The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

CategoryToy shop software

Tower Systems first with Linkly Cloud POS software integration

November 10, 2023
2 Min read
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We are grateful for the opportunity and proud to deliver a world first – a POS software integration with Linkly Cloud.

That’s right, we have retailers live with our Tower Systems POS software connected to Linkly Cloud for EFTPOS transactions.

Tower Systems makes POS software for specialty retailers in a range of local specialty retail channels.

Linkly is all about Making every payment seamless.

Together, we have delivered a solution that helps retailers save time, cut mistakes and more easily compete with big business.

Local retailers keen for a seamless payee its integration and needing a POS solution that is capable, functional, enhanced and reliable – the Tower Systems Linkly Cloud partnership is worth considering.

Tower Systems integrated EFTPOS, connects your Retailer Point of Sale with your EFTPOS terminal, making it the fastest and easiest way to sell.

Tower Systems is not prescriptive to its retail business customers as to what payment gateway must be used. We let our retailers choose what is right for them. There is no financial penalty flowing from their choice either. Payments is their choice. We focus on making money from our software.

Being the first in the world to deliver this solution sees us helping those who will come after us. We’ve made it easier for them. We love being the innovators and appreciate the opportunities this affords us along the way.

Our purpose is to empower local retailers to thrive.

Almost everyone working at Tower Systems has experience working in local indie retail. All of our customers get a say in software enhancements.

We know the more we help local retailers thrive the more they will help us thrive.

We know that our software can make a difference in businesses for which it is made, and that our training and support can help businesses thrive.

Our software is made for specialty retailers, retailers in a range of channels like jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, newsagents, pet shops, music shops, sewing shops, clothing shops, pool maintenance shops, garden landscape businesses, produce businesses, stockfeed businesses and fishing and outdoor shops.

If you are looking for a secure, fast and time-saving payments integration, Linlkly Cloud connected to the Tower Systems POS software is worth considering.

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Christmas marketing tips for local small business retailers

November 1, 2023
2 Min read
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It’s November 1. The countdown to Christmas is well and truly under way. The next 8 weeks are probably the most important weeks of trade for most retailers.

Here are some free tips to help you make the most of the opportunities, to help you separate your business from the Christmas noise.

Over the next 8 weeks most retailers will pound hard Christmas products, sales and opportunities. Many will be loud, screeching for people to look at them. In local retail businesses it’s hard to compete with the noise of national retailers.

The best advice we think we can give local retailers is to have fun, enjoy yourselves, help customers enjoy themselves.

In your social media posts, focus on having fun and sharing joyful stories.

In your window, be local, shine a light on local talents from kids to retirees. have your shop software people want to visit to see their friends and neighbours and themselves reflected.

In your shop be sure to keep it light, relaxed and fun.

We could give you a list of things to do. Not this year. This year we think you’ll get more value from a relaxed and fun-focussed Christmas season. let the others do the heavy lifting with Christmas noise. In your shop let people relax and catch their breath.

Being calm and relaxing will separate your shop, get it known for being this place rather than the shrill and bustle of Christmas retail elsewhere.

Make it easy, too. People often talk about how hard Christmas is. Be the business that makes it easy. The ways to do this are have bundled gifts ready to go, pre-bagged or wrapped, with some card selections that are relevant, offer easy payment options including buy now pay later, free wrapping, better shop floor help, guide buying advice or tips on perfect gifts no one else will think of. Consider making Christmas easy as being a key part of your messaging.

You could also help your shoppers help others. Setup a whiteboard or sheets of butcher’s paper, yes keep it simple. Get customers to write gift suggestions under different age/gender groups. For example: Girls 18 – 25, Boys 55+. Encourage your customers to help each other.

Stand out this Christmas by being different, calm, relaxed, fun. Shoppers will notice this, and appreciate what you have done.

Have an awesome run up to Christmas!

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$0 transaction fee POS software

October 6, 2023
2 Min read
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Savvy retailers are price comparing POS software and gaining a better understanding of the cost of ownership of the software as the cost of ownership includes monthly rental cost as well as fees imposed on transactions and costs associated with any required payments platform.

Here at Tower Systems you can choose the payments platform you prefer, for no cost.

Our POS software connects with Tyro, Linkly, Linkly Cloud, MX51, CentrePay, SmartPay, Quest and others. These are integrations, saving time, cutting mistakes and offering seamless engagement.

There is no payments charge when you use our POS software. Tower Systems has a $0.00 transaction fee cost.

There is no payments platform requirement when you use our POS software.

This is why the total cost of ownership of the Tower Systems POS software is less than plenty of comparable products.

If you are looking for POS software for your business, do your homework, check out pricing, all the pricing, compare and decide what is functionally and financially right for your business.

When you compare our POS software to others, ask the question about payments fee or transaction fee or any percentage surcharge on transactions.

We think software companies should make money from software and not from each transaction a retailer makes in their business.

We also think that transaction fees and payment fees are like a tax, an awful tax, and impost on your business for making sales. It’s why we have taken the approach we have and why we are so transparent about it.

We don’t have the marketing funds to match the POS software companies that do charge a transaction fee. We rely on word of mount and other grass roots marketing. we’re doing okay, too, for which we are sincerely grateful.

Now, to be very clear, Tower Systems does not charge any fee whatsoever for transactions or payments. Nothing fee for debit cards. No fee for credit cards. Tower Systems has no fee whatsoever for any form of payments put through its POS software.

Ultimately, the best POS software for your business will depend on your specific needs and budget. Be sure to compare the features and pricing of different POS systems before making a decision.

