Video: money making retail business performance insights direct from our POS software
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POS software knowledge base expanded in service of local retailers
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Every week we enhance our POS software knowledge base, one of the online resources available to our customers. Through a commitment to writing new content, thorough peer review and engaging with customer feedback, we deliver access to a terrific training resource that is available 24 hours a day.
This knowledge base is in addition to our extensive video training library, which is also enhanced regularly.
In the last few days we have delivered more enhancements and announced these to our customers:
- Product Level Blocking: https://help.towersystems.com.au/portal/en/kb/articles/product-level-blocking-plb-weblink
- Change staff initials on sale: https://help.towersystems.com.au/portal/en/kb/articles/change-staff-initials-on-a-sale
- Changing details on Stock items: https://help.towersystems.com.au/portal/en/kb/articles/changing-details-on-stock-items
- Why are emails not sending:
https://help.towersystems.com.au/portal/en/kb/articles/why-are-my-emails-not-sending - Help with epay issues: https://help.towersystems.com.au/portal/en/kb/articles/common-epay-issues
- How to change various parts of Stock item details: https://help.towersystems.com.au/portal/en/kb/articles/changing-details-on-stock-items
The Tower Systems knowledge base is a comprehensive online resource designed to help Tower Systems POS users get the most out of their software. It contains a vast collection of articles, tutorials, and FAQs covering a wide range of topics, from basic setup to advanced features. That it can be ac messed from anywhere at any time makes it useful for offline learning, away from the shop for those who find this useful.
The knowledge base is easily searchable and features categorised topics for easy navigation. Additionally, it provides step-by-step tutorials and answers to frequently asked questions.
To get the most out of the knowledge base, users can utilize the search function, explore categories, read related articles, and contact Tower Systems support if needed. By using the knowledge base, users can save time, learn at their own pace, and improve their understanding of Tower Systems POS software.
We invite POS software customers to suggest knowledge base article topics. We also review knowledge base search requests, looking for any that are not covered by current articles.
Our knowledge base is an evolving resource that our customers interact with daily. Enhancing it helps us and it helps our customers.
Tower Systems serves local independent small business retailers. As small businesses, efficient use of the software is key. The knowledge base and other training and support resources are key in helping these retailers leverage good value from their investment.
Retail transformation in Launceston Tasmania: newsXpress Prospect Marketplace
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What a thing to talk with Ravi about the transformation of his local retail business:
A website for your retail business could be a perfect plan b
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Too often retailers think a website connected with their shop needs to reflect what they sell in the shop. While this can often work, it is not essential.
There are plenty of retailers, including local small business retailers, who run websites from the back of their shop, using the resources of the shop without additional overheads.
There are retailers who started this way, with a website as a completely different business, who then discovered that the products sold through this other business could also sell in their shop.
We know of one retailer who stumbled across the opportunity when unpacking goods for the website they ran from the back office. A customer noticed the items being unpacked, items you’d never expect to see even in an innovative retail business. Soon enough this retailer had a section for these products in the shop and attracted a whole new range of shoppers as a result.
We know of another retailer who let a friend use spare space at the back of the shop to run a new online business. Soon enough the two were working together offering the online products in the shop once they discovered that something they never considered would work worked a treat.
A website connected with your retail business could be a perfect way to explore what you could sell. That a website can easily reach many more times the people your shop reaches, it is easier to experiment. That it is new means you can experiment outside any boundaries you impose upon yourself in your shop.
This approach of experimenting completely outside what you do in your shop today is what we call a plan b., It’s you experimenting in pursuit of fresh traffic and revenue for your business, through which you might find a financially rewarding path beyond what the physical shop currently offers.
Websites are easy to setup and run, they can evolve too, as you learn more of what can sell.
By all means offer what you have in your shop online. Think, too, about the opportunities of playing completely outside what you do today and through this attracting revenue from shoppers you will never see and from products you thought you would never carry.
Connecting your website to your retail business software is easy, offering one place for managing all inventory and all sales. This is time and labour efficient. It also protects against theft.
Tower Systems creates beautiful POS software connected websites for retailers in all sorts of local retail situations.
Choosing the right POS software for your local indie retail business
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Selecting Point of Sale (POS) software appropriate to the business is a critical decision for any independent, small retail business. A well-chosen system can significantly enhance your business’s value and prosperity, while a poor choice can be costly.
To make an informed decision, it’s essential to carefully consider your business’s unique characteristics.
- Specialisation: If your business caters to a specific niche, seek out POS software designed for similar businesses.
- Local Focus: If supporting local businesses is a core value, consider locally developed and supported POS solutions.
- Expertise: To establish yourself as a local specialist, your POS system should facilitate efficient and consistent service delivery.
- Services: If you offer repair or maintenance services, your software should accommodate these functions.
- Product Bundling: For businesses selling bundled items, the POS system must effectively manage these configurations.
- Customer Retention: If you operate in a tourist area, loyalty programs can be crucial for maximising repeat business.
- Product Weight: If you sell products by weight, your POS system should have this functionality.
By carefully considering these factors, you can identify the specific features and capabilities required in your ideal POS software.
It’s important to remember that while price is a factor, it shouldn’t be the sole determining factor. Just as you advise customers to avoid compromising on quality for price, the same principle applies to POS software. Investing in a higher-quality system upfront can yield significant long-term savings and benefits.
