CategoryJeweller software

Over the last ten days in the US on three occasions in different shops we had to switch from a cash purchase to using a card as they did not have enough money to make change. The change needed was $27, $16 and $32 respectively. In each case they did not have enough change in their til and, hence, asked me to pay by a card.

Near our office in Melbourne, Cannings the butcher switched to cashless trading three or four years ago,

Recently, we were offered a tenancy at Malvern Central shopping centre in Victoria for retail businesses I own and had decided if we went ahead with the planned gift and collectibles shop we would do so as a cashless business.

Being cashless can cut time spent banking, reduce employee theft opportunity and reduce the cost of change mistakes. While there are downsides for sure, that more and more businesses are switching indicates valuable upsides.

We mention this in our email today so it is on your mind and part of consideration for your own shop. Not because we think you should go cashless, but because we with it could be useful to be aware of the trend.

Going cashless needs planning from an operational perspective as well from a shopper communication perspective. While not for everyone, it is proving to be successful for plenty.

We think governments will embrace cashless as it benefits the tax take, for the same reason it reduces employee theft.

What do we think? We don’t know for sure if cashless will take off. What we do know is that there is nothing to lose from contemplating this, gaming it out, to see how your business might look.

In the meantime in our specialty POS software, we have tools to make cashless easier. For example, ur direct link to Oxipay (like Afterpay) helps you eliminate LayBy. Our direct link to Xero makes record-keeping easier.

Our goal at Tower Systems is to help independent small business retailers be aware of rends and to work with them figure out implications for them.

Our specialty POS software is an awesome platform on which you can rely to serve your needs to day and to evolve for what may happen tomorrow.

We offer solutions for: gifts, jewellers, bikes, toys, fishing/outdoors, garden centres, pet shops, produce, firearms, adult shops and newsagents.

Call if you have questions, the account manager for your state / territory can help: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

Thanks to our POS software integrations with Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce we offer independent small business retailers flexibility in connecting their physical stores with online stores.

We make it easy for small business retailers to get online, from their current database of inventory. We do this through the POS software and by developing beautiful websites for our customers.

This makes Tower Systems an established and proven one stop shop for web connected POS software.

POS software users of our software for gift shops garden centres, jewellers, bike retailers, toy shops, newsagents, gift shops, fishing shops, outdoors shops, produce stores and more can rely on the connection for two-way comms between shop and website. It is easy, fast and seamless.

We made the decision years ago to integrate with the best of the best rather than by developing our own web tools. That decision is proven to be the right one since we leverage our POS expertise and web platforms we integrate with are experts in their respective fields.

There is no sense in a retailer having a website developed outside of  Shopify, Magento or WooCommerce. Every need we have seen in retail is served from within these three awesome and proves products.

Small business retailers can benefit from the retail management experience at Tower Systems experience that helps deliver a more retail focussed solution.

The Tower web team, which develops POS software connected websites using Shopify, magento and WooCommerce is also skilled at SEO and SEM services that help raise the website rankings in key search engines, ensuring the site is found ahead of others.

But best of all, Tower Systems provides professional advice and guidance to small business retailers keen to build their online presence. Our commitment is honest transparent advice on which any small business retailer can rely.

The Tower Systems web development team is Australian based, working out of the company’s head office in Hawthorn. This is important as many web development businesses are overseas. While you might have a locally based contact person development too often is done overseas, leading to challenges with delivery and usefulness.

As employers, retailers and small business owners, mental health challenges are often not far away.

Sometimes, we don’t know we are experiencing a mental health challenge while other times it’s obvious and on show for all to see. The same is true of any individual in the business.

At Tower Systems through our work with many retail businesses over many years we have been able to see first-hand business situations lead to mental health situations. the advice we share here has evolved over these years and based on advice of professionals in the mental health area.

How we respond to mental health challenges in business is important for for the business, those who rely on it and those it serves.

While we are not trained professionals in the area, our years of working with small business owners confronted by challenges to their mental health have helped us develop some guiding principles.

