It’s Friday, shake the week off …
I
5 ways small business retailers can use POS software to help improve sales counter workflow
5
Here are 5 valuable and easy to implement ways retailers use our Point of Sale software (POS software) to reduce labour costs in their local retail businesses:
- Sales counter workflow. Smooth. Easy. Smart. Accurate. Few keystrokes. Easy for even casual staff who are not in the business often. In our POS software it is smart, efficient, streamlined and labour cost saving.
- Match revenue and roster. Focussing on rostering to revenue and revenue opportunity is a challenge for small business retailers. Tools in the POS software from Tower Systems help indie retailers do this with ease and consistency. These are tools retailers love as they can drive revenue reduction and / or labour cost reduction.
- Smart stock control including reordering. By eliminating manual processes around placing orders for replenishment stock, retailers are able to, in one place and at one time, accurately create orders based on business performance data. By ordering based on business activity (sales) the business do working based on success rather than gut feel. A business switching to ordering from within their Point of sale system can expect to free up cash by reducing non-performing stock. This process is further improved through digitally engaged supplier relationships.
- Customer management including accounts and loyalty. Through computer-based customer accounts and loyalty management, the retail business is able to transact with customers accurately, in a timely manner and in a way which puts customers first. Generating monthly customer statements, for example, could take a few minutes whereas manual processes could take many hours and face challenges with accuracy.
- Fact assisted decision making. Too many retail businesses spend too much time spinning their wheels pursuing decisions because they are not using business facts to feed these decisions. All to often we see poor business decisions made based on emotion and or ignorance rather than historical business data. Replace the error prone and fact-less approach with a fact-based approach and a business will soon find that decisions are more right than wrong. Retail businesses can bank on the results.
These are just 5 of the ways in which our Point of Sale software helps 3,500+ small business retailers in Australian and New Zealand to improve the management of their businesses, streamline processes and drive more efficient allocation of labour resources.
Christmas marketing tips for local small business retailers
C
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!
Have fun today
H
When is a software company not a software company?
W
When they become a tax collector.
More Point of Sale (POS) software companies have shifted focus to sourcing revenue from each transaction completes in retail businesses using their software.
Some even impose a penalty on retailers who choose to use payment methods that do not provide the software company the revenue share opportunity.
We think this is what makes the approach a tax. It’s a cost of business retailers using such POS software systems are unable to avoid, unless they switch software.
The software companies imposing this charge, imposing the requirement that retailers use their payments platform, off of which the software companies profit, say they are doing it to fund software development, to make their products better.
Software companies used to fund development out of software sales and software rental. Plenty of us still do.
By disconnecting the revenue from the sale or rental of the software and binding it to every sale undertakes in a retail business using the software, a software company shifts focus, we think.
One thing local small business retailers hate is imposed fees. That’s what some software companies are doing with this demanded clip from each transaction.
We think better software is created when the success of a software development business depends on the continuous improvement of the software it offers.
Selling or renting the software is clean, neat, and what many of us went into business to do. Pivoting to being a tax collector may offer a revenue bump today, it won’t last.
Retailers will see the per transaction charge for what it is. Software companies imposing the tax will eventually hunt down another thing behind which they can increase revenue. They’d be better off backing themselves and making better software.
Just as local retailers are vital to the local communities in which they live and serve, our locally based POS software company is vital to the community of local retailers and local IT professionals.
Tower Systems is a software company, not a tax collector.
Tower Systems is a small business focussed POS software company developing, and supporting POS software for niche specialty retailers.
Jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, produce businesses, farm supply businesses, fishing shops, pet shops, charity businesses, landscape gardening businesses, antique shops, sewing shops, haberdashery businesses, newsagents and more benefit from this software.
Find out more at www.towersystems.com.au Call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au
Aussie made POS software for charity shops and community enterprises
A
Local jewellers help those living locally celebrate special life occasions
L
Tower Systems: Our purpose
T
Every business needs a purpose, the guiding light we head toward as we make business decisions. This is our purpose:
Tower Systems is grateful to welcome Wild Cards & Gifts shops
T
We are thrilled to have welcomed a bunch of locally owned Wild Card & Gift shops to our Tower Systems POS software community in recent weeks.