To facilitate comparison, consider the weekly cost of software rather than the upfront investment. This approach allows for a more accurate evaluation of value for money, considering factors such as support services and software functionality.
If you’re uncertain about a particular software package, it’s advisable to explore alternatives. It’s better to decline a system that doesn’t fully meet your needs than to endure ongoing frustrations. However, be prepared to adapt some business processes to align with your chosen software.
Once implemented, it’s crucial to follow the software provider’s recommendations and fully utilise the training provided.Embracing suggested business process changes can optimise the system’s effectiveness.
Data accuracy is essential for successful POS software utilisation. Implement strict data entry procedures to ensure reliable information for decision-making.
Building a strong relationship with your software provider can be mutually beneficial. Sharing feedback and suggestions can contribute to the software’s ongoing development and improvement.
By leveraging your POS system to automate tasks, you can free up valuable time for strategic planning and customer interaction.
Implementing new software can be challenging. Focus on the long-term benefits of increased efficiency and satisfaction once the system is mastered.
Ultimately, the POS software you choose should reflect your business’s identity. Invest time in careful consideration to select a system that aligns with your goals and drives your business forward.
A message for local independent retailers
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The news cycle is dominated by headlines about economic downturn. Daily there are stories about people doing it tough. While these stories can be unsettling, focusing solely on negativity can be counterproductive.
Here at Tower Systems, we understand the importance of fostering a positive and optimistic environment, especially during challenging times and even more especially in local small business retail.
Local retailers can nurture a more positive local tone.
Yes, the economic climate is challenging and complex. That does not mean there aren’t opportunities. Many local businesses have seen positive developments in 2024. There are green shoots. We encourage you to focus on what’s working for your business.
Here are some suggestions:
- Highlight your successes: Showcase new products, host in-store events, and promote exciting developments on social media.
- Maintain a sense of normalcy: Continue providing excellent customer service and keep your store environment upbeat with cheerful music and engaging displays.
- Focus on what you can control: While external factors exist, you have the power to shape your business strategy and customer experience.
We’ve weathered economic downturns before, and each presents unique challenges. While the global situation adds complexity, many local businesses are finding success in this new landscape.
Let’s be proactive, optimistic, and focus on what we can do to build stronger and more resilient businesses. Remember, a positive outlook is contagious, and it can make a real difference in these times.
In out software for local small business retailers there are plenty of opportunities for sharing happiness and optimism with customers from easy to run cash discount offers, positive messages on receipts, bundles offers and event based offers that offer joyful celebration.
By not being part of the doom and gloom news cycle, your local retail business can set its own narrative of positivity that locals are likely to appreciate and respond to.
Our advice this Friday morning is to embrace positivity, look at what you can do to make your shop a haven of joy and happiness, a shop offering value, a place where you can your work colleagues enjoy serving each day. These are differences you can make that themselves will make a difference to you.
Small business retail advice: what’s your exit strategy?
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It’s the big question small business retailers have, often too late in their ownership life of their loan retail business.
What’s your exit strategy?
As a POS software company developing and supporting POS software for local independent retail small businesses, we get to have terrific conversations with retailers. This question of planning for the exit comes up, and it is often years after they bought or started the business, usually is close to when they want to exit.
Our advice is to start planning for your exit from day one. Let this inform your business decisions, to maximise the value you achieve when you do exit – through a better sale price or through having more money in the bank from successful day to day trading in your retail business.
This is what exit planning is all about, making decisions every day that make your your exit is in the terms you want, when you want.
As a POS software company we can help you with business efficiencies, and insights that benefit you in. the day to day. As retailers ourselves we can provide contextual advice to help as well.
here are some practical tips we have seen work well:
Define Your Goals: What does your ideal exit look like? Do you want a lucrative sale, a family succession plan, or a gradual wind-down? Having a clear vision will guide your decision-making. Do this early, so you know.
Set SMART Goals: Once you know your desired outcome, translate it into Specific, Measurable, Achievable,Relevant, and Time-bound goals. For example, a goal might be to “increase net profit margin by 5% within the next year.” Connect your actions back to evidence curated baby the POS software.
Financials Matter: Maintain clean and organised financial records from POS software through to accounting and more. Touch data with human hands less. Track key metrics like sales trends, inventory levels, and profit margins. Develop realistic financial projections to understand your business’s growth potential.
Invest in Your Team: A strong team is an invaluable asset, this includes you. Empower your employees through training, development opportunities, and a positive work environment. A loyal and skilled team is not only crucial for daily operations but also makes your business more attractive to potential acquirers.
Tower Systems is not your average POS software company. We help local independent retailers thrive through our POS software, customer service and conversations we welcome with any local indie retailer.
EasyEDI from Tower Systems Makes Invoicing a Breeze for Suppliers and a Time Saver for Retailers
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Tired of endless paperwork getting between you and your retail customers? We hear you! At Tower Systems, we know your time is precious. That’s why we created easyEDI, an absolute game-changer for sending invoices electronically.
Retailers rejoice! No more manually entering data or chasing down invoices. easyEDI delivers invoices straight to your inbox, saving you heaps of time and money. Plus, say goodbye to typos and errors – electronic invoices are super accurate.
