The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryFishing software

POS software helps independent retailers pitch shop local

January 8, 2019
3 Min read
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In the Australian designed, developed and supported Tower Systems POS software, independent retailers  can easily to pitch that you are locally connected business.

This is a key mission of the Tower Systems POS software company. It is something on which we have focussed for years and something we deliver in our POS software, customer service, train ing, management advice and more as we go about business every day.

being local, serving local, engaging local matters. It is what Tower Systems helps retailers do through its POS software regularly, systematically and in a structured way. We are proud to offer this local focus and support.

For example, you can serve, on receipts, local information relevant in your area:

  1. A garden centre could provide advice on plants for local conditions.
  2. A fishing business could provide advice on local fishing spots that are hot.
  3. A pet store could include information about local dog parks and events.
  4. A toy shop could list local collector and game clubs to foster community.

We can help you do this, we can help you show through the software how your business is better for the local community than any big business competitor.

BEING LOCAL BEYOND THE SOFTWARE.

Here are four ideas you could consider to show off a local connection. This collection of ideas is all about things you could do that are newsworthy for the local media:

  1. Tell the town’s story. Invite a school class to create a diorama telling some history of the down in your shop window.  This will be educational, topical, newsworthy and something that gets people connected with those involved to your shop to see the window.
  2. Famous and infamous people. Get your customers to nominate famous people form the area from back since when the area was first settled. Again, educational and newsworthy.
  3. Sports heroes. Invite all schools and clubs in your area to submit a photo and a brief description of their sporting winners from this year. The display could be your way of holding the winners up for another moment of glory.
  4. Where we come from. get a school class to create a map of the word for your window and get your shoppers to place a flag showing where they come from. Maybe the could have a place to note a story of how they got there.

While none of these ideas is about you selling product, each does better connect your shop with your local community and that is vital.

Here are other tips on boosting the local connection:

  1. Be knowledgeable about local activities, events, issues and places.
  2. Talk about local matters on your social media outlets. Help publish local news.
  3. Support local groups with knowledge, prizes and attention.
  4. Encourage local groups to use your business.
  5. Serve your community in practical ways such as volunteering.
  6. Help even the groups you cannot help financially – with an events noticeboard and supporting them on your Facebook page etc.
  7. Talk local across the counter.
  8. Be visible at local events and activities.
  9. Encourage your employees to be visible at local events and activities.
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Xero POS software link from Tower Systems helps small business retailers

January 7, 2019
2 Min read
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Tower Systems helps small business retailers benefit through its direct POS software Xero link.

First released years ago and regularly enhanced, the POS software Xero link helps small business retailers…

  1. Save time.
  2. Cut mistakes.
  3. make better decisions.
  4. make faster decisions.
  5. Have more control over their businesses.
  6. Stress less.
  7. Sell their businesses.

We use Xero ourselves in our own retail businesses, where we also use our POS software. nWe have practical and personal experience on which we can draw to serve our customers, to provide them a better Xero POS software integrated experience.

When we provide training and help on this, we do so from years of personal experience. It is one thing to know what to do, it is another entirely to actually have done it yourself. This is where our story is unique in the POS software space, where we are able to best serve our small business retailers on an efficient and useful Xero POS software link.

Here is what is transferred to Xero through our POS software Xero link.

  1. Sales – End of Shift based Department level sales are transferred to Xero via a sales invoice.  Each department can be assigned its own Xero account.
  2. Stock Arrivals – Invoices that are received into Retailer are transferred over to Xero as department level purchase invoice. No individual stock items are transferred.
  3. Stock Returns – Returns are transferred as credits in Xero at the department level. No individual stock items are transferred.
  4. Write Off’s and No Sales – These are both transferred to individual expense accounts, depending on what reason was chosen when the transaction was performed.
  5. Cost Of Sales – An option on sales exporting is to export Cost of Sales.  While not a full implementation of COGS it does transfer over the cost price of items sold each day to reduce the value of Stock On Hand in Xero.  If you use this option you will export Write offs, not as expenses, but as adjustment to your Stock on Hand.   This makes processing adjustments for the End Of Month much easier.

We developed the link is association with xero, as a development partner.

While we have an integration with Quicken and MYOB, we love Xero as it is easy, well maintained and well supported … and we use it ourselves in our own shops having tried other accounting software solutions.

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POS software Xero integration helps small business retailers cut mistakes and costs

December 28, 2018
2 Min read
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The beautiful and seamless integration between the Tower Systems small business POS software and Xero cloud based accounting software is helping more and more small business retailers to cut mistakes and same time.

Mistakes can happen every time there is manual engage meant with data. Our Xero integration cuts man cal engagement. In fact, in many =businesses, implementing the link significantly costs bookkeeping fees, delivering a terrific financial benefit too.

The Tower Systems Point of sale software / Xero link offers multiple benefits on which small business owners can bank…

  1. Cut accounting costs.
  2. Cut bookkeeping time.
  3. Improve business data accuracy.
  4. Improve business retorting.
  5. Make the business more profitable.

Xero does not connect to all POS software. Qs the premier small business account ting software in the world it is selective.

Tower Systems is proud to be a Xero partner and proud to deliver a quality Xero integration between our POS software and Xero. It is an integration we use ourselves in our own retail businesses. This provides us with experience we leverage for our customers every day. When we provide support, we do so from our own personal experience and this makes a big difference to the nature of support.

