The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

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Participating in a work from home university study

December 22, 2022
2 Min read
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We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in a study buy a leading university in Australia into work from home and how it is playing out for businesses and employees. The questions are thoughtful, and encouraging insights of our own as we contemplate aspects of what is the new normal that we had not considered before.

When Covid began we immediately moved to a work from home model for all employees who wanted it. As an essential business’s we could keep the office open, and we did with a skeleton team.

Now, almost three years on, the office based team remains small, with only those who want to be here. Everyone else, the majority of our Tower Systems team, works from home in situations they prefer in terms of commute time, time management and local community connections.

We are careful to not encroach on non-work time and have a number of processes in place to ensure this does not happen.

With some colleagues saving three hours a day commute time, the family benefits as well as the individual. It’s terrific.

We have invested more in tech infrastructure to facilitate a good work from home experience. Cloud based applications make it easy for our colleagues to collaborate, which, as a software development business, is important. This investment will continue as new tech support platforms emerge.

At the office things have changed too. We have re-purposed space to create hot desks for those who do want to come in for a few days. Plus, we have created purpose-built broadcast facilities to serve the easier production of the digital content we publish, as well and for the video calls we use for team meetings, POS software demonstrations and more.

The university study is looking at a range of interesting topics related to work from home, from the business and individual perspectives. It’s an interesting study in that it is being undertaken without any commercial connection or agenda. we think this matters because much of the noise about work from home until now has been shrill ‘news’ from landlords and other property connected spokespeople.

We are just one of many businesses participating, and we are sincerely grateful for the opportunity.

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Compare POS Quotes continues to trade off interest in the Tower Systems POS software

November 10, 2022
2 Min read
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It’s 6:45am Thursday November 10 and the www.compareposquotes.com.au website continues to pay Google to attract people to their website when Tower Systems is typed into a Google search.

These are people searching for us and here is a business spending money to re-direct the search done by those people on their ad platform, in which we do not participate.

The businesses listed at Compare POS quotes pay to be there. These are businesses potentially benefiting from people searching for the Tower Systems name and clicking on the Compare POS Quotes ad.

In our opinion, this is poor business practice, questionable ethically because people in the example we share are searching for us, specifically for us, and the Compare POS Quotes website ad names Tower Systems, suggesting that clicking on their ad will help those searching “find the right Tower Systems” for their business.

We would not do this competitor named and targeted advertising for ethical reasons. But that’s us. Clearly, there are some quite happy to do it, quite happy to try and grow their business based on the interest out there in our Tower Systems POS software solution.

You can see from SEMRush data this morning that the traffic to the Compare POS Quotes website is primarily coming from this paid advertising, and, in our opinion, the traffic is not that much, but you can see that it has recently bounced.

What Compare POS Quotes is doing is like a competitor jumping in front of someone who is about to enter your shop to browse. For sure any local retailer would be unhappy about that, and they would be angry at any competitor doing it.

All we can hope is that people go to Google, type in Tower Systems, and click on the Compare POS Quotes ad as this costs them money. The more it costs them and the businesses that advertise with them, without a commercial outcome – the less they are likely to do it. We can hope at least.

We want interest in Tower Systems to grow because we make awesome specialty retail POS software backed by awesome local Aussie support. We want to grow for authentic and justified reasons – not because we jumped in front of someone looking at a competitor business.

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Here’s how we use the POS software we make in our own retail shops in pursuit of value, enjoyment and success

October 12, 2022
2 Min read
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Tower Systems is a rare POS software company that uses what it makes, in its own shops, to learn, and make better software, and, of course, create more valuable, enjoyable and successful local retail businesses.

late in 2021, we bought an old-school newsagency business in malvern, Victoria. It had been in the same family for 28 years. We are slowly enjoying the business, on a frugal budget, and based on where data take us. here’s a look at how September 2022 has done in this business, where we have leveraged the ideas from the newsXpress newsagency marketing group, which we also own.

While this video was made to demonstrate what newsXpress helps its partner retailers achieve, it also speaks to the value from the Tower Systems POS software.

There is a narrative put about by some POS software companies that they started because they could not find software that suited their needs. We went the other way. In 1996 we bought our first sop to learn, and walk in the shoes of our customers. In the 26 years since, every day, we have experienced value and enjoyment from owning and running retail shops.

Tower Systems is not your average POS software company. We live and breathe retail, and can engage with our customers from a position of experience, empathy.

