The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

ArchiveOctober 2019

How is the Tower Systems POS software different to Vend from VendHQ?

October 8, 2019
3 Min read
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From time to time, we are asked how our small business POS software compares to software from a competitor.

Since we have not used competitor software we cannot know. This is the same reason a competitor cannot know about our software.

Sure, we have insights, but we do not know for sure.

What we do know, is what we do and what our  software does. What we do know is what we do with and for our indie retail customers, to deliver to them commercially valuable outcomes. This is what we can speak to.

So, when we were asked recently how our POS software compares to the Vend POS software from VendHQ, here is what we said…

Hey, thanks for asking how we compare to the Vend POS software. We have not used their software ourselves and so cannot speak to what it does from first hand experience.

We have switched people from Vend to our POS software and we could put you in touch with those retailers so they can speak to their experiences with the two different software products. Pleased let us know if that is what you would like us to do.

Always, we prefer customers to want us more so than rejecting another company. We prefer the positive take, the optimistic outlook. It is how we have always been in this business. We don’t want to win business by bagging a competitor.

What we can speak to is what our software does. In fact, let us show you in a demonstration driven by you, where you tell us what you want to see. At this live and unrestricted demonstration you are in control, we are your servant.

We can also speak to how we operate as a company, our transparency, accessibility and service of our customers. Through our weekly customer service email, our unlimited free one-on-one training, online knowledge base and live human driven help desk, we provide personal service that always starts with listening to you.

We can show you how our customers are our best asset when working out how were can enhance the software. We’d love to show our our democratic approach to determining software enhancements, based on suggestions from our customers.

This is us, Tower Systems, a POS software company serving 3,500+ specialty retailers in New Zealand and Australia. We’d love an opportunity to optimistically engage without disrespecting your interest in other products like Vend.

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Gift vouchers are easy in the Tower Systems POS software for indie retailers

October 7, 2019
2 Min read
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Selling, managing and tracking gift vouchers in a retail business is simple, safe and easy using the POS software developed and supported by Tower Systems.

Gift vouchers can be issued by the POS software easily, quickly and accurately. There is no need for a printed card or note. Alternatively, a business can create the gift vouchers externally from the POS software yet have all  of them easily tracked and managed.

Loaded with whatever amount suits a customer and fits within the rules of a business, gift vouchers are a wonderful solution for a retail business to offer where a customer likes a shop but does not know what to buy. From the moment a gift voucher is loaded with a value it is tracked by the POS software. The amount loaded is managed as a liability of the business, as is required by accounting standards.

Tower Systems has managed gift vouchers in its POS software for decades. The gift voucher facilities in the software have evolved as the needs of small business retailers have evolved. The company has ensured that its offering in this space is fit for purpose for today’s retail environment, to enable its customers to be competitive in this space.

Gift voucher setup in the POS software is easy. Thanks to not requiring pre printed cards, a business can test the appetite of its customers for gift vouchers by having computer generated vouchers. This trial can help guide whether a business should invest ini professional design and production of vouchers, which is also a service that Tower Systems offers through its in-house graphic design tools and services.

We see gift vouchers successfully used in small business retail in the channels of garden centres, bike shops, jewellers, gift shops, homewares shops, book shops, newsagencies, pet shops, toy shops and even firearms shops as well as many other types of retail business situations. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with gift retailers to help them build customer appeal.

Gift vouchers are a vital tools for small business retailers to offer, to help broaden the appeal of a shop beyond what it may have available for customers to purchase today. Tower Systems makes them financially and operationally appealing to small business retailers through its smart POS software.

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Audit tools in POS software help small business retailers find out what they do not know

October 6, 2019
3 Min read
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Secret audit tools in POS software are critical in small business retail for they provide insights into behind the scenes activity in a business that could be harmful to the business. By tracking activities including keystrokes designed to manipulate business data, good POS software is able to help a retail business compare bad behaviour including fraud.

The Tower Systems small business POS software has terrific audit tools that can only be accessed with the most secure password managed by the software, a password only given by the comp0any to business owners.

Using the smart audit tools, we have been able to help retailers to track employee fraud, supplier fraud, customer fraud and what could have been expensive but unintentional mistakes.

The Audie tools and the secret mirror data they have access to represent a valuable asset to any indie retailer as they make the POS software operational smart for and protective of that business.

This area of data curation and management is not often talked abut because it can be construed as a negative given the connection with bad things happening in a business. The reality is that knowing the tools are there creates a positive situation, a comfort, a peace of mind as the POS software is offering a set of eyes and ears watching over the business and providing the business access to insights to help reduce the negative.

The Tower Systems small business POS software provides to indie retailers audit tools that are exemplary in their service of ethical business operation. This is especially useful inn businesses that are run with owners and even senior managers not in a location full  time.

So, in addition to accurately and quickly transacting retail sales, the Tower Systems POS software offers retail business owners access to tools through which they can review data that sheds light on behaviour that could compromise the business. This is what a good audit is about.

