The POS Software Blog
News from Tower Systems about locally made POS software for specialty local retailers.
In addition to the usual email outlining what is in a POS software update, often, different colleagues here at Tower Systems will create a video of what they like in an update. Here is one such video for an update we provided to our customers a few weeks back. We share this to show the engagement of folks here at Tower Systems in what we make and support:
We share information on POS software update enhancements with our customers in a number of ways, including this 5 minute video outlining some of the highlights.
We have awesome colleagues here at Tower Systems.
Tower Systems is grateful to already serve many local specialty retailers in New Zealand, up and down the country.
These New Zealand based retailers cover the retail specialty areas of bike shops, jewellers, garden centres, pet shops, gift shops and more.
They use the Tower Systems POS software much in the way any retailer does, but there is a difference in NZ retail. It is more local, more engaged and more complete in their use of tools in our software to run more enjoyable businesses.
We are thankful to our New Zealand based POS software customers for their advice, and for their active participation in the constant evolution of our POS software.
From online POS software user meetings to local New Zealand user meet-ups, to trade show catch-ups (like the Auckland gift fair next week), to one on one contact, we offer many connection opportunities with retailers using our POS software.
And while we are an Australian company, our service of our NZ retailer customers is the same as it is everywhere. This is thanks to our extended operating hours and the comprehensive kit of resources we offer our POS software customers for learning, suggesting enhancements and connecting with our help desk team.
Across plenty of our specialty retail channels we serve New Zealand customers. These include: charity and thrift shops, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, gift shops, jewellers, farm supply businesses, repairs businesses, magazine retailers, pet shops and more. Versions of our POS software are tuned for these types of businesses.
We have done New Zealand specific integrations to enable our POS software to better serve New Zealand business needs. The Smart Pay EFTPOS integration was one such project. This was delivered free to our customers once we passed the rigorous certification and in-field testing. There are other examples like this – New Zealand retailer let integrations with our POS software.
Our New Zealand customers have toll free access to our help desk and support services. Training is delivered at no telephone costs too – making it easy and low cost to access us when you need help or assistance.
Tower Systems is committed to the New Zealand marketplace. We are thankful to have served local retailer customers for more than 20 years and appreciate that we serve more customers now in early 2023 than we did in 2022.
Across at our Tower Systems POS software YouTube channel you can see more about what we offer, and how we serve our customers. You can also see recent demonstrations of our software. You’ll note that we offer easy access to these demonstrations of our POS software without capturing your retailers. That is an example of the transparency we offer.
We’re a no pressure POS software company. Take your time. Research various POS software solutions. Compare what you want and need with what we do. We will be here to help when you are ready.
Ours is not a company of computer geeks using tech-speak. No, most of us have retail experience.
Our training is one on one. This is backed by a wonderful up-to-date video training library.
Our help desk offers real human-based help, so you get the most from our software tools.
Our business advice and mentoring is available at your call to help you see new opportunities in your business.
But this is not about us, it’s about you and what you want from your business.
We help retailers turn around their businesses by saving time and by providing access to accurate data to guide better quality business decisions.
The ultimate goal is that when you come to sell your business you get a better price because of the money it’s making and the ease with which the business can be run.
Using g our POS software you can leverage benefits including:
We have been helping retailers for many years and are grateful to serve more than 3,000 today.
What the POS software you choose for your retail business actually costs your business is not always clear or transparent. There are situations where retailers do not discover the actual cost until they are locked in to a particular POS software company.
Here are some examples of things we have seen recently, things we do not do:
These are some of the things going around at the moment. It’s frustrating because here we are in 2023 writing about real things that are happening this year that tarnish the reputation of software companies. we don’t like it. The is why we are calling it out here and elsewhere.
Here at Tower Systems, our prices are transparent, as is what is included in the monthly rental price.
Our monthly price is our monthly price. There is no need for a year up front payment to access it.
And, for all of our customers, 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.
Simple. Clear. The same offer to everyone.
From a sales perspective, there is no rush, no pressure. Our sales professionals are just that, professional. They pride themselves if being clear if they think our business is not the right fir for you. They also are under no pressure themselves to close a certain amount of business each month. That’s whey they will not harass or pressure you.
Take you time when considering POS software. Move at your pace. Be driven by what you want and need for your business. We are here when you need us.
