The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryPOS Software

Kudos for Tower Systems POS software – Xero interface

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Screen Shot 2015-08-20 at 5.01.22 pmRetail businesses connecting with the Xero cloud based accounting software through our POS software are growing in number as word spreads about the time saved as a result of the seamless link.

As users of Xero and our software in retail ourselves we are able to speak to the difference and share practical insights into the time saved and the mistakes eliminated through the elimination of what would otherwise be manual processes.

Being approved by Xero is not a simple process – as it should hot be. Their approval process is one reason some POS software companies don’t get to the point of partnership.

The Tower Systems POS software – Xero link has featured in a Xero approved promotion this month to retailers in the specialist retail channels in which we serve.

Helping retailers manage cash flow with monthly support coverage

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For many years Tower Systems have offered the option to its customers to pay for software support on a monthly basis. This offer continues today. We see it as respectful good customer service.

Our support fees are transparent with the same price for all customers using a software package. This transparency builds trust and trust is important to us.

 

New free small business POS software training opportunities launched by Tower Systems

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Screen Shot 2015-08-26 at 11.14.43 amSmall business POS software company Tower Systems is proud to have launched a new series of free online POS software training for retailers using its specialist POS software.

The latest training continues our commitment free weekly training opportunities for small business retailers. It is actions speaking loader than words.

We launched the training early this week. We are writing about it here after the launch to our customers.

Anyone can announce training. It takes commitment to deliver it week in week out.

We are grateful to our customers for their support.

The human POS software help desk

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We won a customer last week on the back of them calling our help desk and posing as a customer. They were thrilled a human answered the phone and wanted to hear from them about their query regarding our software. Their experience with another software company has been struggling with a computerised phone system to log a call and wait for someone to call back who runs through a script from which they cannot deviate to find out what the question is about.

We refuse to do this at Tower Systems.

Since retail is personal, so to should a retail software help desk experience be personal. We do this well and enjoy our personal contact with our customers.

Buy X get Y facility sets Tower POS software apart

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The smart POS software from Tower Systems offers small business retailers choice when it comes to loyalty options. Our customers can choose from:

  1. Points accrual based on purchases.
  2. Linking to one of several external loyalty programs.
  3. Linking to FlyBys.
  4. Discount vouchers offering $$$ off next purchase Buy X get Y free.

Our customers can choose the loyalty options that best serve their needs. We do not presume to dictate which of the loyalty options is best as they all have a place.

That Tower Systems offers these options is of itself a point of difference for us.

We are grateful to our customers who have helped us finesse these loyalty facilities making them best practice and through this helping us win more business.

Helping small business retailers manage end of the day with POS software support

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The Tower Systems POS software help desk is open to 6PM AEST with after hours coverage being 24/7 through our network of mobile phones. The office based help desk being fully staffed to 6pm enables us to help customers with any end of shift queries and we know from shopper feedback this service is appreciated.

Between 5pm and 6pm is when we get most queries about end of shift from queries from a new staff member through to backup queries if they have switched media or made some other change.

Being here to answer these queries is an important part of the service we provide our customers. It is a service they would not get from a remote overseas located help desk that is only accessible by email.

When it comes to help desk support, retailers get what they pay for. We are proud to provide the personal premium service our customers love.

Sunday retail management advice: track staff sales

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Have your staff members record sales by using their staff card barcode or some other unique code and report weekly on the sales achieved. Sharing this simple data point will encourage competition and this is good for all involved in the business including customers.

In one business where we guided this implementation revenue growth can be tracked back to the implementation.

We’d love to help any retailer do this.

Actions speak louder than words when it comes to POS software training options

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Years ago we launched our weekly (FREE) online training workshops. We still run them today. They are popular.

We are proud we are able to continue to be true to this commitment, to demonstrate that we back our words with actions our POS software customers can trust.

POS software help desks come in for belting from some retailers. We ensure this is not us by providing access to a range of help desk and service touch points delivering personal in the moment service based on real conversations from customers to someone not following a script. This is also true for our workshops where we always offer a Q&A session at the end to encourage engagement.

Loving our POS software customers

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Screen Shot 2015-08-14 at 8.07.12 amTower Systems is thrilled to be engaged with a range of our customers photographic them in their businesses and bringing to life their relationship with our software- in a way we and they can use.

Professionally photographed, the images reflect a pride in locally owned businesses. They also provide us an opportunity to connect ourselves back at the office with these businesses we serve.

The photos are part of a project within Tower Systems to shine a light on wonderful small business retailers.

Personal service a differentiating factor for Tower Systems POS software

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Tower Systems is proud of the personal service it provides to small business retailers using its POS software.

Retailers engaging with the Tower Systems POS software can expect to increase sales, cut mistakes, save time and make fact-based business decisions – all thanks to high-level personal service provided by the company through its professional team.

Tower Systems has been in business since 1981. The software we sell today is fresh, designed for today’s needs. Use it and expect to reap rewards. We are a trusted Aussie success story working only with independent small business retailers, providing personal service you can trust.