Our POS software audit tools have been used in legal cases and by business financial auditors and forensic accountants to track potential misbehaviour. the resulting data can be a body of evidence in criminal or commercial legal action. It is data on which expert evidence can be offered as to actions taken in a business that cold be the matter of such a case.

Our hope is that the audit tools in our POS software do not find misbehaviour and that simply having the tools in a business is the most value achieved. However, should they be needed and should they uncover misbehaviour, the audit tools stand strong and tall for the business and those who own it.

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New POS software / e-commerce workshops next week

October 5, 2019
2 Min read
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A free workshop for small business retailers: How to find new customers by selling online direct from POS software for your specific type of business using Shopify and Magento.

Click on your preferred city below to book. Each workshop (except for online) will be in an easy to get to capital city location.

  1. Auckland. October 7. 10am.
  2. Brisbane. October 8. 10am.
  3. Canberra. October 9. 10am.
  4. Online. October 10. 10am. AEST.
  5. Online. October 10. 2pm. AEST.
  6. Wellington. October 14. 10am.
  7. Christchurch. Oct. 15. 10am.

Join us for a free workshop where we will explore Shopify and Magento direct connected POS software for specialty retailers: jewellers, garden centres, produce, toy, firearms, fishing, outdoors, newsagents, pet, gift, book, bike and adult.

At the interactive and engaging workshops we will focus on new online insights for 2020 and beyond that are relevant to indie small business retailers.

  1. Hear from current case studies what other indie retailers are doing.
  2. Find out how to use online to drive in-store shopping.
  3. Learn how click and collect actually works.
  4. Find out about the different buy now pay later options for online sales.
  5. See how stock data including images flow easily from the POS to online.

Each workshop will be live and interactive and relevant to your type of business. It could save you thousands in web developer fees. This will not be a sales pitch. We will share what we know having done this work ourselves for the retail businesses we own in the homewares, pop culture, collectible, plush, gift and games segments of retail.

We live everyday the challenges of pricing, marketing, shipping and more and we will share out learnings.

We will cover hot topics including: SEO, shipping options, free shipping, the role of social in online sales, returns, bundles, branding and a plan b for your web strategy.

We are local. Tower Systems serves 3,500+ specialty businesses – with awesome and locally made POS software and websites. We make what we sell. We use it ourselves too, in our own retail and online businesses.

With these free to access POS software workshops and all we do, goal is to help you enjoy a more successful and valuable business.

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Pet microchip tracking in pet shop software helps pet retailers better serve pet lovers

October 4, 2019
2 Min read
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The Tower Systems Pet Shop Software helps pet retailers serve customers through recording pet microchip details. This is part of a list of pet shop specific facilities in the Tower Systems POS software for pet stores.

Local pet stores are unique loc al service businesses, with tough big business competitors and an ever-growing online challenge. Tower Systems helps local indie businesses confront the challenges.

The Tower Systems Pet Shop Software is locally designed, developed and supported specifically for pet products retailers. We only sell to independent local pet businesses. We believe in small business!

Our Pet Shop Software is loaded with facilities developed specifically for pet stores. These are facilities you will not see in regular, often cheaper, POS software. The facilities continue to evolve, too, based on suggestions from people like you.

The microchip tracking tools can track by pet by customer with customers being able to have as many pets recorded as they wish. This means the pet shop can become a data repository for pet owners, offering wonderful peace of mind.

The software can also track working dates and other dates important in the healthy life of a pet. Pet workers love this tracking and that their local pet shop can provide the service as part of a whole of pet life engagement by the business for its customers and the pets of its customers.

Tower Systems is proud to deliver these tools and more in its specialty POS software designed specifically for independent pet stores in Australia, New Zealand and beyond. This is what specialisation is all about – helping indie retailers to play to their strengths of local professional service and advice. Our software helps every day in the delivery of this.

Our awesome and regularly evolving Pet Shop Software also offers:

  1. Marketing based on pet birthdays and other anniversaries.
  2. Group discounts, where members of a local group loyal to you save money.
  3. Easy loading of electronic invoices from your suppliers.
  4. Linking to a website for online sales.
  5. Linking to Xero to cut bookkeeping and external accounting costs.
  6. Rewarding loyal shoppers with points and / or cash off their next purchase.

Tower Systems is proud to serve 3,500+ retailers nationally.

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POS connected Shopify site helps drive pre-orders and lock in revenue

October 3, 2019
2 Min read
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Tower Systems is proud to have helped deliver excellent Christmas ornaments orders for the www.myornaments.com.au website.

This POS software connected Shopify site is one of many created by the company for retailers, to help them achieve terrific online revenue.

What makes the My ornaments off interesting is the handling of pre orders two months prior to good arriving in Australia. This enabled the business to book  substantial revenue and bank payment months ahead of the goods being shipped and even longer ahead of goods being paid for.