Our growing curriculum of POS software training videos and resources are helping new staff in retail business where our POS software is in play to learn the software and be of more assistance to the business.
Every one of our customers has access to these and our other POS software user training resources.
Created by our POS software training and support team, our new customer training video library has more than 40 new videos added in recent weeks, providing a valuable resource for businesses keen to learn what their software is capable of.
The library of training videos continues to grow.
Each video is short, self contained and practical, designed to provide easy and useful learning opportunities for users of our POS software.
The POS software training videos not only help new users of our software, they are a resource existing customers are using for a refresher, to remind them of our recommended best practice approach.
Our customers are providing wonderful feedback that is most encouraging as we further invest in this latest set of training resources for them. Their feedback as well as viewing data inform us as to investment we make in training materials.
Our personal approach to customer training is a differentiator for Tower Systems. We are grateful for the team members who create our training materials that enable this point of difference.
A few minutes spent analysing space allocation performance could reveal opportunities to embrace.
With retail space usually costing between 11% and 15% of (non agency) revenue, it is usually the next highest cost outside of the cost of stock itself.
Retailers often argue that rent should be lower. It could be that a different view of shop floor performance helps you achieve a better return.
Typically, a business owner doing this for the first time will have an ah ha moment, seeing something they had not realised.
We have seen business owners make changes including to floor layout, quitting suppliers and increasing stock weight for some departments.
You can take the analysis a step further by looking only at one department and
analysing performance by category, using the method outlined above.
Our specialty retail POS software can help with this and more business performance analysis.
Our goal is to help you run a more appealing, successful and valuable retail business. As retailers ourselves, we use our software this way every day.
We can help if you are interested.
Find out more:
Thanks for reading.
We are a different POS software company, focussed on helping small business retailers stand out…
We’re here, and available, serving our local small business retail customers.
Point of sale (POS) systems are part of a $22 billion industry. They’re a core part of business that entrepreneurs and corporations alike are able to take advantage of.
If you’re going to understand POS systems, you need to know the cost and other features that can help you get the right fit. These tips are helpful for companies that are interested in POS systems but want to learn more.
Most companies that use POS systems do so on a subscription basis. You’ll be able to pay a monthly fee to get access to the best POS systems on the market.
For the big name companies, you can expect to pay between about $30 and $200 per month for the service and technology.
In addition to the price, you need to understand the features and other details that can make the decision clearer. Some things to consider include:
If you’re trying to purchase a POS system, you need to make sure that you’re handling your inventory correctly. Scope out the systems that will keep track of your inventory in real-time so that you can make changes on the fly.
The software should come with an inventory management system that lets you create item numbers, barcodes, custom tags, and other details. Figuring out these details will give you autonomy over the way that you run your store.
Getting up-to-date inventory reports can help you figure out how you want to switch gears, and can steer you toward promotions and discounts that can be favorable.
The way that a POS system handles your payments will make a big difference. When your system has multiple options for debit and credit cards, cash, Apple Pay, Bitcoin, and others.
These systems need a clean and organized way to send receipts. Today, POS systems are helpful because they can send digital receipts immediately to let customers know their totals.
The more options you provide your customers, the easier it’ll be for you to accept and retain business.
The POS system that you choose should also help you improve your marketing. They are great for opt-ins, since customers can choose to have their receipt sent to an e-mail address or smartphone for SMS confirmation.
When customers choose to opt-in, they can also get marketing information sent to them that lets them know the news and happenings of your store, and any promotions or discounts that your business is having.
If you’re shopping for a new point of sale system, you should calculate how much extra you will pay for these features so that you can include them as part of your plan.
The system can also integrate with your blog and social media pages so that you can leverage traffic and customer sales.
Ask the manufacturer or vendor about any analytics technology that the POS system comes with. These systems will highlight in raw detail how well you did and what things you can fix and improve on.
They generate reports that you can use to help you set and hit goals in a timely manner. The best POS systems will come with these sorts of features integrated.
Check out the tools that the POS system comes with so that you can use them to your advantage.
When you’re trying to choose a POS system, make sure that you’re prioritizing your company’s needs first. This lets you set benchmarks for what you need so that your POS system subscription fulfills these needs.
