The POS Software Blog
News from Tower Systems about locally made POS software for specialty local retailers.
A year ago we released this video to show how we use our own POS software in one of our retail businesses to track sales and grow the business. The video itself generated sales for us as engendered confidence that we’re not your usual POS software company: we use what we sell ourselves, we rely on it to grow our own retail businesses; we share insights from these experiences back with our customers.
More and more retailers are switching from the old school points based loyalty programs to our discount vouchers. They are finding the vouchers are driving more immediate and more valuable outcomes for retailers – they are driving a better bottom line. We are hearing new success stories daily.
It is thrilling hearing success stories of how businesses have switched from points to $$ loyalty offers. It’s exciting and invigorating hearing of small and independent retailers achieving excellent outcomes for their businesses and knowing that we have played a role in this.
This is our retail management tip today – chase a point of difference, leverage new age discount vouchers and stop using the old points based loyalty offers.
Retailers can call the vouchers what they like. They can also choose how the value on a voucher is calculated and what it can be redeemed for.
Tower Systems all set to go for the Reed Gif Fair that starts today in Melbourne.
We will have our latest Gift Shop Software on show – packed with business building initiatives and opportunities.
We appreciate this opportunity to help retailers of gifts to grow their businesses.
We are yet to complete acceptance testing of Windows 10 from Microsoft across our full suite of software. It is not currently an approved operating system. Our advice is DO NOT INSTALL WINDOWS 10 AT THIS STAGE.
Tower Systems has launched free POS software training opportunities for small business retailers through to August 26.
This new series of fresh training focuses on business outcomes for retailers using the Tower software.
Covering the why, this training helps retailers move beyond traditional use of POS software and into greater value.
The training is available for free to any Tower Systems customer. It can be undertaken from anywhere with broadband access and a phone. We cover the cost of the call for audio access anywhere in the world.
The fresh Buy X get Y free facility in the Tower Systems POS Software provides with enhanced loyalty options when considering how to encourage shoppers to spend more.
This facility is particularly useful for habit based purchases, where shoppers purchase an item or a category of items multiple times in a reasonable period of times.
Several retail channels will benefit from the enhanced facilities including pet shops, newsagents, garden centres and convenience stores.
Developed in close consultation with retailers in several retail channel niches, this facility is already in active use thanks to wonderfully supporting customers in our beta release program.
The loyalty options in the Tower Systems software continue to evolve to provide flexibility to retailers keen to offer relevant pitches to their shoppers.
We are grateful to the guidance of customers involved in this latest project.
We are thrilled with the feedback on a new report we are trialling in our POS software. Developed with a senior business consultant for a group of retailers in the high ticket price item space, this report provides an alternative view on inventory performance, a view we think many of our customers will find useful as they look to extract more value from their businesses.
This latest report reflects further enhancement of the Tower Systems software along a path of continuous improvement and in response to customer requests.
Engaging our development team direct with customers is a most useful exercise for any software company.
If your retail business turns over less than $2M a year you are not required to undertake a stock take. Click here for the ATO advice.
There are several ways to calculate trading stock. One way is to do a stock take. Our POS software can help any retailer undertake this. Another way is to track all goods inwards and all goods outwards (sold). Depending on your theft situation this leaves you with an accurate understanding of stock.
To check parts of your business, to see whether theft is an issue, you can easily do a spot stock take of part of this business. In a short time this can indicate whether a full stock take is necessary.
Offering a range of options in the stock take area, Tower Systems serves the needs of retailers with flexibility and compliance in terms of the tax office requirements.
We mention this today to provide clarity on what is required of retailers in terms of stock takes.
Of course, some from the lunatic fringe will say we are wrong. We are certain of our advice as we have spoken with the ATO directly as well as with a CPA. Our advice is sound. But we have a warning: this advice is appropriate if you use smart POS software properly. Our software is appropriate as it manages inventory on hand in a manner sought by the ATO.
What makes the newsagency software from Tower Systems the best? Here is our answer:
This is one of our own newsagencies. It is a valuable point of difference.
We have owned and operated newsagencies since February 1996. This has provided us with a live testing ground for innovation not only for newsagents but all retailers.
A software company walking in the shoes of its customers is better resourced to serve those customers than any other software company.
Today, more than 1,900 newsagents use our software. We think this is three times any other.
We have launched another training video for retailers using our POS software. This new video is not your usual training – no, it highlights a new feature of the software, something fresh for all users. It provides a high level introduction from one of the architects of the new facility. All customers have been provided free access to the video and plenty have viewed it already. We are thrilled for such terrific engagement.
POS software company Tower Systems will be showing off its latest gift shop software at the Reed Melbourne Gift Fair in two weeks.
Our involvement is already being promoted in the thick catalogue promoting the fair – sent to all gift shops, suppliers and other retailers in the gift space.
We are grateful for the opportunity to participate in this fair again this year. We anticipate learning plenty as well as making connections with many possible new customers as we show off what we do pitch the Tower AdvantageTM.
We are especially excited about some surprises we have to share at this marquee event.
The reaction to the latest mobile version of our POS software company website has been terrific.
Launched weeks ago, the new mobile website automatically loads when it detects website access via a mobile device.
being a technology company, how we represent ourselves publicly speaks to the relevance of our software and services to the businesses we serve.
The latest mobile website innovation is leading edge. It makes us proud.
All the functionality a POS software user could want is available from the website.
