CategoryGarden centre software

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.

How employees who steal do steal from a retail business has changed over time. As technology and changed and as society has changed, theft techniques have changed.

It is vital that indie retail businesses keep up to date on how to detect and confront theft by employees. It is critical these businesses are ahead of the game in this pursuit.

The challenge is, you don’t know what you don’t know. This is where the comprehensive and POS software integrated approach recommended and guided by Tower Systems can help. The company leverages years of experience, personal retail management knowledge and expert mentorship from some world class leaders to provide its retail business community advice and help.

Detecting and mitigating employee theft in retail starts with the POS software itself. It is critical that retailer use software that has tools, known and unknown to users, that help confront the employee theft challenge. The best detection is the surprise detection, catching an employee when they least expect it, when they think they can get away with theft crime undetected.

The employee theft tracking and evidentiary tools in the Tower Systems POS software have been proven time and again to help retailers, police and prosecutors to deal with theft situations.

The best news is that engaged retailers who follow our advice are able to see theft easily, before the cost on the business is too great. Clearly, this is the best situation – early detection, early addressing of a situation before it becomes expensive and possibly terminal for a business.

Through our in-house theft specialists and personal experience running retail businesses, we offer training, advice and help using the awesome theft tracking and mitigation tools in our retail business POS software. At all times, our work is done in ways and following processes that are useful to any authorities brought in to deal with an employee theft situation.

Indie retail businesses can cut the cost of employee theft. It takes good POS software backed by good support with an oversight from leadership.

Tower Systems has years of experience working with small business retailers, police, prosecutors and insurance companies to help detect and mitigate theft in retail businesses, especially independent retail businesses.

We are often asked by small business retailers for business help when it is too late. In this article, we outline steps any retailer can contemplate from them moment they realise their business is in trouble, from the first thought that closing may be the only option.

If your retail business is in tough times and facing possible closure, you may be able to save it if you act quickly and ruthlessly. Based on years of working with many different retailers, we have found some basic steps can successfully turnaround a business in trouble. But you need to be ruthless.

1. Know your truth. If you run a computer system, analyse the data it collects. If you don’t know how to do this, find out. Look for surprise information in your data, things you did not know about your business. For example, look at the top selling items. If there are surprises there they could inform other decisions you make to urgently address your situation.
2. Trim employee costs. Cut employee hours and work more in the business yourself if you are not doing so already. While this can have a significant personal cost, the less you pay others the more be business benefits in financial terms.
3. Trim overheads. Cut everything you can: cleaning, power usage, insurance, freight, banking. Look at every supplier relationship you have and see if you can negotiate a better deal to cut your operating costs. However, do not turn off lights as darkness is death in most retail businesses.
4. Stop unprofitable behaviour. If you are doing things in your business which lose money or do not contribute to a good future for the business, stop doing them. Regardless of history or what your business might stand for, continuing with unprofitable activity only makes your situation worse.
5. Quit dead stock. If you have stock on the shop floor which is old – ‘old’ can vary between product categories – and for which you have already paid, quit it. However, stock that is greater than six months old is a reasonable guide – then take action to sell this at a substantial discount.
6. Cash matters. Converting anything you have fully paid for to cash has to be your key goal.
7. Different retail options. Maybe a right or left turn away from what your business has been is an answer.
8. Move things around. If your business is in trouble it is likely that it has not changed much in recent years. Change it. Move departments around, shake things up so your customers trip over things they did not think you sold.
9. Review prices. Look at the common items you sell, consider a small increase in your prices. It could be a small increase will not hurt sales volume yet will add profit to your bottom line.
10. Upsell well. At the counter, work to extend the basket for every sale possible. Do this with clever counter product placement and witty and engaging banter with customers offering upsell products. You goal has to be to make more from each customer.
11. Market within your budget. Photocopied black and white flyers designed with care can be cheap and effective.
12. Get suppliers to help. Suppliers often have old stock themselves which they want to quit at a substantial discount. Buy items you have not stocked before, negotiate good prices and put the stock out with a healthy margin but still at a discount to what others would be charging. Negotiate to pay once you are paid by customers.
13. What assets can you sell? Do you have computers, retail fixtures, vehicles or other assets you no longer use in the running of the business? If they are not being used, turn them to cash as quickly as possible.
14. Get a job. If you have a partner in the business with you and the business can run with one partner, one of you should get a job outside the business. This is especially helpful in a husband and wife situation where the family income can benefit.
15. Talk to your landlord. A good landlord will prefer a good business to stay rather than have then close down and a new tenant having to be found. Talk to the landlord, be honest with them about your situation. Given the landlord all of the information they need to make the decision you need them to make. This information will include sales figures, expenses and margin information. Usually, the more transparent you are with the landlord the more they will support your business.
16. Talk to colleagues. If you have nearby business colleagues in the same line of business, they might have stock they are happy to provide you for free or at a discount to give you stock to move for a good price.
17. Deliver amazing customer service. When serving customers be the perfect shop assistance and not the owner of the business facing closure. Keep your mind on the job at hand and not the cliff you’re worried might be a few steps ahead.
18. Whoever is pressuring you the most to close or contemplate closing, talk to them. If it’s a supplier, the tax office or some other organisation or individual pressuring you about debts, be upfront with them, lay out for them your plan detailing the action you will take to turn your situation around, be clear about what you are doing and outline a timeline step by step for them. Seek their support.
19. Set a timeframe. Decide where you want to be in a week, four weeks, eight weeks, twelve weeks. Set realistic goals. Measure yourself against those goals. Know what you will do if you fall short.