Suppliers, take note! Standing out in today’s competitive market is key. By offering easyEDI’s slick electronic invoicing,you’ll become the supplier retailers love to work with. Win more business and keep your customers happy!
Here’s the easyEDI magic:
- Xero approved! Seamlessly integrates with your existing Xero accounting software – no need to learn a new system.
- Get started in minutes! Setting up easyEDI is a breeze. You’ll be sending invoices like a pro in no time.
- Flexible file formats: Choose between CSV or DD2 files, perfect for newsagencies and card/gift stores.
- Unleash the power! Link easyEDI with the popular Unleashed inventory system for even better efficiency.
- Customise your invoices: Include barcodes and recommended retail prices (RRPs) for an extra edge.
- Affordable and transparent: Pay a flat fee of $55 a month, which includes 500 invoices. Need more? Each extra invoice is only 12 cents.
- No lock-in contracts: Sign up today, try it out, and see the difference. You can cancel anytime.
Tower Systems: Champions of Local Businesses
We serving Aussie retailers, small business retailers, local retailers. Our POS software is made for them, as is our easyEDI platform. We saw a need and made a solution to fill it.
While electronic invoices have been around for decades, many suppliers are yet to embrace the opportunity for their retail business customers. This easyEDI innovation specifically helps smaller wholesalers to be more of service to their retail business customers. It makes them more appealing to these customers.
If you use Xero in your wholesale business, easyEDI is easy to setup and use. You can be sending your first invoice in minutes. Retailers will thank you for this.
Tower Systems first engaged in EDI (electronic data interchange) invoice creation by developing standards that were adopted for the Australian newsagency channel more than thirty years ago. Those standards formed the basis of file formats in use ion that channel today.
Tower Systems currently serves 3,000+ local independent retailers in Australia and New Zealand across 16 different retail channels.
Ready to join the easyEDI revolution? Head over to easyEDI and get started today!
13 Ways Local Retailers Can Boost Sales And Profits In Challenging Economic Times
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If you or a retailer you know are finding economic conditions tough for your business you can complain, do nothing or make changes. Only one of these has any hope of improving the situation. My advice is to pursue change every time.
Here are 13 free and easy to implement action items any local small business retailer could consider to improve their situation.
- Engage everyone in the shop. Let all team members know how the business is going, what it needs and why. Agree on achievable goals and steps to take in pursuing them. Track results openly. Keep communicating.
- Declutter. If business is down and it’s getting to you, spend a day or two decluttering. Typically, the act of decluttering helps you see positive moves you can make in the business. Do this yourself. Make those moves.
- Quit dead stock. What is dead will depend on your type of shop. For some, it will be stock that has not sold in 6 months while for others it will be stock that has not sold for 2 years. Dead stock wastes space, time and ties up cash. Anything you get for it is better than the daily cost of your dead stock today. And, in quitting, do it in 2 weeks. If it’s not gone, give it away.
- Reward an additional purchase. Include a coupon on receipts that offers a reward if the customer makes another purchase in a short period of time – we suggest 7 days. While loyalty points programs focus on the longer-term relationship, the voucher proposed here is all about encouraging purchases sooner. In our software, this is discount vouchers.
- Know what you are missing out on. In a typical shop, the top 5% selling items are out of stock 21% of the time. That is guaranteed revenue missed. Fix it and revenue will increase. Your POS software can easily show what you’re missing. In our software tis is on the Insights Dashboard.
- Support a local community group in return for their members supporting you. Connect with a group that has plenty of members, the community loves and that does good work. Offer their members a discount off purchases and a contribution donation from each purchase value to the group. The goal is to get their members who don’t buy from you buying from you = new customers.
- Have fun on social media. People go to social media to be entertained. Entertain them. Don’t overthink it. Have fun, show your business as a place of fun, share knowledge that differentiates your business.
- Leverage free. Make sure your Google Business and Bing (yes, it’s a thing!) presences are up to date and fun.
- Lower payments costs. Card payments can cost small business retailers between .075% and close to 2%. While you can surcharge customers, switching payments company could save plenty. If you switch, still surcharge tho.
- Email your customers. If you have customer email addresses and know what they have bought, run some targeted email campaigns using this data.
- Review pricing. Most retailers either follow the supplier suggested retail price or a mark-up percentage set many years ago. To determine the price you could sell an item for, ask that question. It could be that the convenience of your location and lack of easy to access competitors means you can sell items for more than is usual. If this is the case, do it. Most POS software makes it easy to make these price adjustments.
- Talk to your suppliers. If you are finding it tough it is likely your suppliers are too. Ask if they have deal prices to move inventory. If they do and it is inventory you can easily sell, grab it for bonus margin.
- Set your shop right. Make sure that your shop is guiding shoppers to spend, and spend more:
- Inside the front door: Have a new display weekly. Bright. Optimistic. Fun. Unexpected.
- At the counter: Pitch items people will easily purchase on impulse. Items that achieve the best performance and items they did not expect to see at your counter.
- Have a scent: Incense, a candle – introduce a scent people like.
- Have a sound: Play happy music people will know and sing along to.
- If it is cold outside, make your shop warm.
- If it is warm outside, make your shop cooler.