1. Mental health is not easily measured or understood. One’s health is not outwardly obvious.
2. Judgement cannot be part of how mental health is viewed or dealt with.
3. Action is essential to improve your situation for doing nothing will achieve nothing.
4. While taking the first step to confront mental health challenges can be difficult, it is relieving and rewarding.

Your GP is an excellent person to speak with. Our advice is that if you suspect there is a mental health challenge, contacting the GP is an important and immediate step.

A GP may suggest preparing a Mental Health Treatment Plan. This is a government recognised and Medicare funded plan for professional help. It can usually be prepared in a single double visit to the GP. This plan is the trigger to you gaining Medicare supported access to a psychologist for an initial number of visits, which can be extended depending on your situation.

Some people can feel a visit to a GP or psychologist is not warranted in their situation. While the medical professionals are the best to determine this, there are other resources you could explore:

Beyond Blue has published Business In Mind, a useful resource for small businesses on issues relating to mental health in the workplace. This is a good starting point for learning more. In the resource there are links to other resources that can help.

Finding mental health resources for small business owners dealing with mental health issues is not as easy as it is finding resources for managing the workplace for better mental health. It’s tough running any business and sometimes things can feel overwhelming. This is where networking can help as a first step, talking with others.

Small business owners feeling challenges within themselves need to treat themselves as employees and use the resources available such as:

• beyondbluesupport line – 1300 22 4636
• SANE Australia Helpline – 1800 187 263
• Mensline Australia – 1300 789 978

In our day to day work with small business retailers, especially though contact o  the health desk, we can ourselves encounter people under considerable stress and, sometimes, experiencing a mental health challenge. We provide training to our team to deal with this in a way that is respectful  and does not cross personal boundaries.

If you feel we can help in any way, please reach out directly to anyone on ur team including our leadership team.

We hope this information has been useful. It reflects concern, care and advice we offer beyond our small business POS software.

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

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

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

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

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

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

We know from experience that:

1. In some businesses, around 75% of key in-store purchases have an online search component. POS connected websites are important for winning online sales and even more important for driving in-store purchases.
2. 45% of purchases in many categories are when retail shops are closed.
3. 10% of purchases are click and collect in higher-end product categories.
4. 14% of purchases are done with buy now pay later financing.
5. Shoppers like certainty that a store will have in stock they want to purchase – stock on hand by item can be viewable for each store.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in several countries, Tower Systes has a wealth of experience in advising retailers, especially in switching retailers from software not ideal to circumstances.

Here is an article we recently wrote to help small business retailers navigate their POS software choices…

HOW TO CHOOSE POS SOFTWARE FOR YOUR INDEPENDENT RETAIL BUSINESS.

The POS software you choose for your 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.

Time matters in any business but especially in small business retail and independent retail where staffing is usually tight. You want things done efficiently to benefit the business and the customers of the business.

In considering the right POS software for your business you need to consider the efficiency of each POS software package you look at as there is a vast difference in the efficiency of different systems in the marketplace.

Efficiency includes how things are done, the number of keystrokes involved, the ease of using a facility, the confidence of using a facility and more. Ultimately, efficiency is about the efficient use of labour in your business and the efficient flow of shoppers in your business.

Inefficient software will have you pressing too many keystrokes or have you process in a way that does not match best-practice workflow for a task.

Efficient software wills save time, improve shopper throughput and offer the business opportunities to cut labour costs without negatively impacting services.

Our suggestion is that you test efficiency by looking at several labour intensive parts of your business. Look at each and how you operate today. Put together several scenarios for each with real business data you use in each scenario and ask each software company you are considering to demonstrate how the software handles each. Assess each based on efficiency.

We suggest you consider looking at the efficiency of any or all of these:

1. Over the counter sales.
2. LayBy handling.
3. Arriving a new supplier invoice.
4. Undertaking a stock take.
5. The end of shift process.
6. Reporting on the comparison of two trading periods.