We were the first in our retail niches to integrate with Xero. We did this years ago and have maintained it ever since, working with xero through enhancements to deliver an appreciated and evolving solution for retailers who want too cut data entry, cut mistakes, cut bookkeeping costs and increase practical and beneficial business outcomes.

In addition to the Xero integration, Tower Systems POS software integrates with Shopify, magento and WooCommerce – the three leading e-commerce platforms in the world. The web development team at Tower has enhanced these to offer a multi-store solution whereby independent retailers can trade under a single branded website rather than needing their own website.

The Xero integration is the back-office piece where real labour costs are reduced. We only sell to independent small business retailers in selected retail niches such as bike shops, jewellers and garden centres. Having the xero integration is vital as they are all competing with big business and every saving, no matter how small, is loved.

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Tower Systems: POS software for independent retail businesses

December 17, 2018
2 Min read
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Our company motto here at Tower Systems is we’re here to help. We take this seriously. Everyday, our motto challenges us to help our POS software customers in ways they do not expect, ways beyond the software itself.

Founded in 1981, Tower Systems has evolved as technology has evolved. The software we sell today is generations away from where we started. We are proud to have served some of our customers for decades.

More than 3,500 specialty small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand use our specialty POS software.

To us, a specialty retailer is one that offers services unique to the channel, services that define the business.  We embed in our software for each retail channel facilities that serve needs unique to that channel. We take pride in doing this and enhancing these channel-specific facilities as the needs evolve.

We appreciate software cannot stand still. Every year we release significant enhancements, serving the needs of our customers.

POS software RETAIL MARKETS

There are versions of the software serving the business specific needs of many specialty requirements including:

  1. Bike shops.
  2. Garden Centres.
  3. Book shops.
  4. Gift Shops.
  5. Homewares Shops.
  6. Farm supply businesses
  7. Produce businesses.
  8. Fishing and Outdoors shops.
  9. Toy Shops.
  10. Confectionery Retail.
  11. Stationery retail.
  12. Pet Shops.
  13. Pet Grooming.
  14. Whole Foods Grocers.
  15. Swimming Pool Supplies.
  16. Firearms Retail.
  17. Adult Shops.

Linking directly to Xero enhances the time-saving gained through the software as well as facilitating the accuracy of data managed by the software. Our Xero link provides for a data feed of sales as well as purchases.

With a CPA working full time in our business we are configured to provide a technical solution that has been overseen by our own Accountant, to ensure it is a viable solution for the small business retailers we serve.

INTEGRATIONS

Our Xero integration is one of many approved integrations provided by the software to serve the needs of retailers. Other integrations include:

  1. Tyro broadband EFTPOS.
  2. Links to all major banks through PC-EFTPOS.
  3. Magento e-commerce. Magento is an excellent platform for website sales for small to medium businesses.
  4. Shopify e-commerce. Shopify is an excellent entry-level solution for small to medium businesses.
  5. FlyBys in New Zealand.
  6. Transactor loyalty in New Zealand.
  7. Scale integration for selling by weight.
  8. Touch networks for vending event tickets, phone recharge, fishing licences and more.
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Indie retailers benefit from discount vouchers in Christmas sales boost

December 12, 2018
2 Min read
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In the middle of the craziness of the Christmas retail season we retailers can sometimes lose sight of the year round needs of the business.

In our POS software and retail business management training, we guide retailers on leveraging the Christmas traffic and sales boost for year round gain… without slowing processing Christmas sales.

There are steps you can take through Christmas and other busy seasons to benefit the usually quiet periods of the year.

This is where retail channel specific POS software can make a difference.  We have software designed specifically for: gifts,  jewellers,  bikes,  toys,  fishing/outdoors, garden centres, pet shops, produce, firearms, adult shops and newsagents.

Discount vouchers, smart loyalty, are one tool retailers can use this time of the year to set themselves up for terrific return business in the new year.

Discount Vouchers don’t need a card – they print on sales receipts and offer an amount customers can spend right away. Our experience and the experience of hundreds of our customers is that Discount Vouchers drive faster and deeper engagement with the business – making a shopping visit more valuable right away.

In our own retail experience, which sees us competing against major retailers in a Westfield shopping centre, several shoppers have stated they prefer Discount Vouchers over the rewards programs of our competitors.

We are confident that Tower Systems’ Discount Voucher facilities can help you:

  1. Get customers spending more in a visit.
  2. Bring existing customers back sooner.
  3. Attract new shoppers to your business.
  4. Drive impulse purchases at the sales counter.

We are keen for relationships with small business retailers that go beyond POS software that manages fast and accurate transactions. We want to help our customers do much more, to achieve much more.

One of our retail experts can tell or show you more: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

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Help for small business retailers to compete with big business

December 6, 2018
2 Min read
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Tower Systems is not your average POS software company. Our help for small business, local business, independent business retailers goes beyond what is traditional for a POS software company.

We help small business retailers compete with big business. We do this through advice, help and support. We do it every day, with many different types of retail businesses.

Our help can be POS software related as much as it can be business management related.

We are here to help out thousands of independently owned small business retailers in any way we can, every time they ask. We are here for them, as a backstop, as a support, as a listening ear.

This support and assistance is often personal too, engaging in discussions about business performance and the intersection with family life. We draw on considerable experience to be able to do this, to help our customers confront and resolve the challenges they face.

Our help for small business retailers in confronting bug business competition is engaging and supportive. We do this because we believe in small business and the role this sector plays in any economy. While we in small business can’t beat big business in terms of buying power and might, we can beat then on the ground, in terms of local engagement and through clever flexible offers pitched through our software.

