is a problem as it makes it hard for small business retailers. People like the blood glossy claim if it sounds better. However, the accurate claim with the real number matters.

In many years in this business of POS software for small business retailers, we have come to see the competitors who make the bold and regular marketing claims about having more customers or being the biggest or being the first, they are the ones we believe less.

What really matters is that you verify claims, that you check for evidence and satisfy yourself that you have been told the truth as truth matters in business and in life. If someone lies to get your business then how will they behave toward you once they have your business. Facts matter. That is what we believe and that is what we live by, here at Tower Systems.

What is POS software for small business retail?

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POS software refers to Point of Sale software, software that is used in a business to transact sales, track stock, reorder, manage payments and more.

The challenge is that Point of Sale software is very different between software companies. They each use the POS software term to mean different things.

Many POS software companies selling in Australia are not selling Australian software. Some provide access without paying any tax in Australia. If making a shop local or shop small business pitch is important in your business then the source of your POS software may matter to you.

Tower Systems is an Australian started, owned and operated POS software company. We make what we sell. It is fresh yet regularly evolving to meet evolving business needs.

To help you be competitive, we are competitive.

Our POS software is already being used in more than 3,000 retail businesses. We manage far more than the sales process. From the back office to the counter to9 trade show floors to home, our POS software is accessible and serving your business needs. In a variety of retail channels too.

What we do is personal. When you choose our software, we come to you to install the software. Face to face, in your business. While we can install our Point of Sale software and train you over the phone, we think the personal touch is more important as it is how we can make sure you are learning what you need to learn to get the most from the software.

Using our POS software, you can easily manage your stock from within the software. You do not have to export the data to excel to be manipulated and then re-imported. No, with our POS software you can make the changes in the software, easily and with confidence. This is a differentiating point.

There are other ways we help too such an Xero, MYOB and Quicken integration, scales integration, support for TYRO broadband EFTPOS as well as the major banks. We support multiple loyalty platforms and more as we make sure you can access the tools necessary to leverage the best benefits possible from your technology investment.

When it comes to choosing POS software for your business, start with being sure of what you want. You are the customer, your needs come ahead of everything else. If the software does not meet your needs, look elsewhere.

How Does Tower Systems Compare To Other POS Software Companies?

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We are often asked in a sales situation how our software compares to other POS software being considered.

The best people to ask this question are those who have used other POS software and have switched. We have plenty of customers who are experienced and able to answer this question for you.

Our sales team are asked to not comment on competitor products, to not offer comparisons as they have no personal experience from which to respond to such a query.

We welcome the opportunity to show our software in the desk next to any other software you. We are serious about this. We think it is valuable to compare functions that are important to you, between systems. Doing this with software next to each other, checking for yourself, allows you to make the comparison, it allows you to make the choice that is right for you, rather than being told by someone who wants to sell you their software that they are better than other POS software you are considering.

This approach of comparing for yourself, in personal, in your own business, gives you control. It respects you and shows that the decision is by you and about your business.

POS software companies will usually reject your request to compare their software with others in the desk in your shop. We have heard myriad excuses. In our opinion none are reasonable. Most we hear are about them wanting control over their sales proces.

Here at Tower Systems, we respect the choice is yours to make, the process is one you must control. We know we can’t be right for everyone. This is why we are happy to be compared, so you are in control, so you make the decision that is right for you, based on the software and not based on some slick pitch that denies you the opportunity for easy comparison.

How does Tower Systems compare to other POS software? See for yourself. In your own time. Where and when you want. In a way that suites your specific business. We have nothing to hide and respect that this is your choice to make.

To POS software companies that will not engage in such comparison we ask: what is it you are afraid of? What is it you are hiding? If you want happy customers, agreeing to a functional comparison in-store and in person has to be the best way.

What Is Different About Small Business Retailers In The Context Of POS Software They Need.

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With the many POS software options out in the marketplace, we think there is value in considering what is different about small business needs compared to the needs of bigger businesses such as franchises and groups with more than, say, 25 stores.

We have a vested interest in this consideration in that here at Tower Systems we only work with independent small business retailers. Our most common customers have one or two stores. We have some customers with close to 20 stores. While we serve members of groups with between 50 and 300 stores in a group, each of those stores is locally owned.

The distinction matters in that in our model, all businesses matter, everyone is equal.

In a POS software company with big customers, they will be of more value to the company than the small business customers. Take a business where 20% of their revenue comes from one customer. That customer is naturally heard more than a customer that accounts for less than 1% of revenue.

Our focus on independent small business retailers ensures fairness, focus and service for these important local and small businesses.

Small business retailers also like local service, personal service and service attuned to their business needs. They like to deal with real people, though conversation.

Small business retailers don’t like impersonal contact, distance contact only by email, learning only by remote contact.

POS software companies serving larger retail networks drive their businesses for efficiency. This usually means more self service and less personal human contact. While some may like this, it is not the common small business way, it is not how local businesses see themselves in their local communities.

Being focussed on small business retailers strengthens our approach to serving these types of businesses, it focusses our attention and resources in a way that is consistent for our entire user community, and we think that is a good and fair thing.

If personal service matters to you in your small retail business, take this into account when choosing POS software, consider in when assessing the POS software companies you consider supplying you.

What Is Vertical Market POS Software And Why It Matters.

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Tower systems is a vertical market POS software company. We always have been, since the company began. It is what we do, well.

A vertical market POS software company is one that focusses on a marketplace, deeply, vertically if you will.