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Helping retailers quickly and easily load product images to their online store

September 26, 2023
1 Min read
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The free web app we created for retailers to facilitate fast and easy loading of product photos to our POS software and feeding these to Shopify, magenta, Woo and Big Commerce websites is being loved by our customers.

Using this free tool our customers open their phone, take a photo, check that it looks okay and click to share it. The back end software does the rest, including removing the background of the image if you like.

This is another time saving tool created by Tower Systems to help local retailers more easily get new products online.

The photo management and upload app is 100% our tech, designed to serve our 3,000+ local retail customers. we created it once we understood the frustration of retailers at how long it took to take photos, remove the background and upload them to the software. Removing plan ty of steps and making it a 2 or 3 click quick process is helping local retailers get more products online in a time efficient way.

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Alternative for Vend and Lightspeed POS software customers concerned about Lightspeed payments

September 13, 2023
3 Min read
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More retailers using Vend POS and Lightspeed POS have told us of concerns at being told by Lightspeed to switch to the Lightspeed Payments platform or face what reads like a penalty charge from the company for continuing with a current, non-Lightspeed, payments solution.

As recent Lightspeed earnings reports have revealed, growing Lightspeed Payments revenue has become a key commercial activity for the Lightspeed business. This pitches them as like a road a tolling business, making a clip from each transaction processed by retailers using their Lightspeed POS software or their Vend POS software.

It’s like they see revenue from a clip of retail sales in the shops of their customers is more important to them than the revenue they get from the actual rental of their software.

Here at Tower Systems, our view is that as a software company it is important that we make most of our money from our software, and not off the back of hard work by retailers using our software. Making money off our software itself keeps us focussed on the evolution of the software, it keeps the software at the core of what we do.

The more businesses using our software, the more money we make, the more money we have available to invest in enhancing the software.

If you think about the Lightspeed model, they make more money when your transaction volume increases. Does this mean bigger businesses, with higher turnover, are more important to them as a company? We don’t know.

What we do know is that here at Tower Systems every single customer is valued and treated the same because we are not tracking sales volume.

We don’t care what EFTPOS or payments platform you use. Our POS software integrates seamlessly with all major Australian banks, so you can process payments quickly and easily without any extra keying or keystrokes.

We also don’t charge any penalties or fees based on your payments platform choice. We believe that retailers should be free to choose the best payments platform for their business, without being penalized for doing so.

Unlike Lightspeed, Tower Systems offers a flexible, no-contract rental plan. You can rent our software for as long or as short as you need, with no lock-in period.

We are committed to providing our customers with the best possible support. Our team of experts is available 24/7 to help you with any questions or problems you may have.

If you are a Lightspeed POS or vend POS customer and are looking for an alternative to Lightspeed Payments, consider Tower Systems. We would be happy to discuss your needs and see how we can help you.

There’s more to us:

  • Comprehensive reporting tools to track your sales and inventory
  • Customisable features to fit your specific needs
  • Robust security measures to protect your data
  • 24/7 customer support

If you’re a Vend POS or Lightspeed POS customer and happy with their products and service, terrific, please stay with them. What matters most is that you are using software you love from a company that appreciates you.

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Helping local small business retailers save time and improve efficiency

September 2, 2023
2 Min read
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Labour costs are under the spotlight in businesses around the world. The obsession with AI is, in part, because it reduces reliance on labour. In San Francisco 3 autonomous (driverless) car companies now operate taxis. We saw them when there on business just a week ago. 7-Eleven in Australia is trialling just walk out type tech. several shops where registered shoppers can walk in, take items off the shelf, and walk out. WH Smith now has self-checkout terminals in most of its Aussie c-store businesses.

We are working on several fronts for you in related areas.

  • Our ChatGPT AI integration is saving time on writing product descriptions and has been since January this year. Retailers are loving it – the time saving and the improvement in product descriptions.
  • Our free version of Retailer Roam makes it easy and fast to photograph products using your phone or tablet, load these into Retailer and sync with your website. In seconds you can take and load images of products via your phone, or tablet.
  • We are trialling our new Retailer Self-checkout facility using a new shopper-friendly portrait checkout screen. It’s an easy for shoppers to self check out, a labour saver in some settings.
  • Qjump, our new mobile customer-accessible true self-checkout facility is in trial. Think the new 7-Eleven app but for local indie small businesses without the weirdness of capturing shopper images and the high tech implementation cost.
  • Our new EasyEDI platform offering easy access to time-saving electronic invoices is in early trial with a supplier who, until now, has not offered these.

We are working on more innovations in our small business focussed Retailer POS software to help improve your efficiency. Time saving is a key focus, as is data accuracy.

It’s in these areas of work that we genuinely differentiate for our local small business retailer customers.

We are grateful for the support of our customers. Thank you. We hope you have an awesome lead into the Christmas retail season.

Oh, one more thing … Google has released a core update, which will impact website rankings. We shared advice by email with our customers about this in the last week of August.  Let’s know by email if you’s like a copy. sales@towersystems.com.au

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How do I find the best POS system for my business?

August 22, 2023
2 Min read
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Don’t rush it. Take your time. Make decisions when you are ready.

Many POS software companies and sales people will want you to rush. Some will apply financial pressure. Others will say it’s easy, start today, be selling today … and they will often say this without understanding your business needs.

Take your time. Make decisions when you are ready.

