The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryRetail management advice

SMALL BUSINESS RETAILERS NEED GOOD GIFT CARD SOFTWARE IN WAKE OF DICK SMITH COLLAPSE

January 11, 2016

1 Min read

S

The woes of retailer Dick Smith and the swift announcement of the status of gift vouchers by the Administrator last week has made shoppers suspicious of gift vouchers. This is what happened following the collapse of the Red retail group – Angus and Robertson – some years ago. It took months for trust to rebuild.

Unfortunately, we can see a similar situation follow what is happening at Dick Smith at the moment.

Thanks to the comprehensive gift voucher / gift card management facilities in our software, our small business retail partners have a good story to tell about managing the cards / vouchers and the cash collected.

Our software is well established and tested in this area, across multiple retail channels. we manage the vouchers in a way a CPA would expect and the way a shopper can trust.

Read on Read later

Sunday retail business management advice: get your web strategy right

January 3, 2016

1 Min read

S

A tech company recently sent out a survey on 2015 activity to their customers with an out of date logo, a design from the 1990s and a follow up thank you note referencing 2014. These three missteps made the business look unprofessional in its approach. They made it an easy target for anyone wanting to show weaknesses in the business. Their communication also provided some fun for competitors.

Since online is so vital to business today it is important that your online and electronic communications are on point: professional, using your current logo and art, referencing current activity and followed up with relevant material.

Software companies and all businesses need to be professional in every contact as the last contact could be the one on which we are judged.

Read on Read later

Helping small business retailers manage labour cost

December 22, 2015

1 Min read

H

Labour is the second highest cost in small business retail yet it is often among the least managed. Tower Systems helps small business retailers manage labour costs. By manage, we mean keep efficient to ensure they are appropriate to the needs of the business. We have helped small business retailers cut labour costs by 25% without any downward impact on sales revenue. We do this through our smart POS software in a range of ways including:

Tracking sales by time.
Tracking sales by employee.
Employee rostering.
Tracking labour cost by hour.
Mapping costs against seasons and other important activities within the business.

Read on Read later

Sunday small business retail management advice: give people waiting something to buy

December 20, 2015

1 Min read

S

Supermarkets, fuel outlets and convenience retailers nail the candy lane, the floor space in front of the counter where people line and wait to be served. It’s called the candy lane because it’s where candy is often sold. It is a space strategy appropriate to any retailer.

What is it you present to shoppers who approach the counter, any counter in your business? Are impulse purchases by your shoppers growing?

Products need to be easily understood and relevant to your business. They need to be products on which customers can make a split-second decision.

Manage your candy lane for success.

Success is shoppers purchasing items on impulse from display units placed in your candy lane.

Read on Read later

Small business retailers offer better loyalty value than Woolworths and Coles

December 19, 2015

1 Min read

S

We checked in recently with several retailers running our loyalty software facilities and in each case we found these small businesses offering loyalty programs that were between ten and one hundred times more valuable to shoppers than those run by Coles and Woolworths.

We are proud to play a role in these small business retailers offering valuable loyalty programs that focus on real value for customers.

From points to dollars off to multi-buy to rewards for future purchases, the loyalty programs available through the Tower software are considerable. Their flexibility is excellent as if the commercial benefits to our small business retail partners.

We are confident Tower Systems can help you:

Get customers spending more in a visit.
Bring existing customers back sooner.
Attract new shoppers to your business.
Drive impulse purchases at the sales counter.

Read on Read later

Helping small business retailers transact without a POS software computer system

December 16, 2015

1 Min read

H

Tower Systems has published updated advice to help retailers transact in the unlikely event of their computer system not being available. This advice proved to be popular with our customers – we can tell from the considerable download count.

Small business retailers learn to rely on their POS software. If it becomes unavailable for some time and for reasons outside anyone’s immediate control it can challenge the business operations. This is why having a plan for survival is vital to the business.

Planning for contingencies such as a blackout, massive hardware failure or some other contingency is important in retail and we take our role in guiding retailers on best practice business management seriously here at Tower Systems.