Our POS software has built into it tools that help it compete and engage at the local street level that benefits small businesses, which gives them mechanisms through which they can be competitive.

On price, service, knowledge and more our POS software helps small business retailers swim in a different ocean to big business, we help our customers to significantly differentiate their businesses to big business competitors. This differentiation can make a significant difference. It can be what is needed to calm a small business and to give them the competitive advantage they are seeking to make a strand against a big business competitor.

Using smart POS software backed by genuinely engaged and helpful POS software support you can compete with a big business competitor, you can attract new shoppers and run your business at an efficiency level that is personally and financially rewarding.

This is a Tower Systems advantage.

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POS software advice for small business retailers

November 30, 2018
3 Min read
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Retail is tough. Small business is tough. In our POS software, small business retailers have tools that help them compete, tools through which they can differentiate their businesses and reach new opportunities and customers.

Sometimes, the best way to compete is to stop competing. That is what we want to talk abut here today.

What is competition anyway. Often, it is inn our head and there it swirls around and does bad things. Let’s take a moment to look at competition differently.

Too often we in small business see competition and get angry. We ignore the opportunity to change gears and stop competing

In our Tower Systems POS software our retail small business customers have facilities through which they can change gears, through which they can recast your offer so it cannot be compared to those from a competitor.

These gear changing competitive tools in your current software include:

  1. Discount Vouchers. This is the most effective form of immediate loyalty rewards we have ever seen, driving excellent sales results. Charge more for an item and reward shoppers with cash off their next purchase.
  2. Buy X get Y – Multibuy. This focuses people on a volume based offer rather than a direct simple purchase.
  3. Package multiple items together for a price you set. Done right you can get more than the total value of the items in the package.
  4. Special orders. Major retailers tend to prefer to sell what they have. Special orders are often considered too difficult. If you manage it well and make it easy, you can pitch your business competitively.
  5. Sell you. Include insights, knowledge and advice with purchases, on receipts, automatically. Show, through every sale, that buying from you is different to other retailers where they could have purchased the same item.

This small list is a taste of the game changing opportunities though which you can compete in non traditional and often more valuable ways. These are ways we can help – through the software and through business advice that helps you leverage the software for wonderful times and insights.

Next time you feel competitive pressure from a big business, ask what you could change gearsin your business to position you differently, to not look like you are competing.

The more you can do to block direct price comparison the better. But don’t block, change the playing field. That is what we like to do.

Here at Tower Systems we can help with these and other initiatives in this area of smart competition.

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How we see our POS software for small business retailers

November 28, 2018
2 Min read
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We did an exercise in the office this week, thinking about how we see our software and what we do for small business retailers. Using a single word to describe what we dock to make a statement about what we stand for, aspire to, deliver and achieve for our customers in their businesses and in their lives as a result of engaging with our small b business POS software.

Here it is. Here is the list. the single word., Each word is, of itself, a statement of aspiration and / or achievement. We share it here as this is a shared goal we have with our customers and businesses owners who would be our customers. Here is the list in no special order…

Useful.

Exciting.

Expanding.

Helpful.

Responsive.

Customers.

Helpful.

Simple.

Stable.

Strong.

Powerful.

Easy.

Fast.

Accurate.

Safe.

Reliable.

Evolving.

Happy.

Trustworthy.

Peaceful.

Helpful.

Growing.

Calming.

Enlightening.

Aussie.

Me.

Focussed.

Structured.

Empowering.

Partner.

Collaborator.

Protected.

Rainbow.

Happy.

Relaxing.

Local.

Small.

Planning.

Smooth.

Personal.

Cool.

Future.

Flexible.

Changes.

Insights.

Peaceful.

Sure, they are single words. They are part of what came out of a workshop we did looking at who we are, what we do and why we do it. We do this from time to time, checking in with each other and our goals and the goals of our customers. We think this is good practice for any POS software company, especially one that focusses on the needs of small business retailers.

We take what we do here seriously and thoughtfully. We take great care to get it right even time. Pursuing this means we need to understand the goal. These single word responses help define the goal and the diversity of the goal.

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POS software for small business retailers

November 24, 2018
2 Min read
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POS software, the right POS software, can be hard for small business retailers to find. While there are many point of sale packages out there in the marketplace, it can be hard to know the right p.o.s. package that is right for your business.

So many say that their software the best software for you. There can be wild claims. Often, wild claims are not backed up by the facts.

No two POS software programs are the same. Making the choice should rake time and care. It should involved a deep dive into the software and what it does, how it works.

If you are in a specialty retail business, we suggest you look thoughtfully and carefully at the needs of the business, to make sure you know what you want and why you want it before you head off and make a decision. A quick decision is not necessarily the best decision as you could be stuck with bad data, bad business practices and frustration all round.

POS software can be complex, which is good you want it doin g the heavy lifting in your business, you want doing things that will genuinely save time and money in the business. This is why we think taking time to make the right decision is critical. It is also why we say not all POS software programs are the same.

POS software for small business retail can include transacting sales at the counter, managing LayBys, handling product catalogues, connecting with suppliers, connecting with your accounting software, managing repairs, managing EFTPOS payments, handling complex freight requirements, telling you what is working and what is not working, making sure business is transacted accurately, mitigating theft, connecting with your online store, selling products by weight … and plenty more.

POS software is powerful, flexible, easy to use and constantly evolving as the needs of retail and the needs of your type of business evolve.

