The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryProduce store software

Why we think small business retailers should beware POS software onboarding

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Onboarding is a term some POS software companies use to describe their process of bringing on new customers.

Onboarding is a corporate term, a big business term, for detached remote setup and installation. It is not personal. It is not small business.

Small business is personal. Most small business rely on providing personal local service.

That is what we do at Tower Systems through our POS software.

We don’t onboard, not in the big business corporate sense. No, we work personally, face to face, in your business. We setup our software in your shop, leveraging installation options to provide you with as much of a tailored solution as we are able. We do this working alongside you.

Not on the phone.

Not by email.

Not via Skype.

Our service is personal, like small business retail is personal.

Of course, if you would rather we did the work remotely we will happily do this. However, this is not our recommendation.

So, here at Tower Systems, no impersonal onboarding, no distance learning. We work with you, in your business, personally and engaged with your Like a conversation. Friendships develop. Understanding of your needs develop. This makes it better for you and for us.

We are confident that the personal in-store approach to setting up your POS software provides you with a better outcome. It is calmer and more engaged. We think you will learn better by our experts working with you in your business. And isn’t learn ing better vital to you and your business? For sure!

Every time we are in a retail business we learn. This is another reason we are keen to install and train on-site, in retail businesses. Working remotely on the phone denies this learning opportunity. It means the outcomes are less appropriate and useful. This is another reason onboarding is not a smart move in our view.

Small business retail is personal. Tower Systems gets that and delivers on the through its personal POS software installation  and training approach.

We are grateful to serve in excess of 3,000 small business retailers today, retailers we have learned from by being in their businesses.

Bulk image import to POS software helps retailers setup e-commerce websites

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The bulk image import facilities in the Tower Systems POS software make it easy for small business retailers to update their e-commerce websites with accurate image data.

We won’t go into much detail here about the bulk image import as it is clever, fast and accurate. It is part of our intellectual property that we leverage for our small business POS software customer base.

The bulk image import tools make it easy for customers to bring in images accurately and with little time investment. It makes it easy for small business retailers to offer image ric h website experiences to customers. This is a massive difference, something that we leverage exclusively for Tower Systems customers.

We work with retailers as well as their suppliers to manger this connection work to the advantage of our customers. We have experience already with many websites where we have done this work.

Looking around at others and what they offer in this area, we are grateful to have a point of difference in our facilities that give Tower Systems customers a commercial advantage on the bulk import of images to websites through our POS software.

We reached this point because we needed it ourselves for websites we created for our own retail businesses. We knew first hand the importance of the fact and accurate bulk image import. However, we found suppliers challenged ing to deal with. Then, we developed a process. We tested this and refined it and got it to a point where it is working a treat.

We can help our customers and their suppliers work together to bring in images to the POS in bulk that are then loaded to websites according to rules established by the retail business, working with us, leveraging our experience and expertise in this field.

We make it easier for small business retailers to get images loaded onto their websites. This helps them move online and leverage the online sales opportunities.

This is another example of the whole of business solutions offered by Tower Systems from the POS to e-commerce and back again.

We are grateful to ur customers for their support and the continual improvement opportunities they present.

POS software scale integration helps small business retailers sell with accuracy

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The authorised and government approved integration of scales with the Tower Systems POS software enables us to deliver a beautiful solution to small business and independent retailers in many situations.

Through the integration, our POS software talks with the scales, reducing the opportunity for data entry mistakes, making the sales process faster and delivering business outcomes that enable small business retailers to benefit.

Delivered years ago and maintained since, our POS software scale integration is a fine solution for retailers that sell products by weight: candy stores, pet stores, produce businesses, garden centres, butchers, supermarkets and more. We can connect scales to the POS and enable sales by weight. It is easy and fast.

We have structured advice and support for connecting scales to the POS software.

Any retail business selling products by weight can rely on our scales integration for fast and accurate selling at the counter or anywhere in this business.

Although there are alternatives to selling by weight such as splitting and pre-packing stock and double-typing prices at the counter, these methods waste keystrokes and time while increasing the risk of avoidable data entry mistakes that can impact a business  bottom line.

The scanner / scales tool that we recommend is connected to our POS software provides a range of solutions / benefits:

  1. All-Weighs Scale Platter with integrated Produce Lift Bar or Produce Rail™
  2. FirstStrike advanced decoding software delivers the best performance in reading poor quality labels
  3. Aggressive and ergonomic 360° 5-sided scanning
  4. Host Download – Lowers Service Cost and Improves Operations
  5. Diagnostic Reporting – For improved preventative maintenance
  6. Productivity Index Reporting™ – Helps identify poorly printed labels
  7. Cashier Training™/ Ergonomic Index – Identifies Poor Scanning/Weighing Habits

We work with each of our customers to deliver a solution tailored through settings and other opportunities to serve the needs of the business. Our experience o=ver the years from POS software scales integration has enabled us to provide a flexible and valued solution to our customers in this area.

Scales integration is another way our small business focussed POS software company serves businesses well, providing solutions that enable local family-owned small business retailers to compete against big businesses.

Small business retailers should not have to export stock data to excel spreadsheets to make changes

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We were shocked to discover small business retailers using some other POS software needing to export stock data to excel for manipulation and then importing the changed data back into the POS.

We think this reflects poor design of the POS software.

Our Tower Systems small business POS software has an awesome stock manager tool that enables you to make bulk safe changes to data without the need to export. Our stock manager tools are ideal for small business retail where data changes are common, especially bulk data changes as the business moves online or deals with new suppliers.

Indeed, there are myriad reasons bulk data manipulation is needed.

Exporting data to an excel spreadsheet is nuts in our view. It is old school from twenty years ago. If POS software requires it we suggest you look elsewhere as in the export and import problems can happen, damage can be done, data integrity can be lost.

