The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryGarden centre software

POS software helps retailers sell in bundles, packs and kits

September 2, 2019
2 Min read
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Small business retailers can easily sell in bundles, kits and packs thanks to the smart tools in the Tower Systems POS software for specialty retailers.

A Bundle is where several items are packed together and prices together so that a customer purchases one item with all items in the bundle recorded as having been purchased together, with all inventory tracking undertaken and completed.

The Tower Systems POS software can manage the creation, selling and tracking of bundles and all items win a bundle. This is key to helping small business retailers compete.

A kit is a variation on a bundle for some specialty retailers.  In Fishing businesses, for example, a kit might include a rod, reel, hooks and 0ther components which can be sold separately or together, as a kit.

Being able to create, disassemble and sell kits is critical to many types of specialty retailers and having this facility in the Tower Systems small business POS software s a bonus.

A pack is another variation on this theme. Many types of retailers can buy from suppliers in a a pack and then break down the pack for single product sale in-store. They can also keep some of what they have purchased in pack form for sale as a pack. having the flexibility to handle these and related shop floor moves goes a small business retailer flexibility and terrific margin opportunity.

Handling packs, kits and bundles is another way the Tower Systems software is delivering to specialty retailers specialist tools through which their businesses can differentiate from big businesses as well as from online businesses. Specialty facilities make specialty retailers stand out and that is good for business.

Tower Systems works closely with specialty retailers and their suppliers to deliver valuable tools like supporting packs, bundles and kits using the Tower POS software.

The more small business retailers can do to differentiate their businesses, too stand apart from the crowd, the better. Tower Systems supports this goal and delivers tools n the software through which this can be achieved.

Just as our software helps small business retailers differentiate and benefit it helps us as a POS software company differentiate. For example, many POS software products do not handle kits, bundles and packs.

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Tower Systems helps protect small business retailers with cloud backup service

August 30, 2019
2 Min read
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POS software company Tower Systems provides its small business retailer community with access to a secure cloud backup service.

This service provides on-location and secure off-location backups of data, giving retailers double protection in the event of an attack or major hardware crash that necessitates access to backed up data.

The benefits are clear:

  1. Time saved thanks to no more end of day backup.
  2. Fast restore in the event of a cyber attack or system  crash.
  3. Incremental backups meaning the ability to restore back to prior some event occurred.
  4. Peace of mind.
  5. No need to remember to backup.
  6. Double backups = more protection.
  7. Security of off site backups.

The best way to any business, especially any small business, to be prepared for an attack, beyond firewall and other force-field protection is to have easy and fast access to up to date backup data, of whole of systems backup data.

The Tower Systems cloud backup service is safe, secure, offsite and on site and updated regularly as each day transacts.

Our cloud backup service for small business retailers has professional redundancy built in. We will not provide details here as to do so could compromise the security.

There have been instances recently where after a crypto lock attack on a client we have had them up and running, fully restored, within the hour.

This is what professional backup looks like. It is insurance for getting over the attack quickly and professionally. Without a hefty price tag.

We monitor the backups. for no additional cost to customers This is bonus coverage beyond the notifications on your local computer about backup status.

The peace of mind is valuable and appreciated by small business retailers and people who work in small business retail and have been responsible for undertaking the daily backups. It frees them to focus on other requirements, other parts of their business.

Cloud back is, in our view, the only safe backup for small business retailers. It is what we recommend. It is what we use ourselves in our own retail businesses.

Tower Systems is proud to offer this service to its small business retailer POS software community.

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ATO warns small businesses on sales suppression software

August 29, 2019
2 Min read
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The ABC has reported the ATO is clamping down on small businesses using sales suppression software to minimise tax.

Ms Jenkins said the ATO was also cracking down on the use of sales suppression software that disguised the transactions within a company’s records.

“There is some really sophisticated software out there that is helping people avoid paying the right amount of tax.

“But whether it is cashless payments or whether it is the use of platforms or apps, it means there is really a trace of your transactions.

“We use merchant data and other sources of information to identify where things just don’t look right. Then we go and have a chat to them and say, ‘Hey, can you explain?’

In the mid 1990s there was sales suppression scam operating in the newsagency channel. I became aware of it because my newsagency software company lost businesses because we refused to offer such a facility.

There was a software program into which the retailer could enter a code and then an amount of cash they wanted to take out of the business unreported. A second set of records was maintained for the ATO and another records for the business owner.

I know because the software was demonstrated to me several times, by someone who had worked for the software company that created the software. They had approached me. I did some more checking with newsagents and discovered the facility in the software was being used.

The matter was reported to the ATO. At their then Box Hill office in Victoria they assembled a task force including representatives from the ATO, Federal Police, Federal Attorney General office. Victorian State Revenue and Victorian Attorney General office. Several of us with knowledge were brought in for a demonstration of the software. There were several follow up meetings with the ATO in Sydney.

Eventually, my software company stopped losing sales due to us not having the tax avoidance facility in our software.

Any retailer deliberately and systematically underreporting their income to avoid tax deserves what they get from the ATO and from any suppliers they impact through their actions.

  1. We refuse to help any retailer avoid tax.
  2. We will not code for tax avoidance in o0ur software.
  3. We will report it if we see it.
  4. Retailers and taxpayers need to be able to trust POS software.
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Age check tools in POS software help retailers comply with age restricted products

August 28, 2019
2 Min read
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Retailers who sell age restricted products can bring structure to their business processes and ensure compliance thanks to the age check facilities in the Tower systems smart POS software.

Built into the Tower POS software are facilities to tag items as having an age requirement prior to purchase proceeding. This can bring structure and consistency to the management of the sale of these items in any shop.

