The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryPOS Software

Alternative to Vend POS software for retailers

April 14, 2023
5 Min read
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If you are using Vend POS software and looking for an alternative, the POS software from Tower Systems may be a solution.

Thanks to switching Vend POS software customers to our Tower Systems retailer POS software solution we have some insights as to the differences.

But before you go too far, we urge Vend POS software users looking for an alternative to take a beat and be sure about why you want to switch software. Write the reasons down. Then, write down what you want from the POS software you might switch too.

Too often, retailers make a decision to switch POS software and start looking at options. That is too soon, unless you are absolutely sure of what you want / need. So, take a beat, figure out what you don’t like currently, be clear about what you want next and consider the cost involved in making a switch.

At this point it could be a good time to reach out to Vend, letting them know that you are thinking about moving to a vend alternative POS software solution. They may have solutions for any concerns you have. It’s worth checking.

If you are committed to finding an alternative to your Vend POS software, Tower Systems is here for you, in your own time, at your own pace. Here’s a snapshot about us and our POS software:

  • If you contact us, we respond, ourselves. We don’t outsource here.
  • If you choose our software we train you ourselves. You can choose how much or how little training you want.
  • You can link direct to Xero for no extra cost.
  • You can link to MYOB through a friendly third party.
  • You can link direct to Shopify, Magento, Big Commerce and WooCommerce for o extra cost.
  • You can run extra terminals for no extra cost.
  • We have one price, and you pay it monthly.
  • There is no extra cost for loyalty marketing tools.
  • For EFTPOS, go with whatever bank you want.
  • Regular POS software updates, which go through thorough in house testing prior to beta release to a community of users who test in the field for us and for our customers.
  • POS software update content that is often guided by customer requests.
  • Easy access to our help desk experts. They are all local. They all work for us. They all have years of experience in our software. Many have retail experience too.
  • Easy access to fresh training videos so you can learn to use this POS software at your own pace.
  • Easy access to a knowledge base of more than. 600 articles that offer step by step guidance on how to use the software.
  • EFTPOS integration to the bank of your choice.
  • Access to the growing www.findit.com.au online marketplace for free – helping attract new shoppers into your shop.
  • Easy access to our leadership team – yes, you can directly speak with our key decision makers direct.
  • Easy access to our Zoom based customer meetings where you learn tips and techniques and get to ask the questions that matter to you.
  • Secure access to our exclusive Theft Check service where we dive deep into your transactional data to see if there is evidence of possible employee fraud.
  • Access to our private Facebook group where you can easily talk with other Tower Systems customers.

In our software you can find terrific facilities for handling fractions, selling by weight and length, selling in bulk, selling to accounts, quoting, handling special orders and more.

We welcome the opportunity to provide a demonstration of our POS software. We start with wanting to learn about your business needs, what matters to you. Then, we demonstrate the software, live, going into as much detail as you want. Plus, we record this and share the video with you so that you can provide it to others in your business.

It’s important to us that retailers who choose Tower Systems have made a fully informed decisions as we love long term happy customers.

If you are looking for an alternative to Vend POS software, check us out. We’re a no pressure POS software company. We won’t hunt you down.

For sure Vend POS software has a loyal customer community. We do, too. Our 3,000+ local retail, customers are are a strong community of local retailers.

One benefit all Tower Systems customers have access to is www.findit.com.au – an online marketplace designed to help local shoppers find local retailers with products they are seeking. Access for our customers is free. We have customer telling us that shopper shave found their businesses by doing a Google search and the products they stock and list at FindIt guiding them to visit.

Our service is personal. Call us, and a human answers. Visit our head office, and we’ll welcome you in for a chat. Email us, and we will respond.

Check us out:

  • Website: www.towersystems.com.au
  • Sales team: sales@towersystems.com.au or 1300 662 957
  • Our Managing Director: 0418 321 338

Thanks for reading. Have an awesome Friday!

PS. We only engage with local small business retailers. That is our area of specialisation. This ensures we are committed to serving local business needs and not the needs if a large corporate customer over the needs of a local small business retailer.

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Aussie made and supported POS software for local Aussie retailers

April 5, 2023
2 Min read
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This is us, and what we do:

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.

  • Aussie customer service, in Hawthorn, VIC. No call centre.
  • Call us, and a human answers.
  • 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’s right for your business.
  • Self serve training videos and knowledge base.
  • Low cost training for those who want it.
  • The listed prices include GST and are genuinely monthly – not annual paid up front.

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

It may be that our software is not right for you. The best way to find out is through a personal live demonstration by Zoom. We can organise this for you, 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 your business we will say so and wish you all the best.

Email us: sales@towersystems.com.au.

Call us: 1300 662 957.

