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 integrations help improve efficiency and reduce mistakes in local small business retail

January 19, 2024
2 Min read
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Tower Systems offers integrations between its POS software and a range of external apps and platforms to help local small business retailers eliminate double entry of data and thereby reduce the opportunities for mistakes.

POS software integrations are smart in saving time too.

We are grateful for the opportunity to integrate our POS software with a range of other applications and partners, enhancing the solutions available to0 our customers and those considering using our POS software.

Here are some of the POS software integrations from Tower Systems:

XERO (ACCOUNTING)
ABCIS (ACCOUNTING)
WOOCOMMERCE (ECOMMERCE)
SHOPIFY (ECOMMERCE)
MAGENTO (ECOMMERCE)
BIG COMMERCE (ECOMMERCE)
PCEFTPOS/LINKLY (PAYMENTS)
LINKLY CLOUD (PAYMENTS)
TYRO (PAYMENTS)
SMARTPAY (PAYMENTS)
HUMM (PAYMENTS)
ZIP (PAYMENTS)
CENTREPAY (PAYMENTS)
QUEST (PAYMENTS)
MX51 (PAYMENTS)
WINDCAVE (DPS) (PAYMENTS)
RAA MEMBER (DISCOUNTS)
PINPAYMENTS (PAYMENTS)
XCHANGEIT (EDI)
GNS (EDI)
EASTERN DISTRIBUTORS (EDI)
MAXWELL AND WILLIAMS (HAG) (EDI)
KONGS (EDI)
PERMIER PET (EDI)
MASTERPET (EDI)
AIRR / TUCKERS (EDI)
JUST FOR PETS (EDI)
EVERGREEN CONNECT (EDI)
MAILCHIMP (MARKETING)
MESSAGE MEDIA (SMS SERVICES)
BIKE EXCHANGE (EDI)
EPAY (ELECTRONIC VOUCHERS)
TABCORP (REQUIRES EXCHANGEIT) (LOTTERY)
POSTEC (FUEL)
TANDA (STAFF)
DEPUTY (STAFF)
ALLOTRAC (DISPATCH)
TREK (STOCK)
PACSTREAM (EDI)
TITLEPAGE (EDI)
REMOVE.BG (OTHER)
REMOVAL.AI (OTHER)
CHAT GPT (AI)

We are often first with integrations, like our delivery of Linkly Cloud.

We are grateful for the opportunity and proud to deliver a world first – a POS software integration with Linkly Cloud.

That’s right, we have retailers live with our Tower Systems POS software connected to Linkly Cloud for EFTPOS transactions.

Tower Systems makes POS software for specialty retailers in a range of local specialty retail channels.

Linkly is all about Making every payment seamless.

Together, we have delivered a solution that helps retailers save time, cut mistakes and more easily compete with big business.

Local retailers keen for a seamless payee its integration and needing a POS solution that is capable, functional, enhanced and reliable – the Tower Systems Linkly Cloud partnership is worth considering.

Tower Systems integrated EFTPOS, connects your Retailer Point of Sale with your EFTPOS terminal, making it the fastest and easiest way to sell.

When it comes to POS software integrations, here at Tower Systems we analyse requirements, talk with customers and consider whether a proposed integration serves the needs of all stakeholders. Then, if it’s a yes, we get about delivering and awesome integration.

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Almost every survey of local small business retailers lists cashflow as their #1 challenge

January 8, 2024
3 Min read
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Having access to the cash you need when you need it is critical in business.

Here are some obvious but too often ignored hacks to help improve the cashflow position of a business.

  1. Quit dead stock. In every retail business we work with we find that at least 20% of stock in the business is dead. That’s cash, space and time being wasted. Identify it. Quit it.
  2. Buy better. Buy stock based on evidence from your POS software. This will result in less dead stock and less out of stock situations – a third of all retail businesses we’ve looked at lost revenue by not having in stock products when shoppers wanted.
  3. Compare suppliers. If you have multiple suppliers for a product category. Compare their performance and act on the evidence. POS software can make this easy. We did this in two of our own shops last year and added $25,000+ in high gross profit revenue to each.
  4. Make shopping easier. Do this and people will spend more: make navigating the shop easier, use signs sparingly – ensure every sign is helpful, offer bundles of products to make occasion purchasing easier, include how to sheets with products as appropriate.
  5. Roster to revenue. Labour is usually the second or third highest business cost. Have your best people selling. Make sure every costed hour adds value to the business.
  6. Pass on actual EFTPOS costs. Use your POS software to auto-calculate the actual cost of a card presented and surcharge this per transaction. Shoppers have been educated now to accept this.
  7. Know the cost of theft. Between 2% and 5% of turnover is the cost of theft (shopper and employee) in indie retail in Australia and New Zealand. Use your POS software to know your stats, and act to reduce this.
  8. Attract more shoppers. Yes, this sounds easier said than done. But … a stunning and unexpected front window or street display will catch attention, fun social media posts will catch attention, a relationship with a community group will catch attention, being online will catch attention.
  9. Get current shoppers buying more. A smart loyalty program with the right settings for your business should achieve this for you. Too often local retailers run points-based loyalty that does not differentiate their business.

This list is a start. There is no one thing you can do to improve cashflow. It takes discipline – we learnt that ourselves for our own shops.

We make POS software used by thousands of local retailers. We use our own software in our own physical shops and our consumer-facing websites.

We’re not your average POS software company. To discover more: email sales@towersystems.com.au or call 1300 662 957.

We make software for bike shops, garden centres, jewellers, gift shops, pet shops, landscape supply businesses, repairs businesses, bookshops,
fishing and outdoors shops, newsagents, produce / farm supply businesses, fabric shops, sewing shops, music shops, computer shops, firearms dealers, charity & op. shops, community enterprises and more.