The age check facilities are another point of specialisation and difference delivered in there Tower Systems software. They help small business retailer run better businesses and are less likely to be caught in a compliance challenge./

Using the age check facilities in the POS software, retailers can benefit…

  1. A structured approach to selling age restricted inventory.
  2. Proof of a process that can support any situation where a mistake is made. By demonstrating a structured process the business can show that it has processes for appropriate action.
  3. Certainty for employees knowing that you have systems that have their back.
  4. Peace of mind for businesses where owners are located away from retail outlets.
  5. Professionalism. By conducting a structured age check you demonstrate a professionalism and dare to customers, which plenty will appreciate.

Developed originally years ago for managing the accurate sale of tobacco products, he age check facilities in the Tower Systems POS software also serve needs in the firearms retail,. bike shop, jeweller and produce business channels. All have varying needs that are served by there age check facilities in the POS software.

The age check facilities are user managed – you can determine the products to which they apply and how they are used.

This is another differentiator for specialty retail POS software from Tower Systems compared to generic POS software.  It is another way you can drive better business outcomes rather than being an average shop using average POS software tools.

Age checking is required for a raft of products for good reason. being able to do this with certainty and consistence is commercially valuable for any retail business involved.

Tower Systems serves in excess of 3,000 small business retailers with specialty POS software for a range of niche retail channels., We are proud to serve the small business sector.

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5 ways to use our POS software to increase sales

August 23, 2019
2 Min read
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Here are five ways you can use our small business focused, specialty retail business POS software to increase sales. We can help you implement each of these:

  1. Discount vouchers. A voucher on receipts offer customers $$ off a purchase. The pitch is easy. Differentiate your business from old-school loyalty. Usually, 20% of vouchers are redeemed. Guys redeem immediately, girls a week or so later. Get shoppers back sooner and spending more.
  2. Multi-buy. Easily offer a deal for the purchase of more than one of an item. This approach is used effectively in big businesses like Officeworks and Bunnings. Setup is easy. Tracking the results is a dream.
  3. Buy now pay later. Zip Pay, Zip Money, Humm and others integrated in our software offer easy and fast settling buy now pay laterplatforms where you carry no financial risk. This is better for your business than LayBy.
  4. Show off your value-add. Include product care information and local area knowledge related to what you sell on receipts. Share your knowledge to differentiate your business.
  5. Easily sell online. Connect your business to a beautiful Shopify website and sell way beyond your local area. We can develop the site for you on a fixed price basis and link it to your POS software to save time and money.

This advice is part of regular advice we provide our customers in a customer service email ent weekly. For each advice point we have specific implementation guidance that we share to make it easier and more consistent to achieve what we pitch.

This is all part of the Tower Systems service, part of what we do beyond the software itself to help our customers achieve more from and with our POS software.

We think they type of service is a differentiator for us. It is a way we demonstrate deliverables for our customers that are not common from POS software companies. We are grateful to our community for the opportunity to share these and other business beneficial ideas.

Of course, we have more than these 5 ways to use our POS software to increase sales, many more. These ideas are a start, a simple demonstration. We help our customers way beyond these five.

Come join us…

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POS software lead referral program for bookkeepers and accountants

August 21, 2019
3 Min read
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Our lead referral program is for bookkeepers and accountants who invest time and knowledge to help introduce us to prospective POS software customers.  To express interest please email sales@towersystems.com.au. To find out more: Click here for an information document from us.

  1. We link direct to Xero.
  2. We link through a partner to MYOB and Quicken.
  3. We link to Tyro for fast, safe cost effective EFTPOS as well as the big banks.
  4. For buy now pay later, we link to Oxipay (Hmmm) and ZipPay ZipMoney.
  5. We integrate with Shopify, Magento and Woo for easy e-commerce.
  6. We also develop websites for retailers at our Hawthorn, VIC, head office, websites finely tuned to the needs of local retailers..

Our POS software is purpose built with versions for garden centres, jewellers, bike  shops, toy shops, firearms businesses, fishing and outdoors shops, gift shops, newsagents, farm supply, rural and stockfeed businesses, adult shops and newsagents. We dive deep into the needs of each retail channel.

We are keen to work with bookkeepers and others who also specialise in their service of specific retail channel retailers. We’d love to get sales leads from you. To engage please email sales@towersystems.com.au. This is also the entry point for any queries.  Click here to access an information document.

ABOUT US.
Tower Systems is a vertical market POS software company. That is, we sell software designed for specific retail channels. The home page of our website lists all the retail channels in which we serve at any time.

While we may sell/rent/lease our software to businesses outside the retail channels listed, it is rare and only when approved by the leadership team of the company.

We currently serve in excess of 3,000 small business retailers primarily in Australia and New Zealand.

We actively promote our software through direct mail, social media marketing, search engine ads, trade shows and, recently, on radio and TV.

WE ARE RETAILERS TOO.
We own and run three unique retail shops, offering us hands-on retail experience where we can test and refine our software. This has been particularly useful in workflow management where we have tuned our software for efficiency in counter-based retail.

Owning and running retail businesses enables us to provide a unique and valuable level of practical, retailer-focussed, advice to our customers.

ACCOUNTING LINKS AND SERVICES.
We have a full time CPA in the business as our CFO.

Our software is directly integrated with Xero. We are a Xero partner.

Our software also links with MYOB and Quicken through a third party product.

Our customers, through our help desk, have access to comp0lete support in the use of our software as well as practical advice on the correct linking of our software with accounting software. We help our customers achieve and maintain a seamless link.

Thank you for considering working with Tower Systems to empower small business retailers to run more efficient and successful businesses.