Today, we have a crew of awesome software developers, caring customer service people and a business support crew skilled in serving local indie retailers. Our community of thousands of retailers is a deal well from which we draw strength.

Thanks for reading and have an awesome Wednesday.

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Tower Systems helps small business retailers ensure better security for customer credit card data

April 4, 2023
2 Min read
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One of the biggest costs of hacking of businesses is the access achieved to data that should not have been stored in the first place, data that was no longer necessary to the business.

Software too often has not been designed to protect the data security interests of shoppers, those folks handing over their data.

In our POS software made for local specialty retailers we now even better protect the customer.

When we found the extent to which customers were storing credit card numbers through our software we felt there was no choice to act. This benefits the customers of our customers and makes our customers themselves less of a target as valuable data like credit card numbers is not available.

We let our customers know about this a while back …

In the past, we allowed you to store customer credit card data for various convenience related reasons. However given recent hacks etc it is no longer feasible to allow you to store this data against customers in Retailer. In version 3.2 this data is permanently deleted as part of loading the update.

If you are still using the stored credit card data you will need to migrate this data to another service that can store this data securely before loading the update.

Our recommendation is that you use Stripe (https://stripe.com/au) We use this service ourselves and have found it to be easy to use and very secure.

Anything we can do to help retailers be less of a target and be less exposed to themselves enabling the stealing of valuable customer data is good in our view.

Too often we see software, especially in big businesses, storing data that is not needed beyond the one off use, data that is valuable to criminals who can either on sell it or use it themselves in fraudulent transactions.

Our role as software developers is to provide tools that are useful and socially responsible. The increased incidence of hacking means we need to be more vigilant than ever, to protect our customers and to enable them to protect their customers.

The work we have done in this area of customer data protection goes beyond what we write about here today.

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POS software ChatGPT OpenAI integration saves retailers time

March 31, 2023
2 Min read
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Early this month, Tower Systems released new software for retailers offering an integration to ChatGPT from OpenAI, the world leading AI tool.

In this first cut of AI integration in local small business POS software, using the optional integration, ChatGPT can generate for extended product descriptions and web descriptions. This is based on the product title that you enter. We have tested it with a range of products. It is a significant time saver.

Retailers who want to type their own descriptions can. The integration is for those looking for product descriptions likely to capture the attention of shoppers, especially those shopping online.

AI is impacting business is many ways, faster now than a few months ago, and it will be faster in a few months than today. Every business will be impacted, whether they know it or not.

While publicly the stories have been about ChatGPT doing homework or passing exams or writing blog posts, there are plenty of smarter business-case uses, like what we have done here.

The Tower software development team has more AI integration options being prepared as this technology offers many business benefits.

There is considerable debate about AI and its use. “We don’t see our job as being a controller of access. We build tools and right now this is a tool more businesses want to play with. Hence, this integration.” Mark Fletcher CEO of Tower Systems commented.

“It’s important that we provide retailers with tools they can use to be more efficient, more competitive. AI offers such tools in a rapidly changing retail landscape.”

Also included in this new version of the Tower POS software is new business insights and management tools targeted for retailers keen to grow their businesses. One insight helping retailers is: what am I missing out on?

By tracking product supply and sales history, the Tower POS software is able to quantify the cost of out of stock situations, guiding retailers to address gaps or bumps in their inventory supply chain.

In a trial of this tech the software identified several thousand dollars in certain revenue one retailer could have achieved had they had stock in-store of easily accessible products. Having a hassle free tech prompt to ensure smooth sales can be a money maker for retailers.

Tower Systems serves thousands of local retailers with POS software.

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Retail business cash flow advice: using POS software to improve your position

March 29, 2023
2 Min read
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Every day in local small business retail it is vital to focus on cash flow, vital to know where you are at, how you are tracking and what you are doing to maximise your position.

Poor cash flow = poor business performance and rocky roads ahead.

Too often, local small business retailers leave tracking business cash flow to accountants and others who may not be in the business on a day to day basis.

Managing cash flow in local small business retail is a day to day task.

Using the smart POS software from Tower Systems you have access to tools and facilities that help you navigate to a better cash flow performance for the retail business. You don’t need to be an accountant or someone with good financial skills. What do you need to be is an engaged retailer.

In our POS software we help you:

  • Make better business decisions. Decisions like inventory purchasing, shop floor placement, trading hours, loyalty rewards and more.
  • Identity poor performing inventory. Knowing what is not working can stop you reporting that mistake.
  • Knowing when you are likely to sell out. Many retail businesses bmiss absolutely for certain revenue by not having in stock inventory when shoppers wish to purchase.
  • Do more business with more valuable suppliers. Tracking suppliers by financial benefit helps you make more money with and from them./
  • Motivate employees. Employees can make better decisions for your business if you empower them with knowledge.
  • Calibrate business settings to benefit cash flow. When you open and close, who you roster, when you discount, when you price inventory at a higher price … these are all decisions that can be informed by data collected and curated by smart POS software.