This latest business management advice is part of a long-term commitment to publish advice that is useful, accessible and freely available for our small business retail customers.

Read on Read later

Sunday retail management advice: basket analysis helps you sell more

December 13, 2015

2 Min read

S

Basket analysis is the analysis of products purchased by transaction – shopping basket. Such analysis typically compares two trading periods overall and by day of week. It also includes this analysis by supplier comparing trading periods and day of week.

Basket analysis shows you the efficiency of product categories (departments). For example, see how many baskets include one category of item and nothing else. You can also see the numbers of times sales are single item sales.

Basket analysis underscores the value to the business of newer categories such as gifts and toys.

Basket analysis at a supplier level is equally insightful, allowing you to compare the basket efficiency and value of suppliers between two tradition periods as well as across each day of the week between two trading periods.

It is at the basket analysis level that you can determine product efficiency. A product is more efficient for you if it is purchased with other items in our view. You can drive this by careful placement on the shop floor, promotion at the sales counter and working with customers on the shop floor to guide their purchases.

It’s an example of how you can use comprehensive business data to drive your in-store actions. For example, knowing what we know about pop vinyls, Saturday is the day we really focus on them with secondary locations to do even better from the Saturday opportunity.

Basket analysis can also help you with rostering. With some category sales requiring more staff time that others, you can consider the product mix sold by day and adjust your roster accordingly. Trimming wages is an important cost saving focus in business.

The goal has to be deeper baskets (more items per transaction) and a greater spread across product categories – but with a focus on higher margin items so that also lift the overall GP performance of the business.

In the Tower Systems software the report to use for this analysis is the Basket Analysis Report. It provides an extraordinary insight into baskets.

Read on Read later

POS software helps retailers sell more hampers at Christmas time

December 9, 2015

1 Min read

P

Christmas is hamper season for many retailers and Tower Systems helps retailers easily and confidently make, manage, sell and deconstruct hampers.

We track all the components of a hamper, special package pricing, sales history, customer engagement and, if necessary, the breaking down of hampers to single items should a hamper not sell.

Making it easy to manage hampers helps the Tower software be selected by gift shops, bike shops, pet shops, garden centres and other retailers where hampers are an important part of the Christmas trade.

Our work in the hamper space started years ago when we sold our software to a hamper specialist. They guided us to develop smarter tools and these sit in the core POS software we offer to retailers today.

Hampers are a terrific way for local small retailers to pitch a point of difference. Our software makes hampers easy to manage and sell. More important, our software makes it easy to leverage for next season.

This is another POS software Tower Advantage^TM.

Read on Read later

Sunday small business retail business management advice: how to compete with a big business competitor

December 6, 2015

3 Min read

S

Here are some tips from us on how to more effectively compete with a big business competitor located near your small business:

Know what you can and can’t do. Some big retailers spend tens of millions of dollars saying they are the cheapest. A small business cannot match that spend. So, price should not be your focus as it is a harder road. If you do choose to pitch on price, you need to do it comparatively and consistently. List their price and your price. However, the risk is they will chase you down that hole and their pockets are deeper than yours. I recommend against competing on price.
Understand the new competition locating near you. Research them, visit their store, look carefully at what they do. Understand, from a rational perspective, why they are a successful national company. Visit several times. Try and talk to customers. Knowledge gained from such field trips will empower your planning and decision making.
Focus on your point of difference. If you do not have on, get one, develop one. Own it. Ensure your business owns it. If it is service, make it better, if it is range, make it better., If it is that you are local, shout this from your rooftop. Your point of difference needs to be seen, heard and understood by your customers and those who would be your customers. If you do not think you have an obvious point of difference, work hard to build one and embed this deep within your business.
Promote your business. Professionally. Be smart. Big businesses are usually big advertisers. You need to advertise too. To the level you are able within your business. This could be in the local newspaper, on local radio, in flyers to homes or even with a terrific display in your front window. Promote your business and in particular your point of difference. Small businesses can win in social media with locally-focussed pitches which demonstrate your local connections.
Network locally. Connect with community groups, charities, sports groups, schools, clubs and friends. A small local business can do this better than a big business. Find a way to connect and help. This will be appreciated and, hopefully, rewarded with business. Strong networking can help you get more people on your side and supporting your business through strong word of mouth.
Have a consistent loyalty offer. This needs to be different to what major retailers do. It needs to be whole of business. It has to offer genuine rewards which get people shopping your shop rather than staying within a category. This is where discount vouchers work.