Serving so many Wild Card & Gift businesses enables us to help them individually and as a group, to thrive in their local communities and beyond.
Wild shops are lovely by folks seeking our cards and gifts for loved-ones. Our software will help them fine tune their businesses as they evolve serving locally and beyond. Our gift shop software has terrific tools for serving businesses like Wild Card & Gift businesses.
Here are some of the benefits people in businesses like yours tell us they love:
- Say goodbye to LayBy With our buy now pay later options.
- Customers will love your product use and care instructions on receipts.
- Make more money offering special orders that you can easily track from the counter and notify shoppers by email or text when the goods arrive.
- Get one-time-only shoppers spending more with an awesome and differentiating loyalty facility.
- Sell online easily, direct from your POS software.
- Bring customers back with reminders on dates important to them.
- Save money on bookkeeping by integrating with accounting software.
- Make more money from the one time only shoppers.
- Save time, load electronic invoices from suppliers.
Here is what we think really matters about what we do and what we offer Australian gift shops like yours:
- This awesome gift shop software is developed in Australia.
- It has been designed specifically for gift shops.
- Our customer service team is Australian based. If you call, email, text, Facebook message or visit us, a human, with a real name, responds.
- Our software is regularly enhanced, based on user suggestions.
- You have access to unlimited one-on-one training.
- We offer business growth training, providing business context for cool things you can do with the software.
- Easy access to a fantastic knowledge base – like a searchable manual.
- Easily link with your website to sell online.
- Easily link to Xero – save time, cut mistakes and cut accounting costs.
In serving Wild Card & Gift shops we are grateful for the opportunity to help them as we also help other local gift shops to serve their local communities. Retail is personal aft5er all, and local, and this is where we thrive.
Tower Systems first with next generation Linkly Cloud POS software integration
T
Tower Systems is grateful for the opportunity to work closely with EFTPOS solutions platform Linkly to deliver the first every POS software integration with their next-gen platform: Linkly Cloud V2.
Tower Systems completed formal certification almost 2 weeks ago, the first software company to do so.
In undertaking our software development work for integration with Linkly Cloud we blazed a trail, developing knowledge and assets from which those who follow us will benefit.
This Linkly Cloud integration enhances facilities and options for local small business retailers. It is a beautiful solution that will assist retailer efficiency and business performance.
The POS software / Linkly Cloud integration is available for Tower systems POS software customers for no cost. nThe company funded the development as part of its service of delivering genuine value for its retail business customers.
Tower Systems continues to innovate in the local independent specialty retail space in Australia and New Zealand. This integration with Linkly Cloud V2 is the latest in an evolving series of integrations from the company as it serves retailers with connections that benefit local retail businesses.
Regardless of marketplace, our software is integrated to varying degrees with the following external platforms and opportunities:
- Tyro broadband EFTPOS.
- Slyp – digital receipts.
- Linkly – major bank EFTPOS through this interface.
- MX51 – links to two major banks currently.
- Quest.
- SmartPay.
- Windcave.
- Shopify, Big Commerce, Magento and WooCommerce e-commerce.
- OzBiz accounting software integration and through this to MYOB.
- AfterPay buy now pay later.
- Humm buy now pay later.
- Zip buy now pay later.
- Message Media text messaging.
- Message Net text messaging.
- Govt. approved scale integration.
- Postec / fuel integration.
- Epay voucher phonecard sales.
- Indue CDC (Cashless Debit Card) – product level blocking.
- DTI – Digital Transaction Intelligence. Electronic receipts.
- Booksellers book title integration.
- ChatGPT – for product descriptions.
- BG and Removal.AI. Image background removal.
- Deputy, Tanda and PlanDay. Roster services.
This is not the complete list of integrations for our Tower Systems POS software.
Linkly is clear in their mission: Obsessed with creating smooth payment experiences, Linkly delivers superior in-person, online and phone payment moments for all businesses.
Tower Systems is clear in its mission: our purpose is to empower local retailers to thrive.
Retailers loving POS software easy to access training
R
The library of training videos available for our local retailer focussed Tower Systems POS software is helping more retailers and retail business employees make better use of our software.
Organised in a comprehensive curriculum covering key day to day aspects of our POS software, the videos make learning operational threads of the software easy, even for those with no software experience.
