Updated Toy shop software helps indie toy retailers better serve customers

27
February

Independent to retailers are vital to local shoppers and the local communities in which they live. They bring to town product knowledge and skills that help bring toys alive. Whereas big box retailers sell and only sell, indie toy retailers educate, nourish, train and play. Playing with customers is vital to local toy sales success.

Through the Tower Systems toy shop software, toy retailers are able to help retailers better serve local communities. They can use the software to leverage their point of difference and to demonstrate the value of being local. For embedded within the toy shop software are facilities that make these things happen.

Developed solely for indie small business retailers, the Tower systems toy shop software is specific to the needs of the toy retail channel. It is specialty software for these specialty retailers. Using the software you can easily and seamlessly handle:

  1. Customer special orders.
  2. Customer birthday reminders and celebrations.
  3. Followup based on products purchased and when.
  4. Email and text marketing based on purchase history and other details specific to customers.
  5. Handle bundle offers where customers could buy a hamper or pack of goods for one price but the software tracks every item included.
  6. easily tracking customer purchases that accrue to a benefit – just like a coffee card that gets you closer to a FREE coffee.
  7. Buy now pay later.
  8. Traditional LayBy
  9. Providing product care instructions.
  10. Ensuring products for a certain age are sold appropriately.
  11. Tracking serial numbers.
  12. Providing sales data to suppliers who like this so they can track success.
  13. Loading electronic invoices from suppliers so that data mistakes are reduced.

This list is only a start. The Tower Systems Toy Shop software does more, much more. And it continues to evolve, thanks to advice and suggestions from customers.

PERSONAL FACE TO FACE TRAINING.

Toy retailers and their staff respond well to personal in-store face to face training. That is what Tower Systems provides. This way, the Tower Systems training professional can see the business first hand, understand the needs and tailor software settings and training to serve the specific needs of the business.

In our view, for indie retailers, personal in store training provides the best outcome for indie retailers using our Toy Shop Software.

It is like training someone how to play a game. Playing with them is the best way for them to learn. That is what we do with our software training.

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Latest POS software update delivers new features to small business retailers

25
February

Tower Systems released another terrific POS software update to small business retailers two weeks ago.

This latest software update is 75% made up of enhancement requests from existing users of the software. These changes have come about as a result of the transparent, customer-driven, suggestion platform where any customer can make suggestions and invite others to support them.

This update, like all of our updates, has gone through the research, assessment, development, testing, beta release, tweaking and documentation processes, through to commercial release. This approach delivers to our customers a more stable beneficial product.

Also, our customers get to choose if they want the update. We don’t force it on them, ever.

POS software from Tower systems continues to evolve to be commercially and usefully relevant to our small business retail customers.

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What separates our POS software co out

23
February

Check out a display we created in one of our own shops recently, promoting some new products we imported direct from the US. Creating the display, tracking product success connecting with social media, selling in-store and online … this is all part of the Tower experience. Be sure to play with the sound on.

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Our bike shop software helps local indie bike shops compete with online and mass retailers

22
February

Jake loves the reminder he gets for a service of his pride and joy bike. He loves that it’s personal from his local bike shop and that it comes with free advice.

We love that Jake comes in for the service and usually buys a couple of items while in the shop.

Angie was rapt with the local hard to find bike track advice included on the receipt we gave her. She was riding through town and unexpectedly needed some kit. She emailed us a couple of days later with appreciation for the advice on our receipt.

First time customer Geoff came in to buy a bike for his grandchild. He left buying three extra things thanks to the Thank Youcash off gift we included on his receipt. He assured us he will be back for more because of this.

Jules loves the text message we send when her special order is in. It saves her calling and shows her we are tracking things just for her.

Every day, local indie bike shops in Australia serve customers like Jake, Angie, Geoff and Jules with personal local service.Specialist indie bike businesses need specialist software to serve these and other types of specialist needs.

Specialisation is what sets you apart.  It is what sets us apart too.