By being able to make any data change necessary from within the POS software and without having to export the data makes sense to us and to our small business customers. That this can be done with a tool that is easily and safely used by a non tech person in a retail business is key. We make sure this can happen.

With more than 3,000 customers, Tower Systems understands small business and the needs of people working in small business. We make sure you are protected while at the same time proving tools necessary to enable you to run the business how you want.

Never export data to excel from your POS software for manipulation again. If a software company rep asks you to do this, ask why? Ask why they are not providing the tools necessary for you to do the data work needed from within the POS software. If they are honest the answer will most likely be a technical restriction in their software, something that does not allow the software to serve the reasonable needs of your business.

Tower Systems can help. Our POS software is ideal for small business retailers. It is robust, l capable and safe.

Helping small business retailers move to cashless retail

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Over the last ten days in the US on three occasions in different shops we had to switch from a cash purchase to using a card as they did not have enough money to make change. The change needed was $27, $16 and $32 respectively. In each case they did not have enough change in their til and, hence, asked me to pay by a card.

Near our office in Melbourne, Cannings the butcher switched to cashless trading three or four years ago,

Recently, we were offered a tenancy at Malvern Central shopping centre in Victoria for retail businesses I own and had decided if we went ahead with the planned gift and collectibles shop we would do so as a cashless business.

Being cashless can cut time spent banking, reduce employee theft opportunity and reduce the cost of change mistakes. While there are downsides for sure, that more and more businesses are switching indicates valuable upsides.

We mention this in our email today so it is on your mind and part of consideration for your own shop. Not because we think you should go cashless, but because we with it could be useful to be aware of the trend.

Going cashless needs planning from an operational perspective as well from a shopper communication perspective. While not for everyone, it is proving to be successful for plenty.

We think governments will embrace cashless as it benefits the tax take, for the same reason it reduces employee theft.

What do we think? We don’t know for sure if cashless will take off. What we do know is that there is nothing to lose from contemplating this, gaming it out, to see how your business might look.

In the meantime in our specialty POS software, we have tools to make cashless easier. For example, ur direct link to Oxipay (like Afterpay) helps you eliminate LayBy. Our direct link to Xero makes record-keeping easier.

Our goal at Tower Systems is to help independent small business retailers be aware of rends and to work with them figure out implications for them.

Our specialty POS software is an awesome platform on which you can rely to serve your needs to day and to evolve for what may happen tomorrow.

We offer solutions for: giftsjewellersbikestoysfishing/outdoorsgarden centrespet shopsproducefirearmsadult shops and newsagents.

Call if you have questions, the account manager for your state / territory can help: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

Web connected POS software for small business retailers

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Thanks to our POS software integrations with Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce we offer independent small business retailers flexibility in connecting their physical stores with online stores.

We make it easy for small business retailers to get online, from their current database of inventory. We do this through the POS software and by developing beautiful websites for our customers.

This makes Tower Systems an established and proven one stop shop for web connected POS software.

POS software users of our software for gift shops garden centres, jewellers, bike retailers, toy shops, newsagents, gift shops, fishing shops, outdoors shops, produce stores and more can rely on the connection for two-way comms between shop and website. It is easy, fast and seamless.

We made the decision years ago to integrate with the best of the best rather than by developing our own web tools. That decision is proven to be the right one since we leverage our POS expertise and web platforms we integrate with are experts in their respective fields.

There is no sense in a retailer having a website developed outside of  Shopify, Magento or WooCommerce. Every need we have seen in retail is served from within these three awesome and proves products.

Small business retailers can benefit from the retail management experience at Tower Systems experience that helps deliver a more retail focussed solution.

The Tower web team, which develops POS software connected websites using Shopify, magento and WooCommerce is also skilled at SEO and SEM services that help raise the website rankings in key search engines, ensuring the site is found ahead of others.

But best of all, Tower Systems provides professional advice and guidance to small business retailers keen to build their online presence. Our commitment is honest transparent advice on which any small business retailer can rely.

The Tower Systems web development team is Australian based, working out of the company’s head office in Hawthorn. This is important as many web development businesses are overseas. While you might have a locally based contact person development too often is done overseas, leading to challenges with delivery and usefulness.

A mental health plan for small business retailers

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As employers, retailers and small business owners, mental health challenges are often not far away.

Sometimes, we don’t know we are experiencing a mental health challenge while other times it’s obvious and on show for all to see. The same is true of any individual in the business.

At Tower Systems through our work with many retail businesses over many years we have been able to see first-hand business situations lead to mental health situations. the advice we share here has evolved over these years and based on advice of professionals in the mental health area.

How we respond to mental health challenges in business is important for for the business, those who rely on it and those it serves.

While we are not trained professionals in the area, our years of working with small business owners confronted by challenges to their mental health have helped us develop some guiding principles.

  1. Mental health is not easily measured or understood. One’s health is not outwardly obvious.
  2. Judgement cannot be part of how mental health is viewed or dealt with.
  3. Action is essential to improve your situation for doing nothing will achieve nothing.
  4. While taking the first step to confront mental health challenges can be difficult, it is relieving and rewarding.

Your GP is an excellent person to speak with. Our advice is that if you suspect there is a mental health challenge, contacting the GP is an important and immediate step.

A GP may suggest preparing a Mental Health Treatment Plan. This is a government recognised and Medicare funded plan for professional help. It can usually be prepared in a single double visit to the GP. This plan is the trigger to you gaining Medicare supported access to a psychologist for an initial number of visits, which can be extended depending on your situation.

Some people can feel a visit to a GP or psychologist is not warranted in their situation. While the medical professionals are the best to determine this, there are other resources you could explore:

Beyond Blue has published Business In Mind, a useful resource for small businesses on issues relating to mental health in the workplace. This is a good starting point for learning more. In the resource there are links to other resources that can help.