Tower stems serves over 3,000 small business retailers with POS software. This is what we do. We make POS software, what we think is awesome POS software. We sell, rent , lease POS software. We provide support for ur POS software.

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We help small business retailers send targeted marketing emails to drive shopper traffic

November 22, 2018
2 Min read
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Thanks to the Events facilities in our POS software, Tower Systems customers can export email address data to create lists for targeted email marketing and customer service campaigns.

Our small business retail customers can use Events to tag life events, customer purchase activity, repairs and more. This information, with multiple allowed per customer, enables you to be focused in your marketing.

Our customers can use the Events tools to build a marketing database based on what has been transacted through the Retailer POS software.

  1. A jeweller may use Events to track events such as anniversaries, life events for the customer and family members. Jewellers could use Events to reach out to all customers who have purchased an engagement ring in the last year or two years.
  2. A pet store may use Events to track worming details for dogs and therefore have a platform through which to remind customers on a treatment purchase being due.
  3. A bike shop can use Events to remind customers of a service due, The software easily knows who to specifically target for the reminder – this reduces the opportunity for spam..

Once you export the email addresses, you can import them into Mailchimp. Mailchimp is a fantastic tool for sending beautiful emails and tracking recipient engagement.

If you have a website, you can use Mailchimp to automatically email abandoned cart shoppers. These are shoppers who put products in their basket and then leave (abandon them) without completing their purchase. We have seen these abandoned cart emails work with 10% and more of them leading to purchases, which would have otherwise been lost to the business.

A business website without an abandoned cart strategy is missing out.

You can access Mailchimp direct and they can provide you with help on its use. Our focus, as the POS software company, is to provide you with tools for extracting target data for you to use in reading your Mailchimp target list.

We have wonderful, easy to access and read, resources in our POS software self-serve knowledge base to help with the POS software – Mailchimp export.  

All supported causers have access to Events.

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Free POS software training helps small business retailers enjoy their software more

November 21, 2018
2 Min read
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Tower Systems offers the thousands of retailers using its POS software access to free one-on-one training in the use of its POS software.

Our customers can book and take as many of these POS software training sessions as they like.

The training can be on any topic related to the software. We have a catalogue of topics available. We also welcome topic requests from customers, all of which we will deliver.

The training is delivered by a training specialist with terrific retail experience.

We are proud to offer this service and to deliver it with consistency to our customers, to help them get the most possible from the use of our POS software in their business.

Booking the training is easy, hassle free.

This is real, we do it every day – free training for small business retailers using our POS software. Yes, free.

This is a Tower Systems advantage … and advantage for our retail business partners, those who use our POS software.

We are grateful to the support of our small business retailer community that enables us to provide this service and to have been providing this service for years.

The training itself is done over the phone, using a customer computer and their data, providing the customer the ability to learn by doing, to learn how and where they want to. We have found this works well in the small business environment.

Our approach also makes it easy for multiple team members in a business to learn their part, the part of the software that relates to their role. We can some days do training for four or five people in a single business. We are truly grateful for this because we know that the better someone knows the software the more they will get from it and the more they will love it and we are keen for people to achieve a place of love with our software.

Tower Systems is genuinely and acutely focussed on small business retailers in selected specialty marketplaces. We understand the importance of training and the value that can be derived from it for POS software customers.

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Specialty POS software for fishing and outdoors shops

November 20, 2018
3 Min read
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Thanks to advice and support from people in 28 fishing & outdoors businesses, we have a software fine-tuned for this retail niche. These people are our experts. We are grateful for their guidance and advice.

We do all the regular POS software stuff you’d expect, and we serve fishing and outdoors business specialist requirements, like…

  1. Sell by weight or length – Easily sell bait by weight or line by length
  2. Sell by bundles / packs – Sell a rod / reel / line bundle easily. This makes it harder to price compare. It pitches you as offering value.
  3. Unpack bundles – You can take bundles and packs purchased from a supplier and break them down to single products, maximising return.
  4. Repairs & Job Tracking – Manage repairs, track progress in house or with third parties and notify customers by text when items are ready.
  5. Stock Notes– Easily add care instructions to any receipt, based on the product purchased.
  6. Catalogue Management– run promotions through the system for automatic pricing (ie multi-buys and catalogue items) (buy any 3 lures for $10 or further discounts when purchasing bigger qty’s of bait).
  7. Market to Your Customers– Keep in touch with customers based on their purchase history, interests, club membership, birthday, & more.
  8. Offer Customer Loyalty– Move away from straight discounting and implement a loyalty facility that encourages customers to spend higher amounts more often.
  9. Receipt Coupons–Easily control when coupons are printed on receipts. Offer further discounts when certain products are sold or advertise services in store when purchasing in specific departments
  10. Automated Reordering– reorder based on min/max levels or even based on seasonal sales figures
  11. Stock Images– images loaded against products can appear at point of sale to assist in the process, and can flow through to your website.
  12. Customer Order Management–Track special orders and print a label with the customers details and sms them when it comes in
  13. Staff Tracking – Track all suspicious transactions, cancelled sales, discounted sales, deleted sales, quantity changes and more.
  14. Gift Cards & VIP Cards – Our scanable cards speed up transactions and increase professionalism.
  15. Website Integration – Our software connects with Shopify, Magento & WooCommerce.  Have your accessories available for sale, and firearms available for enquiry without the need to do extra work.
  16. Accounting Integration – Have your sales and purchase information automatically flow into Xero, MYOB & Reckon.

