The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryJeweller software

Serial number tracking in POS software helps retailers track stock and save time

November 20, 2023
2 Min read
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The POS software from Tower Systems offers serial number tracking of products sold. It’s in the software, part of the software and there is no extra cost to access this.

Integrated serial number tracking is valuable point of difference for the Tower Systems POS software as serial number tracking is not common in POS software.

From the moment stock arrives in the business we manage serial numbers, recording each serial number. alternatively, you can enter the serial number of the item when it is sold – the retail business decides on the appropriate time for them to manage the recording of a serial number. This is a local management decision they can make.

Tower Systems is proud to offer serial number tracking in its POS software. We are grateful to the many suppliers and retailers like jewellers, bike retailers, parts businesses and more who have guided us on this over the years, keeping us on top of the needs of all stakeholders in this serial number tracking space.

At the retail front line in these businesses we have got to work with some engaged staff who have helped us streamline serial number tracking.

Using the Tower Systems POS software, retailers can record the serial numbers of all items arriving in-store that have unique serial numbers. These can be tracked at the point of sale. They can also be tracked for warranty, servicing, valuation and insurance purposes. Stores can also record serial numbers only when they sell – when they record, at arrival or sale, is up to them.

Thera are some retail sectors where suppliers require the tracking of product serial numbers at the point of sale. There are some regulatory situations where tracking serial numbers is key. Doing this through the POS software brings certainty and consistency to retail businesses.

While integrated serial number tracking in our POS software has been available for many years, it has been enhanced over time as needs have evolved.

Using the serial number tracking tools in our POS software, retailers can also maintain good records that are useful for themselves in their own management of their businesses.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve more than 3,500 small business retailers across several niche retail channels – with specialty POS software offering facilities like serial number tracking covered here.

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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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Serial number tracking in POS software helps local retailers more completely track inventory

November 14, 2023
2 Min read
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The POS software from Tower Systems offers serial number tracking of products sold.

From the moment an inventory item with a serial number arrives in the business it can be tracked easily and accurately.

This is a powerful point of difference for the POS software as serial number tracking is not common in POS software solutions.

Developed originally for jewellers, the serial number tracking facilities have been found to be useful for bike retailers, farm supply businesses, firearms dealers, collectible businesses, sewing machine business and more.

Using the Tower Systems POS software, retailers can record the serial numbers of all items arriving in-store that have unique serial numbers. These can be tracked at the point of sale. They can also be tracked for warranty, servicing, valuation and insurance purposes. Stores can also record serial numbers only when they sell – when they record, at arrival or sale, is up to them.

The serial number tracking facilities in the POS software become valuable in almost any retail situation in which they are used.

Thera are some retail sectors where suppliers require the tracking of product serial numbers at the point of sale. There are some regulatory situations where tracking serial numbers is key. Doing this through the POS software brings certainty and consistency to retail businesses.

Tower Systems is proud to offer serial number tracking in its POS software. We are grateful to the many suppliers and retailers who have guided us on this over the years, keeping us on top of the needs of all stakeholders in this serial number tracking space.

Serial number tracking in our POS software has been available for many years. Sure, it has been enhanced over time as needs have evolved, but we first started offering it in software we sold close to 20 years ago. Of course, the software we sell today is completely different, made for today, for today’s needs.

Using the serial number tracking tools in our POS software, retailers can also maintain good records that are useful for themselves in their own management of their businesses.

Find out more at our POS software business website: www.towersystems.com.au.

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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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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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Why hundreds of jewellers use the jeweller POS software from Tower Systems

August 24, 2023
2 Min read
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We are grateful here at Tower Systems to serve many hundreds of jewellers with our jeweller POS software. Plenty have been with us for more than 15 years and plenty have joined us just this year.

Thank you to all, we are grateful.

We’re not connected with any marketing group, we don’t pay a commission for referral. We also don’t lock you in to any particular EFTPOS platform.

Here is some of the benefits in our jeweller POS software that jewellers tell us they like:

  • Sell accurately by weight or measure – by whole numbers or fractions.
  • Load electronic invoices from suppliers.
  • Sell on the road.
  • Leverage you. If your knowledge is a differentiator, offer it through structured opportunities in the software.
  • Easier record keeping with serial number tracking of items sold.
  • Ensure compliance with structured age checking.
  • Easily handle special customer orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
  • Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to you for this.
  • Maximise the basket with easy to use one-time shopper loyalty tools.
  • Trade and club pricing profiles. Set pricing rules based on customer type.
  • Pre-orders – Easily pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  • Differentiate with informative receipts. These can include product care, use and safety information based on what customers buy.
  • Differentiate with bundles. Selling items bundled together makes price comparison hard.
  • Track who sold what.
  • Time saving invoicing and account management – manage accounts in a way tailored to your
  • Market to customers based on past purchases.
  • Save time by importing electronic invoices.
  • Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
  • Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
  • Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
  • Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software.