Mark Fletcher, the owner of Tower Systems, is in the UK for the Harrogate Home & Gift Fair 2015. This international fair attracts exhibitors and attendees from around the world.
We are participating by invitation by suppliers with whom we already partner on behalf of retailers see serve using our POS software.
One outcome from participation of the fair is expected to be more help through the Tower software for retailers selling products from suppliers at the fair.
Participating events like Harrogate provide valuable eye-opening opportunities.
More and more reports are surfacing questioning the value of points based loyalty programs.
There appears to be growing fatigue among shoppers with points based programs.
Points based programs are popular with retailers. They do not offer a point of difference to retailers.
While the Tower Systems POS software supports individual, franchise, buying group and other points based loyalty programs, it is our exclusive discount voucher loyalty facilities that offer a genuine point of difference to retailers and their shoppers.
The New Loyalty is a fresh approach to loyalty marketing for retail businesses.
Our POS software company by the numbers.
You guys are awesome and your software is awesomer.
This has to be the quote of the year from one of our customers. It makes us proud that we have made someone so happy.
The comment came about because we have helped a business get into our software and see that not all POS software companies are the same.
The thrill came when they saw what they could earn about their business from our software. A short time and they are loving outcomes being achieved.
We’re here to help.
That’s out motto. We believe it and live it through our cations with and for our customers.
Small business retailers in the niche retail channels of gift shops, garden centres, jewellers, bike retailers, newsagents, homewares shops and several others can rely on the Tower Systems POS software to improve their situation. here are some of the ways retailers tell us they benefit by using the software:
Spiderman is a superhero loved by generations. He is more popular today than decades ago thanks to a reinvigorating of the franchise by Marvel.
Retailers using our POS software can track the success of superheroes in their retail businesses. They can do this through a range of views, providing insights beyond what is common in POS software.
The insights can help retailers undertake more finely tuned marketing.
Spiderman, for example, can appeal to a young kid discovering their first superhero as much as he can appeal to a baby-boomer reliving memories of their first Spiderman comic back in the day.
These different customers engage with their fan driven interests in different ways. Thanks to a clever approach to viewing data, retailers are able to treat both interests differently and the same as may be needed from time to time.
This is another smart approach to inventory management from the smart software development team at Tower Systems.
We are thrilled with the results of the Gift HQ trade show in Brisbane over the weekend to last night. We connected with many businesses that can benefit from what we offer through our Point of Sale software and our customer service facilities. Having specialist software for each of several niche retail channels helped us serve a broader range of the visitors to the fair.
We also met existing customers to share new facilities in our software.
Gift HQ has been an important extension to our Queensland presence and service. We are grateful of the opportunity to participate.
Tower Systems has kicked off the New Financial Year with the launch of fresh POS software user training opportunities for retailers who partner with us.
The free online new training is genuinely new: fresh, new topics … designed to help retailers get more from their Tower Systems relationship.
Our customers can book in for the free training now from our website. We send an email with instructions on how to get online.
The studio at the Tower Systems head office has been busy as we host regular online live training workshops in how to handle stocktake and end of financial year matters using our POS software in the last days of this financial year.
This photo is from the studio during one of our live training sessions. Having a professional studio setup helps us deliver training away from the busy help desk. It’s a valuable point of difference for us.
This advice is about the best business approach to undertaking a stocktake. Please refer to other Knowledge base articles on how to actually use the software. All retailers using our POS software have access to our knowledge base.
Please ensure you have the latest version of the Tower Systems Retailer POS software installed prior to undertaking a stocktake.
For the process to be as easy as possible you will need a wireless network – vital for OH&S reasons.
The best way to do a stocktake in your business is by using a laptop (or laptops) or tablet computer with a scanner attached. This enables you to do the stocktake live with no impact on sales and absolute integrity of your stock on hand data.
While using a laptop (or laptops) or tablet computer may seem cumbersome, it is our best practice advice for speed, data integrity and the ability to address data issues you may encounter on the shop floor. It enables you to do management work to ensure completely accurate data.
The alternative is to use a PDE. The challenges with this are the many different PDEs and it is challenging to be expert in all plus the PDE counts at that time and you load the data at a later time – meaning a gap in time in which sales could have been done. While PDE software is available for live to data updates, we have seen this be problematic and so we do not use it.
Given the advances in technology, our best practice recommendation is either a laptop of tablet computer as either offers a better solution than a PDE.
We suggest you setup a Laptop or tablet and use Team Viewer or the like to connect in and count this way. This approach means you do not need to purchase an additional software licence for the laptop. Team Viewer is easy to setup.
For the physical stocktake, we suggest you approach the business aisle by aisle, counting and rearranging stock as you go.
Once you have completed your first full stocktake, our advice is you engage in a rolling stocktake, doing parts of the business, through the year. The Tax Office does not require businesses with full sock control implemented to do a stocktake at the end of the financial year. They will accept data from your system if you manage stock through the year.
The free POS software training workshops we run weekly for small business retailers is a genuine point of difference for Tower Systems.
This training helps people get more from their software. It boosts their confidence. It also provides an excellent small business networking opportunity as there is plenty of time at the end of a session for participants to talk with each other.
The training workshops are free. Tower Systems funds the phone call for audio participation and visual access is via the Net.
From the day years ago when Tower Systems announced its commitment to this free training opportunity the company has maintained the free training service, delivering consistently on its promise, proving our motto: we’re here to help.
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