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If your shop is quiet this week here’s a perfect use of spare time: reduce the dead stock weighing you down

January 2, 2024
2 Min read
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We showed a retailer that more than 25% of the stock in their business was underperforming to the point that it was seriously loss making. There’s a tab on our insights dashboard that shows this.

This first week of the year is a good time to check it, to see if you have dead stock in your shop.

You don’t have to run a report or analyse data in any complex way. Click on the tab and it’s there for you, good or bad.

In the business mentioned above, the dead stock represented more than forty thousand dollars, $40,000, sitting, waiting, doing nothing, failing.

Tower Systems is not your usual POS software company. Sure, we show how to use the software. But, we also offer advice from a business management perspective – how to use the software to drive value for the business and its owners. We do this from the position of being retailers ourselves. We can speak to our experiences in our shops.

We own and run shops where we use our software ourselves.n We provide practical advice to our POS software customers based on our own experiences.

That’s what we do in this dead stock situation. Plus, we draw on decades of practical help to other retailers.

Our advice is to look at dead stock / the age of stock every 3 months. You soon learn the value of buying based on data evidence in the business and being cautious when exploring new product lines.

Your software can guide you to make decisions more likely to work, and less likely to result in dead stock.

We have been working with retailers for many years and continue to be surprised at the disinterest of many retailers in the extent and cost of dead stock in their businesses.

When we bought a retail business a few years back we had written into the contract a cascading discounts for existing stock based on its age beyond 6 months. In that business, more than half the stock had been there for 6 months.

Dead stock costs the business today, and when you come to sell.

In our POS software and thanks to our personal training we help retailers reduce the cost of dead stock in their businesses.

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Have you got stock hiding in boxes in your retail shop? It’s time to put it to work or let it go

December 7, 2023
3 Min read
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Have you got piles of stock tucked away in boxes, gathering dust in your garage or under shop tables? If so, you’re not alone. But if you’re serious about making a profit, you need to get that stock out on display where customers can see it.

It seems obvious to write, but some retailers still don’t understand this basic principle of business: stock that’s hidden away isn’t going to sell. If you’ve got stock sitting in boxes because you don’t have room to display it, it’s time to re-evaluate your purchasing decisions.

Think about it this way: every dollar you spend on stock is money you could be using to pay bills or invest in your business. So, before you buy any more stock, ask yourself:

Do I really need this stock?
Do I have room to display it?
Can I realistically sell it within a reasonable timeframe?
Is having this stock in my shop going to be valuable for the business?

If the answer to any of those questions is no, then don’t buy it.

Some retailers buy stock to impress sales reps or make their shops look busy. Others buy stock to make themselves feel better about their businesses. Some retailers buy stock because they are lonely. These are all the wrong reasons to buy stock.

There are even some sales reps who know they’re selling stock to businesses that don’t need it. Shame on them for putting their own financial gains ahead of the well-being of their customers.

If you don’t know the value of the stock in your business, it’s likely you have too much stock. A good but very basic rule of thumb or starting point of s=consideration at least is that stock should not be more than 20% of your total annual revenue from those products.

If you have boxes of stock that you haven’t opened in six months or more, you have too much stock. And if your back room, garage, or under-display table space is filled with boxes, you’ve got a big problem.

The best way to deal with an overstock of inventory is to stop buying new stock and focus on selling down what you already have. Don’t get emotional about it – just make a plan and stick to it.

If you don’t address the issue of overstocking, it will eventually overwhelm you and your business. Don’t let that happen. Take control of your inventory and watch your profits grow.

Yes, we’re a POS software company. We own and run shops, which is very rare for any of our competitors. Our daily experience in retail helps us better serve our customers in the software we make and the support we provide.

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A first for local specialty Aussie retailers: self-checkout POS software

November 23, 2023
4 Min read
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Tower Systems has developed a self-checkout POS software specifically for local small business specialty retailers. This software allows small businesses to offer self-checkout to their customers in a way that is beneficial to their business. It is available now for retailers in Australia and New Zealand.

With Tower’s self-checkout POS software, customers can scan their items, make a payment, and receive a receipt. They can also scan their items, save the sale, and then complete the sale at the main counter if they prefer.

The self-checkout POS terminal honors all special prices, catalog prices, and other settings configured by the retailer. It also offers the same loyalty program benefits that customers can access at the sales counter.

The software is available for a low monthly rental fee that can be canceled at any time. This rental fee is per location, so you can run multiple self-checkout terminals for the same price.

Integrated EFTPOS is required for the software. Tower will initially offer integrations with Tyro and Linkly Cloud (the major banks).

When you first use Tower Systems’ self-checkout POS software, you will go through a setup process that includes uploading your own startup and sale close images. You have complete control over these images.

Tower Systems sells self-checkout computer and stand options separately. You can also purchase the computer hardware from elsewhere.

Why Use Self-Checkout in Local Small Business Retail?

  • To easily handle sales during busy times of the day for customers who don’t need counter service.
  • To open up another service lane during busy times of the year without hiring additional staff.
  • To project an image of a modern and forward-thinking business.

Tower Systems is grateful to its teams of software developers, hardware specialists and retail experts who have worked together to bring this opportunity of self-checkout POS software to life for local small business retailers.

The innovation delivered in this solution is considerable as it is build on a fresh software platform that utilises the latest tech available for in-store retail settings.

Tower Systems is a specialty retail POS software solutions provider delivering solutions across sixteen different retail challenge including jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, sewing shops, farm supply businesses, landscaping businesses, pool maintenance business, newsagents, pet shops and bike shops.

Now for a Q&A on self-checkout.