This business model of prepayment of purchases, in a pre order situation, is valuable to any retailer keen to evolve their model and achieve cash flow benefits for what will be highly sought after items with limited release numbers.

Managing this through POS software connected Shopify helps the business maximise cash management and streamline packing and shipping once the goods arrive.

The seamless link between Shopify and the Tower Systems POS software helps save time, reduce mistakes, streamline business operations and discover new shoppers. Indeed, it is the reaching of new shoppers not within the local pool of shoppers for the business where the Shopify integration becomes really valuable in that a business shipping to another state helps expand the shopper reach.

As a Shopify partner, Tower Systems is positioned to deliver to indie retailers wonderful Shopify connected POS software solutions, helping these retailers leverage in-store and online for maximum benefit.

This pre order solution helps retailers sell what they do not have but will have once stock arrives. This is a smart solution that is good for nimble and flexible small business retailers.

Here is part of what we deliver to our POS software connected Shopify customers:

  1. A pre-development over the phone Q&A meeting.
  2. Shopify link. This is a facility in the Retailer software to link with Shopify.
  3. Live Shopify site as per the facilities and functionality outlined in this document – see below, including pre development consultation.
  4. Up to 2 hours of hand-over training.
  5. Three months of phone-based assistance (but not software changes) following delivery.
  6. A comprehensive handover document that provides support, written training and guidance on your next steps. This is the same for all our Shopify site customers. i.e. it is not document written especially for you.
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Produce business software helps regional and rural businesses serve local farmers

October 2, 2019
2 Min read
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Produce business software from Tower Systems offers a best practice solution to these local and often regional and rural businesses as they serve the needs of local farmers and residents in the produce, feedstock and related areas.

Businesses using our produce business software love the channel specific benefits including:

  1. Time saving invoicing and account management – manage accounts in a way tailored to your You can easily account for freight, produce picking slips, manage accounts, feed data to Xero and MYOB and do more.
  2. Sell accurately by measure – by whole numbers or
  3. Sell by weight.
  4. Special orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
  5. Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to youfor this.
  6. Trade pricing profiles. You can set pricing rules based on types of customers.
  7. Pre-orders – We make it easy for you to pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  8. Bagging up feed – Easily manage bagging up a bulk feed delivery into smaller, saleable lots, while keeping accurate stock on hand data.
  9. Making your own feed mix. We help you track managing bulk quantity ingredients and mixing these into saleable packs of your own brand of seed mix. What an awesome point of difference for your business!Differentiate with informative receipts. These can include care, use and safety information based on what customers buy.
  10. Be accurate with all-weather product labels.
  11. Differentiate with bundles. Selling items bundled together makes price comparison hard.
  12. Market to customers based on past purchases.
  13. Save time by importing electronic invoices.
  14. Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
  15. Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
  16. Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
  17. Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software.

With many produce businesses and farm supply businesses already using the Tower Systems POS software, we have a wonderful pool of businesses from which to learn as we further enhance our software as part of our perpetual renewal program. Our work with business owners, managers and their suppliers sees us continue to evolve our product business software solution.

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Easy to use POS software for pop-up shops

October 1, 2019
2 Min read
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Tower Systems offers Retailer Roam as an easy to setup and run POS software solution for pop-up retail shops situations.

With Pop-up retail becoming more prevalent, having a sweet POS software solution to help owners and managers of pop-up retail stores makes sense.

From selling to store management, the Retailer Roam pop-pop retail solution from Tower Systems offers an easy to setup, easy to use and easy to fund pop-pop retail management solution. Pop-up retail is easier thanks to this solution from Tower Systems.

Running in the cloud with easy to use redundancy built in should the internet be down, Retailer Roam works in a variety of situations and for a variety of businesses. It is safe, secure and accessible.

Retailer Roan is another cloud based POS solution from the web team at Tower Systems where cloud based POS Solutions have been delivered for indie retailers for years.

Retailer Roam is a tablet app-based POS extension to the Tower Systems Retailer POS software. The app runs on Apple iPad and Android based tablets. It can run connected over WiFi or any other network. It can also run disconnected, syncing when connected again to a network at a later time.

Retailer Roam is designed to help retailers better manage buy times without the need to install considerable hardware as well as to transact business away from the counter, from an outpost or from a vehicle some distance from the shop.

Pop-up retail needs to be easy, fast, safe and secure. Retailer Roam from Tower Systems is all of these things. It is a wonderful solution for indie retailers looking to expand their retail business reach into the pop-up retail space.

If you are considering a pop-up retail store, consider Retailer Roam from Tower Systems and enjoy the flexibility of selling anywhere, anytime and with safety, security and speed as benefits at your fingertips.

Tower Systems is a small business focussed POS software company serving in excess of 3,500 indie retailers in several niche retail channels.

We make and support what we sell, including Retailer Roam. For pop-up, online and fixed location high street retail. 

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