No two situations are the same. No situation is impossible. No business is dead until the doors are closed for the last time.

Never give up. Fight hard and fight smart to turn your business around.

Tower Systems is thrilled to announce Retailer Roam, POS software enabled for portable retail, retail on the go, retail where you want to sell, as a pop-up, at a market, from a trunk, truly anywhere.

Retailer Roam is portable retail for small business 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.

Behind the scenes, seamlessly, data is synchronised in 3 phases.

1. Phase one is an initial transfer that contains the base stock. This is done on start-up. It sets Retailer Roam up to be able to sell.
2. Phase 2 is to receive product updates – on hand levels or pricing changes.
3. Phase 3 is to send sales and customer, inventory and sales data to Retailer. Sales data is be identified by each Roam terminal, allowing your view of terminal sales.

Sales (Phase 3) will be stored in a ‘queue’ on the device, which will be cleared periodically to sync sales with the roam server (and then sent to retailer). There is an option to force a sale to be sent to retailer again (in-case it was missed for whatever reason).

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.

Tower Systems has a Lead Referral Program to express appreciation to professionals who provide the company with sales leads that convert to bankable business. This is part of our small business partnership program that seeks to help encourage stronger small /indie retail businesses.

Our lead referral program is designed for bookkeepers and accountants who invest their time and knowledge to help introduce Tower Systems to prospective customers. Since our software links directly to Xero and offers third party supported access to MYOB and Quicken, connecting with Xero specialists makes sense.

Our software is also integrated with the Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce e-commerce platforms.

For easy banking and payments, we interface with Tyro directly and the major banks through a third party.

For buy now pay later, we interface with Oxipay (Hmmm) and ZipPay ZipMoney. We are working with AfterPay to bring that platform to our 3,000+ customers.

Our POS software is purpose build for a select range of niche retailers. While our software may work for businesses outside the retail channels listed on our website, it is important to know that being specialist matters to us. We dive deep into the needs of each retail channel we serve.

We are keen to work with bookkeepers and others who also specialise in their service of specific retail channel retailers.

In addition to developing awesome POS software, we also develop websites for our customers in-house, at our Hawthorn, Victoria, head office. This results in websites more finely tuned to the needs of local retailers as we understand local retail.