To find out more about our POS software and support for specialty retailers, please call our sales team on 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

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Bankable benefits for small business retailers from Tower Systems POS software

August 20, 2019
2 Min read
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The tangible, bankable benefits of partnering with Tower Systems, beyond the software.

Not all POS software companies are the same.

  1. We are local. Local matters in local communities. Tower Systems is Australian owned, developed and supported. Call us and a human answers the phone.
  2. We listen to your needs and engage in conversation with you.
  3. Our training is personal, in your business. We think people learn better from face to face training.
  4. Customers guide our software enhancement. We offer a transparent, democratic, process for guiding software update content.
  5. In the cloud or in-store. You choose where the software runs.
  6. Rent or buy. You choose how to acquire and fund the software.
  7. Retail channel specific. This software is developed for your type of business.
  8. We help with business performance analysis and theft checks, services where we take a deep dive into your data and provide confidential insights.
  9. Every customer has the direct contact details for our leadership team for easy and safe escalation of any query.
  10. No pressure. You buy when you are ready.
  11. Unlimited free training. Long after you install the software, ask for free top-up training and all we will organise it.
  12. Retail group engagement.  Groups and members of groups have opportunities for group level customisation website sales and more.
  13. New customer care. All new customers have a separate specialist team with which they connect, to ease settling-in.
  14. It’s personal. Retail is personal. This is why we prefer to train you in your shop. Yes, we said this above. We say it again as it is a differentiator.

Tower Systems is not an average POS software company. We are a small business, indie business, focussed POS software company developing software in Australia and New Zealand for Australian and New Zealand based specialty retailers.

Thank you for considering us.

Serving over 3,000 small business retail customers, Tower Systems is engaged locally, across  multiple specialty retail channels, delivering solutions retailers want and need to differentiate their businesses. We help indie retailers specialise, locally. This matters because it helps local businesses thrive locally.

Shopping local is key to the fabric of any local community.

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Benefits from the Tower Systems Garden Centre Software

August 19, 2019
2 Min read
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Tower Systems is proud to serve local, specialty indie retailers. Our Garden Centre Software is made for indie garden centres.

  1. EASILY SELL BY MEASURE OR WEIGHT – in whole numbers or fractions. Accurate billing and stock levels, which customers love.
  2. DIFFERENTIATE WITH BUNDLED PACKS – combine items to create a pack, build items out of goods and more
  3. CUSTOMERS LOVE GARDEN CARE RECIEPTS – customise receipts with your care information – notes specific to items purchased. Your
  4. STAND OUT WITH OUTDOOR LABELS – high resolution, customisable weatherproof product labels.
  5. MAKE MORE MONEY AS PLANTS GROW – easily re-pot plants into larger pots and charge accordingly.
  6. INCREASE TRAFFIC WITH SEASONAL MARKETING – share seasonal planting and care advice for your area to guide customer spend.
  7. EASILY ORDER FOR SEASONS– reorder stock based on min/max levels or previous seasonal sales history
  8. MAKE DELIVERIES EASIER AND MORE CERTAIN– delivery notes and picking slips streamline your processes.
  9. SAFE AND FAST EFTPOS – reduce mistakes by cutting keystrokes.
  10. SELL MORE WITH BUY NOW, PAY LATER– through Zip and Humm – interest free finance platforms loved by Boomers, Gen X and Gen Y.
  11. SELL MORE PER VISIT AND BRING PEOPLE BACK  – offer discounts, points or vouchers to increase customer spend and retention
  12. EASY AND ACCURATE STOCK MANAGEMENT – know what is selling and not selling easily. Carry less dead stock.
  13. SAVE TIME & CUT MSTAKES WITH ACCOUNTING INTEGRATION – Direct to Xero. We support MYOB & Quicken.
  14. SAVE TIME– Electronic invoices and orders are a breeze!
  15. EASILY SELL ONLINE WITH STREAMLINED DATA AND IMAGE FLOW – data flow from POS software is automatic.
  16. EASY SPECIAL ORDERS  – track deposit, supplier order & arrival notification.
  17. MAKE SMARTER BUSINESS DECISIONS. Have less dead stock.
  18. HELP CUSTOMERS BUY ITEMS TOGETHER. Smart basket analysis shows what sells with what, often surprising retailers and growing sales.
  19. EASY, ACCURATE, SELLING – Sell accurately, easily, safely in-store or the back of the lot. Customisation options help personalise the experience.

Proudly supporting local Aussie garden centres with awesome garden centre software, which is supported locally … helping local businesses serve their local communities.

With many customers already, k this software has become an industry standard that grows and evolves like beautiful plants, changing to the changing needs of the garden centre marketplace.

Call one of our Garden Centre Software experts today: please call our sales team on 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

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Ideal POS software for garden centres

August 8, 2019
3 Min read
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Since its release several years ago, the specialty Garden Centre Software has been tunedto help local garden centres serve local communities.

As our software is updated, which is done regularly by our software development team, these updates are made available to our rental customers for no additional cost. Our customers can choose if they install the software update or not.

Here are some of the garden centre specific facilities garden centre owners and managers tell us they love about our software:

  1. Manage repotting. As plants grow, so does their value. Our software helps you leverage this.
  2. Selling fractionsof an item. For example, 1.5 metres of something.
  3. Handling and tracking customer special orders.
  4. Easily offer plant care informationon receipts.
  5. Hazardous goods management.
  6. Pricing model flexibility– allowing you to give discounts in flexible ways.
  7. Weatherproof labels.
  8. Marketing to customers based on purchases.
  9. Loading electronic invoices from suppliers.
  10. An automated link to Shopify including for images.

These specialty facilities and more make our specialty garden centre software ideal for specialty garden centres.