Is there a camera? What we have created is self-checkout POS software. It’s not integrated with a camera. We have left the choice of a camera up to each retailer to consider.

Could I run this in a pop-up shop? Yes, you could. All that is needed that the self-checkout is network connected to the main software.

Could I run self-checkout and nothing else? No, you need the base Tower software to manage the back end.

Is there anything that I might want as a retailer that the self-checkout software does not do? It does not do customer quotes or invoicing to a customer.

What if I want to use it for a couple of months of the year only? Easy. Rent it for those months and suspect rental, and costs, for the rest.

Can I test it to see if it suits? Rental is so cheap it’s costs little to try.

Can I run this on a regular computer? Yes.

The POS screen appears to be in portrait more. Is that all you offer? No, you can run it in landscape as well.

Am I able to report on sales only through the self-checkout terminal? Yes.

Can I suspend a sale and finish it at my traditional sales counter? Yes, a staff member can suspend the sale so it can be completed at the counter.

Afternote: true to form, a small former competitor has commented they did this first, years ago and cite evidence of others.

The thing is, in our specialty retail marketplaces, what we have delivered is a first and we are proud of that.

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The garden centre / nursery software hundreds of garden centres use in their businesses

November 23, 2023
2 Min read
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Tower Systems is grateful to serve hundreds of garden centres and local plant nurseries with POS software made for their types of businesses.

This recently updated software is help[ing these businesses thrive.

Garden centres and nurseries are not your usual everyday retail businesses. Your uniqueness demands software that goes beyond usual POS software.

We are grateful to our garden centre customers who have helped us with a swag of enhancements for your type of business.

  • Evergreen connect link.
  • Dispatch management tools, managing multiple trucks, multiple deliveries per truck.
  • Allotrac integration for next-level dispatch management.
  • Loyalty marketing that works a treat for garden centres.
  • Tracking buying raw materials in bulk, mixing for your own products.
  • Offering local plant care information on receipts – selling you.
  • Sell by weight or length, and, yes, by fractions too.
  • Selling by colour, size and style.
  • Weatherproof product labels.
  • Easily order for seasons, based on past seasonal performance.
  • Sell from anywhere with integrated tablet based platform.
  • The ability too re-port and adjust the price of plants.
  • Integrated roster options: Deputy, Tanda and Planday.
  • Digital receipts through Slyp.
  • Comprehensive quote and invoice management solutions.

We have released other changes that are getting cheers from our customers:

  • A ChatGPT integration that generates product descriptions for your consideration. This can help create more compelling descriptions.
  • An international barcode database lookup integration that makes adding new products faster and more accurate.
  • Auto background removal of photos you load, making them more useful for links to websites: Shopify, Big Commerce and others.
  • Free integration with the FindIt.com.au marketplace, designed to help drive local shopper traffic.
  • Shopper self-checkout version.
  • A portable sell from anywhere / anytime solution for large properties, local markets and pop-up retail.

Garden centres and nurseries need unique software to serve their unique business needs. This POS software is made for garden centres and plant nurseries.

There is a lot to be said for software made for specific marketplaces, software designed to serve those things that separate specialty retail businesses from other businesses, especially big and mass businesses.

Local retail is what Tower Systems focusses on, especially specialty local retail businesses. The specialisation of our local retail customers is our own specialisation, and we are grateful for that.

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Retail business advice: make every day your pay day

November 17, 2023
5 Min read
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This is advice we first shared many years ago. We have updated it, updated it more, and updated it again this morning.

We think this is the best advice we could give any local small business retailer as it focuses you on what matters most – nurturing daily value from your business.

Everything you do today has to about making money today because what you make today may matter more than what you make when you sell your business.

Let’s get into it:

Retail business advice: make every day your pay day.

It starts with the mindset of every day being your pay day. Every decision needs to be considered in this context.

Here are some suggestions for making every day your pay day:

  1. Make your shop happy, appealing. Play good music. Smile. be happy to be there. Greet shoppers. Offer free samples. Be engaged.
  2. Make sure your sales counter maximises the opportunity. Keep it efficient. Pitch products that are easily understood and easily bought on impulse.
  3. Charge more every time you can. Where you can, charge more. Even and extra 1% or 2% can make a difference. In our experience, price is often not the factor retailers think it is.  So, look at your prices for opportunities to increate margin.
  4. Get people buying more each visit. Look at what you have where and make sure that key traffic lines have impulse purchase opportunities along the way.
  5. Stock what sells. Use your data. Make sure you don’t run out of good selling items. 75% of retailers miss revenue by not having items shoppers want when they want them. Buying stock based on evidence is more valuable than buying based on emotion.
  6. Be cleverly frugal. When you are considering spending money, think about the value for the business from the spend. Think about the return you could get and the speed of the return. Have some checks and balances in spending decisions to slow them down.
  7. Seek out new customers. New customers are the future lifeblood of any retail business. Attract them with smart and entertaining social media posts, a window display that plays outside what people expect from your shop.
  8. Run with the leanest roster possible. Just about every retail business we review has capacity to lower labour costs. Trimming the roster can come at a cost for the owners – putting in more hours.
  9. Bring people back sooner with a thoughtfully calibrated loyalty offer that funds itself, and drives value. Every retail business needs a core action designed to bring people back. A timed loyalty offer, which expires, is a good way to do this.
  10. Have your best people working the floor, helping customers spend more. Today, retail is not about may I help you. Rather, it is about engaging with the products and subtly showing them off, like theatre.
  11. Have at least one stunning display that attract people from outside the shop, a display people talk about.
  12. Buy as best you can. Take settlement discounts where possible. Pick up supplier offers. never pass on your better buying to customers, unless it suits for some event you are running. Oh, and with this advice about buying – only do it for items you know you will sell for buying product at a discount and having it on the shelves too long is too much of a cost for the business.
  13. De-clutter. Sometimes the best way to be able to see your business and what it can do is for you to have less to look at. This means getting rid of dead stock, dead fixtures, dead corners of the shop. Always be trimming, cleaning and looking.
  14. Change. Every day in your shop change something. Get known as the shop that is never the same. This can be a reason to visit for some shoppers. If you run a  business that rarely changes, you give people a reason to walk on by. So, every day, make a change or two. Encourage your team members to suggest changes. By moving a small stand from one part of the business to another could get it noticed and boost sales.
  15. Stop all busy work. It is easy in a local small business retail to get caught up in doing things. Often, things can be what you do to be busy. Being busy is only good if it is profitable, productive. Declutter your schedule.