The goal has to be to choose the POS software that best serves your needs. So, start there, with your needs. Think about them, what matters most to you, what’s not negotiable. Start there and cast aside any software company that is not interested in starting with your needs.

Some will offer a free trial, some will even push hard at this. That’s lazy selling. They want you to use their software to see if it is suitable, and knowing that some customers will stick because of concerns that it could be hard to switch software. We think free trials are a crock.

Some will offer you free software. There is no such thing. Software developers don’t work for free, nor dog help desk people, the accounts office in the software company, the sales team. Since they don’t work for free, the company has to make money so, no, there is no such thing as truly free software.

All the sales claims can make it challenging.

Take your time. Make decisions when you are ready. Start with your needs.

If this sound like hard work, it is. Good software can make you a lot of money, it can save businesses. Spending time getting this decision right could be worth a ton of money to your business. But the work has to come from you, not the sales person.

The best POS system for your retail business is the one that covers the most of your needs at a price you are prepared to pay.

No software company can claim theirs is the best, although plenty do. They can speak to customer numbers, of course, which is fine, but not a measure of best.

Here at Tower Systems. we start with you, and your needs. We want to understand them first. If we think our software is not right for you, we’ll say so.

How do I find the best POS system for my business? Don’t rush it. Take your time. Make decisions when you are ready.

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POS software integrated Slyp digital receipts help small business retailers compete

August 15, 2023
2 Min read
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The integration of our Tower Systems POS software with the Slyp digital receipt platform is helping local small business retailers demonstrate their engagement with leading tech ology to enhance the shopper experience.

In today’s digital age, shoppers like seeing good tech used to enhance their shopping experience. Shoppers want a seamless, convenient, and tech-savvy shopping experience.

That’s where Tower Systems and Slyp come in. Our two companies have partnered to create a solution that helps local small business retailers deliver on these expectations.

Tower Systems makes, sells and supports POS software for local specialty retail businesses. Our software is used by thousands of businesses to manage their sales, inventory, and customer data and plenty more.

Slyp is a digital receipt platform that allows businesses to send receipts to customers’ mobile devices. Slyp receipts are more than just a digital version of a paper receipt.

The integration of Tower Systems POS software with the Slyp digital receipt platform is a game-changer for local small business retailers in our community. It allows businesses to:

  • Deliver a more convenient shopping experience for their customers. Customers can now access their receipts instantly on their mobile devices, without having to dig through their pockets or bags.
  • Enhance the customer experience with interactive receipts. Slyp receipts can be used to track spending and more. This gives customers more control over their shopping experience and makes them feel more valued.
  • Demonstrate their engagement with leading technology. By using Slyp, businesses can show their customers that they are committed to providing a cutting-edge shopping experience.

Our POS software Slyp integration has been live for some time, under the radar, under beta release. This followed comprehensive live acceptance testing. Through the beta release we enhanced the integration, to reach a point of delivering something we are truly proud of. The POS software Slyp integration is terrific, useful and differentiating for our local small business retailer community.

If you are a local small business retailer, you should consider using Tower Systems POS software with the Slyp digital receipt platform. It is a great way to enhance the shopper experience and stay ahead of the competition.

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Advice for small business retailers on dead stock

July 31, 2023
3 Min read
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Dead stock has no value in any retail business. Indeed, it has a cost as it takes up space and needs labour to keep it clean at least. It sits there, occupying this space, not being bought, paging with each day.

What constitutes dead stock will vary by type of retail business. In some, stock has an expiry date, making that the drop-dead date for the stock. In other businesses, stock is dead when a new version or new release of an item is out.

For the purpose of the advice we provide here, our definition of dead stock is that which has not sold whatsoever in six months or more. The is, you have a quantity of an item on hand and have not sold any of then in six months.

Knowing what stock is dead in your small business shop is critical. It is the start, the beginning, of resolving the issue of dead stock.

Our Tower Systems POS software helps local small business retailers easily identify dead stock. You can decide what constitutes dead stock in your business and list it, bring it up on the screens for attention.

Start there, start with your definition. next, use your software to identify what’s dead. Once you have this information you need to jump, what for some, is a hurdle … you need to decide to quit that stock.

Some retailers are adamant that they need to make a profit on everything they sell. These retailers don’t like discounting to quit dead stock. The thing is, the stock on the shelf is worthless until someone pays you something for it.

In our pragmatic view, getting something, anything just about, is for stock that is dead is better than waiting longer and getting nothing for that same dead stock.

Quitting dead stock is best considered a freeing cash move. That’s what we say getting anything at all is better than the stock sitting on the shelves and not moving.

Use your POS software to identify the dead stock and then jump that hurdle and quit it, quickly, freeing the space and allowing you to focus on what’s next.

In our Tower Systems POS software, the Stock manager tool is best for identifying stock that is dead. You can easily see when you last arrived stock, what’s on hand and when it last sold. In seconds you can have a hit list of stock that could benefit from action. Stock manager operates in a way that any retailer could use it. It’s not complex, not daunting. We have a terrific video showing how to do this with Stock manager. We also have a wonderful advice sheet.

Retail businesses exist to support those who rely on them for income. Dead stock is not helping with this.

Unfortunately, too many small business retailers do not actively engage with the opportunity of dead stock.

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We are grateful to serve more than 3,000 local and independent small business retailers here at Tower Systems. Our POS software community is diverse and very much appreciated by us for their support and feedback.

The advice we share here comes from our years of engagement with them and our own experience as engaged retailers ourselves.

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Advice for small business retailers on the best value approach to decision making

July 24, 2023
3 Min read
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How decisions are made in local independent retail businesses can determine the value of those decisions, the consequences on those decisions.