We also help you pitch local, by helping you share local knowledge, appreciate local shoppers through awesome loyalty tools, competewith big businessthrough facilities that let you differentiate and more.

We understand local.Tower Systems is a well-established Aussie POS software company with more than 3,500 small business retail customers in nine specific retail niche categories, like garden centres.

  1. This awesome Garden Centre Software is developed in Australia.
  2. Garden Centre owners and staff guide software enhancements.
  3. Our customer service team is Australian based. If you call, email, text, Facebook message or visit us, a human, with a real name, responds.
  4. Our software is regularly enhanced, based on user suggestions.
  5. You have access to unlimited one-on-one training.
  6. We offer business growth training.
  7. Easy access to a fantastic knowledge base– like a searchable manual.

To help you get up and running with the garden centre software we have a structured on-boarding process. This is done on-site, in your business. This face to face work helps you and your team get the most value from the software.

On-boarding includes…

  1. Providing a pre-install packet. This is a starter set of documentation, to help you be ready in your business and with hardware.
  2. Pre-installation planning. A phone meeting to plan the installation and to go over the training process, ensuring cover what matters to you.
  3. On-siteinstallation and training. On-site installation of and training in the Tower software anywhere in Australia for up to two days.
  4. Data conversion. Conversion of all data possible (within reasonable time constraints). This is a two-step process:
    1. Pre-conversion. This is where we connect to an existing system and extract data to be checked for layout and consistency. It is a critical planning step.
    2. The conversion itself. This is done as part of the software installation process.
  5. Personal priority support. New user priority support through a specialist area of the new customer help desk.
  6. Personal post-installation follow-up. A separate structured call to check knowledge and use processes.
  7. Travel to and from the installation.
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Small business retail advice: preparing your shop for sale

August 6, 2019
2 Min read
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Selling a retail business is like selling a house, you need to prepare it so that it looks appealing to prospective purchasers. Selling a newsagency is more challenging because of assumptions out there and changes in what a newsagency is can could be.

Here at Tower Systems we are often asked for retail advice beyond our POS software. Preparing a retail shop for sale is one example of advice we are asked for.  We have developed a package of information to help small business retailers as they navigate this. What we share in this blog post today is some of the information we have put together.

Tower Systems POS software customers have access to this and more business management advice and insights.

  1. Make it look and feel appealing. While there are people who will look for a challenge (opportunity). Most buyers will want two see a retail business they understand and feel they can run.
  2. Eliminate dead stock. It looks bad on the shelves and looks bad on the books. Purchasers should not pay full wholesale for inventory more than six months old as your poor buying or management is not their obligation.
  3. Streamline operations. Make the business look easy to run by ensuring it is easy to run for you. The easier it looks to run the more interesting to people who don’t understand the business.
  4. Maximise profit. What anyone will pay will depend on actual profitability of the business.
  5. Be happy. Owners who talk their business down will find it harder to sell the business. You never know who is shopping your shop and the broader interest they may have.
  6. Keep your social media presence up to date. Today, many people check out a business online prior to looking at it in-store. Maintain up to date Facebook, Instagram and elsewhere.
  7. Get your paperwork in order. Early on, get business documents together:
    1. Premises lease.
    2. Equipment lease.
    3. Employee records.
    4. Product forward orders.
    5. Franchise documents.
    6. Supplier agreements.
    7. Details of any forward orders.
    8. Any other documents relating to the operation of the business including manuals for any equipment items.
  8. Choose a broker for your circumstances.

Success at selling your retail business depends on the work you do to prepare it for sale. Focus months, even a years, out can make for an easier and better sale.

Get it right and you can expect to make more than you might have thought possible.

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Retailers: sync images from your POS software to your website easily, seamlessly and without human intervention

August 2, 2019
2 Min read
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Small business retailers using the Tower Systems POS software can easily, quickly, safely and accurately sync product images from their PSO software to their Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce or other POS software site easily, quickly and accurately thanks to smart image management in the Tower Systems POS software.

Syncing images without the need for human intervention saves time. It also cuts mistakes, streamlines workflow and provides a better e-commerce as well as in0-store management outcome.

This is good for business.

Tower Systems has offered this POS software website image sync for ages, as part of its core e-commerce interface benefits.

As retailers with multiple websites and active in-store use of POS software in businesses it owns, Tower Systems is delivering solutions it itself wants for more efficient, accurate and successful e-commerce trading. This personal experience is a key factor in why Tower Systems is able to differentiate its offer over other POS software companies in this and other areas.

With the POS software the keeper of the images – multiple per product and any size that is appropriate to what you sell – connecting to the website is easy and seamless. Each new image loaded for a product is synced to the website based on rules established and managed in-store. This enables the software to behave in accordance with the wishes of the business.

Tower already partners with Shopify, Magento and WordPress – WooCommerce. The interface for each with the Tower software is direct and not through a third party. This is also key in the service of accurate, seamless and safe product image transfer.

Tower Systems is able to demonstrate these facilities live to any retailer contemplating the Tower software or website development services.

Image syncing between POS software and a website is critical for any small business that wants to sell online as it reduces the workload involved in managing images. Too often, small business retailers are asked to manually cut and paste and do other work on images. The Tower software makes the process easier, more certain and more enjoyable in that getting to the opportunity its to sell online is faster.

Any POS software that cannot facilitate the automatic and easy flow of images to a Shopify, Magento or WooCommerce website could be considered to be inappropriate for a business that prides efficiency and accuracy.

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POS software from Tower Systems helps small business retailers cut theft

July 31, 2019
2 Min read
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The Age newspaper last week reported on a surge in theft.