- Move: Move at least one product category each week. This gives the shop a feeling of change.
My POS software company, Tower Systems, makes and supports POS software for local specialty retailers in Australia and New Zealand. I also own and runs shops.
I share practical advice like covered here because I love helping local independent retailers thrive.
Mark Fletcher
Managing Director
Tower Systems International (Aust) Pty Ltd
ABN 61 007 009 752
M | 0418 321 338 E | mark@towersystems.com.au
Sales: 1300 662 957 sales@towersystems.com.au
First published: June 27, 2024.
Retail transformation: one of our own shops
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In this video we discuss the transformation of one of our shops, another place where we get to play with our POS software for guidance on how to run a more valuable shop. We are grateful to have this point of difference:
Local retail business advice: small is beautiful
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Hi, my name is Mark Fletcher, I am Managing Director of Tower Systems. We make POS software for local small business retailers. I have also owned retail businesses since 1996. There is plenty of noise aimed at small business owners to scale, to get big. I wrote this article to comment on that and encourage that small is beautiful. here is my article:
I enjoy working in and on my small businesses each day, more than I might if those businesses were much bigger.
Social media, business books, videos and seminars tell business owners to chase size: more likes, more followers, more customers, more revenue, more profit.
Consultants and gurus applaud people for making businesses that are scalable and replicable.
Influencers celebrate follower milestones and encourage others to join in the race for numbers.
It’s as if size is the only measure of success that matters.
Those encouraging small business owners to chase size are often people who profit from you joining the race. Doing what they exhort may serve their goals more than your own. It’s likely to benefit their interests and not be aligned with those they encourage.
The pressure to chase size doesn’t make sense to me. I see it as the pressure on people to relentlessly pursue being slim or having white teeth or a full head of hair. It’s like being happy with what you have is not an option.
Happiness should be the goal—happiness for the business owners, for those who rely on the business for income, and for the customers of the business.
A small business that is profitable can make more money for the owners than a business pursuing scale, especially if that pursuit involves considerable financial risk.
The emotional cost of taking on a loan to fund growth is considerable. Compare this to a small, debt-free, self-sustaining business.
I’ve only ever owned and run small and barely medium-sized businesses. Along the way, I have encountered many big business competitors. While some have scared me for a time, none has hurt my businesses.
I remember a time, decades ago. A supplier to a specialty retail channel my software company served made a multi-million-dollar investment into a software company. They announced they planned to become the industry standard software. I found out that a customer of ours had allowed programmers from this other company to look at how our software worked and the data structures we used. They appeared to be trying to reverse-engineer some very retail channel–specific facilities we had developed.
I was paralysed with anger as I didn’t have the money to mount a legal challenge. Then, I realised that we were already ahead technically and that we should leverage that advantage to reach even further ahead.
Within a year, the other business was in retreat from the retail channel we dominated.
While it sounds cliché, I learned the value of staying the course, being true to the goal of the business regardless of the scale of a competitor confronting you.
In my experience, small businesses are more nimble, innovative and efficient than big businesses. Typically, they will be more profitable. I suspect this is because everything matters and everything is noticed in a small business, whereas inefficiency can go unnoticed in a big business.
Technology makes it easier for us to do more in our small businesses with less and to do so with less risk.
A benefit of being small is easy differentiation, thanks to your people, their knowledge, and their approach to transacting business. In a big business, such personalisation is systemised to be average and, ultimately, lost.
If you value independence and understand the importance of differentiation through personal service, you’ll probably be happier and more fulfilled running a small to mid-size business than chasing scale.
Don’t be told what to think or do. Reach your own conclusion as to what is right for you.
Local retail management advice: don’t be the shop living in the past
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Hi, my name is Mark Fletcher, the Managing Director of Tower Systems. I recently visited a regional town to talk with an innovative retailer, a newsagent who had transitioned their business way beyond tradition. On the same road was another shop, a newsagency that has not changed with the times, a newsagency that was living in the past. I made a short video about this that you might find interesting.
Retail transformation: the inspiring journey of newsXpress Sarina, QLD
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We are grateful to Shelley and Mark Petersen for the opportunity to discuss their journey from purchasing a traditional newsagency in Sarina, 25 minutes out of Mackay in Queensland and their transformation of the business into a loved gift and homewares destination.
This discussion is a deep dive into how to approach change and thrive in a local retail business in a channel that itself is experiencing considerable change.
Neither Mark or Shelley had experience in this type of business when they bought it in 2001. Today, they are experts because of the experiences they have embraced and continue to embrace.
Their pragmatic approach to business is inspiring. Their success is well deserved. Any retailer watching the video will discover how they can evolve their business in ways Shelley and Mark have.
newsXpress Sarina is seen by plenty as a newsagency and Post Office. While it is those things, it is primarily known in Sarina as the place to shop for gifts and things that will surprise. It’s a business of which Shelley and Mark can be proud.
POS software AI integrations announced to help local small business retailers stay ahead
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We launched our first POS software ChatGPT AI integration 17 months ago now. We are grateful to have kept up to date with AI developments and how they can help local small business retailers to run more successful and efficient businesses. It’s been a ride for sure.