Judging efficiency requires you to look at the software. Not a consultant, not a friend, but you. You need to determine that the software is efficient to the needs of your business. Getting this right is a big win for the business operationally and financially.

Tower Systems in an Australian based POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the broader pacific region. The company makes what it sells and it supports what it sells.

Tower Systems only sells to small business retailers. This ensures our focus is not drawn by the needs of one very large client over another. In our world, all our clients are equal.

Find out more about what we do: Visit www.towersystems.com.au.

Integrations in POS software are the facilities to which your POS software connects. These could be web based services, suppliers, hardware and more. All good POS software packages have integrations as no one system does everything itself. Integrations offer you flexibility.

A good integration can be far better than something home grown.  For example, some POS software companies want you to connect POS software to websites based on technology they have developed. The best practice approach is to connect (integrate) your POS software with websites developed in world class platforms such as Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce. Integrating to any or, preferably, all of these offer more flexibility to the retailer than an integration to a locally developed, and often little used, web solution.

Choosing POS software that is flexible with integrations and that offers a host of integrations is good for your business. Integrations such as:

1. EFTPOS handling through Tyro.
2. EFTPOS handing through any bank.
3. Linking to third-party loyalty tools for marketing group members.
4. Linking to third-party loyalty tools for broader loyalty option offerings.
5. Easy selling of fishing licences.
6. Easy selling of toll road access.
7. Easy selling of mobile phone recharge.
8. Scales, for selling by weight.
9. Web such as Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce.
10. Linking to multiple stock take devices.
11. Linking to multiple scanners.
12. Sales data feed to engaged suppliers for auto replenishment.
13. Inbound processing of supplier invoices to eliminate manual data entry.
14. Connecting to a business intelligence platform to facilitate officiate business performance analysis.
15. Fuel pumps for managing fuel dispensing.

It is important you come to your consideration of POS software for your business with knowledge of the integrations that are important to you and will be valuable for your business. Talk to suppliers and others to determine this list for you. It is far better to have this information before you start considering PO software than after you have installed a system.

Tower Systems in an Australian based POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the broader pacific region. The company makes what it sells and it supports what it sells.

Tower Systems only sells to small business retailers. This ensures our focus is not drawn by the needs of one very large client over another. In our world, all our clients are equal.

Find out more about what we do: Visit www.towersystems.com.au.

Choosing the right POS software for your retail business involves you understanding your business needs and considering these in the context of what a software package will help with. This is a most important aspect of choosing POS software you will be happy with.

In determining your needs think not only personally, talk with others in the business, consider the software services, software facilities, which they consider important. While you are doing this, consider each need based on its importance for you will have to in some parts of the business compromise what you do to fit with what the software you choose does.

It is important you not assume anything. For example, you may have a need in your business to be able to manage a repairs facility. It would not be enough to ask if a software package handles repairs. You should take the time to assess the repairs facilities in the context of the services you provide as what the software does and what you need could be two different things.

You also need to contemplate how you work. For example, every POS software program helps you sell items at the counter. There is a considerable difference between POS software programs in terms of how they help you sell items at the counter. Some have counter services that are flexible, able to be tailored to different business needs while others are rigid in ways that could adversely impact counter workflow and thereby impact shopper satisfaction.

It is important to contemplate whether there is software already designed for your specific type of retail business. If so, this could be a better starting point.

While this process seems time-consuming, the result will be a choice for software that is better suited to the needs of your business.

What are the services you need covered in your business? Get this right early in your process and you will benefit immensely.

Tower Systems in an Australian based POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the broader pacific region. The company makes what it sells and it supports what it sells.

Tower Systems only sells to small business retailers. This ensures our focus is not drawn by the needs of one very large client over another. In our world, all our clients are equal.

Find out more about what we do: Visit www.towersystems.com.au.

POS software support will often determine if you like the POS software you choose for your retail business or not. By support, we mean help desk services, additional training access, software updates and more.

Brilliant software backed by poor support can make that software worth considerably less in your business.

Brilliant support for average software can make that software more valuable in your business.