When you call us you speak with a human, every time. We don’t hide behind a general email address or an overseas call centre. We don’t sell through agents. We make the software we sell. We are here to personally serve you.

Attention to personal service matters to small business retailers as it is through your personal service that you define your business.

We own retail shops ourselves where we use our software. We walk in your shoes.

 

Certification for POS software training achievement

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Screen Shot 2015-08-14 at 8.00.46 amTower Systems is thrilled to issue certificates to retail business employees who complete the structured curriculum based training in the use of our POS software.

Across several curricula developed y retail channel and retail business task areas, the training offers an opportunity to develop valuable knowledge not only in the practical use of our software but also in the business application of the software.

POS software training achievement certificates give retail employees a marker of their learning achievement, something of which they can be proud.

The image is of a certificate issued last week to another successful candidate in a business using our pet shop software.

New videos reflect new POS software value

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Tower Systems released more new training videos to retailers using its POS software this past week demonstrating its commitment to providing up to date video based training reflecting its up to date software.

The latest published video training is longer form videos, taking people deep into the discount voucher function from setup to use. It is perfect training for a retailer getting started with this powerful set of business growth tools.

Like all our videos, it is professionally produced with excellent representation of the software running live.

Retailers can judge a POS software company based on the content it publishes. Tower Systems through its regular public and private content refresh reflects modern software designed for retail today.

We think this is far more important than trotting out an old video from years ago as they are of historic value only and no reflection on the content we offer today.

Mobile POS software helps retailers on the shop floor

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The shop floor is where the action is in retail and POS software company Tower Systems is there to help retailers serve customers and transact business where the customers are.

Using devices such as the Microsoft Surface and the ElitePad from HP, retailers have access to the full suite of tools through which to transact business whether it be arriving new stock, making sales or undertaking stock takes.

Getting retail employees from behind the counter and on to the shop floor brings them closer to customers and this helps drive sales. We see it every time our engagement with retailers in their businesses.

Retail employees getting from behind the counter and working the shop floor. Having software that is fully and easily accessible from the shop floor is the key to driving this.

As retailers ourselves here at Tower Systems we understand from our own experiences the value of shop floor engagement with shoppers and that the best way to achieve this is to be working naturally on everyday tasks on the shop floor.

Sunday retail management advice: leverage shop local

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IMG_9093The shop local movement has a good profile. Locals do tend to prefer to shop local. Retailers need to actively and consistently leverage this through a regular reminder but such a reminder is hollow unless you offer local benefits such as community engagement, hiring locally and sourcing locally made products. Actively engaging in the business through locally focussed decisions helps any retailer bring power and strength to their calls for people to shop local.

This is our advice today – if you pitch shop local, live in in your shop every day and show you yourselves believe in it.

Tower Systems helps retailers actively pitch and live the shop local mantra through its POS software and through the business support the company provides in its training and on its website.

What is the cloud and does our POS software run in the cloud?

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The cloud is a marketing term used by technology companies to describe the accessing of software through a browser in one location where the actual software and data are stored in another location.

The cloud is not new. The first versions of this were running in the 1970s in the early days of computing.

In a small business retail sense, there were retailers in the 1990s operating this way. Indeed, Tower Systems had customers as early 1999 running in the cloud.

While technology has refined, the principles have not.

On a server located away from your business runs your software with your data. From your retail location you access this through a web browser. Around ten years ago, in 2005, we ran four of our own shops in the cloud – none of the shops had our Retailer POS software or data on their computers. This was before the term cloud became a marketing term.

While the marketing of the cloud has been excellent, the business benefits have not been so great, especially for small business.

The cloud seems cheaper because there usually is no up front cost. Add up all costs over three years and a cloud based solution will in almost every case cost you more. This is not necessarily a bad thing. We mention it in case you prefer the cloud as a cost saving measure.

In terms of business commercial outcomes, a cloud based solution may not deliver you better business outcomes. Business outcomes depend on your engagement with the data collected and managed by your software. This is on you and has nothing to do with where your software and data are hosted.

You get out of your software what you put in and not because of how you access it.

To run in the cloud, you need a good and reliable host with quality data backup, speedy access and 24/7 support from your country of location. Too often this is not the case.

10 Reasons Why Retailers Should Use The Tower Cloud Backup Service

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Retailers are saving time and money by using Tower cloud Backup service to back up their POS software data safely and securely.

  1. Stop using USB sticks.
  2. Stop your nightly backup.
  3. Stop paying staff to wait for the backup to be completed.
  4. ENTIRE computer protected, not just Retailer Data.
  5. Data backup up every 15 minutes.
  6. Stored securely on your premises with a secure backup copy in the cloud for safety.
  7. Backup monitored 24/7 with instant notification to you and the Tower Help Desk of any issues.
  8. Disaster Recovery. Get your business trading quickly in the event of a virus or hardware failure.
  9. Restore back to any point in time where a catalogue exists.
  10. Quickly allow access to your data to Tower so we can; resolve issues, run point in time critical business functions such as June 30 reports or retrieve mistakenly deleted files.