Too often in our work with small business retailers we have seen decisions based on emotion rather than evidence.

The POS software we make for specialty small business retail collects and curates business data that can inform decisions. New have seen wonderful and valuable success flow in retail businesses that make decisions based on evidence is this data.

A common situation of poor decision making is buying stock. Too often we see small business retailers buying because they like a sales rep or because they like the look of something when their own business data indicate that buying that stock is not the right move for their retail business.

In our POS software we make it easy for local retailers to access this data about stock performance, we make it easy for them to have the evidence of their own data to better inform decisions they are considering. retailers who do this, who rely on the evidence in their own business data, tend to run more successful and valuable retail businesses. They tend to enjoy their businesses more too.

Buying stock has to be black and white: will this decision make money for the business in the time that the business needs? As a retail business trades using POS software like ours it builds up knowledge in its trading, knowledge that can be accessed, analysed and understood by the POS software itself to make it easy to see the right stock buying decisions to make.

We upset a retailer a while back when they happened to mention that products from a supplier were not working for them. They were unhappy when we showed them their own data that disagreed with their opinion. It turns out that their opinion was based on a dislike of the manager of the supplier business. They were letting their emotion get in the way of facts. The situation turned out well, the business made more money as a result.

If you are in retail to be successful, we urge you to make decisions based on your business evidence. Our POS software can help. We back its facilities with terrific training and customer support materials that are easily accessible.

We love helping local small business retailers make good decisions. It’s something that makes us feel good.

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We are grateful to serve more than 3,000 local and independent small business retailers here at Tower Systems. Our POS software community is diverse and very much appreciated by us for their support and feedback.

The advice we share here comes from our years of engagement with them and our own experience as engaged retailers ourselves.

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Advice for local small business retailers: how to enhance your local credentials

July 18, 2023
3 Min read
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In 2023, embodying the essence of local in the retail become more vital than ever. Big businesses are engaged in local, but they are using systems, processes and tech. The conundrum for genuinely local small business retailers lies in authentically cultivating a local identity.

The term local means different things to different people. It isn’t restricted to geographic proximity. Local can be perceived as the degree of personalised care you offer to your customers, the supplementary advice you give, living within the locality yourself, sourcing products locally, or serving the community on a personal level. It may also be linked to the availability of locally sourced products.

For instance, a product produced anywhere within Australia could be deemed as locally sourced. Narrating the story of where a product originates, along with the family involved in its creation, can add a local touch to it, distinguishing it from similar overseas products. This narrative is crucial because it underlines the local aspect.

Small retail businesses can leverage Tower Systems’ retail POS software to effectively promote their local attributes in various ways:

  • Enhance your receipts: Use receipts to provide product care instructions, usage guidelines, or other beneficial information automatically, turning your receipts into a valuable information source.
  • Disclose product origins: If a product is made by a small business or family within Australia, include this detail on the receipt. Highlight the local product, giving customers additional information to foster a local connection.
  • Advocate for local shopping: Attach an image or poster promoting the advantages of shopping local to every receipt. Tower Systems offers free images for this purpose, available in the downloads section on their website.
  • Show customer appreciation: Personalise a thank-you message to customers shopping with you. Sign off with your name and contact number. This personal touch is typically absent in larger businesses.
  • Monitor local product sales: Keep track of local suppliers’ product performance using various reporting tools.
  • Reward local shopping: Implement discount vouchers named “Thanks for shopping local” or “Local shopping reward” to emphasise the benefits of supporting local businesses. You can establish rules to offer discounts off the next purchase.
  • Merely advocating for local shopping isn’t enough; you must showcase its value and integrate it into your retail business operations. The most effective approach to accomplish this is by incorporating suitable systems and procedures into your POS software.

There are plenty of ways local small business retailers can authentically pitch local. In this post we have covered just some of them. We are a local POS software company ready to help you pitch local.

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Specialty POS software for local small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand

June 28, 2023
2 Min read
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Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to serve a diverse mix of specialty retailers in different marketplaces. These include:

Here’s what’s included in the monthly rental cost: software licences for unlimited computers in the location, help desk support (by phone or email) 6 days a week (including Saturday), access to a comprehensive support knowledge base, after hours support call access for urgent system down queries, access to our Shopify, Xero and other integrations, access to our supplier invoice import tools.

  • NZ and Aussie based customer service by us. No call centre.
  • Humans answer our phones.
  • Email us and a retail knowledgable human responds.
  • Our office is open Monday through Saturday.
  • Month to month rental – no lock in contract.
  • No lock-in EFTPOS contract. You choose the EFTPOS that suits you.
  • Self serve training videos and knowledge base.
  • Low cost training for those who want it.
  • The listed prices are genuinely monthly – not annual paid up front.

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

It may be that our software is not right for you. Let us organise a personal live demonstration by Zoom. We’ll record it with you and give you a copy so you can show colleagues and others you’d like to consult.

If we think we are not a good fit for you we will say so and wish you all the best.

Email us: sales@towersystems.com.au.

Call us: 1300 662 957 (Australia) 0800 444 367 (NZ toll free).

We have a crew of awesome software developers, caring customer service people and a business support crew skilled in serving local indie retailers.

At our website, we have easily accessible recent demonstrations of our POS software, which you can access immediately and without sharing any personal contact details whatsoever. The transparency we demonstrate on our website reflects how we operate as a company.