Read on Read later

Five management tips small business retailers most often ignore – Sunday retail management advice

November 22, 2015

1 Min read

F

Based ion our many years experience and our personal work with more than 3,000 retailers, here are the five most common bits of advice small business retailers ignore. Do these five things and your business will improve.

Track everything you sell from the moment it arrives to when it sells.
Reorder stock using your software and not your gut.
Track all employee transactions.
Do not purchase from suppliers who do not provide electronic invoices.
Run a dollar based loyalty program that encourages shopper engagement more often.

These tips are offered as part of a series from Tower Systems, a POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers with specialist POS software for a range of retail niches.

Every day through our software, advice, support and training we provide help beyond the software, help to make a genuine difference to the small retail businesses we serve.

Read on Read later

Five ways small business retailers can compete with big retail businesses using smart POS software

November 21, 2015

1 Min read

F

This is easy. Small business retailers can beat big businesses by consistently delivering a better service:

Offer a real loyalty program and not some over-promoted program that promises a lot but does not deliver.
Include helpful product use and care instructions on your customer receipts.
Offer LayBy with a professional management approach. Many bigger retailers find LayBy too hard now.
Show savings. On receipts. If your prices are lower than suggested retail, tell people.
Keep in contact. Send a text message or email when a special order comes in – this reminds shoppers their sought-after items are now available for collection.

These tips are offered as part of a series from Tower Systems, a POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers with specialist POS software for a range of retail niches.

Every day through our software, advice, support and training we provide help beyond the software, help to make a genuine difference to the small retail businesses we serve.

Read on Read later

Five ways small business retailers can gain more pleasure from their businesses through smart POS software

November 20, 2015

2 Min read

F

Running a small business need not be as stressful as it often is. Reducing stress starts with the business operating to a carefully developed and consistently executed structure. Good POS software is keep to a business operating structure. Get this right and stress will fall. Leverage the data in your software and pleasure will grow – you will benefit beyond money, we see customers enjoying their businesses more as a result of using the software to help in key management areas of the business.

Here are five ways the Tower software can help you gain more pleasure from your software:

Manage your roster through the software.
Balance at the end of each shift using fast EOS balancing tools in the software.
Order, price, sell and reorder through the software – allowing anyone to do it, following your business rules.
Easily identify the hero suppliers, employees and locations of your business and rejo7ce in them.
Spend time above your business, following you data and plan. Planning is pleasurable as you get to work on your business.

These tips are offered as part of a series from Tower Systems, a POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers with specialist POS software for a range of retail niches.

Every day through our software, advice, support and training we provide help beyond the software, help to make a genuine difference to the small retail businesses we serve.

Read on Read later

Five unexpected ways smart POS software backed by good support can help small business retailers

November 18, 2015

2 Min read

F

Retailers think about POS software systems as all being the same. Usually, they look upon them as a cash register replacement. While that is true,, good POS software does considerably more than this. Good POS software delivers benefits deep within a retail business.

Specialist POS software for specialty retailers such as garden centres, bike shops, jewellers, pet shops, newsagents and others benefit from software tailored to their needs beyond the cash register function. Usually, such specialisation includes linking to suppliers and serving mutual needs.

Here are five of many unexpected ways the Tower Systems specialist retail channel software helps small business retailers:

Cut theft. This usually happens by the software revealing situations retailers otherwise would miss.
Easier to sell. A retail business using specialist POS software well is easier to sell because it is easier to operate.
Freed up cash. Cash is too often wasted in small business retail. Following the recommended processes in our software will see you buy better and this will result in less stock purchasing failure.
Power. Retailers using our software tell us they feel more powerful when negotiating with suppliers thanks to the data they have at their fingertips.
Comfort. While many worry about stress that could come with installing a computer system, they often, unexpectedly find comfort from the structure, ease of use and value from the Tower software
Expect more. Yes, this is a sixth way. From your software company, expect more. Seek their help and insights and these are sure to help you get more from your business.