From managing seasonal sales to respecting product care instructions to offering easy sell packs with multiple items, our specialty bike shop software can help you serve in valuable and appreciated ways.

Thanks to our work with Bike Chaser and Bike Exchange we offer access to new selling platforms as well as through our own awesome website.

We help maximise sales with smart shopper engagement. Leverage customer data to reach out with personal reminders, bring customers back again and again.

Imagine easily reaching out to those who purchased a specific brand or type of bike and inviting them to come see or purchase a product they are sure to like.

Our front-end loyalty offer helps you leverage one-off and infrequent shoppers, to maximise their shopping visit. We have retailers reporting 10% and more revenue boosts from this loyalty tool big retailers cannot copy.

Another way to use the software is with Oxipay / ZipPay / AfterPay, a buy now pay later service that settles immediately to you. Integrated. Safe.

Our Bike Shop Software also offers:

  1. Catalogue management – making catalogue sales easy.
  2. Easy loading of electronic invoices from your suppliers.
  3. Linking to a website for online sales.
  4. Easily handling BOGO (buy 1 get 1 free) or other up-sell offers.
  5. Linking to Xero to cut bookkeeping and external accounting costs.
  6. Rewarding loyal shoppers with points, cash off next purchase or a mixture.
  7. Easy to use LayBy.

See the software live. For a free demo: Email: sales@towersystems.com.au. Call: SA / WA / VIC. Tim Batt. 0401 833 917. QLD / NT. Justin Randall.  0434 365 789. NSW / ACT / TAS. Nathan Morrison. 0417 568 148. Or, call toll free: toll free 1300 662 957. Check us out online: www.towersystems.com.au

This software is affordable. You can purchasethe software outright, leaseit or rentit. You can use it in your business loaded on local computersor in the cloud.

Supported by humans, in Australia. Our help desk is in Hawthorn, Victoria. No robots here. You can call, email, post a Facebook message Tweet or text us.

Training is personal. We come to your business and train you. The training is tailored to your needs. Plus, you have access to extra free one on one training.

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Our Jeweller POS software helps indie jewellers help people express love and affection

21
February

Frank got to the shop just before closing, in time to purchase a beautiful necklace as a gift for his wife for their seventh wedding anniversary. Talking about this at the counter, we explained how we could remind him next year so there was no last-minute rush.  Frank was thrilled.

Fast forward eleven months and Frank was in with two weeks to spare. He brought with him the voucher we sent as an early bird purchase encouragement. He spent $350.00 with us on another anniversary gift, bagging a $25.00 discount. Frank also told us about his daughter who had been born two months earlier. We asked for her birthday so we could remind him about that. “As long as you send me another voucher”, he joked. We will.

Reminding shoppers of gift buying opportunities is valuable for independent retail businesses. Doing this with thoughtfully tuned email or mail communications and including an offer can enhance the response rate.

These integrated, personalised, marketing tools are part of a range of jeweller specific marketing and management facilities in the jeweller software developed and supported by Tower Systems in Australia.

Yes, our software is locally developed software for local business needs. We only sell to independent retailers, meaning that business owners like you are listened to rather than big customers being in control. We understand small business retail.

Another way we help maximise sales is with an instant loyalty reward. This is particularly useful where you see shoppers infrequently, like for anniversary gifts. Using rules you control, a receipt can include a reward offering an amount off the next purchase.

An average 19% redemption rate for the vouchers with a third redeemed the day of purchase. Male shoppers are far more likely to redeem the day of purchase. Frank will attest to that.

The instant loyalty reward can also work with a point based program for more regular shoppers too, helping them spend more with you.