This is Aussie made and supported POS software, locally made for local businesses. We are passionate about helping local businesses compete with big business chains when they want to and to stand out in their local community by running a best practice business.

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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.

…

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.

…

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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Jewellery shops are unique and benefit from using software made for their needs

July 20, 2023
3 Min read
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Jewellers are a special breed of retailers. They need a POS software that can handle the unique needs of their business, from tracking unique types of inventory to managing repairs. The Tower Systems Jeweller Software is the perfect solution for jewellery businesses of all sizes.

Features:

  • Inventory tracking: Tower Systems Jeweller Software makes it easy to track your inventory, from raw materials to finished products. You can easily see what you have in stock, what you’re low on, and what you need to order. The software even works with fluctuating raw eateries prices.
  • Repairs management: Tower Systems Jeweller Software also makes it easy to manage customer repairs. You can track the status of each repair, send reminders to customers, and invoice them for the work.
  • Customer relationship management (CRM): Tower Systems Jeweller Software includes a built-in CRM system (as some people call it) that helps you keep track of your customers. You can store their contact information, purchase history, and preferences. This information can help you provide better customer service and target your marketing efforts.
  • E-commerce: Tower Systems Jeweller Software can also be integrated with an e-commerce platform like Shopify, Big Commerce, Magento or WooCommerce, so you can sell your products online. This can help you reach a wider audience and boost your sales.

Benefits:

  • Increased efficiency: Tower Systems Jeweller Software can help you streamline operations and save time. You can easily process transactions, track inventory, and manage repairs. This frees up your time so you can focus on other aspects of your business.
  • Improved customer service: Tower Systems Jeweller Software can help you provide better customer service. You can easily track customer orders and preferences, and you can send them reminders about upcoming appointments or events. This can help you build stronger relationships with your customers and keep them coming back.
  • Increased sales: Tower Systems Jeweller Software can help you increase your sales. You can easily sell your products online, and you can target your marketing efforts to specific demographics. This can help you reach a wider audience and boost your sales.

We think our Jeweller Software is pretty awesome. We are truly grateful that hundreds of jewellers have chosen our software and have stayed with us for years. This year already we have welcomed a swag of new jeweller customers.

We think our Jeweller Software is terrific POS software for local independent jewellery businesses. It’s easy to use, efficient, and can help you improve your customer service and increase your sales. If you’re looking for a POS software that can help you take your jewellery business to the next level, then Tower Systems Jeweller Software is worth considering.

Tell us about your needs:

Contact us at 1300 662 957 or by email on sales@towersystems.com.au to outline your needs and explore whether what we offer could serve you.

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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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How to handle consignment stock using POS software from Tower Systems

July 10, 2023
4 Min read
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Consignment stock is growing in popularity in retail, especially local small business retail. Here is advice from our POS software company on handling consignment stock.

We have developed this advice following work with gifts shops, antique shops and other businesses offering consignment stock and using our POS software.

Retailers who sell consignment stock, or commissioned goods (typically from a local supplier or artisan) and want to keep track of the products through sales and potentially receiving/returning stock. There are a few ways to handle this in the Retailer POS software from Tower Systems, using different setups, with their own benefits and limitations.

Three of the ways for handling Consignment stock in the Tower POS software are covered here, and since they are not mutually exclusive, you could mix them together to get something that works for your business. For all three methods, you can also arrive/receive stock through Invoice Arrivals, and Returns of the item can be done through Invoice Arrivals, without much change.
When doing arrivals and returns of consignment products, consider the following. If you need to see quantities on hand of the product in the system when you sell, you will need to arrive, or manually adjust the product quantities. Then, process returns on the products later. Alternatively, you can sell into negatives, and only arrive the final quantities of product later.

Using Supplier
A particular supplier can be assigned as a consignment supplier (or multiple suppliers). You can differentiate them simply by adding ‘Consignment’ to their names (or in any other effective manner).

Many reports in Retailer (such as Supplier Sales Analysis and Stock Listing Report) can be set to run for and exclude certain suppliers. The same can be done in stock ordering so this may be the easiest one to implement.

The limitation is that certain reports like the Detailed Takings report cannot be told to include/exclude particular suppliers.

The benefit is you can continue organising stock in Departments and Categories that are mixed with other, non-consignment stock. Carrying a larger amount of consignment products is also fine with Department names and stock tags on reports still meaningful and descriptive of the product itself.

Using Department
A particular department can be setup as a Consignment department, specifically used for holding items on consignment. This department could be named to include the word ‘Consignment’ to differentiate it, and can also be marked as an Agency Department. Agency Departments have the added feature of being able to be excluded as a tickbox option on many reports (e.g. Detailed Takings Report).