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It’s stocktake season and Tower Systems is helping small business retailers be ready

June 22, 2023
1 Min read
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Our advice to retailers re stocktake is first and foremost: never pay an outside party to do your stocktake and never do a stocktake outside of your POS software.

The most accurate stocktake result for any retail business is doing it yourself, using your POS software. The Tower Systems POS software offers easy to use and reliable stock facilities and workflow.

Last year (2022), we got together with one of the stocktake experts at Tower Systems to discuss this and answer common stocktake questions we are asked. Here’s the video.

Our help goes beyond this. We have written advice, and we offer personal training. We make stocktaking easy and reliable for local samall business retailers.

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Retailers simplify accounts management with Xero integrated POS software from Tower Systems

June 19, 2023
2 Min read
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The Xero accounting software integration with POS software from Tower Systems helps local independent retailers save time, save money, reduce mistakes and make better informed business decisions.

Using the Xero link with our POS software retailers can streamline their processes, connecting POS software and Xero accounting software, removing double entry and cutting mistakes.

The Tower Systems POS software offers:

  • In-Store Point of Sale from the register, shop floor, or mobile thanks to Roam.
  • Integrated eCommerce with Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce and Big Commerce.
  • Streamlined Inventory Management through the business from arrival to sale, or return.
  • Customer tracking and marketing based on purchases.
  • Smart fulfilment based on criteria you can manager.
  • Powerful Loyalty and and Customer Retention – with flexibility and differentiating options retailers love
  • Advanced Reporting and Insights – see what matters.

The Xero accounting software solution offers:

  • GL, P&L and Balance Sheet management and reporting
  • Payroll management
  • Invoice management
  • Inventory management
  • Expense claims
  • Payments management
  • Bank connections & reconciliation

The Tower Systems POS software Xero integration is a solution made for local small business retailers, to save time and money, to help nurture stronger and more valuable retail businesses.

Connect the Tower Systems POS software with  Xero in minutes and keep everything in sync. Simply connect the tow and map your accounts. Our crew of retail experts can help;p you do this.

Once connected, your Tower systems POS software will upload your chosen key financial data to Xero – saving time on admin and cutting data mistakes.

Tower Systems is proud to deliver the advanced Xero POS integration local specialty retailers deserve for the complexities and competitiveness of modern retail.

Tower Systems is grateful to support thousands of Australian and New Zealand retail stores with our comprehensive POS software. We give retailers the tools they can understand and use to run more valuable, enjoyable and successful local retail businesses.

Tower Systems only serves local specialty retailers. This ensures that every customer matters. Are are thankful that more than 3,500 retailers have already chosen to partner with us.

Our service is local, from Aussie and NZ based retail experts. Our software is local, too, made here, for you.

The Xero integration with our POS software is one example of the value of integration relationships that we bring to life for our local indie retailer community.

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Advice for local small business retailers confronted by big business competitors

June 14, 2023
4 Min read
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Small and independent retailers can sometimes feel helpless when a big national retailer opens up nearby. There is no match for their range, buying power, advertising coverage or even news coverage.

The sheer size of a national competitor is what scares many smaller retailers. It can feel overwhelming.

Here at Tower Systems, all of our customers are local small business retailers, indie retailers, because that is the community we seek out.

Here are 5 practical tips for small businesses on how to face and deal with a national retailer moving into the area:

1. Don’t compete. By not talking about the competitor, pricing against them or pitching your business in any way, you separate yourself. While they may have similar products, it is unlikely that they are targeting your specific business so why target them? Focus instead on your own business. Not competing should include not advertising price comparisons, not focusing on the competitor at staff meetings, not expanding your range to sell more of what they sell and not obsessing about them.

Know why you are different and lean more into that, and, it’s likely that price is not a significant difference in your mind.

If you know why customers shop with you, you have the opportunity of not giving up margin out of fear.

2. Run a better business. From the moment you hear about a new national retailer coming to town, look at every aspect of your business for opportunities for improvement. From the back room to the front counter fine tune your processes, employee training, stock buying and the look of the business. Dramatically improve your business from the inside out. This will improve your business health and help you weather challenges which may lie ahead.

Too often, independent retailers wait until the national retailer is open to react. This is probably a year or two too late.

3. Be unique. Look for ways to make your business unique. It could be on product range, operating hours, add-on services or something else. Embrace any opportunity to make your business unique.

Even a unique niche range of products can give you traffic a big competitor will not chase. Try and focus on products which require a level of retail skill and knowledge to sell – national retailers have challenges hiring and retaining retail employees with specialist knowledge and skills.

4. Engage the community. Like, really engage. Support local groups, speak at functions, get known as someone and a business who care deeply about the local community. Subtly make the connection that you are fortunate to be able to help because of your local business.

Being smaller and independent you are better able to personally engage with the community. You and your team are the business whereas a national chain will always be the corporate. They can throw money around locally, you can throw time, knowledge and more flexible assistance.

5. Tell your stories. Your retail narrative, your stories, connect you with the local community. Tell these through the people you contact, your own blog, a Facebook page and in the pages of the local newspaper. Tell human stories about your business, the people who work in it and the local stories which connect with it.

Your stories could be about local community connection, convenience of shopping, commitment to range, personal customer service, product niche knowledge … there are many different narratives with which an independent retailer can connect. It is important that one you have your narrative you stick to is, that it inhabits your decisions, marketing and public presentation.

Local indie retailers can compete against with any big business by not acting as a big business would. This is the key. Be yourself. Have faith in yourself. Sell yourself.