Be responsible for the profitability of your business. Don’t blame your suppliers, your landlord, your employees or some other external factor … it all comes down to you – the decisions you make and the actions you take.

By making every day your payday you bring focus on what matters today and what will matter when you’d decide to sell your business.

Doing all this relies on your measuring the performance of your business. The Tower Systems POS software helps with this. It is easy.

My name is Mark Fletcher. I am the owner of Tower Systems. I also own retail shops and several online businesses. Every day here at Tower Systems we live what we say, in our software company and in our shops. We make mistakes, and learn from them. It’s some of those mistakes that got us thinking about this, about the approach of making every day your payday.

While our core mission is to grow the customer base for Tower Systems, we know that key to achieving this helping retailers. Plenty of the help we provide is not software related.

In sharing this advice we demonstrate a care for local small business retail and a transparency as to the advice and help we provide.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-fletcher-tower/

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Tower Systems first with Linkly Cloud POS software integration

November 10, 2023
2 Min read
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We are grateful for the opportunity and proud to deliver a world first – a POS software integration with Linkly Cloud.

That’s right, we have retailers live with our Tower Systems POS software connected to Linkly Cloud for EFTPOS transactions.

Tower Systems makes POS software for specialty retailers in a range of local specialty retail channels.

Linkly is all about Making every payment seamless.

Together, we have delivered a solution that helps retailers save time, cut mistakes and more easily compete with big business.

Local retailers keen for a seamless payee its integration and needing a POS solution that is capable, functional, enhanced and reliable – the Tower Systems Linkly Cloud partnership is worth considering.

Tower Systems integrated EFTPOS, connects your Retailer Point of Sale with your EFTPOS terminal, making it the fastest and easiest way to sell.

Tower Systems is not prescriptive to its retail business customers as to what payment gateway must be used. We let our retailers choose what is right for them. There is no financial penalty flowing from their choice either. Payments is their choice. We focus on making money from our software.

Being the first in the world to deliver this solution sees us helping those who will come after us. We’ve made it easier for them. We love being the innovators and appreciate the opportunities this affords us along the way.

Our purpose is to empower local retailers to thrive.

Almost everyone working at Tower Systems has experience working in local indie retail. All of our customers get a say in software enhancements.

We know the more we help local retailers thrive the more they will help us thrive.

We know that our software can make a difference in businesses for which it is made, and that our training and support can help businesses thrive.

Our software is made for specialty retailers, retailers in a range of channels like jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, newsagents, pet shops, music shops, sewing shops, clothing shops, pool maintenance shops, garden landscape businesses, produce businesses, stockfeed businesses and fishing and outdoor shops.

If you are looking for a secure, fast and time-saving payments integration, Linlkly Cloud connected to the Tower Systems POS software is worth considering.

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Garden centre software Evergreen Connect integration from Tower Systems helps garden centres thrive

November 5, 2023
3 Min read
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Tower Systems, a leading provider of POS software for garden centres, is helping more garden centres with its successful integration with Evergreen Connect for electronic invoices. This integration allows garden centres to import their Evergreen Connect invoices directly into their Tower Systems POS software, saving them time and money, and reducing mistakes.

Evergreen Connect is solution for plant stock sourcing. They aim to be the largest greenlife database in Australia and New Zealand with up to date information on who’s got what, where it is, and how to get it. At Evergreen Connect they pride themselves on using current technology to ensure up to date plant sourcing and supply information is easily available to the wholesale and retail nursery market and landscape industries.

The Tower Systems garden centre POS software is rich in features for garden centres, loaded with tools and reports that can help garden centre owners and staff run a more efficient and successful business. The software evolves through regular updates. Many of the changes delivered in the updates are suggested direct to their development team by their users. It’s a transparent and democratic process.

The integration of Tower Systems garden centre POS software with Evergreen Connect provides a number of benefits for garden centres, including:

  • Save time and money by importing invoices directly into your POS software
  • Improve accuracy by eliminating the need to manually enter invoice data
  • Streamline your workflow by automating the invoice process
  • Access to real-time data about your invoices
  • Fewer mistakes
  • Peace of mind
  • Consistency of data

The Evergreen Connect Garden Centre POS software integration from Tower Systems is another beneficial integration delivered by Tower Systems for specialty retailers in Australia and New Zealand. There is no extra cost for the integration, no unique or specialty tech requirements. All Garden Centres using the Tower Systems POS software have access to this.