Customers love that they can jump in, engage with training, and watch it over if they wish.
We are grateful to our customers for feedback as this helps us in future content production for our video training library.
Any one of our customers can access this library, and benefit from deeper understanding of how to use our POS software.
Top reasons local retailers benefit from a website connected to POS software for their business
T
Owning and running a local shop is a calling
O
Owning and running a local shop is often more of a calling than a pure business decision, for local shops play active and vital roles in supporting local communities.
This is what happens when the owner of a business lives among those they serve. They want the local community to thrive because they live and feel the joy of a thriving community.
No big business can compete with this personal local connection, no matter how much they advertise or promote local support. Nothing beats living alongside those your own business serves.=
It’s this connectedness of local retailers to their local community that inspires us to make software that is genuinely useful in helping local retailers to serve, and to thrive themselves.
We are grateful to only make software for local independent retailers. As locals ourselves, we understand the role our software can play.
What does your Point of Sale software cost?
W
Here at Tower Systems, our POS software pricing is transparent. It starts at $175.00 a month, or $105 a month if you’re a community or charity owned enterprise.
There is no payments fee per transaction. Big overseas software companies are doing this now.
There is no requirement on the EFTPOS platform you use. We direct link to Tyro, SmartPay, Linkly (the big banks) and more.
There is no charge for extra terminals. They’s all included in the price.
There is no penalty charge for paying monthly. Some companies quote a low monthly cost that you need to pay 12 months in advance to get.
No extra charge for e-commerce integration: Shopify, Magento, Big Commerce or Woo.
The pricing page on our website has the details.
We offer an awesome library of fresh training videos.
Best of all, our help desk is locally based and run by humans who do not follow a rigid script. Call us, and we answer.
We understand the importance of local human-delivered support.
Price should not be the only factor in choosing POS software for you business. It is worth researching though, to understand the total cost of ownership of the POS software you have or are considering.
Local retailers in Australia could benefit from engaging with Halloween
L
I am back from a quick trip to the US – New York, Wisconsin (several small towns and Los Angeles).
It was fascinating to see the total embrace of Halloween, in all retail sectors: jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, pet shops, toy shops, homewares shops, fabric shops, gift shops, landscape businesses, bookshops, fashion stores.
While I have seen Halloween in the US plenty of times before, this time I paid attention to the range of retail businesses engaged.
Retailers in every category embrace Halloween as an opportunity for fun. They also use it as an opportunity for in-store events to reconnect with the local community.
What I saw was much more than candy and trick or treating … it was a seasonal embrace with fun at the heart. There were events, sales, photo opportunities and plenty more. Most were very local, and engaging.
Many retailers use it as an opportunity too ease into Christmas with Halloween prep starting in early September.
I like the idea of Halloween right after Father’s Day and as something prior to Christmas being put up in store. While we have done Halloween in our shops previously, in 2024 I think we will take a more US local retail approach and create something quite different for here.
I mention it today because events in-store, in any type of retail business, are vital to helping to be noticed, and attract new shoppers, and new shoppers are vital to all of us in retail.
This photo is from a bike shop / coffee shop in Lake Geneva Wisconsin. I saw people crouch down for a photo. Simple. Effective. Engaging.
There are so many opportunities local retailers can embrace with Halloween beyond what we have seen as common locally.
Bike shops, jewellers, garden centres, toy shops, pet shops, bookshops, gift shops, homewares shops, newsagents and even farm supply businesses all have opportunities in the Halloween space and I saw plenty of examples in the US recently.
In our POS software it’s a season we can help you track, too.
I am grateful for what I got to see. It was heaps fun.
Mark Fletcher
CEO. Tower Systems
mark@towersystems.com.au 0418 321 338
PS. Retail is personal and Halloween leans into this opportunity.
The most important competitor a local small business retailer has is themselves
T
Not all gift shop POS software is the same and why that can make a difference to a local indie gift shop
N
There are plenty of gift shop POS systems on the market. They tend to spruce the same things: ease of use, helping you to grow your business, easy online sales etc. etc.
We know the pitch.
We are a local Aussie based POS software company that develops and supports POS software for gift shops.
We are different in that we only provide support to and support local retailers, small business retailers, independent retailers.