Now, why is a POS software company sharing something like this? That’s easy – we care about our customers, we care about local indie retail. We’ll embrace any opportunity to help local indie retailers shine.

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How retailers are using POS software integrated ChatGPT to create more valuable product descriptions

June 2, 2023
1 Min read
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Local small business retailers are short on time and challenges in competing with well-resourced big businesses.

The ChatGPT AI integration delivered by Tower Systems in its local specialty retail POS software early this year is being used by small business retailers to create for search friendly product descriptions.

Using this optional and free facility, retailers are able to describe products faster and in search friendly terms. Here’s a short video we made for our customers to show how it works:

No, we’re not going all AI is replacing the world on our customers. Rather, we are providing access to optional time saving tools. Feedback from our local retailer community has been wonderful, for which we are thankful.

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How to convert a PDF invoice into a CSV file for easy POS software import

May 21, 2023
2 Min read
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Tower Systems offers help to local small business retailers to help them save time and money. We do this through training, written advice and easy to access and follow video advice.

A couple of weeks ago we shared with our small business retail POS software customers this video on how to convert a PDF file to a CSV file that can be imported to our POS software.

By converting the PDF invoice to a CSV file the retailer saves time, improves data accuracy and helps the business have a better handle on business performance.

Tower Systems is grateful for the opportunity to help retailers convert PDF invoices into CSV files foe EDI import into POS software

We also connect with many suppliers for importing electronic invoices and more, making importing invoices easy and fast. But some suppliers have challenges implementing this. hence, this solution for converting a PDF invoice into a CSV file.

This snackable video is one of many offered to all of our POS software customers. We produce the regularly and share them in our email and print newsletters, and as part of our video training curriculum.

We are grateful to local small business retailer customers for their feedback on these videos as that informs our weak developing more useful training and support solutions.

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12 POS software facilities that help independent toy shops compete

May 10, 2023
4 Min read
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The Toy shop software from Tower Systems includes facilities designed to help toy shops to more successfully compete. Most of these facilities are different to what you would find in common POS software. They have been developed with Toy retailers in mind and, often in consultation with toy retailers.

The needs of toy retailers are as specialist as the toy shops themselves.

We believe that the more you leverage the specialisation in your business the more you differentiate your business from big business competitors. We are in an era where specialisation matters in retail, and in POS software.

  1. Bundled goods. Package several items together for a single price. This could be into a physical hamper or simple placed with each other on the shelves with a package price. Bundling like this makes it hard for shoppers to price compare as the bundle is yours, it is what you To manage bundles, use the manufactured goods facili8ties in the software. It is easy to bundle and unbundle, managing stock on hand all the way through.
  2. Instant loyalty rewards. Another way we can help maximise sales is with an instant loyalty reward. This is particularly useful where you see shoppers once a year or quite infrequently. Toy shop visits are not consistent. hence, the success and value in loyalty tools that leverage I’m the moment visits and purchases.
  3. BOGO.Using our Buy one get one free facility you can set offer type pricing and have it managed easily at the register, ensuring a consistent customer pricing experience.
  4. Smart receipts. Include care instructions on receipts, adding extra value to the purchase. Whereas a competitor will sell an item, you will sell the item plus advice on care and use.
  5. EDI. Your marketing group or product suppliers can provide data files for any catalogues in which you participate. You can load these into the software making it easy to offer catalogue prices through the term of the catalogue offer.
  6. Serial number tracking. If you sell any item with serial numbers you can easily track them using this facility. Customers appreciate a receipt with a serial number of the specific item they purchased, especially if the item if of a considerable value.
  7. Community group and club deals / pricing. A great way to win new shoppers is through a community group. You can publish a card or voucher enabling members of a group to present this for a discount on each purchase. The software can track the purchases and at a designated time you can give the group a rebate in return for their member loyalty.
  8. Special customer orders. This is the ability to order stock from a supplier for a specific customer. On arrival of the stock item, a barcode is printed with the customer name, for placement on to the product. The software can be set to send an alert to the customer by text or email, advising the arrival of the goods into the store.
  9. Gift vouchers. Sell customers who can’t decide what gift to purchase a gift voucher. Load on to this voucher any amount the customer wants. You set the rules on expiry and other voucher handling.
  10. Supplier comparison. Since you can purchase some items from multiple suppliers, use smart reports in the software to compare the performance of your various suppliers.
  11. Linked / assorted items. Okay, this is a bit hard to understand. Some suppliers supply an outer of toys containing multiple inners of individual toys. You will not know the specific details until you open the box. For example, a box of licenced product but with individual characters in the box. Using our software you can reorder the assortment box while on the shop floor you manage each individual item.
  12. Gift cards. Sell today what a shopper may purchase in a few months time with easy to setup and manage giftcards.

Best of all for toy shops using this toy shop software is the link to Shopify and other platforms that supports adhering to brand rules as to how they are represented online.

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Free POS software

March 28, 2023
3 Min read
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If you are looking for free POS software, Tower Systems is not the right company for you.

We don’t offer free POS software.

Typically, free POS software comes with payment made in other ways, such as being required to use a particular EFTPOS platform or service or being committed to some other cost in the business.

So, you can see, free is not really free. There is no such thing as free POS software.

What any retail business really wants / needs is the best POS software for their business. The best POS software will provide benefits in time and money that make the POS software truly valuable for the retail business.

Now, to be clear, we don’t know if our Tower Systems POS software is the best POS software for your needs. Only you can know that by comparing what our software does to what it is you need from POS software.