The Garden Centre software from Tower Systems is benefits rich, including:

  1. Dispatch management tools: Effectively manage multiple trucks and deliveries per truck, ensuring smooth logistics for your business. Integration with Allotrac takes dispatch management to the next level.
  2. Loyalty marketing: Engage and retain customers with loyalty programs specifically designed for garden centres, helping you build lasting relationships and increase sales.
  3. Bulk material tracking: Easily track the purchase of raw materials in bulk, as well as the mixing and packaging of your own products, ensuring accurate inventory management.
  4. Local plant care information: Enhance customer experience by providing plant care information on receipts, enabling your customers to care for their purchases effectively.
  5. Flexible selling options: Sell products by weight, length, and even fractions, accommodating the diverse needs of your customers.
  6. Weatherproof product labels: Ensure your product labels withstand outdoor conditions, providing clear and legible information for your customers.
  7. Integrated roster options: Seamlessly integrate with popular rostering platforms like Deputy, Tanda, and Planday, simplifying employee scheduling and management.
  8. Digital receipts: Offer your customers the convenience of digital receipts through Slyp, reducing paper waste and enhancing the overall shopping experience.
  9. Comprehensive quote and invoice management: Streamline your quoting and invoicing processes with our comprehensive management solutions, ensuring accuracy and efficiency.

We are grateful to the large community of garden centres that we already serve. Their guidance and engagement helps us make better software and deliver more valuable benefits.

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Christmas marketing tips for local small business retailers

November 1, 2023
2 Min read
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It’s November 1. The countdown to Christmas is well and truly under way. The next 8 weeks are probably the most important weeks of trade for most retailers.

Here are some free tips to help you make the most of the opportunities, to help you separate your business from the Christmas noise.

Over the next 8 weeks most retailers will pound hard Christmas products, sales and opportunities. Many will be loud, screeching for people to look at them. In local retail businesses it’s hard to compete with the noise of national retailers.

The best advice we think we can give local retailers is to have fun, enjoy yourselves, help customers enjoy themselves.

In your social media posts, focus on having fun and sharing joyful stories.

In your window, be local, shine a light on local talents from kids to retirees. have your shop software people want to visit to see their friends and neighbours and themselves reflected.

In your shop be sure to keep it light, relaxed and fun.

We could give you a list of things to do. Not this year. This year we think you’ll get more value from a relaxed and fun-focussed Christmas season. let the others do the heavy lifting with Christmas noise. In your shop let people relax and catch their breath.

Being calm and relaxing will separate your shop, get it known for being this place rather than the shrill and bustle of Christmas retail elsewhere.

Make it easy, too. People often talk about how hard Christmas is. Be the business that makes it easy. The ways to do this are have bundled gifts ready to go, pre-bagged or wrapped, with some card selections that are relevant, offer easy payment options including buy now pay later, 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.

You could also help your shoppers help others. 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.

Stand out this Christmas by being different, calm, relaxed, fun. Shoppers will notice this, and appreciate what you have done.

Have an awesome run up to Christmas!

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$0 transaction fee POS software

October 6, 2023
2 Min read
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Savvy retailers are price comparing POS software and gaining a better understanding of the cost of ownership of the software as the cost of ownership includes monthly rental cost as well as fees imposed on transactions and costs associated with any required payments platform.

Here at Tower Systems you can choose the payments platform you prefer, for no cost.

Our POS software connects with Tyro, Linkly, Linkly Cloud, MX51, CentrePay, SmartPay, Quest and others. These are integrations, saving time, cutting mistakes and offering seamless engagement.

There is no payments charge when you use our POS software. Tower Systems has a $0.00 transaction fee cost.

There is no payments platform requirement when you use our POS software.

This is why the total cost of ownership of the Tower Systems POS software is less than plenty of comparable products.

If you are looking for POS software for your business, do your homework, check out pricing, all the pricing, compare and decide what is functionally and financially right for your business.

When you compare our POS software to others, ask the question about payments fee or transaction fee or any percentage surcharge on transactions.

We think software companies should make money from software and not from each transaction a retailer makes in their business.

We also think that transaction fees and payment fees are like a tax, an awful tax, and impost on your business for making sales. It’s why we have taken the approach we have and why we are so transparent about it.

We don’t have the marketing funds to match the POS software companies that do charge a transaction fee. We rely on word of mount and other grass roots marketing. we’re doing okay, too, for which we are sincerely grateful.

Now, to be very clear, Tower Systems does not charge any fee whatsoever for transactions or payments. Nothing fee for debit cards. No fee for credit cards. Tower Systems has no fee whatsoever for any form of payments put through its POS software.

Ultimately, the best POS software for your business will depend on your specific needs and budget. Be sure to compare the features and pricing of different POS systems before making a decision.

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Helping retailers quickly and easily load product images to their online store

September 26, 2023
1 Min read
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The free web app we created for retailers to facilitate fast and easy loading of product photos to our POS software and feeding these to Shopify, magenta, Woo and Big Commerce websites is being loved by our customers.

Using this free tool our customers open their phone, take a photo, check that it looks okay and click to share it. The back end software does the rest, including removing the background of the image if you like.

This is another time saving tool created by Tower Systems to help local retailers more easily get new products online.

The photo management and upload app is 100% our tech, designed to serve our 3,000+ local retail customers. we created it once we understood the frustration of retailers at how long it took to take photos, remove the background and upload them to the software. Removing plan ty of steps and making it a 2 or 3 click quick process is helping local retailers get more products online in a time efficient way.

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Alternative for Vend and Lightspeed POS software customers concerned about Lightspeed payments

September 13, 2023
3 Min read
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More retailers using Vend POS and Lightspeed POS have told us of concerns at being told by Lightspeed to switch to the Lightspeed Payments platform or face what reads like a penalty charge from the company for continuing with a current, non-Lightspeed, payments solution.

As recent Lightspeed earnings reports have revealed, growing Lightspeed Payments revenue has become a key commercial activity for the Lightspeed business. This pitches them as like a road a tolling business, making a clip from each transaction processed by retailers using their Lightspeed POS software or their Vend POS software.

It’s like they see revenue from a clip of retail sales in the shops of their customers is more important to them than the revenue they get from the actual rental of their software.