We’re stop interested in selling to big retailers, big franchises, groups with 50 or 100 shops. We understand the importance of local retail and are committed to helping local retailers, like local gift shops, to more successfully compete.
We pack our gift shop POS software with facilities made for local retailers, to help them run more efficient and valuable businesses, to stand out and to attract more shoppers.
One example of our difference are the loyalty facilities in our software. Sure, we do the points thing. But big retailers do those. Surely as a local retailer you want to stand out, to be seen to be different. In our gift shop software you have tools that allow you to be different, loyalty tools through which you can promote your business differently to your big competitors. Our loyalty tools are designed to nurture local shopper stickiness.
Another example of how our gift shop POS system helps local gift shops is the ease with which you can share local knowledge, differentiating knowledge. This is all abut selling you and your expertise. We have seen it work a treat at helping retailers more meaningfully connect with local retailers.
A third way our POS software for gift shops helps local indie gift shops is by helping you to encourage your suppliers to follow practices that save time in your business. We have helped many suppliers provide retailers with electronic invoices that reduce mistakes in the shop and save huge time.
We are an engaged POS software company serving only local small business retailers in selected retail channels. Our difference is this focussed and local connection. We’re like you and this makes us closer to you.
You can count on Tower Systems.
We’re looking for local Aussie wholesalers keen for a better relationship with retailers
W
Local small business retailers are time-poor.
Too often, wholesalers steal more time with old-school practices, and then they complain when they don’t achieve the sales they want.
Our POS software company, Tower Systems, helps local wholesalers and retailers to work together for mutual benefit.
Retailers love electronic invoices for their accuracy and time saved. They also love loading stock files and product image files – saving more time.
Wholesalers love the reorder trigger. Retailers love this too when they see revenue lost by not reordering sooner based on projected sales.
Wholesalers also love the sales data feed, providing faster feedback on product performance.
Retailers love being able to compare supplier performance, side by side.
Retailers love loading a catalog without having to key in each item and the special price for the timing of the catalogue.
Retailers and suppliers love automation around product returns.
While there are plenty of POS software products in the marketplace, few offer deep and mutually beneficial connectivity for suppliers and retailers.
Here at Tower Systems we understand the value of both sides of the supplier / retailer transactional relationship.
We love helping suppliers grow business from retailers using our software.
We love helping retailers cut suppliers who are not paying their way in the business.
This is all about business after all.
If you are a supplier to local indie retailers, think about your processes and the time commitment you expect from retailers.
If we can help, reach out. We are proud to serve 3,500+ local retailers in Australia.
If you do not provide electronic invoices or an electronic stock file with images, you are costing retailers time. We can help you create electronic invoices to world class standards for not only our POS software but other POS software too.
How retailers feel about a supplier goes beyond the success of the products they supply. The ease and cost of doing business is a key factor. It’s vital you work on that, to make your business more useful, more valuable to retailers.
We own shops and know these things from our own experience. We pursue efficiency and accuracy, hallmarks of local retail success.
TikTok is helping drive terrific traffic.
T
We have a skilled team working in our shops, including the brilliant person behind out TikTok.
Helping local retailers thrive
H
The number of clicks and the amount of information you have to provide in order to watch a POS software demonstration says something about the ease of access to help with that software
T
At our website, www.towersystems.com.au, once you choose your marketplace, you can watch a recent software demonstration immediately, without providing any of your details.
Alternatively, you can, with one click request a personal demonstration lead by the needs of your business.
We believe in easy to access customer service, pre sales, and post sales.
Just as retail is personal, POS software support is personal.
The number of clicks and the amount of information you have to provide in order to watch a POS software demonstration says something about the ease of access to help with that software. See for yourself.
We’re mighty proud of our local retailer insights dashboard
W
The POS system loved by local small business retailers in Australia
T
Not all POS systems are the same.
The POS system from Tower Systems is Australian made for Australian retailers. It is backed by local support, delivered by humans who don’t push you through a rigid script.
This POS system is small business friendly. It is local business friendly.
Better still, the POS system from Tower Systems does not lock you into a payments platform, it does not require you to use specific EFTPOS. There is no fee relating to payments.
Tower Systems believes retailers should profit from their sales, not software companies. This is why the POS system from Tower Systems is unencumbered with fees and charged you see from other POS software companies.