Keeping abreast of AI developments is important. In a recent update we have done this:
Decommissioning of Legacy AI Models: In line with OpenAI’s recent announcement regarding the phased shutdown of several AI models, we have proactively taken steps to ensure a seamless transition for our users. The affected models have been decommissioned from our system to pave the way for more advanced and capable alternatives.
Introduction of New AI Models: We are thrilled to introduce the addition of two groundbreaking AI models to our system:
- GPT-3.5-turbo-instruct: An enhanced version designed to understand and execute instructions more efficiently, providing you with faster and more accurate responses.
- GPT-4: The latest iteration in the GPT series, offering unparalleled AI capabilities with improved understanding, creativity, and contextual awareness.
Of course, there is more work under the hood when it comes to AI and POS software. Our commitment is to help our small business retailer partners to access tools that help them run efficient and forward-leaning businesses.
Being an early-adopter of AI technology for POS software we have experiences on which we can draw. This, and relationships with AI businesses help us play ahead in this space.
Our POS software AI integrations offer practical and smart help to retailers. We back the software facilities with packaged documentation and easy to access stackable training videos. Our goal with these is to demystify the AI side of things to a level that the POS software integration is understood and useful.
Tower Systems is a small business focussed POS software company developing, and supporting POS software for niche specialty retailers. Jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, produce businesses, farm supply businesses, fishing shops, pet shops, charity businesses, landscape gardening businesses, antique shops, sewing shops, haberdashery businesses, newsagents and more benefit from this software.
Find out more at www.towersystems.com.au Call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au
No, retailers don’t have to pay their software supplier a percentage of each sale
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If you are tired of local community group donation requests of your shop, this may help
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Requests from schools, charities, and other local community groups can be a challenging for local small business retailers. They are often made by people who have never shopped with you and may never shop with you.
Guilt is a powerful emotion, and some representing charities and community groups know this. Take a beat and think through how you want to handle such requests in advance of them coming your way. If you have a process you can deal with the requests consistently and with less stress.
Here’s our advice for local small business retailers on handling community group donation requests:
- Manage your philanthropy like any business activity. Decide how much money you’re willing to donate each year, and then stick to that budget.
- Get on the front foot. Write to community groups at the start of the year and ask them to submit a proposal if they’d like your support. This way, you can choose the groups that are a good fit for your business and your community.
- Support the groups that support you. Look for groups that have members who are also your customers. This way, you’re helping both the group and your business.
- Let your shoppers choose. If you offer discount vouchers, you could let customers donate their vouchers to a local group. This is a great way to get your customers involved in your community giving.
- Reward engagement. You could offer a discount to customers who are members of a local group. This would encourage them to shop at your business, and it would also support the group. This is critical advice. There has to be a commercial benefit for your business if you are to be able to help these community groups into the future.
- Educate groups about good engagement. Let groups know that you’re looking for ways to work together to benefit the community. You could ask them to do things like promote your business on their social media pages, or write about you in their newsletters.
- Write about your engagement. Once you’ve chosen the groups you’re going to support, write about it on your website and social media. Don’t be boastful or arrogant, be grateful. This will help to raise awareness of the groups, and it will also show your customers that you’re committed to giving back to the community.
Remember, your giving should serve both your heart and your business. By following these tips, you can make sure that your donations are a valuable investment for both you and your community.
Here are some additional tips:
- Be clear about your expectations. Let groups know what you’re looking for in a partnership, and what you expect from them in return.
- Be professional. Even if you’re dealing with a small community group, it’s important to be professional in your dealings with them.
- Be grateful. When a group partners with you, be sure to thank them for their support.
By following these tips, you can build strong relationships with community groups and make a real difference in your community.
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Why this advice from our POS software company matters: Every day we connect with small business retailers about their businesses, through our help desk, in sales situations and elsewhere. Owning and running a local small business retail shop is challenging, time-consuming. Coming up with fresh ideas is hard. It’s necessary though. The ideas we share here are things we have tried, and found to work.
How local retailers can win more from work from home now we know it’s here to stay
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Work from home is now a permanent fixture of work. What accelerated as a result of the Covid pandemic is here for the long haul. It is so established that there is a generation that only knows this type of work.
Work from home is loved because it frees time for what people love, improved health options and gives those engages in it more control.
This shift in work culture is an opportunity for local retailers to attract and retain customers in their neighbourhoods. By understanding the needs and preferences of a work-from-home (WFH) population, local businesses can become an integral part of their daily lives.
This is true in almost any business type. As a company that makes software for local retailers, we ourselves are invested in helping local retailers leverage the work-from-home opportunity.
Local businesses are themselves a form of work-from-home for many of the retailers. This is an opportunity for those businesses.
Capitalise on Convenience:
People working from home crave convenience. Gone are the days of dedicated lunch breaks and after-work errands. Local retailers can bridge this gap by offering:
- Delivery and Click-and-Collect: Offer delivery partnerships or a click-and-collect service. This allows customers to browse online during breaks and pick up their purchases on their way home. Partnering with delivery apps can further expand your reach.
- Extended Hours: Consider staying open a little later on weekdays to cater to the after-work crowd who might not have had time to shop during the day.
- Services. Copying, emailing, suppliers and more. Depending on the nature of the work and infrastructure required, local retailers can service this.