Here at Tower Systems, our view is that as a software company it is important that we make most of our money from our software, and not off the back of hard work by retailers using our software. Making money off our software itself keeps us focussed on the evolution of the software, it keeps the software at the core of what we do.

The more businesses using our software, the more money we make, the more money we have available to invest in enhancing the software.

If you think about the Lightspeed model, they make more money when your transaction volume increases. Does this mean bigger businesses, with higher turnover, are more important to them as a company? We don’t know.

What we do know is that here at Tower Systems every single customer is valued and treated the same because we are not tracking sales volume.

We don’t care what EFTPOS or payments platform you use. Our POS software integrates seamlessly with all major Australian banks, so you can process payments quickly and easily without any extra keying or keystrokes.

We also don’t charge any penalties or fees based on your payments platform choice. We believe that retailers should be free to choose the best payments platform for their business, without being penalized for doing so.

Unlike Lightspeed, Tower Systems offers a flexible, no-contract rental plan. You can rent our software for as long or as short as you need, with no lock-in period.

We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible support. Our team of experts is available 24/7 to help you with any questions or problems you may have.

If you are a Lightspeed POS or vend POS customer and are looking for an alternative to Lightspeed Payments, consider Tower Systems. We would be happy to discuss your needs and see how we can help you.

There’s more to us:

  • Comprehensive reporting tools to track your sales and inventory
  • Customisable features to fit your specific needs
  • Robust security measures to protect your data
  • 24/7 customer support

If you’re a Vend POS or Lightspeed POS customer and happy with their products and service, terrific, please stay with them. What matters most is that you are using software you love from a company that appreciates you.

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Helping local small business retailers save time and improve efficiency

September 2, 2023
2 Min read
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Labour costs are under the spotlight in businesses around the world. The obsession with AI is, in part, because it reduces reliance on labour. In San Francisco 3 autonomous (driverless) car companies now operate taxis. We saw them when there on business just a week ago. 7-Eleven in Australia is trialling just walk out type tech. several shops where registered shoppers can walk in, take items off the shelf, and walk out. WH Smith now has self-checkout terminals in most of its Aussie c-store businesses.

We are working on several fronts for you in related areas.

  • Our ChatGPT AI integration is saving time on writing product descriptions and has been since January this year. Retailers are loving it – the time saving and the improvement in product descriptions.
  • Our free version of Retailer Roam makes it easy and fast to photograph products using your phone or tablet, load these into Retailer and sync with your website. In seconds you can take and load images of products via your phone, or tablet.
  • We are trialling our new Retailer Self-checkout facility using a new shopper-friendly portrait checkout screen. It’s an easy for shoppers to self check out, a labour saver in some settings.
  • Qjump, our new mobile customer-accessible true self-checkout facility is in trial. Think the new 7-Eleven app but for local indie small businesses without the weirdness of capturing shopper images and the high tech implementation cost.
  • Our new EasyEDI platform offering easy access to time-saving electronic invoices is in early trial with a supplier who, until now, has not offered these.

We are working on more innovations in our small business focussed Retailer POS software to help improve your efficiency. Time saving is a key focus, as is data accuracy.

It’s in these areas of work that we genuinely differentiate for our local small business retailer customers.

We are grateful for the support of our customers. Thank you. We hope you have an awesome lead into the Christmas retail season.

Oh, one more thing … Google has released a core update, which will impact website rankings. We shared advice by email with our customers about this in the last week of August.  Let’s know by email if you’s like a copy. sales@towersystems.com.au

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How do I find the best POS system for my business?

August 22, 2023
2 Min read
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Don’t rush it. Take your time. Make decisions when you are ready.

Many POS software companies and sales people will want you to rush. Some will apply financial pressure. Others will say it’s easy, start today, be selling today … and they will often say this without understanding your business needs.

Take your time. Make decisions when you are ready.

The goal has to be to choose the POS software that best serves your needs. So, start there, with your needs. Think about them, what matters most to you, what’s not negotiable. Start there and cast aside any software company that is not interested in starting with your needs.

Some will offer a free trial, some will even push hard at this. That’s lazy selling. They want you to use their software to see if it is suitable, and knowing that some customers will stick because of concerns that it could be hard to switch software. We think free trials are a crock.

Some will offer you free software. There is no such thing. Software developers don’t work for free, nor dog help desk people, the accounts office in the software company, the sales team. Since they don’t work for free, the company has to make money so, no, there is no such thing as truly free software.

All the sales claims can make it challenging.

Take your time. Make decisions when you are ready. Start with your needs.

If this sound like hard work, it is. Good software can make you a lot of money, it can save businesses. Spending time getting this decision right could be worth a ton of money to your business. But the work has to come from you, not the sales person.

The best POS system for your retail business is the one that covers the most of your needs at a price you are prepared to pay.

No software company can claim theirs is the best, although plenty do. They can speak to customer numbers, of course, which is fine, but not a measure of best.

Here at Tower Systems. we start with you, and your needs. We want to understand them first. If we think our software is not right for you, we’ll say so.

How do I find the best POS system for my business? Don’t rush it. Take your time. Make decisions when you are ready.

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POS software Deputy roster app integration helps local retailers and their employees

August 16, 2023
2 Min read
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The Tower Systems specialty retailer POS software integration with the Deputy employee roster management app helps local retailers more easily manage staff rosters and employees to manage their engagement with the businesses for which they work.

Managing staff rosters can be a daunting task for small business retailers and shop managers. It can be difficult to keep track of employee availability, hours worked, and breaks taken. This can lead to scheduling errors, overspending on labour, and employee dissatisfaction.

The integration of our Tower Systems POS software with the Deputy employee roster management app can help you to more easily manage staff rosters:

  • Create and manage staff rosters.
  • Send rosters to employees via SMS or email.
  • Track employee hours worked and breaks taken.
  • Generate reports on staff productivity and performance.