Our owning and running retail businesses informs decisions we make about our software, how we train our customers and how we support them. It is a whole of business benefit for us and for our customers.

The last thing any retailer wants is a tech person telling them something about retail that’s out of context or disconnected from the world of retail. We make software here at Tower Systems that seeks to integrate with retail in a more meaningful and useful way, and we can do this thanks to our everyday retail experience.

Every person working in our business has retail experience. This matters because when they talk with any of our customers, they can know what it’s like in a shop. The empathy from personal experience makes for a better POS software support experience we think.

We are grateful for the people in the shops we own for their experience and advice helps us make better POS software and provide it with more valuable POS software support.

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You don’t know this about Tower Systems

July 26, 2022
2 Min read
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You don’t know this about us …

We were talking with someone the other day and they were surprised to discover that we used to develop software for radiologists back in the day. It got us wondering about what people don’t know. Not that it matters because it’s not always about ur, right? But, we thought about it and wondered about sharing, occasionally, a you don’t know this about us, to share a bit more about ourselves.

You don’t know this about us but we have completely developed our software, from scratch, like from a blank screen, a total of 6 times in our history. So, that’s the initial development, which sold well, through another 5 versions after that. each one was a from scratch start. each one enabling us to learn, switch languages and become better.

In our latest environment we have been able to deliver extraordinary change since that environment itself has undergone extraordinary change, and we have kept up with it.

This rewriting from scratch is important. It is cleansing. It’s also smart tech. It helps us deliver lean software, useful software.

From a programmers perspective, there is value starting with a clean slate.

There is risk in sticking with old tech. back in the day when we developed and delivered a new Windows based solution, turning our back on DOS, there were others who clung on. History has shown that the clung for too long, ultimately hurting their business.

While there was a cost to us for leading into the Windows world in a couple of retail sectors, the benefits far outweighed these. So much was achieved, and for this we are grateful.

But that was a couple of decades ago. So much has changed since then, so many advancements have been delivered, so much has changed in terms of software development and deployment. It is such a different world today. We love change and lean into it with gusto.

So, yeah, we have developed software, sold it, supported us and, when appropriate, replaced;aced it with software more modern, useful and fit for purpose. This is what forward thinking software companies do while bringing their customers along with them.

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Re-casting the POS software co. office to the permanent work from home hybrid model

July 19, 2022
2 Min read
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It’s been a flurry of activity in the Tower Systems head office over the last two weeks as we made some long overdue moves.

When Covid kicked off in March 2020, most of our team members moved to work from home. A small core remained at the office as we were classed as essential and some of what we do needed to be done in the office. That core group all preferred to work from the office.

Since March 2020, we’ve left it up to those working from home to decide where they work. We are grateful to have colleagues who demonstrate every day that giving them choice is good for the business, and good for them.

Now, in July 2022, we have made changes to the office to reflect the now permanent arrangements. We have created new work spaces, four new and fully equipped hot desk spaces, a new shared resource space as well as a new studio and space for collaboration.

We have also introduced more soundproofed settings to make the now normal flow of Zoom, WebEx and teams video meetings more enjoyable for all.

Re-casting the POS software co. office to the permanent work from home hybrid model

We have also been able to create some relaxation spaces, although we may have paid too much for some things.

Re-casting the POS software co. office to the permanent work from home hybrid model

It doesn’t make sense to maintain a ton of offices for people who much prefer to work from home and are happier as a result thanks to the commute time saved.

We are thankful to be able to maintain enough space for whole of team meetings in the office by being creative in how we configure our situation.

The changes we have made are similar to plenty of office based businesses, and in these changes are opportunities for local retailers. More people are working from where they live, meaning the Covid migration that benefited local high street retail is continuing, and we like that as local retailers are our customers. We love the they have opportunities to be strong through these changes.

We smile at the regular flow of stories from city based businesses wanting people to come back to the offices. We don’t think there’s any going back. This really is the new normal.

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More live POS software demonstrations in our own shop

July 18, 2022
1 Min read
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We are grateful to have our own shops where retailers can see our POS software running.

Friday last week we had another couple through one of our shops. They loved getting behind the counter and seeing and using the PS+OS software first hand.

This is a real point of difference not only for us to walk in the shoes of our customers but for people to get up close in a live retail situation with our software.

We are so grateful to have the retail resources available.

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Seeking a react Native front end developer

July 7, 2022
2 Min read
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We are looking for a senior React Native developer who can develop and maintain a new iOS and Android App using React Native for a new product. Ideally, located in Melbourne given the new nature of this role and the new product for which it is planned, but we may consider interstate candidates.

