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With the reports last week at Smart Company about Neto POS software, Tower Systems reminds small business indie retailers that it is a well-established, debt-free POS software company offering solutions in specific retail channels.

Software user frustration with Neto was expressed following a reported significant price increase for users of the software, imposed on them by Neto. In the same article, there is also information about the financial status of the company:

In an email sent to Neto clients on February 28, seen by SmartCompany, Neto chief executive Ryan Murtagh said the business needed the extra money.

“We have to balance our current costs while investing in our future,” he said.

Murtagh separately told Kofoed over social media that Neto, which is majority-owned by Telstra, could “no longer endure significant losses” associated with its legacy pricing model.

Three separate clients said they weren’t consulted about the change prior to the February 28 email informing them of the restructuring.

However, the company has been considering the move for several months.

Select clients were informed and asked for feedback on the prospective changes earlier this year, while clients informed last week have just a month to prepare for the hike if they are billed monthly.

Asked whether Telstra pressured Neto into changing its pricing structure, Murtagh said the telecommunications giant holds various board positions as the majority owner of the business and is “party to all decisions the company makes”.

Here at Tower Systems, our view on POS software companies that rely predominantly on a low-price subscription model is that the cashflow from such models will not be sufficient to fund the necessary and expensive software development and support infrastructure that retailers require in the proper and successful use of POS software.

The Tower Systems model is a mixture, where customers can choose what works best for them: purchase, lease or rent, or a mixture of all three if they wish.

Tower Systems invests heavily in its future. This is evident already in 2019 with a major software update already released, delivering access to new facilities along with the announcement of the imminent release of Retailer Roam, a new product for pop-up, outpost, mobile and queues-busting retail. Retailer Roam is already in preview and feedback has been terrific.

The result of long-term investment, Retailer Roam will be a valuable opportunity step for indie retailers who want to themselves evolve what retail means in their businesses.

In our work with a range of retail businesses across multiple channels, too often we see retailers get fixated on a competitor, often a big business competitor, not realising that they are their own most important competitor.

In our experience, the most important competitor a business has is themselves.

Comparing how you are currently trading against the same time a year ago is the best measure of the impact you are having on your business.

Comparing revenue, transaction count, average sale value, average items per sale – these are all good overall business measurements to compare.

Comparing unit sales by department and by category within department are good measures.

Comparing unit sales and revenue by suppliers within each department are also good measures.

The Monthly Sales Comparison Report in the smart Tower Systems small business POS software offers all of these comparisons in the one report. This is the best everyday business analysis report we think. Indeed, it is the primary report we go to for the retail businesses we own ourselves.

However, let’s first up dispel some myths:

1. The report does not have to be monthly. It c an be for any period.
2. The report can focus on revenue, GP or unit sales.
3. The report can focus on product categories or supported or both.
4. The report can cover any periods you want.
5. This report is rated the most valuable by almost everyone who uses it and speaks with us.
6. We rely on this repot in the retail businesses we have owned for decades.

We urge you to use this report to compete with yourself. Look at the last three months of this year compared to the same period last year. See how you are tacking. Look at the parts of the business where you have concentrated most and see if you are having a positive impact.

We urge you to not be fixated on competitors outside your shop. Rather, look inside, see how you are doing now compared to a year ago or how you are doing this quarter compared to last. The Monthly Sales Comparison Report measures data points anyone in the business can understand. It shows you where work is needed and it shows you where there is good news on which to build.

We can help you with this report.

The Tower Systems POS software link to Xero cloud based accounting software proves time and again to help small business retailers in myriad ways. From saving time to improving business planning to cutting expensive mistakes, the seamless integration delivers to small business retailers a whole of business benefit.

Tower Systems was an early partner of Xero, delivering access years ago, to its specialty retail customers using its POS software.

Without human intervention, sales data, incoming invoices and more is available from within Xero thanks to the integration between Xero and then Tower POS software. This lack of human intervention is key in that it delivers data to the accounting software without rekeying. When you consider that every keystroke is a potential mistake, eliminating these makes a huge difference.

In not going through a third party product, Tower is able to deliver seamless, better supported and more business suited solutions to its customers. The result is easy access to good and accurate data, the basis for better business decisions.

This is important in retail where there is pressure to be more competitive, leaner and more nimble. The POS software Xero integration facilitates these benefits and more for any retailer using the Tower Systems software.

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

Our Xero link provides for a data feed of sales as well as purchases. This facilitates better management over creditors, which is crucial in and retail business.

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

INTEGRATIONS

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

1. Tyro broadband EFTPOS.
2. Links to all major banks through PC-EFTPOS.
3. Magento e-commerce. Magento is an excellent platform for website sales for small to medium businesses.
4. Shopify e-commerce. Shopify is an excellent entry-level solution for small to medium businesses.
5. FlyBys in New Zealand.
6. Transactor loyalty in New Zealand.
7. Scale integration for selling by weight.
8. Touch networks for vending event tickets, phone recharge, fishing licences and more.

In the Tower Systems POS software we offer facilities through which our small business retail customers can express gratefulness to their customers.

Expressing gratefulness is another way small local retailers can differentiate their businesses from big businesses … because small can be personal and in the moment whereas big is all about being systemised, structured and predictable.

But how can POS software help you express gratefulness when doing so is best done in personal, human, ways?

This is a good question, which we will try and answer here. The best and most personal answer, however, will be provided one on one to our customers, through personal help desk interaction. because, you see, being personal, indeed, being personally grateful, is key here at Tower Systems too. Our business serves only small business retailers. So, we understand about the need to be in the moment, to be personal with our customers.

In our software, the opportunity to be grateful stems from knowledge. The software can help retailers understand the value of a shopper and each shopper engagement. It can draw to the attention of the business owner or manager interactions with shoppers and these can be leveraged and appreciated, in personal ways.

The smart POS software can, for example, provide a list of email addresses or phone numbers that can be used for personal contact to express appreciation. These databases can be created based on a range of selection criteria, over which the software user has good control.

The Tower Systems POS software also offers prompts, reminders, at the counter that can encourage a team member to make a comment about a product. This additional information and lead to conversation, which opens the opportunity to express gratefulness.

Personal interaction across the counter in small business retail is critical in opening opportunities for appreciating customers. Software that guides and encourages personal interaction is critical to starting this, to making the opportunity available. We have built these opportunities into the Tower Systems software – way beyond the anecdotes shared here. We are n to going into details for competitive reasons.

We appreciate our small business customers and the advice they provide for it is this that has really helped us develop the ability for sharing gratefulness using our POS software as a tool.