The Deputy employee roster management app also provides employees with a way to manage their own engagement with the businesses for which they work. Employees can use the app to:

  • View their schedules.
  • Request time off.
  • Swap shifts with other employees.
  • Track their hours worked.

The integration of Tower Systems POS software with Deputy employee roster management app can help retailers improve staff management practices and nurture employee satisfaction. This can lead to improved customer service, increased sales, and reduced labor costs.

Here are some specific examples of how we have seen the Deputy POS software integration help local retailers:

  • To create a roster that ensures that there are always enough employees on hand to meet customer demand.
  • To track employee hours worked and breaks taken, which can help to ensure that employees are not being overworked or underpaid.
  • To generate reports on staff productivity and performance, which can help to identify areas where training or improvement is needed.

Employees can:

  • View their schedules and request time off, which can help to reduce the number of scheduling conflicts.
  • Swap shifts with other employees, which can help to accommodate last-minute changes in availability.
  • Track hours worked, which can help them to ensure that they are being paid correctly.

This integration of Tower Systems POS software with Deputy employee roster management app can be a valuable tool for local retailers. It can help retailers to improve their staff management practices, increase employee satisfaction, and improve their bottom line.

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POS software integrated Slyp digital receipts help small business retailers compete

August 15, 2023
2 Min read
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The integration of our Tower Systems POS software with the Slyp digital receipt platform is helping local small business retailers demonstrate their engagement with leading tech ology to enhance the shopper experience.

In today’s digital age, shoppers like seeing good tech used to enhance their shopping experience. Shoppers want a seamless, convenient, and tech-savvy shopping experience.

That’s where Tower Systems and Slyp come in. Our two companies have partnered to create a solution that helps local small business retailers deliver on these expectations.

Tower Systems makes, sells and supports POS software for local specialty retail businesses. Our software is used by thousands of businesses to manage their sales, inventory, and customer data and plenty more.

Slyp is a digital receipt platform that allows businesses to send receipts to customers’ mobile devices. Slyp receipts are more than just a digital version of a paper receipt.

The integration of Tower Systems POS software with the Slyp digital receipt platform is a game-changer for local small business retailers in our community. It allows businesses to:

  • Deliver a more convenient shopping experience for their customers. Customers can now access their receipts instantly on their mobile devices, without having to dig through their pockets or bags.
  • Enhance the customer experience with interactive receipts. Slyp receipts can be used to track spending and more. This gives customers more control over their shopping experience and makes them feel more valued.
  • Demonstrate their engagement with leading technology. By using Slyp, businesses can show their customers that they are committed to providing a cutting-edge shopping experience.

Our POS software Slyp integration has been live for some time, under the radar, under beta release. This followed comprehensive live acceptance testing. Through the beta release we enhanced the integration, to reach a point of delivering something we are truly proud of. The POS software Slyp integration is terrific, useful and differentiating for our local small business retailer community.

If you are a local small business retailer, you should consider using Tower Systems POS software with the Slyp digital receipt platform. It is a great way to enhance the shopper experience and stay ahead of the competition.

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Our Lightspeed POS and Vend POS software alternative attracts new customers

August 9, 2023
3 Min read
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We are grateful to retailers who have used Lightspeed POS and vend POS software who are considering our Tower Systems POS software on the back of being told that they would face additional charges if they do not use the Lightspeed Payments platform for customer payments.

Here’s a short video about our alternative to Vend and Lightspeed for retailers frustrated by their decision to charge extra if you choose to not use their payments platform …

We don’t run a payments platform, we’re a POS software company. We leave all that to the banks.

We link to the big 4 banks via Linkly as well and direct to Tyro and to SmartPay if you like their fee-free EFTPOS solution.

If you’re looking for an alternative POS software solution to Lightspeed and / or Vend, we’d love to learn more about your needs, to see if our software could be a good solution. Our promise is – we will tell you if we think we’re not right for you. This is important as it’s critical you do your research into what is right for your business.

We have successfully tested our Vend POS data conversion software that brings across Vend inventory data, including variants.

Let’s talk: sales@towersystems.com.au, 1300 662 957 (Australia) 0800 444 367 (NZ toll free).

Here are the specialty retail marketplaces we serve:

Here’s what’s included: software licences for unlimited computers in the location, help desk support (phone or email) 6 days a week (incl Saturday), access to a knowledge base, after hours support call access for urgent support, Shopify, Xero and other integrations, access to our supplier invoice import tools.

  • NZ and Aussie based customer service by us. No call centre.
  • Humans answer our phones.
  • Email us and a retail knowledgable human responds.
  • Our office is open Monday through Saturday.
  • Month to month rental – no lock in contract.
  • No lock-in EFTPOS contract. You choose the EFTPOS that suits you.
  • Self serve training videos and knowledge base.
  • Low cost training for those who want it.
  • The listed prices are genuinely monthly – not annual paid up front.

We have a crew of awesome software developers, caring customer service people and a business support crew skilled in serving local indie retailers.

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Advice for small business retailers on dead stock

July 31, 2023
3 Min read
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Dead stock has no value in any retail business. Indeed, it has a cost as it takes up space and needs labour to keep it clean at least. It sits there, occupying this space, not being bought, paging with each day.

What constitutes dead stock will vary by type of retail business. In some, stock has an expiry date, making that the drop-dead date for the stock. In other businesses, stock is dead when a new version or new release of an item is out.

For the purpose of the advice we provide here, our definition of dead stock is that which has not sold whatsoever in six months or more. The is, you have a quantity of an item on hand and have not sold any of then in six months.