Embrace the “Workcation” Vibe:
Many WFH professionals are blurring the lines between work and personal life. Local cafes and restaurants can cater to this by providing:
- Comfortable Workspaces: Retailers with space can offer designated work areas with good Wi-Fi, comfortable seating, and access to outlets. Create a “workcation” atmosphere with ambient music and ample natural light. We can see this working in any type of business, not just cafes.
- Meeting Rooms: Provide small meeting rooms that can be booked for video conferences or team brainstorming sessions.
- Loyalty Programs: Reward frequent customers with loyalty programs that offer discounts.
Become a Community Hub:
Working from home can sometimes lead to feelings of isolation. Local retailers can foster a sense of community by:
- Hosting Events: Organise after-work social events, workshops, or networking opportunities. This not only attracts customers but also builds a sense of belonging.
- Partnering with Local Businesses: Collaborate with other local businesses to offer joint promotions or host pop-up shops within your store. This creates a more dynamic shopping experience and fosters a sense of community spirit.
- Supporting Local Causes: Partner with local charities or groups and donate a portion of proceeds or host fundraising events. This builds goodwill and connects you to the heart of your neighbourhood.
Leverage Technology:
Technology plays a crucial role in reaching and engaging with WFH customers:
- Strong Online Presence: Ensure your website that is easy to use on any device. Showcase your products, highlight your services (like delivery or click-and-collect), and ensure your online store reflects current stock levels.
- Social Media Engagement: Be active on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Post content relevant to work-from-home participants.
- Local SEO: Optimise your online presence for local search. Use relevant keywords and make sure your business information is accurate across all online directories.
By embracing the work-from-home trend and adapting their offerings, local retailers can become a natural extension of the lives of their neighbourhood customers. Building strong relationships with your local community and offering convenient, personalised experiences will ensure your business thrives in the era of remote work.
Now, how does our POS software help? Work-from-home has changed what people buy, and when they buy. Our POS software can track and identify this for you. It can also connect to a website for easy shopping by locals.
Our POS software made for local retailers helps them embrace the local work-from-home community.
We are thinking about work-from-home today because where we are, in Victoria, Australia, it is Labour day, the public holiday declared for celebrating the achievement of the 8-hour day by unions. It is a day off related to work.
Small business retail advice on how to reduce the opportunity of ransomware attack
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Ransomware / malware can come in many forms. Every computer connected to a network in any way is at risk. There is no guaranteed protection but there are important steps a business can take. This advice provides advice designed to reduce the risk to your business.
Here is best-practice advice from our POS software company for local small business retailers on ways to protect against Ransomware:
- Ensure you use professional, up to date, virus protection.
- Ensure you have a good firewall with strong settings.
- Do not click on emails or attachments unless you are sure of the sender.
- Be particularly wary of ZIP files in emails.
- The ATO will not email you.
- Your bank will not email you.
- Australia Post will not email you, not like the example I have posted.
- Ensure all passwords you use are strong.
- Consider using an email filtering facility.
- Do not allow remote access to your computer unless you are certain of the person accessing.
- Ensure you have strong passwords. A strong password should include: some CAPS, some numbers and at least one special character. Check your password at: https://howsecureismypassword.net
- Change your password regularly.
- Run an up to date operating system.
- Have rules on computer use: no games, no online gambling, no porn, no personal emails.
- Have an overarching rule: do not open any email or go to any website unless you are certain.
- Use a cloud backup service like the Tower backup service. This provides the fastest recovery.
- Have multiple backup devices for additional protection.
- Do not use automatic file replication programs / facilities such as Dropbox or Google Drive. If a file is encrypted with malware / ransomware it will upload to the account and infect other files.
Most ransomware attacks can be avoided by careful scrutiny of your emails and websites you visit.
Small business retail advice: less is more when it comes to visual noise in your shop
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As retailers ourselves for decades, we have learnt first-hand that less is more works when it comes to visual noise in the shop.
Less signs, posters and other visual blocks can impede retail sales. Here’s our practical, no nonsense approach to reducing visual noise in pursuit of sales growth.
If you give your customers too many things to look at inside or outside your business, they will notice less. Your choices show them what you want them to look at
Less is more. Have less visual noise, less visual pollution, and more will be noticed.
Show your customers what you want them to notice by giving that product, range or display fresh air (visually) around it.
Take a look today, right now, at the visual noise in your shop. It is easy:
Stand at the door of your business facing into the shop and scan around counting the signs you can read and displays you can see.
How many are there?
More messages, more signs = less noticing them.
Yes, less is more.
Here is advice for less visual noise in your business:
- Edit. Every few days stand at the front of the shop and review your signage and edit the mix.
- Posters and signs. Do not put up any poster or sign unless it is absolutely necessary.
- Housekeeping notices. Have all customer notices, such as your exchange policy, discount policy, minimum eftpos charge etc, all in the one unobtrusive place. Neat. Clean.
- Call to action signs. If you have items on sale or discounted, place them all in the one location, a designated sale location in your business, with simple and professional signage.
- Product signs. For product signage in-store, be consistent in style and look. Smaller signs next to products will work better than big signs from the ceiling – how often do your shoppers walk in looking up anyway?
- Colour block. Colour blocked product is more appealing to the eye, it looks less messy, less noisy.