To maintain standards and ensure transparency, Tower Systems manages the lead referral program out of its head office.

To express interest to be part of the lead referral program, please email sales@towersystems.com.au. This is also the entry point for any queries. We will provide a document that outlines the program, how it works and what we offer.

To those contemplating partnering with us: we say thank you for considering working with Tower Systems to empower small business retailers to run more efficient and successful businesses.

Tower Systems is proud to serve small independent retailers in Australia and New Zealand.

Shopper loyalty software needs to drive sales. If it does not do this then it fails the business and is of questionable value. By driving sales, we mean achieving incremental revenue for a retail business – by bringing shoppers back to the business or by getting them to spend more in a visit to the business.

Good loyalty software has the hooks and tools that can be deployed to achieve these outcomes.

This is what the Tower Systems loyalty management facilities in noir smart POS software.

This is where the loyalty software facilities from Tower Systems come into their own. Offering a broad range of loyalty solutions, small business retailers can choose the approach that works best for them, included a blend of multiple approaches.

Most retail businesses using our specialist retail software love its points-based loyalty program that looks and feels as professional as the supermarkets’ programs. However, our software’s Discount Voucher facilities deliver even better results. We say this based on wonderful and helpful feedback from many of our small business retail customers.

Discount vouchers are a very different approach to loyalty. They offer immediate rewards. They help shoppers spend more this visit. This is vital in businesses that see shoppers once, in tourist and similar locations. They genuinely change shopper behaviour in that visit to the business.

One of our own retail businesses reported growth of 10% in the three months. Much of the success comes down to smart use of Discount Vouchers.

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.

1. You name the voucher anything you like and can change this at any time.
2. You set the rules on how the value of the voucher is calculated.
3. You set the rules on what the voucher can be redeemed for.
4. You set the rules on expiry dates.

Male shoppers are more likely to spend the voucher immediately and many customers use the voucher to purchase items more expensive than the items in the initial purchase made. Customers see the voucher as cash, often commenting that they like the direct approach better than a points-based system. They like the transparency and simplicity.

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.

Here is a video from us about Discount Vouchers:

Small business retailers often miss the opportunity to maximise pricing of items over which they have in–store control of pricing. There is good work that is easily accessible to help retailers better understand the opportunities.

In this posts we share information aimed at helping small business retailers make pricing decisions:

The power of the number 9.

In his book Priceless, William Poundstone analyses  8 different studies on the use of charm prices (pricing that ends in a 9 or a 5 but usually a 9), and found that, on average, they increased sales by 24% versus their nearby, ’rounded’ price points.

Poundstone has a video which explains this. It’s worth watching and can be found via this link: http://youtu.be/nZqOGhWw3Q8.

For a more complete study on pricing, read The Widespread Use of Odd Pricing in the Retail Sector by Judith Holdershaw, Philip Gendall and Ron Garland. Published in 1997 in Marketing Bulletin. http://marketing-bulletin.massey.ac.nz/V8/MB_V8_N1_Holdershaw.pdf

What to include in your calculation.

Start with the real cost price. This should be regular wholesale plus freight. Keep any supplier or other discount as a bonus for yourself. Add freight as it is a cost associated with your location. This is not yours to soak up.

Setting your price.

In considering what to sell something for, ask your colleagues in-store how much would you pay for this? Do your research, too and see what others nearby sell the item for. Finally, consider carefully your objectives for the product – is this a volume play or a margin play?

Your pricing choice may not be as clear-cut as it would seem. For example, you could set a high price knowing that with a discount voucher on purchase the item appears to cost less. You might have volume pricing: $xx.xx for one, $yy.yy for two. You could have the item bundled with another to differentiate your offer to that of a nearby competitor and thereby offering you the opportunity to break free on pricing.

Think carefully about where in a band you price an item.For example, Items priced above $7.99 could probably sell at $9.99. Items above $19.99 should either be $24.99 or $29.99 and no other number in between. Above $29.99 more often you should target $39.99.