Knowing what stock is dead in your small business shop is critical. It is the start, the beginning, of resolving the issue of dead stock.

Our Tower Systems POS software helps local small business retailers easily identify dead stock. You can decide what constitutes dead stock in your business and list it, bring it up on the screens for attention.

Start there, start with your definition. next, use your software to identify what’s dead. Once you have this information you need to jump, what for some, is a hurdle … you need to decide to quit that stock.

Some retailers are adamant that they need to make a profit on everything they sell. These retailers don’t like discounting to quit dead stock. The thing is, the stock on the shelf is worthless until someone pays you something for it.

In our pragmatic view, getting something, anything just about, is for stock that is dead is better than waiting longer and getting nothing for that same dead stock.

Quitting dead stock is best considered a freeing cash move. That’s what we say getting anything at all is better than the stock sitting on the shelves and not moving.

Use your POS software to identify the dead stock and then jump that hurdle and quit it, quickly, freeing the space and allowing you to focus on what’s next.

In our Tower Systems POS software, the Stock manager tool is best for identifying stock that is dead. You can easily see when you last arrived stock, what’s on hand and when it last sold. In seconds you can have a hit list of stock that could benefit from action. Stock manager operates in a way that any retailer could use it. It’s not complex, not daunting. We have a terrific video showing how to do this with Stock manager. We also have a wonderful advice sheet.

Retail businesses exist to support those who rely on them for income. Dead stock is not helping with this.

Unfortunately, too many small business retailers do not actively engage with the opportunity of dead stock.

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We are grateful to serve more than 3,000 local and independent small business retailers here at Tower Systems. Our POS software community is diverse and very much appreciated by us for their support and feedback.

The advice we share here comes from our years of engagement with them and our own experience as engaged retailers ourselves.

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Advice for small business retailers on the best value approach to decision making

July 24, 2023
3 Min read
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How decisions are made in local independent retail businesses can determine the value of those decisions, the consequences on those decisions.

Too often in our work with small business retailers we have seen decisions based on emotion rather than evidence.

The POS software we make for specialty small business retail collects and curates business data that can inform decisions. New have seen wonderful and valuable success flow in retail businesses that make decisions based on evidence is this data.

A common situation of poor decision making is buying stock. Too often we see small business retailers buying because they like a sales rep or because they like the look of something when their own business data indicate that buying that stock is not the right move for their retail business.

In our POS software we make it easy for local retailers to access this data about stock performance, we make it easy for them to have the evidence of their own data to better inform decisions they are considering. retailers who do this, who rely on the evidence in their own business data, tend to run more successful and valuable retail businesses. They tend to enjoy their businesses more too.

Buying stock has to be black and white: will this decision make money for the business in the time that the business needs? As a retail business trades using POS software like ours it builds up knowledge in its trading, knowledge that can be accessed, analysed and understood by the POS software itself to make it easy to see the right stock buying decisions to make.

We upset a retailer a while back when they happened to mention that products from a supplier were not working for them. They were unhappy when we showed them their own data that disagreed with their opinion. It turns out that their opinion was based on a dislike of the manager of the supplier business. They were letting their emotion get in the way of facts. The situation turned out well, the business made more money as a result.

If you are in retail to be successful, we urge you to make decisions based on your business evidence. Our POS software can help. We back its facilities with terrific training and customer support materials that are easily accessible.

We love helping local small business retailers make good decisions. It’s something that makes us feel good.

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We are grateful to serve more than 3,000 local and independent small business retailers here at Tower Systems. Our POS software community is diverse and very much appreciated by us for their support and feedback.

The advice we share here comes from our years of engagement with them and our own experience as engaged retailers ourselves.

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Advice for local small business retailers: how to enhance your local credentials

July 18, 2023
3 Min read
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In 2023, embodying the essence of local in the retail become more vital than ever. Big businesses are engaged in local, but they are using systems, processes and tech. The conundrum for genuinely local small business retailers lies in authentically cultivating a local identity.

The term local means different things to different people. It isn’t restricted to geographic proximity. Local can be perceived as the degree of personalised care you offer to your customers, the supplementary advice you give, living within the locality yourself, sourcing products locally, or serving the community on a personal level. It may also be linked to the availability of locally sourced products.

For instance, a product produced anywhere within Australia could be deemed as locally sourced. Narrating the story of where a product originates, along with the family involved in its creation, can add a local touch to it, distinguishing it from similar overseas products. This narrative is crucial because it underlines the local aspect.

Small retail businesses can leverage Tower Systems’ retail POS software to effectively promote their local attributes in various ways:

  • Enhance your receipts: Use receipts to provide product care instructions, usage guidelines, or other beneficial information automatically, turning your receipts into a valuable information source.
  • Disclose product origins: If a product is made by a small business or family within Australia, include this detail on the receipt. Highlight the local product, giving customers additional information to foster a local connection.
  • Advocate for local shopping: Attach an image or poster promoting the advantages of shopping local to every receipt. Tower Systems offers free images for this purpose, available in the downloads section on their website.
  • Show customer appreciation: Personalise a thank-you message to customers shopping with you. Sign off with your name and contact number. This personal touch is typically absent in larger businesses.
  • Monitor local product sales: Keep track of local suppliers’ product performance using various reporting tools.
  • Reward local shopping: Implement discount vouchers named “Thanks for shopping local” or “Local shopping reward” to emphasise the benefits of supporting local businesses. You can establish rules to offer discounts off the next purchase.
  • Merely advocating for local shopping isn’t enough; you must showcase its value and integrate it into your retail business operations. The most effective approach to accomplish this is by incorporating suitable systems and procedures into your POS software.

There are plenty of ways local small business retailers can authentically pitch local. In this post we have covered just some of them. We are a local POS software company ready to help you pitch local.

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