- The counter. Again, edit for clarity, edit for focus on the messages that really matter.
- Be clean. Look for clean sight lines, where your products are the feature. Use products themselves to tell stories.
It is common for retailers to say that shoppers don’t look in the shop. An alternative what to look at this is to say that you are going about trying to catch shopper attention in the wrong way.
Reducing visual noise will improve the experience for your shoppers and for those who work in the business. It will focus everyone on what you decide matters the most right now.
This visual boise advice applied to your front window if you have one. What’s the message? Is it clear? Is it focussed? Is it getting attention on the street? the answers will guide you as to what to do next.
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Thanks to our retail experience, we are able to provide suggestions b beyond the POS software. This is another differentiating factor for us, for which we are sincerely grateful.
Tower Systems helps small business retailers recover EFTPOS costs with an auto-calculated surcharge
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We make it easy for local small business retailers to accurately apply a surcharge to a purchase based on the type of payment card presented.
With the cost of each card varying and some banks offering card specific costs to businesses, this approach by us makes it more certain for shoppers and retailers when it comes to a surcharge based on the type of card used.
Our POS software talks to the payments processor once the card is presented and instantly a surcharge is calculated and details provided to the shopper. We do this in the way the ACCC requires.
Certain rules apply when a business applies a surcharge to particular cards:
the surcharge must not be more than what it costs the business to use that payment type
the surcharge can only include costs that are for accepting that particular payment. For example, if a business pays an amount for gateway fees for processing credit card transactions only, the business cannot include this cost in its debit card transactions.
This approach meats with legal obligations of retailers in Australia. It also makes it easier for retailers to cover the cost of card payment, which can be considerable based on the type of card presented.
Using the Tower Systems POS software, local small business retailers can apply a credit or debit card surcharge with certainty, ease and confidence. They can provide good customer service and fully inform shoppers such that they may choose another method of payment.
The rules in Australia for applying the same surcharge for all payment types are that it must not be more than the lowest surcharge they would set for a single payment type. This is from their ACCC website. This is why applying a surcharge based on the actual payment type presented can matter – there is a huge different in payment type costs.
Our POS software makes it easy for small business retailers to apply a surcharge and manage toe collection of this and record keeping associated with it. We take care of business for our customers, make their job easier and provide a safe framework within which they transact with their customers.
PUSHING A CASH IS KING MESSAGE IS A FOOL’S ERRAND IN MY VIEW AND HERE’S WHY
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Too often we see small business retailers pitching cash is king on social media and shake my head. It’s a waste of time. People will pay how they want to pay, if you let them.
Berating people, telling them that cash is better for you and the economy is an argument not backed by facts.
The cost of handling cash is not dissimilar to the cost of taking cashless payments. especially today with fewer bank branches available for cash deposits and making change.
Retailers are retailers. They are service businesses. If someone wants to pay a retailer money, they need to be flexible in the forms in which they receive this. And, if one form of payment is more expensive than another, consider a surcharge for that and explain to your customers why.
Posting on social media about the cost of card payments and bemoaning money banks make from this is not cutting through. You only have to look at the continued growth in card and other non-cash payments to see that. So why waste time and energy complaining about something that has no chance in going your way. Instead, spend time celebrating what you love about your business.
Of course, what you put on social media from and about your business is 100% up to you. The challenge is that anything one retailer in a channel does can speak for more than that one business.
What we want in our business, our prime goal, is more shoppers. Anything that gets in the way of achieving this needs to be considered, and probably dropped. I think the social media posts bemoaning the cost of card payments and calling for people to pay cash are an example of a turn-off social media post. Such posts risk turning people off your business and off colleague businesses in the newsagency channel.
Yes, the payments arrangements in Australia are unnecessarily complex and they do have a cost to our businesses. But, shoppers are flocking to non-cash methods of payment and it is good for our businesses if we accept these with ease and grace.
Instead of waging an unwindable campaign about your preference for cash over card for payment, consider diverting that energy into business improving opportunities such as addressing common expensive management misses that I too often see in local small business retail. Here are low-hanging-fruit ideas I pitch to retailers:
Dead stock. A problem not seen is not a problem to too many. In the average indie retail business, dead stock is equal to at least 3% of turnover.
Running out of stock. In one business I looked at recently, being out of stock cost the business $15,000 in sales in six months. ordering based on what their software advised would have solved that.
Failing the price opportunity. Shoppers are less price conscious than we think they are. Have faith in your business. Price based on the value you offer and not based on fear of competitors.
Bloated roster. I often see a bloat cost equal to around 10% of business labour cost.
Wrong trading hours. Some stay open too long while others are not open long enough. Either way has a cost to the business.
Being blind to theft. Theft in local indie retail retail costs on average between 3% and 5% of turnover. Not watching for it, tracking it and mitigating against it has a cost to the business.
Ignorance. No, it’s not bliss. There are insights in software that can guide better decisions, faster decisions, more financially rewarding decisions. Yet, too many in retail don’t want to know.
This is a list of seven action items from which any small business retailer could benefit. Pick any or all of these ahead of spending time going on social media calling for people to pay by cash instead of a card and you will gain more benefit for bottom line.