These tips are offered as part of a series from Tower Systems, a POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers with specialist POS software for a range of retail niches.

Every day through our software, advice, support and training we provide help beyond the software, help to make a genuine difference to the small retail businesses we serve.

Read on Read later

Five ways small business retailers can reduce labour costs

November 17, 2015

2 Min read

F

Next to rent, labour is the next largest cost faced by small business retailers. Too often, retailers do hot manage labour as effectively as they can. In our work with small business retailers across a number of channels we have developed ideas on reducing labour costs. Here are five ideas we see work well:

Roster by revenue. Plot revenue by hour and roster shop floor sales staff according to the sales volume.
Roster to an hourly cost. Use smart roster software, like our free eziroster.com.au, and roster to a budget.
Track sales by employee. Report on sales by employee by hour worked and assess the contribution they make to the business.
Time shift tasks. Most away from rostered hours work that can be done without a labour cost. For example, backing up data or linking to your accounting software – both can be done without any labour cost.
Eliminate manual processes. Get suppliers to provide electronic invoices, stop pricing everything you sell – use shelf labels, don’t count stock manually … to name a few tasks you can eliminate entirely.

These tips are offered as part of a series from Tower Systems, a POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers with specialist POS software for a range of retail niches.

Every day through our software, advice, support and training we provide help beyond the software, help to make a genuine difference to the small retail businesses we serve.

Read on Read later

Five free forgotten marketing ideas for small business retailers

November 16, 2015

2 Min read

F

Retailers often forget these marketing opportunities they have everyday in their businesses, opportunities to make a pitch at no cost that can have shoppers more engaged with a business.

Pitch on your receipt. Sure, it is a record of a purchase. It is also a valuable advertising platform.
Pitch by time of day. Some days are slower than others. Some times of the day are slower than others. Promote based on the low times to drive engagement.
Add value. On the receipt with a purchase automatically include care instructions or other advice to add value to the purchase. Show your customers why purchasing from you is different, better, than if they were to purchase from elsewhere.
Be smart with placement. Use your business data to see what sells with what. Place commonly purchased together items next to each other and drive sales.
Thank your customers. Email customers a thank you note based on a recent purchase and they will be back. Your software can make this type of marketing easier.

These tips are offered as part of a series from Tower Systems, a POS software company serving more than 3,500 small business retailers with specialist POS software for a range of retail niches.

Every day through our software, advice, support and training we provide help beyond the software, help to make a genuine difference to the small retail businesses we serve.

Read on Read later

Helping small business retailers beat Woolworths in the loyalty sakes – Sunday small business retail management advice

November 8, 2015

1 Min read

H

The new Woolworths shopper loyalty program recently released has received plenty of coverage. Now that it is live we have had a chance to test drive it and, frankly, our opinion of it is not good.

The new Woolworths loyalty program is not good value for the consumer.

We know from our own small business customers using the discount voucher facilities in our POS software that the value they deliver is, on average, twenty times better value than the Woolworths offer.

Our tip today to small business retailers is – you can beat Woolworths in the loyalty stakes and we can help you do this.

Read on Read later

Five ways small business retailers can pitch local: Sunday small business retail management advice

October 25, 2015

1 Min read

F

Being local matters to shoppers today. There is a big difference, however, in saying you are local and being authentically local.

From our work in the trenches with more than 3,000 small business retailers here is our top five advice on successfully pitching local in your business.

Be seen. Engage in local activities, alongside locals.
Buy locally. Have a sign in your shop welcoming pitches from local suppliers of goods you can sell in your business.
Talk local. On your business social media pages talk about local matters. Sow you care too.
Support local. When deciding on your charity engagement, preference local organisations and be clear about this.
Educate local. Make sure customers purchasing locally made product understand it is local.