Our training is one-on-one, in your business. Our help desk support is personal, based out of Melbourne, and personal too – because we know personal service matters in small business retail.

Talk to one of our experts about an obligation free personal demonstration: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

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Christmas marketing ideas for small business retailers

November 17, 2018
8 Min read
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Tower Systems works with more than 3,500+ small business retailers using its POS software in speciality retail niches including jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, gift shops, newsagents, pet shops, adult shops and more. We offer these ideas as our Christmas gift to you.

  1. Make it easy. People often talk about how hard Christmas is. Be the local business that makes it easy. The ways to do this are with easy Lay-By, free wrapping, better shop floor help, guide buying advice or tips on perfect gifts no one else will think of. Consider making Christmas easy as being a key part of your messaging.
  2. Be thrilled people are in your shop. Your personal smile or greeting is something they may not see in a big business where employees are less invested in each shopper and where the owner is usually thousands of kilometers away.
  3. Make the giving easy. If people purchase items from you to send somewhere else. Offer a one-stop shop. Save them the trip to the post office.
  4. Make the shop less about Christmas. Consider pulling back on the Christmas visual noise. Go for something simple, muted, respecting the season but making a calm statement. Consider declaring the shop a Christmas carol free zone – not because you hate carols but because you want to help customers take a break.
  5. Help people rest and recharge. Create a Christmas shopping rest and recovery zone. Offer free tea, coffee, water and something to eat. Encourage people to take a break in your shop – without any obligation for them to spend money with you.
  6. Let your customers help each other. Setup a whiteboard or sheets of butcher’s paper, yes keep it simple. Get customers to write gift suggestions under different age/gender groups. For example: Girls 18 – 25, Boys 55+. Encourage your customers to help each other through their suggestions.
  7. Make price comparison difficult. If you sell items people are likely to price compare with other businesses, package them so price comparison is not easy. Put items into a hamper as a perfect Boy 8 to 12 bundle for example. Or offer the item with pre packages services if appropriate for an item.
  8. Less is more.  The stack em high watch em fly mantra can be wrong. Indeed, it is often wrong in retail. Shoppers can be store blind because a shop is too full or a display is too busy. Consider creating simpler less cluttered displays and window promotions. Draw attention to what you want people to see by promoting that one thing. Every time someone asks if you have something that you think through should be able to find easily – take it as a challenge for you to address rather than a commentary on a facility of the customer.
  9. Change. Christmas season in your shop should evolve. Major change weekly is vital for people to see what you have that they could buy.
  10. Be socially engaged. On Facebook, Instagram, twitter and elsewhere, be the calm voice, the person people enjoy reading or seeing photos from. Provide entertainment this Christmas rather than the usual retailer shrill of come and shop here!
  11. Be community minded. Choose a local charity or community group to support through Christmas. Consider: a change collection tin at the counter; a themed Christmas window display; promotion on your social media pages; a donation to their work; a collection point for donations from customers.
  12. Facilitate sharing stories. Find space in your shop for customers to share their Christmas stories. It could be a story wall inside or in front of the shop. This initiative encourages storytelling by locals and better connects the business with the community.
  13. Award a prize at a local school. Fund a year-end prize at a local school. Attend a school assembly to award the prize. Work with the school leadership on a prize appropriate to your business.
  14. VIP preview. Host a VIP shopper preview night when you show off your Christmas ranges ahead of being available to the general shoppers. Respect and reward your local shoppers with deals and the opportunity to preview ahead of others.
  15. Leverage Christmas traffic. Encourage the Christmas shopper traffic surge in after Christmas. Give them a reason to come back. A coupon promotion or a discount voucher on receipts could be the enticement to get shoppers back in-store. Note: the Tower POS software produces discount vouchers to rules you establish.
  16. Become a gallery. Work with a school, kindergarten, community group or retirement village to bring in local art for people to come and see through Christmas. A small space commitment can drive traffic from family and friends of those with art on show.
  17. Dress the shop. Fully embrace Christmas. Create a Christmas experience such that shoppers know they have stepped into somewhere special this Christmas. Go for more than some tinsel and a tree. Fully embrace the opportunity.
  18. Make your shop smell like Christmas.
  19. Send cards. Send Christmas cards early in the season to suppliers, key customers and local community groups. This connects you with Christmas. Invite all team members to sign each card.
  20. Host a Christmas party. For shops nearby. You are all in the season together – let your hear down before things get crazy.
  21. Ensure you have gifts targeted at occasions. For example: Kris Kringle, by price point and by recipient. Make it easy for people to know what they could give.
  22. Stocking stuffers. At your counter always have one or two stocking stuffers for impulse purchase.
  23. Offer gift vouchers – for someone to give when they are not sure what to give.
  24. Be local. Ensure you have a selection of locally sourced products available for purchase. Make it clear in-store that these products are sourced locally.
  25. Tell stories. On your Facebook page, talk about what is important to you at Christmas. Personalise the season and deepen the connection with those who could shop with you.
  26. Offer a free gift. Bulk purchase an item to offer those who spend above a set amount. For example, spend $65 and receive XX where XX may have cost $5.00 but could have a perceived value of $20.00.
  27. Keep it fresh. Every week make significant change to your Christmas displays and promotions to keep your offer fresh.
  28. Share Christmas recipes. Each week for, say, four weeks, give customers a family Christmas recipe. This personalises Christmas in your business, creates a talking point and makes shopping with you different to your bigger competitors.
  29. Free wrapping. Sure, many retailers offer this. Make your offer better, more creative and more appreciated.
  30. This is essential in any business. Manage it through your computer system with strict rules.
  31. Work the floor. Increase time on the shop floor. Be present to manage shopper flow and to facilitate purchases.
  32. Christmas is crazy busy I most retail situations. Give yourself and your team members sufficient time to recharge so the smile greeting shoppers is heartfelt.
  33. Keep a secret. If yours is a business selling gifts a partner may purchase for their loved-one, create some mystery with a closed off display for the shopper to see the products.
  34. Free assembly. If you sell items that require assembly. Offer to do this for free.
  35. Free delivery. Offer free Christmas Eve delivery for items purchased for kids for Christmas.
  36. Sell training. Leverage the specialist knowledge you have in your business by selling as gifts places at classes you run sharing your expertise.
  37. Hold back. Don’t go out with everything you have for Christmas all at once. Plan the season to show off what you have as the season unfolds. This allows you multiple launches.
  38. Share a taste. Regardless if your type of business, bake a family recipe of Christmas cake, Christmas pudding or Christmas biscuits and offer tastings to shoppers on select days. This personalises the experience in your shop.
  39. Offer hampers. Package several items together and offer them as a hamper. Time-poor shoppers could appreciate you doing this work for them. We have seen this work in many different retail situations.
  40. Buy X get Y. Encourage people to spend more with a volume based deal. Pitched right, this could get customers purchasing items for several family members in order to get the price offer you have. Use your technology to manage this.