Finding mental health resources for small business owners dealing with mental health issues is not as easy as it is finding resources for managing the workplace for better mental health. It’s tough running any business and sometimes things can feel overwhelming. This is where networking can help as a first step, talking with others.

Small business owners feeling challenges within themselves need to treat themselves as employees and use the resources available such as:

In our day to day work with small business retailers, especially though contact o  the health desk, we can ourselves encounter people under considerable stress and, sometimes, experiencing a mental health challenge. We provide training to our team to deal with this in a way that is respectful  and does not cross personal boundaries.

If you feel we can help in any way, please reach out directly to anyone on ur team including our leadership team.

We hope this information has been useful. It reflects concern, care and advice we offer beyond our small business POS software.

Australian POS software helps specialty small business retailers compete

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The most effective ways small business retailers can compete with big businesses and online is through efficient operation, accurate data and customer service touch-points that add appreciated value.

Tower Systems only sells its POS software to small business retailers.

We believe in small businesses, their importance to local communities and their broader economic value.

Through our software, our personal in-store training, 24/7 human and locally based help desk service, regional user meetings, weekly online workshops and other touch-points we help small business retailers beyond what is usual for POS software companies.

Our company motto is we’re here to help. We take this seriously. Everyday, out motto challenges us to help our customers in ways they do not expect, ways beyond the software itself.

Founded in 1981, Tower Systems has evolved as technology has evolved. The software we sell today is generations away from where we started. We are proud to have served some of our customers for decades.

More than 3,500 specialty small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand use our specialty POS software.

To us, a specialty retailer is one that offers services unique to the channel, services that define the business.  We embed in our software for each retail channel facilities that serve needs unique to that channel. We take pride in doing this and enhancing these channel-specific facilities as the needs evolve.

RETAIL MARKETS

There are versions of the software serving the business specific needs of: Jewellers, Bike shops, Garden Centres, Book shops, Gift Shops, Homewares Shops, Produce businesses, Fishing and Outdoors shops, Newsagents, Toy Shops, Confectionery Retail, Stationery retail, Pet Shops, Pet Grooming, Whole Foods Grocers, Swimming Pool Supplies, Firearms Retail and Adult Shops.

Linking directly to Xero enhances the time-saving gained through the software as well as facilitating the accuracy of data managed by the software.

Our Xero link provides for a data feed of sales as well as purchases.

With a CPA working full time in our business we are configured to provide a technical solution that has been overseen by our own Accountant, to ensure it is a viable solution for the small business retailers we serve.

INTEGRATIONS

Our Xero integration is one of many approved integrations provided by the software to serve the needs of retailers. Other integrations include:

  1. Tyro broadband EFTPOS.
  2. Links to all major banks through PC-EFTPOS.
  3. Magento e-commerce.
  4. Shopify e-commerce.
  5. WooCommerce / Word Press.
  6. FlyBys in New Zealand.
  7. Transactor loyalty in New Zealand.
  8. Scale integration for selling by weight.
  9. Touch networks for vending event tickets, phone recharge, fishing licences and more.

CLOUD OR NOT

The Tower software can run on the desktop or in the cloud. Retailers decide what they prefer.

In its cloud offer, Tower offers a 100% hosted solution running in a secure purpose-build location with high-level security and backup. This solution is offered on a SAAS (Software As A services) model with minimal on-boarding costs and a single monthly fee.

Retailers who prefer local control can purchase or lease-finance the software. Once acquired, there are no mandatory annual access fees.

This flexible approach to pricing provides retailers the maximum flexibility in acquisition model.

WHAT THE SOFTWARE OFFERS.

This is a comprehensive and flexible Point of Sale software package offering facilities in many areas of retail business operation including facilities that help small business retailers to run more competitive and valuable businesses. The Tower website provides comprehensive information on software facilities.

PERSONAL SERVICE MATTERS.

The Tower training is personal, one-on-one. It is delivered in-store, by someone with extensive retail experience.

The help desk help desk is based in Hawthorn victoria. When people call, the call is answered by a human and not a computerised phone system. We believe in personal service.

The company also offers free online training workshops where retailers  can learn more and talk to each other about how they use the software.

Every customer has access to free one-on-one training year after year.

There are also user meetings around the country where people can meet the management and technical team in an open group setting for more free training and free assistance.

WE ARE RETAILERS TOO.

We own and operate several retail businesses, providing us with experience every day that enables us to walk in the shoes of our customers. We also use these shops as test sites for early releases of software updates plus we are happy for customers and prospects to visit the shops and learn from what we do ourselves in leveraging the software.

THE CUSTOMERS ARE IN CONTROL.

At the Tower Systems website, click on Software Ideas to see our transparent approach to customer engagement on software enhancements. This is world-class. Customers can make suggestions. These are assessed to ensure they will work. All customers are then invited to vote on the suggestions. The more votes the faster we bring the suggestion to reality.

How the Tower Systems POS software helps small business retailers compete

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Here at Tower Systems, we help businesses using our small business POS software compete with big businesses.

Helping small business retailers compete is important to us and to all who rely on each of our small business retail customers. It is also important to regional and rural towns around Australia, New Zealand and other locations where we serve.

How we help small business retailers compete with big business is a secret as there are things we do in our software, tools we offer, processes we follow, opportunities that we provide that are proprietary. They make our software different, better, stronger and more useful to small business retailers.

It’s like a secret sauce if you will. A secret recipe of software and facilities on which ur small business retailer customers can rely to leverage a points of difference over big business retail competitors.

Since we only sell our POS software to small business retailers, this is 100% our focus, to deliver for this group of retailers so they can have a valuable point of difference over big businesses.