Our message today is buyer beware. Don’t get suckered in by a claim of free POS software because, for sure, it will not be free, and it may not be best for you.

We mention this today as we see many retailers in Australia searching for free POS software. It is worrying because every bad experience someone has with POS software.

Here at Tower Systems we want relationships with value at the core. We want to partner with customers we value, and who value us. This mutual respect helps both businesses prosper and if we do prosper then it’s the classic win win. That can’t happen with free as the starting point.

Software developers and help desk professionals cost money. And, you want that because you want good outcomes for your business. These good outcomes flow from good POS software that ids backed by good customer service.

If you look at it from a retail business perspective, you want people in your shop prepared to pay money for what you have on offer. If they don’t have money they are not customers you want. If their wage growth is flat their capacity to spend more is non existent.

All of this feeds into what is a circular economy.

But on price, we are fair, with a modest cost, which has not changed since 2019. So even though we do charge for our POS software, it’s modest and reflective of what we think the good businesses in our target marketplaces can afford.

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Here’s an easy local small business retailers can better connect with their community

March 24, 2023
3 Min read
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Community connection is vital in local small business retail, authentic community connection at a level that is loved by folks in the community.

Back in the day, sponsoring a local sports club, donating prizes for a raffle or helping the local Rotary or Lions were the go to ideas for retailers. And while those ideas continue today, there are another local small business retailers can engage in providing community support that is funded buy the community itself.

Through our loyalty tools and, in particular the discount voucher tech we offer, local small business retailers can reward shoppers and they can offer in store a way for these shoppers to pay it forward, to support a local charity or community group organisation.

The Grill’d burger chain was an early adopter of something similar with their bottle caps and giving customers the caps to vote for one of three local charities the store would donate cash to.

Our suggestion is to invite shoppers to donate their discount voucher to one of several local charities in your business, which you could have every month or so, accruing the value of the vouchers for a gift card donation to the charity, or you making a cash donation of a portion of the voucher value to the charity.

It pitched well this could see people who support the local charity shopping with you so that funds are raised for the charity.

We know form years of data that around 20% of all vouchers handed out to shoppers are used by those shoppers within 28 days. This means there are other vouchers that expire unused. A nuanced campaign in-store connected with loved local charities and community groups could drive engagement, do good in the community and show the business as community connected in a fresh and loved way. That is the goal here.

Of course, the execution will be different in each location. Our job as a tech company is to provide opportunity. Our job as retailers ourselves is to share what we have seen work well, and what we have learned.

Your job as a local small business retailer is to make decisions that are right for you and your situation.

Using the discount vouchers generated by the software in this way, to support loved local community groups and charities, could be the reset you want, the engagement driver the business needs. The beauty of it is that it is low cost, self funding and truly community focussed.

We are grateful to the feedback from our customers and this has guided our own activity in this space of local community group connection.

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6 best-value insights that will benefit any local small business retailer

March 22, 2023
5 Min read
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Retailers in local small business shops can feel alone sometimes when working on their business. They can sometimes get lost in a cave of thoughts without seeing a way out.

We thought about this and considered the thousands of different retailers in our POS software user community, and we developed the Insights Dashboard in our POS software, to deliver easy access to local small business retail insights that any retailer could leverage, regardless of size, location, specialty area or setting.

We wanted to ensure that what we delivered would be useful regardless of level of business management literacy and financial management literacy. We wanted to deliver the insights without the retailer having to seek them out. We wanted to genuinely add value to what a local small business retailer could gain from using our POS software.

So, via the Insights Dashboard in our POS software, we provide insights in six broad areas – with the insights delivered visually.

Where Are We Today 

Gives you a snapshot of the overall sales & liabilities as it stands today.
 
You can access additional options by clicking the … symbol next to Todays Sales.
  1. Date Range – Expand the sales period covered by changing the start & end dates.
  2. All Locations – Multi-store locations can use this option to include/exclude other locations from the sales figures.
  3. Show Gross Profit Values – This option will show / hide GP values in the Daily Sales Dashboard, which you can access from the Point of Sale screen by pressing [Ctrl] + [D] on your keyboard.

What’s Not Selling 

This gives you a visual understanding of what is not performing in your business.  Deadstock in any business is lost cash.  This report gives you the ability to make decisions on this underperforming stock whether it be discounting or other stock reductions strategies to unlock this lost cash.  
 
You can click any stock item listed to show a graph of sales of that item broken down by month.
There are a number of options available to filter the stock items that appear in the list:
  1. Date Range – Limits the list to stock that has not sold in the amount of time specified.
  2. Listing Bottom – Maximum number of items to list.
  3. Rank By – Determines the order that items appear on the list in.
Click the … symbol for additional options:
  1. Departments – Select between showing stock from all departments or tick the desired departments from the list.
  2. Suppliers – Select between showing stock from all suppliers or tick the desired suppliers from the list.
  3. Exclude Recently Added Items – Exclude stock items that were added to your system inside the time period chosen in the drop down box.

What Am I Missing Out On 

This give you a list of items that have sold out and potential missed opportunity. The visual sales history will assist in ensuring the right items are restocked to ensure future revenue is not missed out on.
 
You can click any stock item listed to show a graph of sales of that item broken down by month.
There are a number of options available to filter the stock items that appear in the list:
  1. Date Range – Limits the list to stock that has sold more recently than the amount of time specified.
  2. Listing Bottom – Maximum number of items to list.
Click the … symbol for additional options:
  1. Departments – Select between showing stock from all departments or tick the desired departments from the list.
  2. Suppliers – Select between showing stock from all suppliers or tick the desired suppliers from the list.
  3. Exclude Recently Added Items – Exclude stock items that were added to your system inside the time period chosen in the drop down box.