Avoid nothing prices that can cost GP. For example: $21.95 should be $24.99; $112.50 should be $119.99; $6.50 should be $7.99; $8.75 should be $9.99; $132.50 should be $139.99; $36.50 should be $39.99..

Choose to go to a higher price point rather than lower. Independent retail businesses  are expected to be more expensive. If you counter this with a consistently offered and generous discount voucher program then erring on the higher side of pricing works for you as your voucher sets value perception for your shoppers.

Our recommendation is that you always end your prices with a .99 and price at above RRP.

Be bold on price, make more money and make your business more valuable.

We are proud to support rural and regional small business retailers with our POS software. Our service is personal and in-store, placing ourselves where our customers are, to help them get the most from their investment in smart Point of Sale technology.

The personal service we provide to regional and rural retailers includes:

1. In-store demonstration of the software.
2. In-store personal experience in the business to fully understand business needs.
3. In-store personal one one one training in the use of the software.
4. Personal customer service, by humans who are based in Melbourne Australia and not an offshore help desk.
5. Virtual location in the business to help fine tune the system to maximise opportunity. We can log in, with customer permission, and make any necessary changes.
6. Regional user meetings.
7. Unlimited personal training.
8. Unlimited access to live weekly training seminars – accessible from anywhere.

These are some examples of personal services we provide that help regional and rural retailers leverage POS software for their commercial advantage.

One of the most crucial benefits delivered by Tower Systems is the offer to visit a business considering POS software. In that first visit we ask plenty of questions and we watch how the business operates, what happens in the business, how business is done … for watching and learning can help us understand if the opportunity is one for us or not. We know we are not a good software fit for every business we look at. We have found it valuable to us and prospective business customers to wish them best and walk away so they can fine more appropriate software for their needs.

Being in-store, being local with them enables us to ensure that businesses we work with are a good fit, that we can serve them well with software that is fit for purpose.

The initial visit is by one of our retail experts. They listen, learn and ask plenty of questions. This helps us. We have found regional and rural retailers appreciate this approach to the consideration of the POS software that is right for their business.

Tower Systems is not your usual POS software company. We are proud of this.

Our small business POS software company often provides general business advice to retailers, beyond our POS software specific advice. Here is one example – about competing with onlone.

Competing with online begins with your headspace, it begins with committing to getting the business right and relentlessly pursuing its success.

In practical terms, this means that every business decision is based on careful consideration of sound data. If the data does not support a business decision, you don’t do it. Simple.

Five ways you can compete with online

Here are five ways you can differentiate your business from online, ways that leverage personal, human, contact.

1. Track every contact.Treat every contact as a customer. Know who they are. Explain that it’s part of your service – to offer advice and keep in touch. This will qualify them as a customer from their very first question. While it may scare some off, better that you do it early before you give away your expert advice.
2. Give them a gift for listening to you.Every customer who spends time taking in your advice should be given a voucher for them to spend in-store in a purchase above a certain value. This shows that you value their attention. Presented well it can better connect them with you for the longer term.
3. Subtly share stories about the risks of online shopping.There are documented stories you can find about people being ripped off – what they ordered is not what they received, credit card fraud and the like. Arm your team with these stories … maybe a story about a customer who bought from you following an expensive rip off online.
4. Reward loyalty with a front-end approach.Ensure that every purchase over, say, $10, comes with a voucher offering a discount off the next purchase. Factor this into your mark-up model. Cash rewards showing on a receipt can be a powerful lure to bringing a shopper back.
5. Personalise your service.Arm all sales staff with personal business cards. Place follow up calls or emails to shoppers spending over, say, $100. Host networking events in-store. Connect with and support local clubs. Add value through personal contact at every possible opportunity. Structure regular, value-adding, contact with your customer base.

The difference between a bricks and mortar shops and a website selling similar products is that your business, the bricks and mortar business, is real, it can be visited, it’s personal. Everything you say and do needs to reinforce this and build trust based on this.