Local, of course, can be different things to different people. It may mead a geographic proximity to your business. It could also mean products made by a family in another state. Nuanced appropriately and personally, this is a local pitch you could make.

We urge all small business retailers to engage with local and to do so with care and authenticity.

Read on Read later

Retailers love the shop local campaign from our POS software company

October 9, 2015

1 Min read

R

We are thrilled at the number of small business retailers engaging with the free marketing advice and collateral at our POS software company website. Any retailer can download the free posters and other materials and use them how they want to promote these marketing pitches for and through their businesses. Here are some of the free poster artwork Tower Systems has made available.

Read on Read later

Helping small business retailers manage the departure of an employee

October 5, 2015

1 Min read

H

As an engaged POS software company we find ourselves providing a variety of advice to small business retailers, even outside the usual remit for a POS software company.

Here is some advice we provided recently to retailers on our suggested best-practice approach to managing the departure of an employee. This advice was created for a specific situation but we think it is valuable for any small business retailer.

Here are some simple steps to consider taking when an employee stops working for you. These steps are designed to protect your business and the former employee.

Change your locks. If you’re in a high-street situation and if the employee had keys, changing the locks is important, especially if the employee has left under a cloud.
Change all your computer passwords – regardless of whether they had access to these or not. Contact support for assistance with changing passwords within Retailer.
Change your supplier website access passwords.
If your employee did any buying, advise your suppliers of their departure.
Ensure superannuation is up to date.
Have business-supplied uniforms and name badges returned.

Too often business owners don’t consider steps like these until after an incident has occurred.

Read on Read later

Sunday retail management advice: how to create a buzz for your small business retail shop between major seasons

September 27, 2015

3 Min read

S

The major retail seasons of Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and others work a treat at bringing shoppers out, depending on the type of retail store you have.

It is not enough in today’s retail climate to expect these major seasons to lure the traffic you need in your business. You have to do more by being bold, engaged and relevant.

Local small business retailers create their own buzz through a range of activities to bring shoppers in during quiet times. They can do this locally and from far afield – reaching beyond the usual catchment area for their businesses.

Small and independent specialty retail businesses have an opportunity to play outside the major seasons as the larger retailers tend to ignore these times.

The keys to creating your own buzz for your retail business and for this to pay off financially for the business are to:

Engage with your local community. Seriously and genuinely and in ways big businesses cannot.
Have a relevant offer, an offer with context between the major seasons.
Being smart beyond offering a traditional sale or some other price based offer.
Have a marketing strategy for promoting your event and creating local buzz without the cost of a major campaign.

Here are some simple ideas for creating a buzz between major seasons.

Engage your suppliers. Suppliers often have product they want to move. You can be the place for achieving this. They should provide stock at a huge discount. Pass this on. Consider reconfiguring your store into a warehouse for the event – bring the outlet to the town or something along those lines. Connecting with a temporary outlet idea enables you to play in the price space without calling what you are doing a SALE.
Have a competition. Get your suppliers to throw in some prizes. Run a competition for those visiting your retail store. This could be a great traffic driver. Half the battle with retail is getting people through your front door. A good competition with great prizes can achieve this.
Connect with the community. Find a way through the offer of raising funds for a local charity. By supporting a local charity you engage the members and supporters of the charity to support your efforts of raising funds for them.
Change the look of your shop. From the front window and throughout, create a different look so that those walking and driving past notice the difference.
Be different. Look for opportunities to genuinely innovate. The bigger the difference between what you do and how you do it and a usual sale or the efforts of your competitors the more you will be talked about and, hopefully, the more traffic you will generate.
Kick off with an event. Host and event outside your usual trading hours. Make sure that the event itself has some buzz. Get local identities to attend. Connect back to the local community group you are supporting. Invite the local media outlets. Make the event a fun night.

These ideas are designed to get you thinking of different ways you can creatively promote your business outside major seasons. Too often, retailers do what is expected and then wonder why their sales performance is just average.