This can be a permanent full time position or contract – it’s up to you.

About you (essential):

  • Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology, or a similar field.
  • 3 years minimum experience in developing software for iOS and Android
  • 3 years minimum experience in Mobile App development using React Native and React JS(Typescript).
  • Understanding of GraphQL, REST APIs, and offline storage.
  • Familiarity with native build tools, like XCode, Gradle, etc.
  • Experience in deploying Apps to App Store and Google Play Store.
  • Ability to work in a highly agile, non prescriptive environment.
  • Self motivation and management are key.

Bonus skills we’d love:

  • Experience building node.js applications.
  • Experience with AWS services.

Office based in Hawthorn, VIC, which is preferred. We may consider work from home.

Australian citizenship or PR is essential.

No students, sorry.

No agents, sorry.

No companies pitching their dev team, sorry.

Check us out at www.towersystems.com.au.

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Welcoming record numbers of POS software customers

June 29, 2022
1 Min read
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Here at Tower Systems we are grateful for a warm winter welcoming so many new customers using our POS software.

We are grateful for every new customer, and even more so that we have welcomed new customers across a diverse mix of retail business channels: jewellers, sewing shops, garden centres, farm supply businesses, charity shops, community group businesses, toy shops, pet shops, bike shops and pool maintenance businesses.

All of our customer businesses are local and small (in a good way). This is the space in which we are most comfortable. We prefer to be working with those most invested in the business.

Our business is configured for growth from our pre-installation scheduling team to our new customer training team to our post-installation care team to our everyday help desk team. Each of these teams is configured and resourced to help our growing pool of new customers land happily and profitably with our locally made POS software.

2022 is already a bumper year. We are over the moon.

Thank you to every retailer in our community. Your faith and trust in us means the world to all of us here at Tower Systems.

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Real people make and support POS software for real local retail businesses

February 23, 2022
1 Min read
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We kinds smile when we see POS software companies use avatars on their website. here at Tower Systems we prefer to be authentic, showing ourselves for it’s us who will serve you. Well, us and and awesome team of software developers, help desk people, trainers and back office admin people.

Here’s a video we made recently where we speak to this authenticity.

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The benefits of the best POS software for your retail business will be more beneficial than any price difference

February 11, 2022
3 Min read
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There is POS software and then there is the right POS software for your business. The difference between POS software and the right POS software can be huge.

It’s not about price.
Even though plenty of companies what you think it is about price.
They want you think it is about price because they compete on price.
Competing on price is easy, and lazy, as any retailer knows.
People who buy based on price are not loyal.
Any, loyalty matters when it comes to POS software.
Because,
… you want your POS software company to invest in their software, the software you are using.
… you want them to serve you, and not spending their time chasing more and more people who want to pay the least possible.
… you want more from the software for your business, more than a quick dopamine hit on price.
It’s not about price because that’s the least of the cost of POS software.
The best POS software saves you time.
The best POS software helps you made better decisions.
The best POS software helps you stand out.
The best POS software helps you attract shoppers who are loyal to your business.
The best POS software helps you nurture better employees.
The best POS software helps reduce your stress levels.
The best POS software is about money because of all these things.
The best POS software will help you run a more enjoyable and valuable retail business.

Take your time.

Make the right decision.

Too often, we see POS software companies pressure small business retailers into making a quick decision. They chase sales, putting on pressure.

Don’t succumb to pressure. make the decision you feel the best about, when you are ready.

Get this right and you can tap into some awesome benefits from the right POS software for your retail business. Here are benefits we think we offer retailers we partner with:

  • Save time with electronic invoices from suppliers.
  • Offer personal customer service by tracking dates that are important to your customers.
  • Use tags to get a fresh perspective, side-view, on stock performance.
  • Leverage you. If you believe your knowledge is a differentiator, offer it through structured opportunities in the software.
  • Easily handle special customer orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
  • Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to youfor this. we’re told it’s a game changer.
  • Maximise the basket with easy to use one-time shopper loyalty tools.
  • Trade and club pricing profiles. Set pricing rules based on customer type.
  • Leverage your local community with an awesome two-way benefits package.
  • Make money from pre-orders – Easily pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  • Differentiate with informative receipts. These can include product care, use and safety information based on what customers buy.
  • Differentiate with bundles. Selling items bundled together makes price comparison hard.
  • Track who sold what.
  • Say goodbye to LayBy (if you want) – with buy now pay later options.
  • Market to customers based on past purchases.
  • Save time by importing electronic invoices.
  • Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
  • Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
  • Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
  • Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software.