Tower Systems provides easily actionable POS software use advice to local small business retailers
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Each week we provide our customers with easy actionable advice on easy to use the POS software we make to run more valuable local retail businesses. here is advice we provided our customers last week:
Good morning. Grab a coffee or tea and spend 5 minutes with us:
Open Retailer. Go to Reports. Select the last option, Insights Dashboard. Click on What’s Not Selling. This tab will list products not performing. You can adjust settings to suit your specific business.
Stock that is not selling is dead stock, capital tied up, space tied up.
Once you know what is not selling you have the opportunity to act in a targeted way to quit the dead stock and not order it again.
Many retailers ignore looking at dead stock. Some don’t want to know while others are scared to discover it and others don’t think it is important.
In our experience, a retailer looking at dead stock for the fist time will discover that around 20% of their total stock on hand is dead. In a business with $120,000 in stock, that’s $24,000 in capital at risk. Can you afford to have $24,000 doing nothing for your business?
Listing dead stock is one way you can make more money from your business by using your Retailer software.
The Insights dashboard provides easy access to actionable insights into your business. It helps you make more money.
Do it now: Open Retailer. Go to Reports. Select the last option, Insights Dashboard. Click on What’s Not Selling.
If you’d like help doing this or understanding, please reach out. Also, our knowledge base offers an awesome video about the Insights Dashboard.
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The feedback from our customers about this and other advice encourages us to each week provide ready to use advice to our customer community. Since we only serve local small business retailers, our approach is targeted. Their needs are similar across the various retail channels in which we serve.
Now, in our advice when we refer to Retailer we are referring to our own POS software. That’s been its name for 27 years now. We changed the name in 1997.
We’re not your usual POS software company. We are grateful to offer practical retail management help and advice beyond what its usual for software companies.
Small business retail management advice: greeting customers
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The sales clerk asks Can I help you? You answer No thanks, I’m just looking. You wander ar=round the shop and the sales clerk goes back to what they were doing.
It’s a fail in retail.
If you don’t ask a shopper if you can help them, they don’t have an opportunity to say I’m just looking thanks.
Consider changing your opening with shoppers, ditch the old script of opening by asking how can I help?
Consider a welcome greeting of it’s great to see you today or thanks for stopping by or even simply hi. You could try more active engagement like we just got this in, or have you seen this, it’s really cool while showing a product.
Too often in retail team members are trained in scripts to use and requested to follow them by rote. Scripts dehumanise human interaction, they can make what is meant to feel like conversation shallow, useless, noise.
We think it is critical retail team members are encouraged to ditch scripts and be in the moment when engaging with shoppers. It is important all team members feel trust from the business in their ability to engage.
Oh, and who are we? We’re Tower Systems, makers of POS software used by thousands of local small business retailers, and we are retailers ourselves – have been since the 1990s. We’re not your usual POS software company.
One way to make opening conversation with shoppers on the shop floor easier is doing more work on the shop floor, moving tasks there that may otherwise be done in a back office or at the sales counter.
You can nurture conversation skills in the shop by engaging with the team in active conversation.
Now, if a customer does say they are just looking, a simple no worries is a good response. Certainly, don’t follow them around or try more questions. Leave them be.
Years ago, retail staff were told to engage with shoppers, pressured even. It was as if staff engagement was the key to sales success. While, for sure, it can play a role in some settings, there are many other factors that drive sales: the right products, a well laid out shop, a happy shopping environment, compelling offers and happy team members to name a few.
Shoppers who are looking are wonderful to have, much better than no shoppers at all.
Auto fulfilment helps local retailers have stock just in time with less capital spent
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The work we have done for retailers and suppliers in the space of auto fulfilment of inventory saves time and money. .
There is evidence that auto inventory fulfilment increases retail sales, benefiting the connected local retailer and the partner supplier. This truly is a win win.
It all starts with good and capable POS software that is tuned to provide the necessary data flow to sit at the bottom of the auto inventory fulfilment relationship.
This is work we have done for years. It has continued to be enhanced as different needs have emerged in this contexts space.
What is auto inventory fulfilment?
It’s simple really, sales data flows from the local retail business to the partner supplier and once inventory in the story hits a trigger point, the supplier targets fulfilment based on agreed rules and processes.
This works well when a supplier supplies a range of products – allowing for the order needs for items to be grouped together for a more efficient delivery.
The retailer can see the sales data in their POS software as can the supplier in their IT systems. Nothing is shared about products related to any other supplier.
Auto inventory fulfilment can leverage just in time opportunities, reduce inventory investment by the local small business retailer, save space and save time.
It can help the supplier with supply management and manufacturing if they make what they sell.
The keys here are efficiency of space, capital and labour. And, of course, POS software is at the heart of it. Everyone involved benefits -t the local small business retailer using smartphones POS software and their IT connected suppliers.
Auto inventory fulfilment facilitated through POS software is another innovation available to local small business retailers, it is something big retailers have had access to for many years.
Tower Systems is grateful to offer specialised retail POS software for garden centres, sewing shops, music shops, pool maintenance and supply businesses, produce businesses, fishing bait and tackle businesses, firearms dealers, newsagents, pet shops, adult shops, bookshops, jewellers, toy shops and more.
Our customers are local family run businesses across Australia and New Zealand.
Insights from our POS software that help retailers run more valuable and enjoyable businesses
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