When we say that we have software for a specific marketplace like jewellers, garden centres, toy shops, produce stores, bike shops, fishing and outdoors shops, firearms dealers, produce stores, newsagents and adult shops, it means that we have software that is highly tailored to serve the needs of each of these marketplaces.

Our software serves not only the retailers, it also serves the suppliers to the retailers as we see building a closer and more valuable relationship between the two parties as important to what we do.

The vertical market software emerged in the 1980s as personal computers were released and desktop software became available for small businesses including small business retailer.

This is when Tower systems began. We were at the beginning, with vertical market software fort several retail niches. We have stayed true to our mission of offering specialty retail focussed software for specialty retailers. This focus has served us well. We think it has served out customers well too as our software for each marketplace in which we serve has evolved in its specialisation.

We release three major software updates each year. Each update takes us further into each marketplace in which we serve with our POS software. Each update makes our POS software more vertically, deeply, integrated with the specialty retailers we serve.

This is what vertical market POS software is about, specialisation … specialisation that evolves as the needs of the marketplace evolve. It is about staying on a path, moving forward, serving the specialty needs of the retailers in each marketplace niche.

While there are generic POS software solutions out there, a specialty POS software package for your specific retail niche will be far more valuable, far more tuned to the needs of your business.

However, make sure the claim of specialisation is more than the claim, make sure it is real and deep. You can tell this by looking at the software, by ensuring for yourself that claimed specialisation is really there.

Good vertical market POS software will serve a specialty retail business well, for many years.

Why Our POS Software May Not Be Right For Your Business

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We are proud to share this advice…

We don’t want to sell, rent or lease our POS software to a business for which it is not a good fit.

Don’t get us wrong, we do want business. However, we don’t see the point in making a sale for the sake of a sale. As a small privately owned company, our guiding principles are different to larger businesses with multiple shareholders. Where their focus is profit first, our focus is service.

Service to us is providing a product that is a good fit and that delivers appreciated value over the long term. This is achieved by providing fit for purpose software, backing it with personal training and support and enhancing it through an on-going software development process that is guided by user engagement and feedback.

One reason we want to personally demonstrate our POS software to retailers in the specialty marketplaces in which we serve is so that we can be sure for ourselves that our software is a good fit. We are on the record of advising sales prospects that we are not a good fit. Yes, we do this, respectfully and with an explanation of why we think so.

We have been in business for a long time and plan to be here for a long time. Doing right by sales prospects is part of this. We know a quick sale today just to get the sale whether it is a good fit for the client or not is not conducive to good long term business.

So, yes, we may say our software is not a good fit for your business.

It could be you have need we do not address today. Therefore, we are keen for you to be open and complete in outlining your needs.

It could be that you are a big business. While we do have big business clients, our absolute preference is to serve small retail businesses.

It could be that your business is outside out area of specialisation. While we have plenty of customers outside our marketplaces of specialisation, each has been certain our software is a good fit for them.; We love that they have made this choice, without pressure.

It could be that you want a deal we are unwilling to agree to. We don’t sell on price for we know that in business today you do get what you pay for. For us to deliver quality and evolving software and services we need fair compensation. The price we offer is our best price. We treat all sales prospects equally.

It could be that you want a specific change to the software. We plan our development many months out. We usually cannot drop commitments to customers to get a quick sale. While we welcome and seek out customer initiated enhancement requests, we do so in a structured way that works with our long-term development schedule.

It is important to us that our software and our company are good fits for any business taking on our software. To achieve this, our sales approach is personal, transparent and focussed on the long term.

We think a software choice decision is too important to a business to seek without doing appropriate homework.

Awesome Pet Expo on the Gold Coast

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We had a terrific day at the Pet Expo on the Gold Coast yesterday. We met with plenty of customers who use our Pet Shop Software and we made many new prospect connections.

We were thrilled by the point of difference reflected in our stand, its messages and the consistency we represented. We know these things matter to small business pet store owners.

We are keen for what today will bring…

Awesome Aussie developed produce and farm supply business POS software helps guide local service

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Our specialty produce store software has been designed for and with produce and farm supply businesses. It can help you compete with big businesses and online businesses. We’d love to show it to you. We can do this, obligation free, in your shop or through an online demonstration.

Here are the details for our sales team: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

Awesome Aussie developed jeweller software helps local jewellers reach more customers

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Our specialty jeweller software has been designed for and with jeweller businesses. It can help you compete with big businesses and online businesses. We’d love to show it to you. We can do this, obligation free, in your shop or through an online demonstration.

Here are the details for our sales team: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

Awesome Aussie developed garden centre software helps indie garden centres

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Our specialty garden centre software has been designed for garden centres & nurseries. It can help you compete with big businesses and online businesses. We’d love to show it to you. We can do this, obligation free, in your shop or through an online demonstration.

Here are the details for our sales team: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

Awesome Aussie developed fishing and outdoors software helps us enjoy fishing more

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Our specialty fishing & outdoors shop software has been designed for and with fishing & outdoors shops. It can help you compete with big businesses and online businesses. We’d love to show it to you. We can do this, obligation free, in your shop or through an online demonstration.

Here are the details for our sales team: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

Awesome Aussie developed firearms software helps licenced firearms dealers run good businesses

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Our specialty firearms shop software has been designed for and with firearms dealers. It can help you compete with big businesses and online businesses. We’d love to show it to you. We can do this, obligation free, in your shop or through an online demonstration.

Here are the details for our sales team: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

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