A study of over 9000 Australian and New Zealand retailers has revealed the cost of theft in-store has now reached a “crisis point” for companies as shoplifters have become more brazen in recent years.

While the report focusses on shoplifting, in my experience working eityh retailers, employee theft has a higher cost. This paragraph is telling…

The majority of respondents were large fashion, grocery and department retailers with 300 or more stores. For the 2018 financial year, those companies estimated crime-related losses of $3.37 billion, or 0.92 per cent of the region’s total retail revenue for the year.

The average cost of theft in small to medium business is 3% and more. This, considering the .92% noted above indicates the focus of the report is narrow. But then the report goes on to say employee theft was 22% of overall theft.

Maybe the disconnect is because the report pulled data from medium to large businesses whereas all data I have seen over the years has been from small businesses, single store businesses. In those, in my experience, employee theft costs around 70% of the total cost of theft.

Regardless of this latest report, theft is retail is a high cost for which retailers, customers and others in the supply chain pay.

Read the report. It’s got useful information for any retailer.

Our POS software company helps small business retailers cut the cost of theft. We have proven facilities in the software that achieve this. Better still, we back these facilities with experts who can make a real and positive difference in theft outcomes for small business retailers.

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Smart POS software helps garden centres drive sales between major seasons

July 26, 2019
4 Min read
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Garden centres are often seasonal business with shopper traffic and sales peaks at predictable times of the year. They are also businesses that attract more first-time shoppers than many other retail businesses.

The seasonal traffic peaks and first-time shopper visits present opportunities that are not leveraged as much as they could be in garden centres.

Change the game: front-end loyalty

By using an approach we call front-ending loyalty, garden centres can achieve more from seasonal growth and first-time shoppers. Front-ending loyalty brings a reward to the front in an effort to engage shoppers in additional purchases sooner.

It’s an approach that can encourage those who do not shop with you to purchase something else right away, to get the value of the cash discount offered. It’s in our Garden Centre POS Software.

Regular shoppers can spend the cash discount right away or come back within any time limit you set.

We started trialling this front-ending loyalty strategy in February 2013 in several retail businesses including a garden centre. We did it using the Discount Vouchers facilities in the Tower Systems garden centre software.

Building the basket

From the first day we saw shoppers changing behaviour.

One chap came in to purchase a specific item. When I handed him the receipt we pointed out the voucher offering $2.00 off his next purchase. He was not a regular and so spent the $2.00, and more, right away on another item. He received another voucher and purchased a third item. In all, he spent three times as much as the original purchase – all because of the Discount Vouchers he received.

Around 33% of all vouchers redeemed are used the day they are received. This shows customers building the basket – adding to their purchase that day as a result of the voucher. This makes each visit more valuable to us.

Bringing shoppers back

Around 33% of redeemed vouchers are used within seven days of issue and the remaining 33% are redeemed up to four weeks after issue.

Here’s another real story: A month after we started trialling this new approach to loyalty, a customer came in and used a voucher she had picked up a couple of weeks earlier. She was happy to get $5.00 off a $45.00 item she wanted. This resulted in another voucher so she bought another item for $29.95.

This customer said she would be back. Two weeks later she was.

You control the business rules

Like any good loyalty program, you need good levers with which to drive shopper engagement and to deliver the benefits it needs to justify the investment.

The Discount Vouchers facilities have this.

You control the amount of each sale you are prepared to give away on the voucher.

You control the products the voucher can be used for.

You control how long the voucher is live for. We suggest 28 days but I have some retailers setting this at 90 days.

Helping your garden centre business

With big box stores like Bunnings and Masters offering their corporate loyalty programs, it’s important for garden centres to offer a genuine point of difference.  Discount Vouchers offer this.

While their approach is very corporate, your approach can be more flexible and more focused on early rewards. Over the months of trialling we have seen changes shopper behaviour, it gets them spending more with you.

We are confident this fresh approach to loyalty is a game changer for any garden centre business. The control you have enables you to easily manage the cost and the value you gain from the program.

This really is a new approach to bringing shoppers back sooner and getting them to spend more with you.

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Portable POS software helps retailers sell from anywhere including the back of a truck!

July 18, 2019
3 Min read
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Retailer Roam is an innovative add-on to the awesome POS software from Tower Systems. It brings to a portable, device-independent, platform, access to POS software for retailers who want to sell Fromm anywhere.

This is perfect for retailers who sell at markets, on the road, in pop-up shops, out the front of their shop or in any other temporary and on the run location.

Retailer Roam is portable retail for small business retailers.

It is smart, powerful, flexible and able to run offline. It is safe, too, delivering a flexible and safe solution to indie retailers chasing business away from their shops.

We are thrilled to bring Retailer Roam to the world, to empower small business retailers with a tool that 100% helps them compete more efficiently and flexibly.

This is new software for a new type of retail. It has been developed with retailers.

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

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

As the name suggests Retailer Roam enables the business to roam to transact sales.

You can sell for cash or credit card, to an account or through a LayBy. Selling is through a screen designed specifically for Retailer Roam and the types of devices on which it would be run.

Retailer Roam utilises the Tower Systems developed and proprietary secure TALINK platform to synchronise with Retailer store level data. That is, stock in your Retailer software can be sold through Retailer Roam.

Sell online and offline.

Yes, connect for easy EFTPOS processing.

Retailer Roam is set to change how, when and where retailers sell.

WHAT DEVICES OR HARDWARE DO I NEED TO RUN RETAILER ROAM?

IPAD
Our preference is for a regular size iPad running minimum iOS 10.

ANDROID TABLET
Roam was developed and tested using Android 6.0 (API 23). So, if you are running an operating system ahead of Android 6, you’re good to go. We anticipate that Roam could work in earlier versions (either 5, or 4.1). However, we may need to setup for this.