The Tower Systems POS software pricing is transparent and small business friendly.
There is no extra charge for extra terminal or computer licences. Nor is there an extra charge for advanced reporting or loyalty facilities.
The modest monthly software rental cost includes software licences for unlimited computers in the location, help desk support (by phone or email) 6 days a week (incl. 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.
Save time with electronic invoices from suppliers.
Differentiate with you. Share your product use and care information.
Easy special customer orders. Smart tracking and customer notification.
Make money from pre-orders – Easily pre-sell before release.
Community group pricing. Set pricing rules based on customer type.
Ensure compliance when required with structured age checking.
Then, there are the awesome loyalty tools in this POS software. With many retail businesses running points based loyalty programs, differentiating is key for businesses that want to stand out. This is why our discount voucher loyalty program is loved by plenty of our POS software customers.
First up, while we call them discount vouchers, you can call them whatever you like. We have customers who call these receipt-based vouchers Our Thank You Gift or Bonus Bucks or Customer Reward..
Discount vouchers have been shown to deliver terrific sales boosts. Comparing sales over Christmas 2019 and New Year 2020, we have seen businesses achieve 12% sales growth through the active use of discount vouchers.
Typically, guys will want to spend the vouchers right away while girls keep them and often use them before they automatically expire.
Discount vouchers are easy to setup and run. Our support team can help with this. You can be live in minutes. You can easily change the settings too. The control you have is terrific and the shopper engagement reporting excellent.
Tower Systems is a small business focussed POS software company developing, and supporting POS software for niche specialty retailers.
Retailers beware: transaction fees by POS software companies increase the price of your POS software
R
Transaction fees make POS software more expensive for retailers. They are a hidden cost of ownership of POS software.
Tower Systems does not charge a transaction fee. Tower Systems does not force you to use any specific payments platform. We think this is what makes the total cost of ownership(TCO) of the Tower Systems POS software so low, and so loved by retailers.
The total cost of ownership (TCO) of POS software is the sum of all direct and indirect costs associated with the purchase, implementation, maintenance, and support of the software over its entire lifespan. This includes:
- Initial purchase price or the monthly rental cost summed over time: The cost of the software license and any associated hardware costs. Tower Systems has a simple monthly rental cost with no requirement to pay a year in advance.
- Implementation costs: The cost of installing and configuring the software, as well as training staff on how to use it. Tower Systems offers optional training (onboarding).
- Maintenance and support costs: The cost of ongoing maintenance and support, such as software updates, security patches, and technical support. The cost of support for the Tower Systems POS software is included in the monthly rental price.
- Other costs: Other costs that may be associated with POS software include credit card processing fees, integration costs with other systems, and downtime costs. Tower Systems does not charge any processing fees or any payments fees.
The TCO of POS software can vary depending on the size and complexity of the business, as well as the features and functionality of the software. For example, a small business with a single retail location may have a TCO of a few thousand dollars per year, while a large enterprise with multiple locations may have a TCO of millions of dollars per year.
Tower Systems keeps the cost of the software simple, easy to understand and manageable for the local specialty retailers on which it focuses.
Here are some tips for reducing the TCO of POS software:
- Choose a software solution that does not charge transaction fees.
- Choose a software solution that does not lock you into a specific payments platform.
- Take advantage of free training and resources offered by the software provider. Tower Systems offers plenty of these.
- Use the full features of the software to maximise financial return for the business.
By carefully considering all of the costs associated with POS software, you can choose a solution that is right for your business and your budget.
A message for local retailers
A
Running a local retail business can be lonely hard work with days that feel like they never end, plenty of people with unsolicited advice on what to do and too often not enough money to do what you want or need.
The thing is, local retail businesses are the stories, and often the lifeblood, of local Aussie towns. They are the businesses that make the most difference locally. And while some days it may not feel like it, they are loved.
If you own a local business and find it hard some days to feel motivated be sure to have a nourishing well from which you can draw to re-energise, re-set. It could be an album of photos, a keepsake from a loved-one, a local walk you enjoy, reading a chapter of a book or a hug from someone you know who has your back.
What local retailers do matters and you can only continue to do that if you take care of yourself too.
Recent Comments