Some companies might be looking for a POS system mainly because they need to upgrade from a traditional cash register system. You might also be dissatisfied with your current POS system and looking for a new and better model.
There are also POS systems that might be better suited for the type of business model you have. Weigh these issues so that you’re clear on what’s best for your company now and in the future.
Finding out how much you’ll pay for a POS system is one thing, but you need to also browse the entire price sheet and agreement to see what works best for you.
Consider companies that are transparent so that you don’t have any discrepancies about the fees that you’re going to pay.
Take the time to find a company that also provides stellar customer service. This will help you know that anytime there’s an issue or discrepancy, your downtime will be limited.
Read through the reviews that people have left about the POS system and choose one that has speedy assistance and plenty of resources. They should also have an extensive network of users that you can compare notes with so that you can learn how to get the best results from it.
Start with these points when you’re trying to find POS systems that will work for your business. Knowing how much these systems cost and the types of features they come with and it’ll help you find the right fit.
Tower Systems can assist you when you’re looking into the service that you need. To book a demo or ask questions, contact us for more information.
Tower Systems helps local small business retailers run more enjoyable and successful retail businesses. Through this work, and our own retail shops, we have developed a kit of advice that local small business find helpful. In that kit are these 8 ways local retailers can feel better about their retail shop:
This list is just the beginning. there are so many ways, so many opportunities to love your retail business. We are grateful for the opportunity to help through our POS software and through our advice.
There are many ways to promote your local shop in the local community. Some strategies you may want to consider include:
By implementing these strategies, you can help to promote your local shop and increase its visibility in the local community.
Tower Systems is grateful to serve thousands of local retail businesses. In our POS software we offer ways you can better connect with and support the local community and this is key to gaining their support in your business.
There are several steps you can take to help reduce employee theft in your shop. Some strategies you may want to consider include:
By implementing these strategies, you can help to reduce employee theft in your shop and create a more honest and trustworthy workplace.
Tower Systems helps retailers through its local small business retail POS software. This software offers structure for transacting business. It facilitates efficiency and accuracy. It also adds value to the business and to those who work in the business.
Behind the scenes, the tower Systems POS software tracks key data points that can indicate employee theft. this tracking has been used successfully in detecting theft, leaving to charges being laid, leading to expert witness evidence in court.
Employee theft can be debilitating financially and emotionally in any retail business. This is especially true in local small business retail.
We are grateful here at Tower Systems to have the skill and focus to stand with local retailers, to help them reduce the impact of employee theft through smart use of our POS software.
We are grateful to share new of our work in the area of auto inventory fulfilment between product suppliers and local small business retailers.
Thanks to our small business retail POS software, the data it collects and the connectivity between it and supplier IT infrastructure, suppliers are able to auto fulfil based on live sales data. they are able to do this according ton agreed trigger points with retailers.
There is evidence that auto inventory fulfilment increases retail sales, benefiting the connected local retailer and the partner supplier. This truly is a win win.
It all starts with POS software that is tuned to provide the necessary data flow to sit at the bottom of the auto inventory fulfilment relationship.
It’s simple really, sales data flows from the local retail business to the partner supplier and once inventory in the story hits a trigger point, the supplier targets fulfilment based on agreed rules and processes.
This works well when a supplier supplies a range of products – allowing for the order needs for items to be grouped together for a more efficient delivery.
The retailer can see the sales data in their POS software as can the supplier in their IT systems. Nothing is shared about products related to any other supplier.
Auto inventory fulfilment can leverage just in time opportunities, reduce inventory investment by the local small business retailer, save space and save time.
It can help the supplier with supply management and manufacturing if they make what they sell.
The keys here are efficiency of space, capital and labour. And, of course, POS software is at the heart of it. Everyone involved benefits -t the local small business retailer using smartphones POS software and their IT connected suppliers.
Auto inventory fulfilment facilitated through POS software is another innovation available to local small business retailers, it is something big retailers have had access to for many years.
Tower Systems is grateful to offer specialised retail POS software for garden centres, sewing shops, music shops, pool maintenance and supply businesses, produce businesses, fishing bait and tackle businesses, firearms dealers, newsagents, pet shops, adult shops, bookshops, jewellers, toy shops and more.
Our customers are local family run businesses across Australia and New Zealand.
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