What Sells With What 

This gives you an insight to consumer basket analysis. Through this you will see exactly what stock items sell with other stock items and from this you will be able to leverage upsell opportunities, co-location and promotion opportunities.   This also shows the sold alone percentage so you can see item upsell efficiency.
 
You can change the period of time in the Date Range to limit the data to the period chosen. The ten items displayed are the ten best selling items by quantity for the selected time period.

Is Theft An Issue 

This provides a in-depth visual overview of all the retailer audit log records by reason, number of occurrences by time day. This will assist in identifying staff theft/training issues that may need to be addressed within the business.
 
You can change the date range to limit the data to the time period chosen. Changing the time increment alters the lengths of time each day is broken up into.
You can view more complete records by using the Audit Log directly. Please contact Tower Support for help using the audit log.

When Are We Busiest & Quietest 

This is a visual overview used to detect any quiet or peak times in your business by displaying over the week as well as detailed by hour.
 
You can change the week ending date to see data from other weeks. Next to chart value type, you can choose to measure by sales value or number of sales.The top graph shows sales broken down by day of the week. You can change the type of graph used to display this data by clicking the diagram type in the bottom-right. The bottom graph shows sales broken down by time of day. You can change the type of graph used to display this data clicking the diagram type in the bottom-right. You can also view this data as a table by clicking the table symbol in the top-right.
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Tower Systems launches weekly POS software user Q&A session for all

March 17, 2023
2 Min read
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Tower Systems is grateful to be able to launch a weekly POS software user Q&A session fort all comers, all users of the software, from any business using the software.

This session is a natural progression from our regular live Zoom sessions for customers. It not schedules as weekly’s every week of the year, so customers have certainty that it’s on.

Each session will be open for at least 45 minutes every Thursday. One of more of our POS software specialists will be in the Zoom room to answer questions and share insights. The goal is for open two-way discussion. Having the right people from our team there will drive the value of the sessions. We will demonstrate local retail knowledge and the value of local support compared to offshore call centre support.

We are open to covering POS software training, answering support queries and exploring enhancements in our POS software.

By offering the sessions via Zoom with no cap on attendees we demonstrate, again, our openness and transparency and the ease of accessibility for all of our customers regardless of location, support coverage status and more.

By making this open to everyone, those who like to listen to the queries of others and the answers provided will be satisfied. We think this openness will help us explore topics way beyond what me might set if we were in control of the agenda ourselves.

The goal is an enhanced customer service experience, something unique among POS software companies.

We know the closer we are with our customers the better the experience for them and the better for us. This is why our leadership team will regularly be available for these sessions, as they have been for our other customer Zoom meetings.

These weekly customer meetings will differentiate our Aussie POS software company and offer our customers another free training opportunity that will help them get more from their investment in our technology.

People participating will not have to register or jump through hoops. Accessing the session will be easy, fast and secure.

Tower Systems serves several thousand local retail businesses today. This new weekly customer free training and Q&A meeting initiative is another way we are demonstrating our commitment to engaged and easily accessible customer service.

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We are enjoying Toy Fair

March 5, 2023
3 Min read
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Toy Fair is under way in Melbourne and it’s a terrific event, even though today is the first day.

It’s terrific catching up with old colleagues, and meeting plenty of new people.

We are here for our shops, in which we sell toys, our websites that offer toys and to pitch our toy shop software.

The software, including support, is only $155.00 a month, and you are not locked-in. The only other cost is for our one-on-one training.

Here are some questions we are asked, and our answers:

Can the software manage special orders for customers? Yes.

Can I report on past sales monthly for a year to guide what to order? Yes.

Does the software let me buy in bulk and break up to retail packs? Yes.

Does the software produce WAS / NOW price labels? Yes.

Does the software manage time-based catalogue pricing? Yes.

Can I pre-sell items? Yes.

I sell high-end toys with serial numbers. Can I track these? Yes.

I have multiple shops, does the software handle this? Yes.

Does the software handle club and group pricing? Yes. Attract community group and local club members and help them raise funds for their group.

Can I load electronic invoices and stock files?  Yes.

Can I sell gift cards for my business? Yes.

I sometimes sell away from the shop, can the software do this? Yes, our Retailer RoamTM option manages selling from anywhere.

Does the software have a facility for encouraging infrequent shoppers to spend more? Yes, it’s proven to work well at achieving this.

Can I include product use instructions on the receipt? Yes.

Does the software track where I have stored packaging for an item? Yes.

I have similar items from several suppliers. Can I compare suppliers? Yes.

Does the software handle LayBys? Yes.

Can you create and manage quotes? Yes.

Can you reach back out to customers based on past purchases? Yes.

Does the system handle account customers? Yes.

Does the system produce invoicing and statements? Yes.

I sell clothing, can I manage this by colour, size and style? Yes.

Does the software connect with my website? We partner with Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce and offer direct links to these.

Can I email receipts? Yes.

Can I track where my customers come from? Yes.

Do I have to pay for software on additional computers in my business? No.

Can I connect with my EFTPOS terminal? Yes. We have a direct link to Tyro and through Linkly we connect to all major banks.

Can I use my existing hardware? Yes, if it meets our minimum standards.

Can I use my existing data with the software? Yes. We’d like to check your data to be sure. We will advise what can be safely brought across.

Does it integrate with Xero? Yes.

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