This can mean that the Department name is not as meaningful or descriptive of the products, which should be fine for small numbers of consignment products that are quite similar.

Many reports can be run to exclude Agency Departments (if used here) which can be very helpful. This includes the very useful Stock Listing report, which gives you a total stock value on hand.

Using Stock Tags
Stock tags can be created to track products on consignment, and you can have as many as is meaningful to your business without impacting or bloating reports and information.

E.g. Kitchenware Consignment tag, Foodstuff Consignment tag, Fashionwear Consignment tag.

These will need to be assigned to the relevant products.

The main drawback with this is that reports are only going to be able to include these products based on tags. The reports cannot exclude items based on these tags so if you need to run particular reports and easily exclude consignment products, this method may not be suitable.

The big advantage in using tags is allowing your products to be assigned to meaningful Departments together with other product. Any reports that use tags (e.g. Stock Listing report, Detailed Takings report) will also find it easy to list these products, and potentially show subgroups of the consignment products (if more tags were added) or include other products that have similar tags.

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Specialty POS software for local small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand

June 28, 2023
2 Min read
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Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to serve a diverse mix of specialty retailers in different marketplaces. These include:

Here’s what’s included in the monthly rental cost: software licences for unlimited computers in the location, help desk support (by phone or email) 6 days a week (including Saturday), access to a comprehensive support knowledge base, after hours support call access for urgent system down queries, access to our 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.

Tower Systems currently serves more than 3,000 local small business retailers.

It may be that our software is not right for you. Let us organise a personal live demonstration by Zoom. We’ll record it with you and give you a copy so you can show colleagues and others you’d like to consult.

If we think we are not a good fit for you we will say so and wish you all the best.

Email us: sales@towersystems.com.au.

Call us: 1300 662 957 (Australia) 0800 444 367 (NZ toll free).

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

At our website, we have easily accessible recent demonstrations of our POS software, which you can access immediately and without sharing any personal contact details whatsoever. The transparency we demonstrate on our website reflects how we operate as a company.

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It’s stocktake season and Tower Systems is helping small business retailers be ready

June 22, 2023
1 Min read
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Our advice to retailers re stocktake is first and foremost: never pay an outside party to do your stocktake and never do a stocktake outside of your POS software.

The most accurate stocktake result for any retail business is doing it yourself, using your POS software. The Tower Systems POS software offers easy to use and reliable stock facilities and workflow.

Last year (2022), we got together with one of the stocktake experts at Tower Systems to discuss this and answer common stocktake questions we are asked. Here’s the video.

Our help goes beyond this. We have written advice, and we offer personal training. We make stocktaking easy and reliable for local samall business retailers.

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Retailers simplify accounts management with Xero integrated POS software from Tower Systems

June 19, 2023
2 Min read
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The Xero accounting software integration with POS software from Tower Systems helps local independent retailers save time, save money, reduce mistakes and make better informed business decisions.

Using the Xero link with our POS software retailers can streamline their processes, connecting POS software and Xero accounting software, removing double entry and cutting mistakes.

The Tower Systems POS software offers:

  • In-Store Point of Sale from the register, shop floor, or mobile thanks to Roam.
  • Integrated eCommerce with Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce and Big Commerce.
  • Streamlined Inventory Management through the business from arrival to sale, or return.
  • Customer tracking and marketing based on purchases.
  • Smart fulfilment based on criteria you can manager.
  • Powerful Loyalty and and Customer Retention – with flexibility and differentiating options retailers love
  • Advanced Reporting and Insights – see what matters.

The Xero accounting software solution offers:

  • GL, P&L and Balance Sheet management and reporting
  • Payroll management
  • Invoice management
  • Inventory management
  • Expense claims
  • Payments management
  • Bank connections & reconciliation

The Tower Systems POS software Xero integration is a solution made for local small business retailers, to save time and money, to help nurture stronger and more valuable retail businesses.

Connect the Tower Systems POS software with  Xero in minutes and keep everything in sync. Simply connect the tow and map your accounts. Our crew of retail experts can help;p you do this.

Once connected, your Tower systems POS software will upload your chosen key financial data to Xero – saving time on admin and cutting data mistakes.

Tower Systems is proud to deliver the advanced Xero POS integration local specialty retailers deserve for the complexities and competitiveness of modern retail.

Tower Systems is grateful to support thousands of Australian and New Zealand retail stores with our comprehensive POS software. We give retailers the tools they can understand and use to run more valuable, enjoyable and successful local retail businesses.

Tower Systems only serves local specialty retailers. This ensures that every customer matters. Are are thankful that more than 3,500 retailers have already chosen to partner with us.

Our service is local, from Aussie and NZ based retail experts. Our software is local, too, made here, for you.

The Xero integration with our POS software is one example of the value of integration relationships that we bring to life for our local indie retailer community.

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