Our jeweller specific software also offers:

  1. Bundle pricing where you sell several items together. For example, matching earrings and a necklace or a bracelet and a necklace.
  2. Including care instructions on receipts.
  3. Smart reporting. The most important competitor is your own business. Our software makes it easy for you to compare month on month, year on year, by category, supplier and more.
  4. Multibuy pricing where people purchase over time and receive a free item. This works particularly well as people build a collection.
  5. Theft mitigation. We help you protect against employee and shopper theft.
  6. Managing repairs, regardless of whether you do them in-store or not.
  7. Easy loading of electronic invoices from your suppliers.
  8. Linking to a website for online sales.
  9. Linking to Xero to cut bookkeeping and external accounting costs.

See the software live.Contact us for an obligation free demonstration: Email: sales@towersystems.com.au. Call: toll free 1300 662 957. SA / WA / VIC: Tim Batt. 0401 833 917. QLD / NT: Justin Randall.  0434 365 789. NSW / ACT / TAS: Nathan Morrison. 0417 568 148. Check us out online: www.towersystems.com.au.

This software is affordable. You can purchase the software outright, lease it or rent it. You can use it in your business loaded on local computers or in the cloud. How you purchase and access the software is 100% up to you.

Supported by humans, in Australia.Our help desk is in Hawthorn, Victoria. Everyone who works on the help desk has experience in retail. To access the help desk you can call, email, post a Facebook message Tweet or text us.

Training is personal.We come to your business and train you in the software. The training is tailored to your specific needs. Like I said, training ispersonal. Long after we install, you have access to one on one training, at no additional cost.

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How a fresh approach to shopper loyalty in POS software helps small business retailers win business

20
February

This is a personal story about small business retail and the value achievable from a smarter and more customer respectful approach to rewarding loyalty … but in a different way, a way that is counterintuitive in that it front-ends the approach.

Here is our story … we are not your usual POS software company in that we are retailers too, using our software in a range of specialty retail shops.

I want to share with you a true story of what really happened  in my own retail business. It is a story of how a small everyday purchase led to something bigger and how this happened as a result of fundamental changes in how the business is run.

While this story is about what happened in my newsagency, it could happen in any type of business. This newsagency, by the way, is not your typical newsagency. Close to 70% of what we sell is non traditional. It is high margin higher price point items that sit at the core of this unique business.

At its core, this is a story about shopper loyalty, especially shopper loyalty in a retail situation where between 25% and 30% of shoppers visiting the business are not local and therefore not likely to engage with the old-school points-based loyalty program.

A customer passing the shop noticed our greeting card range and stepped into make a purchase because of a specific need. They purchased two cards. On their receipt was a voucher for almost $2.00. As they are not usually in the shopping centre they looked around for something in which to spend the $2.00.

This is the key: the customer came in to make a quick destination purchase. The type of business we were did not matter. They were on the way to the car park and happened to pass buy our shop. Point 1: location is in our favour. The stepped in because they saw our greeting cards. Point 2: the floor placement of cards was key in getting them in the shop.

Having made the purchase, the customer then noticed, for the first time, what else we sold – because of the $2.00 discount voucher on their receipt. Point 3: we got them to look around and see what else we sold.

The customer did a 180 degree turn and saw a locked glass cabinet of beautiful collectible bears. This was in the right place at the right time as they had been looking for a gift for a child. Money was not an issue. They wanted something to last a lifetime. They purchased a $500.00 bear.

This purchase would not have been made had they not been given the $2.00 voucher on their receipt. The voucher is what got them to notice what else we sold.

Fast forward several weeks and this customer who said they don’t usually come to the shopping centre was back for another $500.00 purchase. Now, several more weeks later, the customer has another $500.00 order placed.

I can directly trace more than $1,500.00 in sales back to the $2.00 voucher.

The software produced the voucher based on rules I established. The initial staff member serving the customer made a brief professional pitch highlighting the voucher. These are both important factors as they are at the core of a structured consistent approach to what has become the most lucrative loyalty program I have seen in my 30+ years involved in retail as a retailer myself and working with retailers in many different channels.

While most times vouchers are handed out they are not redeemed, they are redeemed enough to make them worthwhile. They are redeemed for good margin product as they get people looking at the shop for the first time and discovering items to purchase they were not in our four walls to consider.