From the way we manage inventory to the marketing tools we provide to the front-end loyalty we offer to the management insights we share, our small business retail software helps provide a competitive advantage.

Take our front-end loyalty. It is unique, valuable and proven to help small business retailers win business they might otherwise not win. These are facilities big business retailers do not offer. They are differentiating and valuable.

We are grateful to the support of our small business customers for trusting us to provide these and other tools in our POS software.

Beyond smart loyalty, our POS software helps small business retailers compete with big businesses by helping them to leverage what is unique about their businesses. We help them leverage local knowledge and experience and to encode this in a way that is useful and easily served to customers consistently and with pride buy the business.

By giving small local retail  business tools that compare favourably with the tools of big business retailers we help small business retailers win moire business, every day.

Aussie POS software for rural supplies businesses helps better serve rural communities.

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This POS software from Tower Systems has been developed specifically for rural supplies businesses.

Using it can save time, improve the speed and quality of business decisions, cut mistakes and help you make the business more valuable.

From selling by weight to offering buy-now-pay-later to website integration to including product care and use instructions on receipts, this software serve rural supply businesses well.

It software offers seamless supplier integrations for things like electronic invoices and stock files.

Order management is a breeze with picking slips, order editing ability and automatic invoice emailing to customers.

Developed in Australia for Australian businesses and supported by our local Melbourne-based support team, this software helps you leverage being local. It helps rural supplies businesses to connect, serve and promote local. It is the quintessential local software for rural supplies businesses and produce businesses.

Our rural supplies / produce software also offers:

  1. Advising on product use to local conditions.
  2. Sharing reminders based on product purchases.
  3. Including product use and care instructions.
  4. Adding value beyond what big competitors might offer.
  5. Quotation facility where you quote ahead of winning business.
  6. Selling by weight.
  7. Tagging hazardous goods.
  8. Group discounts, where members of a local group loyal to you save money.
  9. Easy loading of electronic invoices from your suppliers.
  10. Linking to a website for online sales.
  11. Handling special orders, where you order items in for a specific customer.
  12. Linking to Xero to cut bookkeeping and external accounting costs.
  13. Rewarding loyal shoppers with points and / or cash off their next purchase.

This is specialty software for locally owned and family run specialty rural supplies businesses. It is mature, robust and fit for purpose for these businesses. Ideal thanks to input from people already using the software, for which we are most grateful.

How our Shopify connected POS software helps small business retailers sell online

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Tower Systems launched its POS software – Shopify interface more than two years ago. Back at the time a competitor mocked the move, which we thought was ignorant of them. We have the last laugh with them recently completing their Shopify interface

What we offered then and continue to offer today is direct integration between our small business POS software and Shopify.

It is beautiful, fast, easy to use, accurate and two-way. This is an integration that helps small business retailers compete online. We are proud of what we launched in 2016 and proud of what it has evolved to become and the businesses we help every day.

Here is information abut the Tower Systems POS software Shopify link:

What is Shopify?

Shopify is one of the easiest ways to setup and run an ecommerce store. We think it provides you with the ideal place to create you first website and gain experience in the world of ecommerce. You have complete control over the look and feel of your online store and can instant access fantastic look themes to reflect the personality of your business. For more information visit www.shopify.com.au.

What is the Retailer to Shopify Link?

The Tower Systems Retailer POS software to Shopify Link uses the Tower Advantage Link platform to allow Retailer to connect directly to your Shopify store. The Tower Advantage Link platform is a subscription-based service that acts as an intermediary between Retailer and the Shopify API.

How does the link work?

The link works by using the TALink platform platform to connect to the shopify API and synchronise your data.

Stock. Retailer is your master stock database. You flag what stock items you want to appear on your shopify store. Descriptions and extended descriptions are added as your titles and descriptions in Shopify. Newly flagged products are automatically added and if you edit items in Retailer you have field level control over how these are handled in Shopify.

Department and Categories. Your Retailer Departments and Categories become collections in Shopify. You can have a chose of either Department level collections or category level, but not both. If you choose to synchronise either a department or category, your existing structure will be mirrored and managed in Shopify automatically. If, however, you decide not link your Department and Categories in Shopify, you can allocate collections manually to products once they are added.

Classifications. Shopify does not have a mechanism to manage classifications.

Prices and Quantity On Hand. You have control over your webstore pricing from within the Retailer Stock Screen. Bulk updates of the webstore prices can be performed in Stock Manager. Once new prices are set, your web store is updated automatically.

Quantity on hand is also managed automatically, when your sell or arrive an item into stock these adjustments are sent directly to Shopify. If the quantity on hand of an items drops to 0, the item is marked as out of stock in Shopify.

Images. The images you set against stock items in Retailer are automatically uploaded to your website. If images change, then old one is removed and the new one is added. You can upload as many images as you like per stock item.

Customers. Customers that purchase off your webstore are added as customers in your Retailer database, allowing you to track what they buy and market to them if you desire. Existing customers with an email address will also be added to your web store to facilitate easy sales if you choose.

Sales. Sales are downloaded on a periodic basis and imported into Retailer. They are imported into our Customer Invoice Maintenance facility allowing you to place orders and print invoices if needed. Once sales are imported it reduces your quantity on hand so you maintain accurate stock control. Sales can be allocated to a specific location or merged to you main sales data, giving you excellent control over how you report on your webstore sales.

I don’t have a website but want one. Can Tower help?

Yes! We are expert in POS software and web store development and deployment.

Helping indie retailers pitch 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. Our POS software can help.

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.

Our POS software co. also develops small business websites for best-practice e-commerce

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We are grateful to have two software development teams in our business, one continually enhancing our awesome small business POS software and the other developing beautiful and valuable websites for small business retailers.

We have just expanded our web development team to help us keep up with demand while we last month added to our POS software development team.