RECEIPT PRINTERS
We recommend and support Epson IP receipt printers. Our preference is the Epson TM82 Ethernet receipt printer. A full list of supported printers is available from Tower Systems. You can share an existing printer between multiple Roam Terminals or even share a supported printer with a Retailer fixed POS if operating in store. A Receipt Printer is not mandatory to operate Roam as receipts can be emailed.

BARCODE SCANNERS
Any direct Bluetooth scanner, i.e. a scanner the communicates directly with the terminal and not via a base, should work. We support and recommend the Socket range of scanners.

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Get a free video of your POS software demo – a terrific move for transparency for small business retailers

July 15, 2019
2 Min read
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POS software company Tower Systems has launched an innovative and valuable opportunity for ay retailer considering its POS software.

A free video of your POS software demonstration.

Using cool cloud based technology and backing this with local infrastructure, Tower Systems is delivering to small business retailers certainty, commitment and trust in truth. We think this matters. It demonstrates that we take our pre-sales approach seriously.

Let us demonstrate our POS software to you in a live, interactive one-on-one online demonstration and we will offer you a video recording of the demo every question you ask, and our answers.

This offer is one to any sales prospect, any in their business and any who advise them.

This is a wonderful development for small business retailers. It gives them the ability to revisit a demonstration, check their memory, be sure of what they were told and be confident that buying POS software from Tower Systems is backed by a truth, transparency and trust on which they can build a long-term relationship with the company.

If you have ever wanted to recall, for certain, answers given or promises made in a sales situation, we make it easy because, to us, transparency matters.

This is a really big deal, something that differentiates the Tower Systems approach to business and to attracting users of our POS software.

We are tired of hearing stories of sales people from various businesses who do not tell the truth, stories of promises made during a sales pitch that never eventuate. Tower Systems wants to see that changes. Change starts with truth, it is built on trust, which its shared with transparency.

We offer locally developed and highly tuned software for specialty retail businesses including garden centres, produce / farm supply businesses, jewellers, bike retailers, pet stores, toy shops, gift shops, homewares shops, fishing and outdoor businesses, newsagents and adult shops.

To find out more about our POS softwareand support for specialty retailers please call our sales team on 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

Tower Systems is an Australian POS software company serving 3,500+ specialty retailers in Australia and New Zealand.

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New financial year business management tips for small business retailers

July 8, 2019
2 Min read
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Last week, we shared advice with our POS software customers on steps they could take for a brighter and healthier 2019/2020 financial year…

Here is a list of things you could suggest for the new financial year.

  1. Change your passwords. Share them sparingly.
  2. Review your department and categories. Ensure they accurately reflect your business and how you want performance reported.
  3. Review system useto determine if fraud is an issue. Our help desk team can help business owners (and only business owners) with this.
  4. if you are not using Discount Vouchers, consider it as it continues to be the easiest and most effective revenue and return visit building tool we have see.
  5. Review your opening hours / rosterbased on a revenue by time assessment.
  6. Take a look at workflow at the counter. Look at steps you can take to streamline the experience. More efficient sales will help drive sales revenue.
  7. Set aside every invoice that you currently enter manually. Email a copy to us at support@towersystems.com.au along with supplier contact details. We will reach out to them for you, encouraging them to provide you with an electronic invoice, which will save time and improve data accuracy.
  8. Consider cloud based backupfor faster, safer, backups.
  9. If you have a website, consider an SEO campaignto lift its profile. If your website is more than two years old, consider a refresh or replacement.

We hope that the 2019/20 financial year is wonderful for you and your business. We are keen to help achieve this with and for you. That starts with your engagement.

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Produce business software / farm supply POS software helps local businesses serve local communities

July 5, 2019
3 Min read
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Our POS software for produce stores, farm supply businesses, rural supply businesses and related is having an awesome year thanks to software enhancements supplier connections that help these businesses thrive.

From managing the sale of bulky goods to respecting risks of hazardous materials to providing meaningful delivery dockets to managing special orders, the rural supplies / produce business software from Tower Systems is tailored to serve.

An asset of your business is that you are a local expert on local crops, common local farm animals and more. You canpromote your expert local knowledge through local notes on receipts.

Automatically, receipts, invoices and delivery dockets can include locally relevant information. This free information pitches your business as different to an online shop or a big business that is less focussed on personal service.

Another way we can help maximise sales is with smart shopper engagement. This is where you easily leverage customer data to reach out with reminders.

We create software for very specific retail business niches, like produce / farm supply / rural supply businesses. We do the regular POS stuff, and we serve produce business POS software requirements, such as the following list (which is not complete)…

  1. Invoicing and account management – you can manage accounts in a way tailored to your business. You can produce picking slips, manage accounts, feed data to Xero and MYOB, accounting for freight.
  2. Pre-orders – We make it easy for you to pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  3. Bagging up feed – Easily manage bagging up a bulk feed delivery into smaller, saleable lots, while keeping accurate stock on hand data.
  4. Selling from the truck. easily. Accurately. On the spot with professional remote access tools that work even if the Internet is not available.
  5. Selling by weight. Including government tested and approved scale integration.
  6. Selling by measure. To decimal places.
  7. Pre-orders. Make it easier for your customers.
  8. Special orders. Including easy notification when orders come in.
  9. Making your own feed mix. We help you track managing bulk quantity ingredients and mixing these into saleable packs of your own brand of seed mix. What an awesome point of difference for your business!
  10. Special orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
  11. Pricing profiles. You can set pricing rules based on types of customers.
  12. Seasonal reordering. Easily reorder inventory based on seasonal sales.
  13. Buy now pay later. Give people terms yet be paid right away yourself.
  14. Website Integration – Our software connects with Shopify, Magento & WooCommerce.  Sell online, easily.
  15. Accounting Integration – Have your sales and purchase information automatically flow into Xero, MYOB & Reckon.