These are tangible deliverables. And, the list is incomplete. Using our POS software you can expect more benefits than these.

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How Australian made POS software helps local Australian retail businesses

January 21, 2022
2 Min read
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Any local Australian retail business that wants to see local shoppers engage with local retailers should consider these benefits of local Australian made POS software:

  1. We better understand you. A local Aussie POS software company will understand local retailer needs better than a software company located offshore.
  2. Your business is different to retail overseas. There is an Australian way, an Australian style, an Australian approach … embedded in our POS software.
  3. We speak Australian. Terms used in our POS reflect local terms, they make sense.
  4. We are awake when you are awake. If you need us for something serious, or even not so serious, we are open when you are open whereas an offshore company operates their local hours.
  5. We pay taxes here, which benefit the local Aussie community. And by taxes we mean GST, payroll tax, company tax, regulatory fees and more. And, since we hire locally, our employees contribute locally. If you buy from a software company located offshore, much less of what you spend will benefit the Australian economy and the lives of Australians.
  6. We report in a way that makes local sense. How businesses assess their performance varies around the world. Having local software provides you with access to reporting in a manner that makes sense to you.
  7. Local software helps you compete locally. We need local businesses, small retail businesses. Our software is fine-tuned to help these businesses compete against bigger businesses, just like we do in our own company. We think our local POS software will do better at helping your local business compete than POS software from some big offshore company that may not be as locally connected as we are.
  8. We support local community groups. Local small businesses understand local community support.

Of course, we’ll pitch this as we are a local Australian POS software company serving local Australian retailer needs.

While this is a nice emotive case, the real decision has to be what’s best for your business. Now, best can be about the tech. of the software or the broader assist from the company to your business and the local community we share.

Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to have been chosen by more than 3,000 local retail businesses in Australia.

Thank you.

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Hiring ReactJS developers for our Melbourne software company

January 6, 2022
1 Min read
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We are looking for more ReactJS (Typescript) developers to join our team. Being in Melbourne would be a plus, but we will absolutely consider interstate candidates.

Working within our agile team you will be encouraged to offer suggestions, provide input from past experiences, and truly own what you code. We are not big on hierarchy or position titles. Our only goal is to create a truly unique product and experience for our customers. If you see yourself as the type of person who can work closely with our small team, enjoy being challenged and want to be the pedals rather than just a link in the chain we encourage you to apply today.

About you

  • 2 years’ minimum experience in developing software using ReactJS (Typescript).
  • Experience in front-end development is a must.
  • Experience in back-end development is desirable.
  • Understanding of AWS Architecture, GraphQL, REST APIs, and offline storage.
  • Ability to work in a highly agile, non-prescriptive environment.
  • Must be able to work autonomously and with high level directives.
  • Ability to work from home is desirable.

Tower Systems is a Melbourne based POS software company developing software solutions for local small business retailers.

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2021: what a year!

December 31, 2021
1 Min read
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In our small business POS software company, which only serves local specialty retail small businesses, we are grateful for 2021 and the abundance it has delivered.

We are grateful for many new customers.

We are grateful for new team members.

We are grateful to be offering new products.

We are grateful to have been able to shepherd plenty of local businesses online.

We are grateful for health.

We are grateful to finish the year is such good and happy shape.

What a year 2021! Thank you for all you have brought our way!

Happy New Year to all …

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It’s Kris Kringle day at our POS software office

December 16, 2021
1 Min read
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For many years, this has been the day to look forward to. We share gifts and have some fun, and we get to steal gifts, and have some more fun.

We are grateful to be able to have this tradition again this year, celebrating face to face, and enjoying the community that is the Christmas season for us here at Tower Systems.

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Hiring for the POS software help desk

November 25, 2021
1 Min read
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We are grateful to be hiring for our help desk. If you know someone with good small business retail experience and good tech skills, please have them make contact: mark@towersystems.com.au.

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Today, we are grateful

November 6, 2021
1 Min read
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We are grateful for the small business owners who believe in us here at Tower Systems, those who have been with us for decades and those who have joined us in recent weeks, and all those in between.

Every local small business retailer customer means a lot to us and all who rely on our business for income.

We are also grateful that we can take this moment … to be grateful.

Business is challenging, especially in 2021 and especially in the small business space.

So, thank you … if you are a customer of ours passing by here. If you are not a customer, we hope we can be of service some day.

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