Our commitment is to providing small business local retailers in Australia and New Zealand solutions to their specialty retail needs in-store and online. we do this by offering off the shelf specialty POS software in selected marketplaces.

All our websites are developed from scratch using tools well respected around the world, tools such as Magento and Shopify. We ave experience enhancing these offerings to provide retailers with facilities that are unique, valuable and powerful beyond what you see out of the box.

Our small business website development starts with a comprehensive consultation process, to ensure we understand d the needs and agree these with our customers. Too often with offshore web development this is not done and fixing a site from afar is problematic.

The Tower web team is also skilled at SEO and SEM services that help raise the website rankings in key search engines, ensuring the site is found ahead of others.

But best of all, Tower Systems provides professional advice and guidance to small business retailers keen to build their online presence. Our commitment is honest transparent advice on which any small business retailer can rely.

The Tower Systems web development team is Australian based, working out of the company’s head office in Hawthorn. This is important as many web development businesses are overseas. While you might have a locally based contact person development too often is done overseas, leading to challenges with delivery and usefulness.

Professional web development takes time. Time has a per hour cost. IT professionals are paid well. Going for the cheapest price for website development could mean that you have gone with a business that cuts corners or has most of the work done offshore.

Since your website is your business calling card to the world it is not something to cut corners with, it is not something to take offshore for a saving today. A good source of business for us is replacing offshore developed sites.

Starts today in Perth: web connected POS software workshops

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INVITATION: FREE small business retailer workshop.

How to create, promote and run a successful online business from any shop through our POS software, anywhere in Australia

  1. See, live, real websites for various types of businesses.
  2. Learn how they work and how to keep them fresh.
  3. Discover how to find new shoppers hours away from your shop.
  4. See how Facebook plays a role in driving online and in-store success through love examples.
  5. Understand the vital connection between POS software and websites.

Join us for a practical, jargon-free, workshop where we show the value of our Aussie developed and supported POS software and website solutions. See awesome POS software and successful websites for your type of business.

  1. Perth – August 20.  10am. Click here to book.
  2. Sydney – August 21. 8am. Click here to book.
  3. Brisbane – August 22.  8am. Click here to book.
  4. Adelaide – August 23. 9am. Click here to book.
  5. Canberra – August 24. 9am. Click here to book.
  6. Hobart – August 27. 10am. Click here to book.
  7. Melbourne – August 28.  10am. Click here to book.
  8. Newcastle – August 29. 9am. Click here to book.

At this free workshop we will…

  1. Show how a good website / POS solution can land more shoppers in your physical shop, more than you think, and help you sell 24/7.·
  2. Explain how to get to the top Google results, and stay there
  3. Show how to use Facebook to drive online and in-store sales. We will share invaluable free social media advice.
  4. Talk you through key steps to website success through live examples.
  5. Share practical experience on order fulfilment using Australia Post and others and how to handle freight costs.
  6. Explain payment options and how to leverage them for more sales.
  7. Work through the commercial implications.
  8. Explain photos, descriptions and things web experts often miss.·
  9. Answer all your questions.

We offer solutions for retailers in these channels: giftsjewellersbikestoysfishing/outdoorsgarden centrespet shopsproducefirearms, adult shops and newsagents.

Best-practice produce rural supplies business POS software

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Tower Systems is grateful to serve many produce and rural supplies businesses in a variety of situations, sizes and shapes with our produce store software. It is powerful, diverse in function and beneficial in many situations.

Frank hopped out of the truck, placed his order at the counter, paid, had a short chat about the weather and then drove to pick-up where the goods were ready for collection.

Kath called ahead with her order and drove through pick-up to collect the goods, without leaving the ute.

Angelo placed his order on the website at 11pm, from his city apartment, when he remembered he was running short of feed down at his weekend farm. It was delivered ready for his arrival the next weekend.

Penny rang for help with concerns about a crop. She was thrilled to receive a special mix the next day, along with instructions on the delivery docket.

Every day, rural supply businesses serve customers like Frank, Kath, Angelo and Penny, providing personal service based on years of local experience. Specialist rural supplies businesses need specialist software to serve these types of needs.

From managing the sale of bulky goods to respecting risks of hazardous materials to providing meaningful delivery dockets to managing special orders, the rural supplies / produce business software from Tower Systems is tailored to serve.

An asset of your business is that you are a local expert on local crops, common local farm animals and more. You can promote your expert local knowledge through local notes on receipts.

Automatically, receipts, invoices and delivery dockets can include locally relevant information. This free information pitches your business as different to an online shop or a big business that is less focussed on personal service.

Another way we can help maximise sales is with smart shopper engagement. This is where you easily leverage customer data to reach out with reminders.

Using rules that you control, you can send an email or letter to shoppers based on seasons or other potential relevant local purchase triggers. Experience shows that such contact leads to purchases.

Smart shopper engagement starts with accurate business data, captured at the point of sale and backed by tech that helps you leverage this.

Our rural supplies / produce software also offers:

  1. Quotation facility where you quote ahead of winning business.
  2. Selling by weight.
  3. Reporting on hazardous goods when these are supplied.
  4. Group discounts, where members of a local group loyal to you save money.
  5. Easy loading of electronic invoices from your suppliers.
  6. Linking to a website for online sales.
  7. Handling special orders, where you order items in for a specific customer.
  8. Linking to Xero to cut bookkeeping and external accounting costs.
  9. Rewarding loyal shoppers with points and / or cash off their next purchase.

See the software live. Contact us for an obligation free demonstration: Please call our sales team at 1300 662 957 or email them at sales@towersystems.com.au.

This software is affordable. You can purchase the software outright, lease it or rent it. You can use it in your business loaded on local computers or in the cloud. How you purchase and access the software is 100% up to you.