Christmas is the perfect time to plan for next year. It is the time to do everything possible to leverage bonus Christmas traffic to benefit your business through next year.

Tower Systems offers Point of sale / retail management software tailored for your specific type of retail business. Our software can help you leverage Christmas traffic for year-long benefits.

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Renting POS software preserves small business retailer capital for other users

November 13, 2018
2 Min read
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For years, Tower Systems has offered access to its POS software through rental. This easy to establish arrangement offers access to the software on a month by month basis with no capital outlay up front to access the software.

The rental payment option, like our cloud hosted option, is available to all Tower Systems customers in all marketplaces.

Our customers can also convert from rental to purchase or lease at any time. How people pay to access the software is easy, simple and self-managed. This provides our customers with the best options, options that suit their specific circumstances.

In offering rental years ago, Tower Systems provided small business retailers with payment options that suit the cash flow needs of many small business retailers. There is no loan application, no finance approval process, no cumbersome paperwork, no hassle. This is another way the company makes doing business with Tower Systems frictionless, easy.

The paperwork is a dream and there is no minimum lock-in term. Like we said, easy, frictionless.

The Tower Systems POS software for any of the specialty retail marketplaces in which the company operates is available for rental.

Our rental customers have access to exactly the same customer service experiences and touch points as all other customers using our software.

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Advice for small business retailers on POS software connected websites

November 9, 2018
2 Min read
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In our Knowledge Base, we have articles on connecting your Tower Retailer software to Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce. A quick search will soon find these. All of our customers have access to our Knowledge Base.

We urge our small business POS software customers to read the article for the type of e-commerce platform you plan to connect with. Give the article to the people developing your site. Most questions we get from external web developers are answered in the articles.

We’d love to develop your website for you. We have a separate web team in our business who do this work. They are based out of our Melbourne Australia office. They have developed plenty of Retailer connected websites already. We think we offer a service that is beautifully tuned to the needs of local small business retailers and their customers – more so than web developers overseas.

Connecting our Retailer POS softwareto a website is technically easy. However, you are creating a hungry beast that needs to be fed. Here are some of our everyday POS software / webstore tips for getting started and managing the website efficiently:

  1. Get your inventory data right with product names, departments, categories, pricing and images. Retaileris in control of the data, always.
  2. Start with a small range of stock in the website first. Get that right and your prices right before you go further.
  3. Make decisions yourself on website look and feel and design. Expecting someone else to do all this usually leads to disappointment. Attention invested now will result in a website you like and that reflects you.
  4. Use real photos. Stock photos stand out. They look awful.
  5. Know that any website you launch today will need investment to refresh it within eighteen months. Web is a rapidly evolving environment. Not investing to keep up will see you fall behind.
  6. Whoever develops your website – make sure they are local. Offshore development is cheaper today but more expensive in the long run.
  7. Choose a platform that is appropriate. We are yet to see a retail business not satisfied with a Shopify or Magento site. Shopify is ideal for simpler needs and Magento works a treat for more complex and multi-store requirements.

Our focus on web development is absolute and thorough, as is our focus on delivering genuinely valuable small business POS software.

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Added value for POS software customers who take up support

November 8, 2018
3 Min read
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We have recently added more value to POS software support coverage we provide to our customers, making being covered by support more valuable than ever. In this work we have added access to services and facilities for which there used to be a separate, user pays, charge. These charges have been eliminated.

Many of our customers now have lower costs per year.

This is good news. We are thrilled to have been able to deliver this for our customers, to offer them lower operating costs.

Our support pricing process is transparent, all of our customers are treated equal. This is fair for them. It is the only way we do business.

As part of the process of changes, we have stream limed customer access processes for add-on and now free benefits such as Xero, MYOB, Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce. This is self serve, easy and fast. It provides a better and more enjoyable customer service experience.

In our own situation, in terms of data management here, what we do in this area is streamlined, fast and requires less data handling for our customers.