Talk to one of our experts about an obligation free personal demonstration: please call our sales team on 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.

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POS software Xero interface saves time and money for small business retailers

July 4, 2019
2 Min read
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The direct Xero interface in the POS software from Tower Systems helps indie and small business retailers save time and money, every day, easily, consistently, with surety appreciated by accountants and business owners.

Tower Systems has been integrated with Xero for many years, delivering a time saving and accuracy focussed solution to small business retailers. We are a Xero partner and have actively participated in the awesome Xerocon conference events several times as well as having been featured in the Xero users magazine.

We are grateful to the uplifting of the Xero community, for their support and endorsement though active use of our POS software Xero interface.

Through our direct POS software Xero interface, purchase, sales, credits and other business critical data flows direct to the accounting software, ensuring accurate record keeping without the need fort double handling of data. This improves accuracy. It saves time. It helps businesses make better quality business decisions.

This is what a good, safe,. stable and endorsed POS software / Xero like works like … it serves the needs of small business retailers and helps them with business efficiency and accuracy.

This is an advantage from Tower Systems. Something that delivers good outcomes to our business partners, the small business retailer community who rely on our software, the thousands we serve every day with awesome software and awesome software support.

Our Xero like has been developed by us. It is supported by us. It is direct. This saves time and ensures better data accuracy. Indeed, we use it ourselves for shops that we own and run. yes, we walk in the shoes of our customers every day. This is important in that we can speak from first hand experience when helloing 0ur customers, advising them, training them and guiding their experiences with our software and with Xero.

Having skilled in-house accountants helps us to provide access to a level; of expertise and experience small business accountants appreciate and benefit from. We help way beyond the software, we help by bring professional accounting expertise to the table to make our POS software Xero link genuinely valuable.

This is another Tower Advantage.

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Portable POS software for on the road businesses

July 3, 2019
2 Min read
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Tower Systems offers small business retailers easy access to a genuinely portable POS software solution that is cloud based and enables a business to transact anywhere, any time, taking and and card, easily, safely and quickly.

This new solution, called Retailer Roam, is innovative, fresh and 100% focussed on helping small business retailers go where you want to go, as the song says. It is all about helping retailers get to their customers, where their customers want.

Being cloud based, this portable POS software solution enables retailers to easily sell at markets, fairs, collectives, from the truck or car, at events, on the road side at pop-up retail and even from their own shop if they need another register lane opened quickly without costly and time-consuming infrastructure.

Retailer Roam is next generation POS software. Fast. Flexible. Cloud based. Easy to use. Elegant. Portable. deigned by and for retailers.

It is next gen POS software for next gen retailers.

We are grateful to bring this to small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand, grateful to land it as a beautiful piece of software tech and an elegant business solution.

This is Aussie POS software innovation, benefiting all retailers in the small business world, especially in the specialty retail channels in which Tower Systems serves.

As you would expect from well designed portable POS software, Retailer Roam works beautifully while not accessible to the internet. yes, you can keep going business. It syncs in the background and easily.

Remember, this software also allows you to sell 24/7 online too, through Shopify, magenta or Woo Commerce websites that link back to the business Retailer POS software.

All bases are covered, all needs are met with the technically strong and flexible cloud based POS software solutions from Tower Systems.

It is easy for a small local business to decide today to participate in a pop-up market and know that they have the tech that can handle this, make it easy, safe, fast and accurate for trading and capturing what they sell, when and to whom. And, to be able to top this from just about any device based the capital cost manageable, usually from within existing resources.

Retailer Roam is another part of the total Tower Systems POS software solution.

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Small business retail POS software loyalty 2.0

July 1, 2019
3 Min read
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How small business retailers can use unique shopper loyalty facilities to easily get shoppers back sooner and spending more.

Here, we share advice we recently provided to our customers. I share it with you today as it demonstrates how we communicate with our customers, beyond the traditional software company support pitch. Here is the email in full:

We write to share with you insights on how to use Discount Vouchers in a smart way for your business.

Discount vouchers have been in our software for more than six years. They are one of several valuable shopper loyalty tools designed to drive revenue and return shopper visits.

Yet, discount vouchers are the most misunderstood.

Setup is easy. It takes a few minutes. Change is easy, with changes taking effect immediately. Management its easy thanks tp three awesome reports. Pitch is easysince you can call them whatever you like, what is appropriate to your business.

The mistake most retailers make is overthinking. Stop that! Set Discount Vouchers up and see how your customers respond. Adjust accordingly.

In our experience, on average, only 20% of vouchers handed out are redeemed. Those offered with the least rules achieve the best commercial outcome for the retailer.

Remember, the $$$ opportunity on the discount voucher is a good reason to review pricing, to factor in the cost of voucher redemption.

So…

  1. Choose what you want to call them: Discount Voucher; Bonus Bucks; Thank You Gift; Come Back Again Gift; Appreciation Voucher; Pass It On $$$.
  2. Set your settings. Know they can change as you learn more.
  3. We suggest a 28 day expiry.
  4. Have the voucher value show as $$.
  5. Let vouchers be redeemed for as many different products as possible.
  6. Go!

ADVICE ON PROMOTING DISCOUNT VOUCHERS.

Every time a voucher prints, present it to the customer by placing it on the counter facing them with your finger next to the amount and say, while maintaining eye contact, hey you have a voucher here for $x.xx that you can use in store in the next 28 days. Well done.