Supported by humans, in Australia. Our help desk is in Hawthorn, Victoria. Everyone who works on the help desk has experience in retail. To access the help desk you can call, email, post a Facebook message Tweet or text us.

Training is personal. We come to your business and train you in the software. The training is tailored to your specific needs. Like I said, training is personal. Long after we install, you have access to one on one training, at no additional cost.

Best practice approach to web connected POS software for small business retailers

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As well as offering POS software designed for your specific type of business, Tower Systems provides websites seamlessly connected to the shop floor, giving you a single management view.

We develop websites for our customers, in Magento, Shopify or WooCommerce.

Our websites are POS software connected, offering 24/7 selling with payments through PayPal, Oxipay (interest free buy now pay later) and credit cards.

Our websites leverage online purchases as well as click and collect. They also drive basket depth with up-sell options and handling coupons for special deals.

If you are in a banner group or a marketing group, we can provide a single website to represent all stores in the group. We do this today for one group, through five websites we created – each easily found through Google thanks to our SEO work.

Each store in a banner or marketing group gets their own page, which they can easily promote. For a single business, the POS connected website promotes their business.

We know from experience that:

  1. In some businesses, around 75% of key in-store purchases have an online search component. POS connected websites are important for winning online sales and even more important for driving in-store purchases.
  2. 45% of purchases in many categories are when retail shops are closed.
  3. 10% of purchases are click and collect in higher-end product categories.
  4. 14% of purchases are done with buy now pay later financing.
  5. Shoppers like certainty that a store will have in stock they want to purchase – stock on hand by item can be viewable for each store.

We can network stores from a banner or marketing group into a single website. Thereby leveraging the power of the group of independently owned small businesses to be stronger and more useful than a big business competitor. This is how small businesses can win online.

Let us show you how together we can do this, how we can bring single stores online as well as whole groups online … through webstore connected POS software.

Not only do we create the website and the POS software, we ensure they can be found. This is key as a website that cannot be easily found through Google is a waste of money.

We would love to show individuals privately or members of your group, if you are in a group, the POS software connected websites we have created. We would take you behind the curtain, showing not only the tech. but explaining the business approach, outlining what we have done to create successful online businesses.

Fulfilment can be a challenge. We can help here too thanks to our integration work with Australia Post, Sendle and others. We can help you reduce friction with fulfilment and see you benefit from incremental online business.

Online is about a race to the cash. By this we mean that an online shopper is more likely to be ready to purchase. The first business to take their cash wins. This is where POS integrated websites can win. We can show you how.

The latest release of our POS software introduces a web dashboard to help in-store online sales fulfilment. This, coupled with inventory integration, accurate stock on hand data, professional image handling and smart SEO work helps you create and run an efficient, integrated physical and online business.

Whether you run a single store or operate as part of a marketing or banner group, Tower Systems has a track record of success you can leverage for your success. Let us show you how.

How to choose the right POS software for your specialty retail business

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Serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in several countries, Tower Systes has a wealth of experience in advising retailers, especially in switching retailers from software not ideal to circumstances.

Here is an article we recently wrote to help small business retailers navigate their POS software choices…

HOW TO CHOOSE POS SOFTWARE FOR YOUR INDEPENDENT RETAIL BUSINESS.

The POS software you choose for your business is an important decision. Get it right and the business could prosper and become considerably more valuable. Get it wrong and it could cost you plenty.

In thinking about the software you want, think about your business. Here are some headline level thoughts and suggestions.

  1. If you see your business as specialist in nature, the software you choose should be specialist.
  2. If part of your business pitch is to shop local, choosing locally made and supported software supports your pitch. Local software is software made and supported in Australia.
  3. If you want to be known as the local specialist, you need software that helps you do this consistently and effectively.
  4. If you do repairs or maintenance of any sort, you need software that can handle this.
  5. If you sell items bundled such as a rod, reel and line pack, you need software that can handle this.
  6. If you are in a tourist area and sell to people once, or once a year, you need software with loyalty facilities to maximise their rare visits to your shop.
  7. If you sell products by weight, you need software that can do this.

Think about these things and think about what you want in software in your business to help you stand out.

There are many generic and cheap point of sale systems in the marketplace. Price does matter. You would know that in your business. Think about the shopper who wants a full kit but says they want the cheapest. Think about your advice to them. If you say price does matter and that you get what you pay for, the same is true with retail business software.

A small higher price today for the right software could save many times the gap between it and cheap generic software.

So, work out what you want. This must come first, ahead of any budget.

Given that you can lease or even rent software, the capital cost is best assessed as a weekly cost on the business. This makes comparing systems easier. Once you work out the weekly cost and tote up what you get for this in terms of support serves and software functionality you can reasonable compare the different systems.

If you are not sure whether a software package will serve your needs, don’t choose it. You are better off saying no than fighting with the software and the supplier to get it working exactly as you want. However, it is likely that you will need to change some business processes to suit the software you do ultimately choose.

Be flexible. Once you have chosen software, follow the advice provided by the software company and the expert they send to your business to train you. If they suggest changes to your business processes, embrace them. While changing what you do can be frustrating, software designed specifically independent specialty retail businesses is specialist in nature and it does what it does based on years of development and feedback from many customers.

Be disciplined. Software is like a machine. It needs the right fuel. For software, that fuel is data. Ensure everyone in your business is disciplined in how the software is used. From the moment stock comes into the business to when it is sold. Track it. This will help you make better business decisions.

Be engaged. Your software company will want a two-way relationship If you have suggestions, share them Play a role in the continued evolution of the software. This helps you and other businesses in your channel.

Save time. The right software will help you eliminate manual processes. Embrace these opportunities as much as possible. Time saved is time you can invest in yourself or in the business. Seek time saving opportunities out.

Be realistic. Any new software will be a challenge. Know that you will have some rough days learning the new things. Accept these by focussing on the main goal of enjoyment and efficiency once you know the software well.