So, in 2018, Tower Systems has increased the value of POS software support coverage, added more real value, eliminated some fees and increased touch point opportunities for small business retailer customers – helping to drive an even better return on investment for our customers.

This is good news, news we are proud and grateful to be in a position to share here. We shared this news weeks ago with our customers.

We think it is important to talk about this here as people get too hear it from us. This is always better than the spin you can get from a competitor who seeks to deflect by talking about us too much.

We are committed to driving value from total cost of ownership, helping our customers to achieve more for a fair price, a price that is transparent and a price they can trust as applying to all. here at Tower Systems we proudly serve all customers as equals.

Talk to one of our experts about an obligation free personal demonstration: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

Our training is one-on-one, in your business. Our help desk support is personal, based out of Melbourne, and personal too – because we know personal service matters in small business retail.

Our goal is to help you enjoy a more successful and valuable business.

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

October 19, 2018
1 Min read
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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.

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How webstore connected POS software helps retailers in a group and independent retailers win more sales

October 19, 2018
3 Min read
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As well as offering POS software designed for your specific type of business, Tower Systems provides websites seamlessly connected to the shop floor, giving you a single management view.

We develop websites for our customers, in Magento, Shopify or WooCommerce.

Our websites are live POS software connected, offering 24/7 selling with payments through PayPal, Oxipay (interest free buy now pay later) and credit cards.

Our websites leverage online purchases as well as click and collect. They also drive basket depth with up-sell options and handling coupons for special deals.

If you are in a banner group or a marketing group, we can provide a single website to represent all stores in the group. We do this today for one group, through five websites we created – each easily found through Google thanks to our SEO work.

Each store in a banner or marketing group gets their own page, which they can easily promote. For a single business, the POS connected website promotes their business.

We know from experience that:

In some businesses, around 75% of key in-store purchases have an online search component. POS connected websites are important for winning online sales and even more important for driving in-store purchases.

45% of purchases in many categories are when retail shops are closed.

10% of purchases are click and collect in higher-end product categories.

14% of purchases are done with buy now pay later financing.

Shoppers like certainty that a store will have in stock they want to purchase – stock on hand by item can be viewable for each store.

We network stores from a banner or marketing group into a single website. Thereby leveraging the power of the group of independently owned small businesses to be stronger and more useful than a big business competitor. This is how small businesses can win online.

Let us show you how together we can do this, how we can bring single stores online as well as whole groups online … through webstore connected POS software.

Not only do we create the website and the POS software, we ensure they can be found. This is key as a website that cannot be easily found through Google is a waste of money.

We would love to show individuals privately or members of your group, if you are in a group, the POS software connected websites we have created. We would take you behind the curtain, showing not only the tech. but explaining the business approach, outlining what we have done to create successful online businesses.

Fulfilment can be a challenge.We can help here too thanks to our integration work with Australia Post, Sendle and others. We can help you reduce friction with fulfilment and see you benefit from incremental online business.

Online is about a race to the cash. By this we mean that an online shopper is more likely to be ready to purchase. The first business to take their cash wins. This is where POS integrated websites can win. We can show you how.

The latest release of our POS software introduces a web dashboard to help in-store online sales fulfilment. This, coupled with inventory integration, accurate stock on hand data, professional image handling and smart SEO work helps you create and run an efficient, integrated physical and online business.

Whether you run a single store or operate as part of a marketing or banner group, Tower Systems has a track record of success you can leverage for your success. Let us show you how.

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Web strategy helps independent retailers in a marketing group leverage online sales

October 15, 2018
2 Min read
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Tower Systems was the first POS software company in Australia to launch a web strategy for locally owned independent retail businesses that are in a marketing group though which these local businesses can benefit from a national online presence.

Delivering valuable sales to local shops from anywhere in the country, the web strategy has proven to be beneficial to helping retailers who otherwise might not have had access to the customer served.

Today, the Tower POS software web strategy for franchises and small business marketing groups has evolved to be broader, more complete and more valuable.

There are currently nine websites operating under the banner of the tower Systems franchise and marketing group web strategy. Each focusses on a different brand. each works at driving online sales for small business retailers. Each features…

  1. Click and collect.
  2. Buy now pay later. Better than LayBy.
  3. Paypal Express.
  4. Credit card payment.
  5. Bundled offers.
  6. Auto freight management.
  7. POS software Integration.
  8. In-store inventory on hand certainty.
  9. Pre-orders.
  10. National footprint leveraged for local shopping.

What we have done, bringing together indie retail businesses under a national website, is unique in that it maintains accurate stock on hand data at the store level, applies sales based on shopper location, permits purchases from multiple stores in a single transaction and provides each store a local mini-site page for locally focussed transactions.

Internationally, the Tower Systems e-commerce strategy launched more than two years ago was regarded as unique in the world. The advances since launch have maintained the position of the company in this area of working with and for independent small business retailers in franchise and marketing groups for the benefit of each sore and the benefit of the overall group.

What Tower delivers through the platform is a proven and valuable solution, especially for rural and regional businesses where foot traffic can be a challenge. The Tower Systems approach attracts new shoppers who do not need to live near the business. It does this efficiently for each participating business.

Tower Systems is leveraging its experience and knowledge in this area to help others, to grow stronger small retail businesses.