For more information on how the Tower Cloud Backup Service works click here.

Software support matters to small business retailers

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How the Tower AdvantageTM helps businesses like yours

The support offered by Tower Systems to small businesses is different to what is usual. Customers love it and they tell others. This is one reason we have more than 3,000 customers using our POS software including more than 1,900 newsagents using our newsagency software.

From offering faster processing of returns to returns accuracy you can trust, our newsagency software is the genuine industry leader thanks to the votes on 1,900 newsagents.

Support is where we help business owners and employees. Support includes:

  • Rapid response to support calls.
  • A professional escalation process should you be unhappy with any response.
  • FREE weekly live online training workshops.
  • A weekly email with tips and advice to help you get more form the software.
  • User meetings in city and regional centres where we can meet face to face for training.
  • A transparent user-driven process called Software Ideas for considering software enhancements.
  • More than 130 professional training videos.
  • FREE bonus one on one training every year – no matter how long you have used the software for.
  • More than 600 Knowledge Base articles.
  • Reliable best-practice cloud based backup.
  • Links to Xero, MYOB and Quicken.
  • FREE Theft Check service.
  • FREE Business Performance Analysis service.

You control when new software updates are loaded.

We also offer free marketing resources any retailer can use to market their business.

POS Software Xero link saves time and money for small business retailers

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Screen Shot 2015-08-06 at 7.46.57 amAs an authorised software partner of Xero cloud based accounting, Tower Systems is delivering time and money saving benefits to retailers using its POS software.

We link to Xero ourselves in our own retail businesses using our POS software. This provides us with accountant level experience, experience we are happy to share as part of the support services we provide to help retailers get more value from our software.

Jewellers, bike retailers, gift shop owners, pet shop owners, newsagents, firearms retailers, discount variety store owners and garden centre owners cal all benefit from the Tower Systems POS software / Xero link facility as it is available in channel specific software.

While we do link to MYOB and Quicken, the Xero link is our favourite because of the way Xero operates and how the company itself serves partnerships like ours.

Being able to draw on personal experiences makes a difference in POS software company support.

Sunday retail management advice: live and be local

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IMG_8799Thanks to smart tools in the Tower Systems POS software, our small business retail partners are able to connect with, promote and support local engagement in a variety of valuable and sustainable ways.

We are grateful for the opportunities to help small business retailers engage locally in this way.

From actively supporting local community groups to promoting local events to supporting local suppliers, the Tower Systems POS software is ideal for small and independent retailers who want to pitch a genuine local message.

A successful local connection requires strategic planning and consistent execution. This is where the various facilities in our software can help retailers – we offer multiple touch points and the certainty of consistency. It is a valuable offering on which our retail partners can count.

As part of the Tower AdvantageTM our local credential

POS software helps small business retailers grow sales

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Our sales are up by 15% year on year and I put much of that down to your loyalty software.

This is a real retailer sharing their results for the 2014/15 financial year.

We started using discount vouchers a year and a half ago and in the last twelve months we have seen the biggest sales surge in our history.

A deep analysis of sales and other data shows the valuable extent to which Discount Vouchers are changing shopper behaviour and attracting new shoppers.

We have a point of difference nearby competitors don’t have. We love it.

In this business they call the Discount Voucher a Thank You Voucher. This is one of many benefits in our POS software – retailers can call the vouchers what they want. They also set how the voucher is calculated and the products it can be redeemed for.

Retailers from many channels are growing their businesses thanks to our unique Discount Voucher facilities. retailers implementing them following our advice can do so at no cost to the business. They can bank on a commercial result that will deliver excellent bottom line results.

The Discount Voucher facilities live up to our promise: we’re here to help.

Competing with Vend in the POS software space

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We switch retailers from the VEND clouds based POS software to our POS software on the back of a more personal and engaged approach to user training, support and software enhancement.

Switching a business from VEND is easy once a business sees our approach to personal training, personal support, training videos, free training workshops, theft checks and comprehensive business management support.

Just as small business retailers focus on growing on the basis of local personal service targeted at their customers, so too does Tower Systems. Our phones are answered by humans 24/7. Our users have a direct say in software enhancements., Training is done in-store face to face.

These are valuable points of difference a VEND customer likes – based on what they say to us.

The other benefit is that the business knows exactly what they are up for cost-wise and they can use the software without having to pay a support fee if they choose.

If you are a retailer using VEND and want to consider an alternative, we can put you in touch with some who have made the switch.

 

Tower Systems released new EDI training video for POS software users

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Screen Shot 2015-07-30 at 10.02.28 amTower Systems has released another training video designed to help retailers get the most out of electronic invoice import facilities in the software. This new video is another extension of the comprehensive video training suite from the company, a suite regularly enhanced as the company invests in more training facilities through which to help retailers get more value from their POS software investment.

With 140 training videos available, Tower Systems has a valuable point of difference for the retail channels in which it serves.

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