The software you choose reflects your business. Take your time. Be certain about what you want. Invest well and the right software will easily pay for itself.

Free web connected POS software workshop

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INVITATION: FREE small business retailer workshop.

How to create, promote and run a successful online business from any shop through our POS software, anywhere in Australia

  1. See, live, real websites for various types of businesses.
  2. Learn how they work and how to keep them fresh.
  3. Discover how to find new shoppers hours away from your shop.
  4. See how Facebook plays a role in driving online and in-store success through love examples.
  5. Understand the vital connection between POS software and websites.

Join us for a practical, jargon-free, workshop where we show the value of our Aussie developed and supported POS software and website solutions. See awesome POS software and successful websites for your type of business.

  1. Perth – August 20.  10am. Click here to book.
  2. Sydney – August 21. 8am. Click here to book.
  3. Brisbane – August 22.  8am. Click here to book.
  4. Adelaide – August 23. 9am. Click here to book.
  5. Canberra – August 24. 9am. Click here to book.
  6. Hobart – August 27. 10am. Click here to book.
  7. Melbourne – August 28.  10am. Click here to book.
  8. Newcastle – August 29. 9am. Click here to book.

At this free workshop we will…

  1. Show how a good website / POS solution can land more shoppers in your physical shop, more than you think, and help you sell 24/7.·
  2. Explain how to get to the top Google results, and stay there
  3. Show how to use Facebook to drive online and in-store sales. We will share invaluable free social media advice.
  4. Talk you through key steps to website success through live examples.
  5. Share practical experience on order fulfilment using Australia Post and others and how to handle freight costs.
  6. Explain payment options and how to leverage them for more sales.
  7. Work through the commercial implications.
  8. Explain photos, descriptions and things web experts often miss.·
  9. Answer all your questions.

We offer solutions for retailers in these channels: giftsjewellersbikestoysfishing/outdoorsgarden centrespet shopsproducefirearms, adult shops and newsagents.

Tower Systems helps retailers choose the right POS software

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We are grateful for the opportunity to share insights and advice for small business retailers in another trade journal with our article: Choosing Retail Software For Your Business.

Commissioned by the editor of the business magazine, the article shares valuable advice for any retail business on how to choose the right software, questions to ask, processes to follow. It is a marketing pitch free article that we hope benefits plenty of retailers.

Leveraging years of experience with specialty small business retailers in a host of channels, Tower Systems is able to provide advice useful to many as they navigate their next POS software choices. As our business motto says: we’re here to help.

Small business retailers love unlimited free POS software training

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Tower Systems offers its POS software customers unlimited one-on-one training.

The unlimited free one-on-one training is very popular with our software users. However, as these things go, only around 20% of our users take up the opportunity.

We thought you might be interested in some of the topics people have asked us to cover in this very personal training: Here is a partial list of topics requested:

  1. Can you review how I put stock in to try and reduce mistakes and streamline what we do?
  2. My stock is in a mess. Can you help me with a plan to get it right?
  3. Please show us how to do the end of shift 100% using the software.
  4. How can I put marketing messages on receipts based on what people purchase in a transaction?
  5. Can you please audit my system, looking for possible employee theft?
  6. I want to start selling items by bundles, can you please show me how to do it?
  7. The software has lots of loyalty facilities and I cannot work out the best one for me. Can you talk each one through with me?
  8. Can you please log in and show me how to setup and run discount vouchers?
  9. I have a new staff member starting and I want them to take over ordering stock. Can you please train them in this?
  10. I just bought the business. Can you please schedule three or four training sessions to bring me up to speed?
  11. My system is slow. Can I schedule a session where we try and find out why?
  12. I am scared of the fast sellers report. Can you please help?
  13. Can I book a session to work out the best two or three reports for my specific type of business?
  14. I want to setup something like a coffee card, which I know the software can do. Can you please train me in this?

To book  free one-on-one training, please email bookings@towersystems.com.au.

There is no limit to how many of these free sessions you have in a year.

Tower Systems is grateful to its community of small business retailers and their keenness to learn abut the software and the benefits that can be be averaged from it.

How to choose the best POS software for your shop beyond what you might think matters

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There are factors you could consider when comparing POS software packages and POS software companies beyond what you might think are the important points of comparison. The factors to which we refer here are those people tend to not consider, factors often overlooked. These can be differentiating factors for you. Some may matter, others may not.

  1. Retail experience. Tower Systems owns and runs several retail businesses and has done since 1996. These shops provide us live test sites where we can experiment. They have helped us develop points of difference workflow and functionality that would not have been achievable had we not owned these businesses. Our shops provide us with a reference point. They also offer us places where we can train our customers and demonstrate our software where we use it to the fullest for efficient and successful business operation.
  2. Democracy. Too often POS software companies choose the content of software updates based on what they think matters, paying little attention to what customers want. For years, Tower Systems has offered a transparent process for customers to suggest software enhancements and other customers to vote on these suggestions. Most software update content is determined by the voting by customers on these customer suggestions. The process is transparent and 100% customer driven. It si a rare approach in POS software development.
  3. Learning. Too often POS software companies pack all their training into when the software is installed and setup. In our experience this fails retailers as they only know what they need to learn usually some months into working with new software. Ensuring you have easy and free access to POS software training long after the software is installed matters in our view. It is a critical factor to your long-term enjoyment of the software.
  4. Escalation. Every retail business at some point is unhappy with an aspect of the POS software they have chosen or a help desk call experience. It happens. What matters most is how such situations are handled. It is important to understand if a POS software company you are considering has an escalation process. Get them to take you through it for you to be comfortable that if things do go wrong you have points accessible where you can have issues resolved.
  5. Seeing what you do not see. Some POS software companies sell and support software and stop there. others, like Tower Systems, offer to go beyond through business performance analysis services. A Tower Systems business expert can analyse your business data and provide their view of insights revealed in the data. Often, we find the experience shines light on parts on actions the business owner either ignored or was not aware of.