These are just some of the ways the Tower Systems POS software can help a local small business retailer improve their cash flow position.

The real benefit when it comes to cash flow and our POS software is the business insights and advice we can provide to those interested. We have hands on retail experience and we will gladly engage this with and for any retailer in our community keen to improve their position, including their cash flow position. We will talk with and work with, one-on-one, with any retailer in our community to help them.

We’re a full service POS software company helping thousands of retailers, and we love it, every day!

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Tower Systems adds ChatGPT AI integration to POS software.

March 17, 2023
2 Min read
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We have integrated ChatGPT from OpenAI with our Retailer POS software.

In this first cut, using the optional integration, ChatGPT can generate for extended product descriptions and web descriptions. This is based on the product title that you enter. We have tested it with a range of products. It is a significant time saver.

AI is impacting business is many ways, faster now than a few months ago, and it will be faster in a few months than today. Every business will be impacted, whether they know it or not.

While publicly the stories have been about ChatGPT doing homework or passing exams or writing blog posts, there are plenty of smarter business-case uses, like what we have done here.

This ChatGPT integration is in our next update. Businesses will need an OpenAI account. Cost wise, there are multiple models, each with different capabilities and price points. Prices are per 1,000 tokens. You can think of tokens as pieces of words, where 1,000 tokens is about 750 words. This paragraph is 35 tokens.

You can configure a usage hard limit in your billing settings, after which they will stop serving your requests. You may also configure a soft limit to receive an email alert once you pass a certain usage threshold.

We stress – this integration is optional. For us, it is a starting point. We see plenty of opportunities for AI to save time for you and increase the value you leverage from using our software.

There is considerable debate about AI and its use. We don’t see our job as being a controller of access. We build tools and right now this is a tool more snugnesses want to play with. hence this integration.

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Loving POS software updates

March 16, 2023
1 Min read
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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:

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Loving our latest POS software update

March 6, 2023
1 Min read
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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.

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New Zealand retailers help make our POS software better

March 4, 2023
5 Min read
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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:

  • Attract new shoppers. We have several smart loyalty options that help drive word of mouth and word of mouth drives new traffic.
  • Increase sales. We show you what to put with what, what smart product adjacencies get shoppers spending more. Front-end loyalty helps get today’s shopper buying more today. Getting rid of dead stock and buying what actually sells helps drive sales. Employee sales tracking helps you coach employees better.
  • Reduce costs. Tracking sales by time helps you create a more cost-effective roster. Making less stock buying mistakes reduces costs. Streamlining the sales counter, credit card processing, Lay-By, customer accounts, product pricing and product reordering can cut labor costs and cut management time.
  • Make your business worth more. New business purchasers want a business that is easy to run. We can help make your business easy to run. They also want a business that is successful. We will help you drive your success.

We have been helping retailers for many years and are grateful to serve more than 3,000 today.

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Small business retail advice: beware the total cost of ownership of your POS software

February 28, 2023
3 Min read
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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:

  1. Quoting a monthly cost that is actually a prepaid annual cost divided by 12 and where the actual monthly cost if you pay monthly is considerably more.
  2. Charging an EFTPOS fee for your use of an EFTPOS directly linked to that POS software where the EFTPOS fee is considerably higher than the competitive market price.
  3. Signing what you think is a monthly contract only to find that you have a minimum commitment period of 24 or 36 months or more – meaning it is not a monthly contact at all.
  4. Being told that the software can go to the new owner of the business when you sell only to discover that the new owner is asked to pay up front a fee to actually access the software.
  5. Being told that your price is the standard price only for you to discover later that friends get a special price that is much lower than you are paying.
  6. Being told one price only to find a different price in the contract.

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.

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Free POS software training videos help new retail employees learn

February 24, 2023
2 Min read
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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.

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2 minute read: map your shop layout by GP contribution and see your business differently

February 13, 2023
2 Min read
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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.

  1. Take a blank sheet of paper, ideally A3, and roughly sketch out the layout of your shop, marking in display units, shelving, the counter – everywhere you have product. Include your back room if you have stock there.
  2. Colour-shade the layout by department.
  3. List the departments on the side of the floor plan.
  4. Calculate the percentage of total space used for each department. This does not need to be accurate to two decimal places. List this next to each department you have listed.
  5. Use your POS software to report on gross profit dollars earned by each department over the last year, or calculate it from sales figures knowing the average GP% per department.
  6. Calculate the percentage of total gross profit contribution earned by each department and list this next to the floor space allocated to each department – on the floor plan map you have done.
  7. Circle in green those performing the best, where the GP% contribution is more than the GP% space allocation, and in red those performing the worst.

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.

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