Go all out and create a between season buzz which you own and off of which you reap wonderful rewards.

Read on Read later

Cloud based free roster software loved by small business

September 23, 2015

1 Min read

C

Eziroster, the free cloud based roster software released in beta by Tower Systems is attracting plenty of small business users. Offering roster setup, management and budgeting tools, Eziroster is a free service from Tower Systems available for any retailer, offering money-saving opportunities for small to medium retail businesses.

Developed as part of a broader cloud strategy, Eziroster is being embraced by retailers from a variety of retail channels keen for more effective employee rostering and management tools.

Tower Systems has announced that Eziroster will continue to be free, as part of its small business pay it forward commitment – a commitment to help small business retailers beyond what is traditional for POS software companies.

In addition to the free Eziroster facilities, Tower Systems offers small business management advice to help small business retailers properly use the Eziroster tools for their maximum advantage. Going beyond the software itself in this way helps small business retailers reap even greater rewards.

Read on Read later

Sunday #smallbusiness #retail advice: leverage green shoots

September 20, 2015

1 Min read

S

Small business retailers feeling glum or downtrodden about their businesses can always find green shoots in their business data – green shoots of optimism off of which they can build positive steps toward greater success.

Here at Tower Systems we look at business data for all sorts of businesses, looking for green shoots so we can share good news and use this as a pathway for exploring success opportunities.

Every business we look at has opportunities. Large and small. City and country. Every business has some good news in their business performance data that can be a structure off of which to build more success.

We are grateful for the opportunities we have to help small retail businesses to grow.

Read on Read later

Sunday #smallbusiness retail management advice

September 13, 2015

1 Min read

S

Employees are your front line of any independent retail business. They can make or break your business. You hire them, train them, motivate them and fire them. Their performance is on you.

Here are eight tips to encourage their engagement:

Train them.
Communicate your expectations.
Congratulate them.
Be open with them.
Ensure they know the goal of the business.
Give them responsibility.
Listen to their ideas, seek their counsel.
Thank them.

Small businesses are unique in many ways. Employees play a vital role in reflecting and leveraging that uniqueness.

Tower Systems helps small business employers to encourage and manage employee engagement in a range of ways in our specialty retail software.

Read on Read later

Sunday retail management advice: five tips to save any retailer time

September 6, 2015

1 Min read

S

Tell suppliers who do not provide you with an electronic invoice that you will cut them off – they are costing you time.
Put barcode and price labels on fewer products. If they have a barcode, use it.
Stop ordering replenishment stock manually.
Stop entering sales data into a spreadsheet for analysis.
Run your business with processes as well as checks and balances that enable it to open and close without you.

Read on Read later

Sunday retail management advice: how to cut employee theft in retail

August 30, 2015

2 Min read

S

Employees can steal from retail businesses in a variety of ways. Often, such theft goes undetected because of poor or unmonitored business processes.

The best way to cut employee theft or fraud is to commit to a consistent approach to theft management:

Ask prospective employees if they object to a police check. Those with something to hide will let you know they have found a job elsewhere.
Implement zero tolerance for abuse of systems. For example, ensure that every item sold is scanned.
Implement zero tolerance for an end of shift discrepancy of, say, $5.00 or more. Once employees know you will be fierce about this sales will be more accurate.
Reduce manual eftpos transactions – connect your eftpos terminal to your point of sale.
Change responsibilities – sometimes changing who handles money can uncover fraudulent behavior.
Change your timing. Habits are what allow people to think they can get away with theft.
Modify your counter policies:
- No refunds.
- No credits without management approval.
- No employee bags at the counter.
- No jackets or cardigans with pockets.
- No calculators with memories – I have seen these used to record how much cash in the register is theirs.
- Track every sale by employees – using a card with an employee barcode and making it harder for an employee to use the system as someone else.
Track all cash movements from the sale through to your bank account. Many retailers do not do this and open themselves to blatant and regular theft. Employees do it because they know they can get away with it.

Cutting employee theft can be achieved with vigilance. A small time investment in developing and following processes will find you with more money in your bank account.

Read on Read later