Tower Systems in an Australian based POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the broader pacific region. The company makes what it sells and it supports what it sells.

Tower Systems only sells to small business retailers. This ensures our focus is not drawn by the needs of one very large client over another. In our world, all our clients are equal.

Find out more about what we do: Visit www.towersystems.com.au.

How to choose the best POS software for your shop based on business efficiency

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Time matters in any business but especially in small business retail and independent retail where staffing is usually tight. You want things done efficiently to benefit the business and the customers of the business.

In considering the right POS software for your business you need to consider the efficiency of each POS software package you look at as there is a vast difference in the efficiency of different systems in the marketplace.

Efficiency includes how things are done, the number of keystrokes involved, the ease of using a facility, the confidence of using a facility and more. Ultimately, efficiency is about the efficient use of labour in your business and the efficient flow of shoppers in your business.

Inefficient software will have you pressing too many keystrokes or have you process in a way that does not match best-practice workflow for a task.

Efficient software wills save time, improve shopper throughput and offer the business opportunities to cut labour costs without negatively impacting services.

Our suggestion is that you test efficiency by looking at several labour intensive parts of your business. Look at each and how you operate today. Put together several scenarios for each with real business data you use in each scenario and ask each software company you are considering to demonstrate how the software handles each. Assess each based on efficiency.

We suggest you consider looking at the efficiency of any or all of these:

  1. Over the counter sales.
  2. LayBy handling.
  3. Arriving a new supplier invoice.
  4. Undertaking a stock take.
  5. The end of shift process.
  6. Reporting on the comparison of two trading periods.

Judging efficiency requires you to look at the software. Not a consultant, not a friend, but you. You need to determine that the software is efficient to the needs of your business. Getting this right is a big win for the business operationally and financially.

Tower Systems in an Australian based POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the broader pacific region. The company makes what it sells and it supports what it sells.

Tower Systems only sells to small business retailers. This ensures our focus is not drawn by the needs of one very large client over another. In our world, all our clients are equal.

Find out more about what we do: Visit www.towersystems.com.au.

How to choose the best POS software for your shop based on integrations

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Integrations in POS software are the facilities to which your POS software connects. These could be web based services, suppliers, hardware and more. All good POS software packages have integrations as no one system does everything itself. Integrations offer you flexibility.

A good integration can be far better than something home grown.  For example, some POS software companies want you to connect POS software to websites based on technology they have developed. The best practice approach is to connect (integrate) your POS software with websites developed in world class platforms such as Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce. Integrating to any or, preferably, all of these offer more flexibility to the retailer than an integration to a locally developed, and often little used, web solution.

Choosing POS software that is flexible with integrations and that offers a host of integrations is good for your business. Integrations such as:

  1. EFTPOS handling through Tyro.
  2. EFTPOS handing through any bank.
  3. Linking to third-party loyalty tools for marketing group members.
  4. Linking to third-party loyalty tools for broader loyalty option offerings.
  5. Easy selling of fishing licences.
  6. Easy selling of toll road access.
  7. Easy selling of mobile phone recharge.
  8. Scales, for selling by weight.
  9. Web such as Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce.
  10. Linking to multiple stock take devices.
  11. Linking to multiple scanners.
  12. Sales data feed to engaged suppliers for auto replenishment.
  13. Inbound processing of supplier invoices to eliminate manual data entry.
  14. Connecting to a business intelligence platform to facilitate officiate business performance analysis.
  15. Fuel pumps for managing fuel dispensing.

It is important you come to your consideration of POS software for your business with knowledge of the integrations that are important to you and will be valuable for your business. Talk to suppliers and others to determine this list for you. It is far better to have this information before you start considering PO software than after you have installed a system.

Tower Systems in an Australian based POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the broader pacific region. The company makes what it sells and it supports what it sells.

Tower Systems only sells to small business retailers. This ensures our focus is not drawn by the needs of one very large client over another. In our world, all our clients are equal.

Find out more about what we do: Visit www.towersystems.com.au.

How to choose the best POS software for your shop based on software services

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Choosing the right POS software for your retail business involves you understanding your business needs and considering these in the context of what a software package will help with. This is a most important aspect of choosing POS software you will be happy with.

In determining your needs think not only personally, talk with others in the business, consider the software services, software facilities, which they consider important. While you are doing this, consider each need based on its importance for you will have to in some parts of the business compromise what you do to fit with what the software you choose does.

It is important you not assume anything. For example, you may have a need in your business to be able to manage a repairs facility. It would not be enough to ask if a software package handles repairs. You should take the time to assess the repairs facilities in the context of the services you provide as what the software does and what you need could be two different things.

You also need to contemplate how you work. For example, every POS software program helps you sell items at the counter. There is a considerable difference between POS software programs in terms of how they help you sell items at the counter. Some have counter services that are flexible, able to be tailored to different business needs while others are rigid in ways that could adversely impact counter workflow and thereby impact shopper satisfaction.

It is important to contemplate whether there is software already designed for your specific type of retail business. If so, this could be a better starting point.

While this process seems time-consuming, the result will be a choice for software that is better suited to the needs of your business.

What are the services you need covered in your business? Get this right early in your process and you will benefit immensely.

Tower Systems in an Australian based POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers in Australia, New Zealand and the broader pacific region. The company makes what it sells and it supports what it sells.

Tower Systems only sells to small business retailers. This ensures our focus is not drawn by the needs of one very large client over another. In our world, all our clients are equal.

Find out more about what we do: Visit www.towersystems.com.au.

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