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How the POS software help desk works for small business retailers

October 12, 2018
2 Min read
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Let’s take a look inside the POS software help desk and see what happens on any given day. Let’s look at the Tower Systems POS software help desk, from the perspective of a typical help desk team member. Here are the raw stats:

  1. Calls handled: 26.
  2. Calls resolved on the inbound call: 18.
  3. Calls resolved on call back and follow up: 4.
  4. Calls awaiting customer follow up to ensure problem does not continue: 3.
  5. Call awaiting advice from third party (like a web developer or local hardware tech 1.

This is a typically busy day since in between calls there are case notes to write, advice documents to review and assistance to other help desk team members.

Every call to the Tower Systems POS software help desk is tracked and documented with follow up confirmation and advice provided to each customer for each call. This documentation provides clarity and certainty. It demonstrates transparency between our help desk team and our customers. or us, it is part of good customer service.

We use a professional CRM system to track all customer data and ensure timely and complete feedback. In fact, our follow up email includes a customer feedback opportunity on the help desk team contact.

We run the help desk over several shifts across the 7am and 6am AEST operating hours. After hours coverage is handled separately, outside of the usual daily roster. We ensure team members are given appropriate breaks to protect against stress and burnout.

Calls can come into our POS software help desk by phone, email, text message, Facebook message, Tweet and even good old fax. We take calls from all these channels and we respond to each based on the priority of the query. The priority is usually demonstrated through the type of contact that has been made.

If we can’t get to a call when it comes in it is logged and the call returned as soon as possible. Wait times are managed. We don’t want our customers to wait too long. Urgent calls are bumped up and dealt with immediately because we don’t want any system downtime.

Our help desk process is managed by support professionals who oversee the daily traffic management. They are assisted by the leadership team of the company since customer service sits at the core of what we do here at Tower Systems.

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Good POS software for small business retailers

October 10, 2018
3 Min read
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A good Point of Sale system pays for itself every day by helping retailers increase customer spend per visit, bring customers back more regularly, reduce the cost of slow or dead stock, reduce mistakes and make better business decisions.

Following a consistent approach to in-store technology within the group enables retailers to leverage more benefits from being part of the group.

Consistent stock files, electronic invoices, easier business-to-business comparison and more targeted business development assistance are just some of the benefits you can expect from a more consistent solution.

But being independent businesses we understand you need a computer system over which you have absolute control and security.

That is what the Tower Systems solution offers – locally run software in your business over which you have control yet.

Tower Systems has a strategy for helping small business retailers.

Tower Systems is an Australian software company that develops, sells and supports software for selected specialty marketplaces including pet and produce businesses.

We only serve independent retail businesses.

Our mission is to help retailers run more successful businesses. Our definition of successis a business that is making money, where the owners and employees enjoy what they do and where suppliers enjoy transacting.

Good software can play an important role in nurturing business success as it sits at the heart of the business: transacting sales, managing stock, tracking customer activity and shining a light on business opportunities.

What makes us different is how we engage. We go beyond what is traditional software company.

  1. We welcome working with suppliers to create data links that save you and them time, data links that improve data accuracy, data links that feed more accurate business reports.
  2. We provide business insightsbased on data cultivated through the software – to business owners who ask. This is a free service.
  3. Our help desk provides contextfor advice. Rather than the turn it off and turn it onadvice, our help desk team members explain the why, why from a business perspective the advice they are providing matters.
  4. Our software updates contain enhancements suggested and voted on by customers. You can have a direct say in the evolution of the software.
  5. Our communication is in plain English.While we are a company of IT geeks, when talking with customers we keep it simple. We know technology scares people. We don’t want it to scare our customers.
  6. We are accessible.You get to talk with real people all the time, including our leadership team.
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Why we like Tyro broadband EFTPOS for our POS software customers

October 8, 2018
2 Min read
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We were an early adopter of Tyro broadband EFTPOS many years ago. The relationship remains strong today. Here is why we recommend Tyro broadband EFTPOS to small business retailers who use our POS software:

  1. Speed. Tyro transactions are fast.
  2. Keystrokes cut. Tyro is integrated with our POS software. The details of the sale are fed to Tyro. There is no data entry required.
  3. Mistakes reduced. Every keystroke we eliminate is a possible mistake avoided.
  4. Low merchant fees. Tyro has been the first in Australia to bring to market an approach to merchant fees that is smart and technology driven, that cuts fees from what would expect.
  5. Brilliant support. Fast. Friendly. Genuinely helpful. Real resolution.
  6. Excellent reporting. Know what you need to know, easily.
  7. Innovation. Tyro innovates and as a result of this we participate as appropriate at the small business POS software level.
  8. Partnership. We work closely with Tyro, meeting with key people in their company regularly, engaging with them on strategy and related innovation opportunities.
  9. Help. Tyro is a wonderful help to small business retailers.
  10. Business help. Through a range of services, Tyro helps small business retailers. We have encouraged this and genuinely support it.

Compared to big banks in Australia, we see Tyro as a small, fast moving opportunity for small business retailers, helping them compete and be relevant and helping them provide an over the counter EFTPOS solution that is competitively positioned for small business retailers.

We are a small business focussed POS software company serving in excess of 3,700 small business retailers. We have been doing this for decades, constantly evolving what we do and what we offer, to make sure that what we are doing is relevant and valuable. Tyro fits with what we do, with our focus as a company. This fit matters to us.

We are retailers too. We use Tyro in our retail businesses and have done for many years.

Having said all this, we also support direct POS software access to big bang EFTPOS offerings. We do this because we are committed to ensuring that or customers can access the banking solutions they deem appropriate to their own local businesses. That is, we don’t let our opinions get in  the way of what our customers may prefer for their businesses.

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