CategoryCustomer Service

Small business retailers using our cloud backup service benefit from early detection of disk abnormalities that can lead to disk failure.

In one case recently we contacted a customer and let them know there was evidence of an impending ding hard disk failure. They were able to arrange replacement through their hard ware supplier prior to the failure occurring.

We were able to provide the early warning thanks to the smart and engaged diagnostics run by our cloud backup service. While undertaking a backup the software is checking the drive for abnormalities. Detecting this prior to crash saves a business time as it prevents business disruption.

Tower Systems tracks and reports on disk abnormalities as part of its engaged cloud backup service. This is another way we help small business retailers.

We have ensured we have a team of professionals, live in the office, to help small business retailers with any query about our POS software between this Christmas and New Year period.

While it is often slower than through the year, we ensure we are resourced to cover any situation that arises.

Ensuring access to the office-based service is vital as the office-based team has access to more resources than  those not the office.

For decades we have offered office-based coverage in this time, refusing to close in these days between Christmas and New Year as many companies its do. We are grateful to be in a position to offer this support coverage.

We are often asked for advice and help outside what is usual for a small business POS software company. Recently, we were asked by a customer for advice on holding a cash-flow challenge. Here is an article we offer our customers on this topic. It shows the extent to which Tower Systems can help, beyond what is usual for a POS software company serving small business retailers.

Cashflow can get very tight in any small business. How you deal with it is a test of leadership.

The common approach is to hide from those to whom you owe money. That only serves to harm your business and put you under more pressure.

Here is our practical advice on how to deal with a cashflow challenge:

1. Understand the problem. Know if it is short term or long term. Be certain about the role you have played.
2. Own the problem. Fixing this is on you.
3. Develop a plan and document it succinctly:
   1. To borrow if appropriate.
   2. To put more of your own money into the business.
   3. To cut overheads: labour, rent.
   4. To convert more stock to cash.
   5. Work our what free cash you have availabke from your weekly trading.
   6. Ensure all creditors receive payments, no matter h0ow small. Regular payments reflect your commitment to goodwill. They also show you are not playing favourites.
4. Talk to your creditors, apologise, outline your plan, ask for help.
5. Act. Every decision, every action you take must work to addressing the cashflow challenge. If you have created a plan(point 3 above) act on it immediately. This is not a time to overthink things.
6. Invest. If your cashflow challenge is because of a decline in traffic, not spending money chasing traffic will only make the problem worse.

If your cashflow challenge is more serious than a short to medium term plan could resolve it could be that your business is insolvent.

Company directors have a legal obligation to not allow their businesses to trade while insolvent.

Many have been in this situation. You can come out the other side by acting sooner, with commitment and with transparency to your creditors.

Based on past years support call traffic retailers will be too busy to call the office today. So, we are closed. However, all of our after hours numbers are live and working, here to help in an emergency.

Good Christmas trading everyone!

Here are our Christmas / New Year office. hours. Our comprehensive site after hours phone network will remain available throughout:

December 22nd Open 7am Close 2pm (or earlier if desk is quiet)
December 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th Closed.
December 27th Open 8:30am Close 5pm
December 28th Open 8:30am Close 5pm
December 29th Open 8:30am Close 5pm
December 30th, 31st January 1st Closed
January 2nd,Open 7am Close 5pm
January 3rd, Open 7am Close 5pm
January 4th, Open 7am Close 5pm
January 5th, Open 7am Close 5pm.

Our after hours numbers will be live throughout, for urgent system down situations.

Retailers using our POS software are loving that they can see how busy our help desk is at any point in time. The dashboard they have access to shops calls in the system, calls being worked on and calls closed for the day.

The link between our CRM system and the customer service web portal is another initiative delivered by Tower Systems demonstrating transparency. We think this is vital for small business retailers in considering a POS software company. It shows that there is nothing to hide and that facts matter.

These data points are updated live, providing current information, helping retailers make decisions about their use of our personal help desk service.

Given that our small business retailer customers have other options for accessing service, the information we share can help them consider these. For example, we have more than 700 articles in our knowledge base. This is searchable in plain English. It offers customers easy access to useful outcomes. Plus, it continues to grow.

Our POS software customers have access to unlimited free one-on-one training. We gratefully offer this as we know it helps our customers get more from the software and that is us doing our job.

We have structured training options as well as free-form where we follow the requirements of any customer diving deep into the software to serve specific queries and needs they may have.

This free one-on-one training is in addition to our group training and user meetings.

Our customers can send a request to schedule free training to bookings@towersystems.com.au.

We have added head count to our help desk to expand resources for  customers. Our latest new hire joined us two weeks ago and is now taking some calls solo as part of the structured go-live process for new help desk team members.

We are grateful to our growing customer base that enables us to need to expand our customer support services.

It’s 7:30am in Melbourne and our office is open for business, providing office-based POS software support, as we do each Saturday for most of the year.

While our mobile phone based support team is also accessible, it is the office based team that’s access to the full suite of tools for providing help on just about any sport issue a small business POS software users could encounter.

We’re here to help.

The Tower Systems team is coming together today for a Christmas party to celebrate the year and the season. We are accessible through our extensive site after hours network.

Small business retailers love that they can see how business our help desk is at any given time. This information empowers them. It also provides a level of transparency that is rare from POS software companies.

Through our website, our customers can see calls in the queue, calls resolved that day and more.

Too often, POS software companies hide this information from their customers, leaving them in the dark about what lies ahead in terms of wait time or help desk call volume. We have found that transparency is appreciated. This is our commitment.

It is one thing to claim rapid response to POS software help desk calls and another entirely to show, with evidence, that this is what is happening. The evidence we provide is unedited, untouched. We appreciate that our customers love it.

We are grateful to be able to offer free POS software training opportunities to our customers every week. Here is what is on offer next week:

One of our clients was locked out of their system last week by a Crypto locker attack. We had them up and running within 24 hours – without them paying anything to the criminals behind the crypto locker attack.

This was achievable solely because used our cloud backup service. The 24 hours included moving them to a secure hosted server for their multi-store system. Had we not done this extra work, we could have had them up and running in a couple of hours.

A Crypto locker attack can devastate any business. Tower Systems is proud to have provided its customers with access to a proven easy and low cost recovery option that minimises business disruption and provides certainty in what is often an uncertain time for small business retailers.

There is something very Australian about making plans for POS software help desk support on a public  holiday for a horse race. However, that is what we have done for tomorrow, as we do every year.

We have put in place terrific support coverage for our customers, to provide easy access to support through the day. We let our customers know the arrangements in the weekly emails sent out yesterday.

Not many POS software companies in Australia offer office based POS software help desk on a Saturday.

Here at Tower Systems, in addition to mobile p0hone based support, we offer office based support Saturdays from 7:30am to 3pm. Yes, we are open right now.

This office based service is loved by small business owners who use Saturday to catch up. We are here for them, delivering another Tower Systems point of difference.