Brilliant software for excellent software can create a perfect situation for your business.

Here are just some of the factors where we think good support matters most for small business retailers:

1. Easy access to good help desk services. When you call, you want to speak to someone, not a computer. You want to speak to someone who knows the software., not a not taker working in an offshore call centre. You want to be able to call when you need help, not when an office here is open. Tower Systems offers a fully staffed help desk with IT professionals knowledgeable in the software, IT professionals who listen and engage with you without following a limiting script.
2. Easy access to personal training long after the software is setup. When you first install any POS software you don’t know what you don’t know. It is only after you use the software for a while that you discover needs, usually in areas in which you have not been trained. Tower Systems offers users of its POS software free access to one-on-one training long after the software us up and running in a business. A year, two years, three years down the track, Tower Systems customers love easy access to free training.
3. Regular group training. Learning from other retailers and how they use software is a valuable way to learn. Tower Systems facilitates this through free weekly online training workshops that connect retailers from anywhere in the world to learn about and discuss a specific part of the software. These sessions encourage retailers to talk with each other and learn through peer support.
4. Being human. It is important to know the people you deal with at a POS software company. We think it is reasonable to be suspicious of businesses that do not personalise contact points. Every Tower Systems customer has the direct contact phone number and email address for the leadership team of the company, every help desk team member uses their real name, all contact is thoroughly human and personal.

Tower Systems in an Australian based POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the broader pacific region. The company makes what it sells and it supports what it sells.

Tower Systems only sells to small business retailers. This ensures our focus is not drawn by the needs of one very large client over another. In our world, all our clients are equal.

Find out more about what we do: Visit www.towersystems.com.au.

IT’S A NEW FINANCIAL YEAR.

New years provide an opportunity for a new start, a reset. As the 2018/19 financial year kicks off we want to help you reset your business. Here are our tips for an awesome start to 2018/19 using our POS software.

THE CASE FOR CHANGE. If you are not happy with sales revenue in your business change is the only option for doing the same this financial year will maintain your business performance trajectory from the last financial year. The advice below is all about change, for the better.

1. DECLUTTER.
   1. Stand out the front of your shop. consider reducing the messages you pitch to people who walk past. Fewer signs and promotions could increase the attention you get. Less can be more. We have retail specialists who can help. Send photos and we will provide feedback.
   2. Quit dead stock. Stock that is not selling has no value in your business. In fact, it is likely holding you back as it takes space and reminds you, your team and shoppers that you are a harder and have out of date stock. We have a report that can tell you what is dead.
   3. Change your counter. Your counter should be about easy and valuable impulse purchases. Clear it off and rebuild with fresh offers.
2. RESET LOYALTY. Think carefully about your loyalty offer. If it is not encouraging the level of loyalty you want, consider changes. In our POS software we have multiple types of loyalty for different situations. These can be used individually or mixed together. Right now could be a good time to reset your loyalty offer.
3. ORDER WHAT WORKS. Too often we see retailers buy what they like or from people they like ahead of what business data indicate they should buy. We can help you use data in your software to buy more of what works.
4. CHECK FOR THEFT. We can do a deep dive in your data, looking for data patterns that could indicate theft. This is a confidential owner-only service.
5. DISRUPT YOURSELF. While there is great comfort in consistently following business processes, it could be that they are a barrier to you finding new shoppers and a nice revenue bump. Sometimes, you have to shake yourself up and take a left turn when you would usually take a right turn to find growth. In our POS software there are opportunities for self-disruption. We’d love to help you leverage these.
6. BE LOCAL AND ON MESSAGE.  Our POS software has facilities through which you can pitch your local credentials. On receipts. Even with individual items you can include local specific care instructions. This personal information  from you can separate your business from local and online competitors. We can show you how to use these facilities.

We are keen to help you grow your business in 2018/19, to make it more enjoyable and valuable. Our motto is We’re here to help. We are serious about this and appreciate opportunities to do this with and for you.

For the best small business POS software solution, check out Tower Systems.