Make sure that everyone working at the counter knows that the success of vouchers depends on their pitch.

Now, if they complain about the low voucher value have a response like hey it’s appreciation that almost no other business around here will show you.

Guys are more likely to spend the voucher right away.

Girls are more like to collect vouchers and put them together, which we recommend you allow.

What you want to see when you have out a voucher is for them to lift their hear and turn to look back into the shop, thinking of what they could buy.

GOOD LUCK!

PS. Click here to access and print advice that I have previously published to 240 newsXpress stores. This is a retail marketing group I own.

————-

To find out more about our awesome POS software and support fir indie specialty retailers, please call our sales team on 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

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How our POS software co. helps small business retailers bring shoppers back more often

June 28, 2019
3 Min read
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In our POS software we have a range of shopper loyalty facilities, including discount vouchers. Today, we share information recently try shared with our customers as part of our free education opportunities…

How to use Discount Vouchers in a smart way for your business.

Discount vouchers have been in our software for more than six years. They are one of several valuable shopper loyalty tools designed to drive revenue and return shopper visits.

Yet, discount vouchers are the most misunderstood.

Setup is easy. It takes a few minutes. Change is easy, with changes taking effect immediately. Management its easy thanks tp three awesome reports. Pitch is easysince you can call them whatever you like, what is appropriate to your business.

The mistake most retailers make is overthinking. Stop that! Set Discount Vouchers up and see how your customers respond. Adjust accordingly.

In our experience, on average, only 20% of vouchers handed out are redeemed. Those offered with the least rules achieve the best commercial outcome for the retailer.

Remember, the $$$ opportunity on the discount voucher is a good reason to review pricing, to factor in the cost of voucher redemption.

So…

  1. Choose what you want to call them: Discount Voucher; Bonus Bucks; Thank You Gift; Come Back Again Gift; Appreciation Voucher; Pass It On $$$.
  2. Set your settings. Know they can change as you learn more.
  3. We suggest a 28 day expiry.
  4. Have the voucher value show as $$.
  5. Let vouchers be redeemed for as many different products as possible.
  6. Go!

ADVICE ON PROMOTING DISCOUNT VOUCHERS.

Every time a voucher prints, present it to the customer by placing it on the counter facing them with your finger next to the amount and say, while maintaining eye contact, hey you have a voucher here for $x.xx that you can use in store in the next 28 days. Well done.

Make sure that everyone working at the counter knows that the success of vouchers depends on their pitch.

Now, if they complain about the low voucher value have a response like hey it’s appreciation that almost no other business around here will show you.

Guys are more likely to spend the voucher right away.

Girls are more like to collect vouchers and put them together, which we recommend you allow.

What you want to see when you have out a voucher is for them to lift their hear and turn to look back into the shop, thinking of what they could buy.

GOOD LUCK!

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Small business retail advice on how to choose POS software

June 25, 2019
4 Min read
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The POS software you choose for your indie small retail business is an important decision. Get it right and the business could prosper and become considerably more valuable. Get it wrong and it could cost you plenty.

In thinking about the software you want, think about your business. Here are some headline level thoughts and suggestions.

  1. If you see your business as specialist in nature, the software you choose should be specialist.
  2. If part of your business pitch is to shop local, choosing locally made and supported software supports your pitch. Local software is software made and supported in Australia.
  3. If you want to be known as the local specialist, you need software that helps you do this consistently and effectively.
  4. If you do repairs or maintenance of any sort, you need software that can handle this.
  5. If you sell items bundled such as a rod, reel and line pack, you need software that can handle this.
  6. If you are in a tourist area and sell to people once, or once a year, you need software with loyalty facilities to maximise their rare visits to your shop.
  7. If you sell products by weight, you need software that can do this.

Think about these things and think about what you want in software in your business to help you stand out.

There are many generic and cheap point of sale systems in the marketplace. Price does matter. You would know that in your business. Think about the shopper who wants a full kit but says they want the cheapest. Think about your advice to them. If you say price does matter and that you get what you pay for, the same is true with retail business software.

A small higher price today for the right software could save many times the gap between it and cheap generic software.

So, work out what you want. This must come first, ahead of any budget.

Given that you can lease or even rent software, the capital cost is best assessed as a weekly cost on the business. This makes comparing systems easier. Once you work out the weekly cost and tote up what you get for this in terms of support serves and software functionality you can reasonable compare the different systems.

If you are not sure whether a software package will serve your needs, don’t choose it. You are better off saying no than fighting with the software and the supplier to get it working exactly as you want. However, it is likely that you will need to change some business processes to suit the software you do ultimately choose.

Be flexible. Once you have chosen software, follow the advice provided by the software company and the expert they send to your business to train you. If they suggest changes to your business processes, embrace them. While changing what you do can be frustrating, software designed specifically independent specialty retail businesses is specialist in nature and it does what it does based on years of development and feedback from many customers.

Be disciplined. Software is like a machine. It needs the right fuel. For software, that fuel is data. Ensure everyone in your business is disciplined in how the software is used. From the moment stock comes into the business to when it is sold. Track it. This will help you make better business decisions.

Be engaged. Your software company will want a two-way relationship If you have suggestions, share them Play a role in the continued evolution of the software. This helps you and other businesses in your channel.

Save time. The right software will help you eliminate manual processes. Embrace these opportunities as much as possible. Time saved is time you can invest in yourself or in the business. Seek time saving opportunities out.

Be realistic. Any new software will be a challenge. Know that you will have some rough days learning the new things. Accept these by focussing on the main goal of enjoyment and efficiency once you know the software well.

The software you choose reflects your business. Take your time. Be certain about what you want. Invest well and the right software will easily pay for itself.

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