The discount vouchers are disruptive and this is why I love them. People respond in unpredictable ways.

Best of all, the discount vouchers are profitable.

For this story to work in any retail business you need to have the right products, placed strategically in-store. Your employees need to make the right pitch. Plus, you need to be attracting people who don’t know and probably don’t care what shop they are in.

Tower Systems offers not only excellent software but also the business acumen, experience and drive to help you make the most of the opportunities in the software.

From points on a purchase to buy X and get Y FREE to Discount Vouchers, the Tower software offers flexibility in loyalty offerings that enable you to make the pitch right for your business to bring shoppers bag to spend more than might usually be the case.

Mark Fletcher, managing Director. Tower Systems. M: 0418 321 338.

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How can you tell if POS software is right for your business?

19
February

There are simple steps to take to determine if POS software you are considering is right for your business. These steps are:

  1. Be sure of your needs. Without doubt. Without confusion. Noter down your must haves.
  2. Make sure the software runs in your type of business. Specialty retail runs best with specialty POS software. Using generic POS software that all sorts of businesses use will give you generic results.
  3. Look at software in your shop. Before you sign anything, before you pay anything, get someone from the POS software company to your shop to show you the software. But first, please clear on outlining your needs.
  4. Make sure you know the POS software company. Often people sell POS software that they don’t control. This can weaken your situation. Make sure they control what they sell as it is only through this that they can serve evolving needs.
  5. Only proceed if sure. If you have any doubt, pause. If you have unanswered questions, pause.

Do your homework. Communicate clearly. research well. Decide when you are confident.

It works every time.

We are grateful to our many POS software customers for confirming that this process of clarity around searching fort the right POS software for any specialty business works.

Tower Systems will visit your store, listen to your needs, show you what we do and put an offer to you – if we think our two businesses are a good fit. If we do not think they are good fit we will wish you all the very best, shake your hand and maybe suggest another company to speak with. Life is too short to have any retailer have our software if were know it is not a good fit.

Our evaluation and assessment proceeds as as thorough as we suggest to prospective customers. It is about our choices as much as theirs. We want happy customers and we want happy people working for our POS software business. That happens when good relationships are formed.

This may seem like common sense. sadly, in there POS software world it is not. People can be ripped. Follow our advice and it is less likely to happen to your, regardless of the software company you choose.

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Bear shop software helps sell more bears and support bear collectors

18
February

Tower Systems offers POS software for specialty retailers, including teddy bear shops, collectible shops and similar businesses that so well serve local and o9nline collectors with beautiful handmade products.

Our bear shop software offers bear retailers a suite of tools and facilities on which they can rely to offer deeper, more appreciated, service of bear collectors. Serving specialty needs of collector focussed businesses, the bear shop software from Tower Systems is niche and unique.

Using our Australian developed and supported retail management POS software, bear shops can easily handle:

  1. Special customer orders such as pre-orders for collectors. This enables you to sell before you have th stock in the business.
  2. Product care information included on receipts, to help you provide a level of service and care beyond usual for retail. This is important as collectors seek to hold collections often for decades.
  3. LayBys: tracking from the moment of sale through to the last payment. This includes managing the location of the LayBy.
  4. Better than LayBys – buy now pay later options funded outside the business, releasing stop immediately for full payment to the retailer for the buy now pay later purchase.
  5. Bear birthdays.
  6. Customer birthdays for tracking and marketing
  7. Customer special occasion tracking and marketing.
  8. Collector special interests for targeted marketing.
  9. Professional product tags. To respect the nature of the product.
  10. Professional, gorgeous, receipts to your design, which can be changed over time.
  11. Website integration with accurate stock on hand matching your shop. Especially for Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce.
  12. Website development – offering you a professional online presence that is easily found through Google.
  13. Integrated EFTPOS to eliminate the need for an extra phone line.
  14. Marketing based on purchase history.
  15. Care instructions included on receipts.
  16. Easy – buy now pay later payment options.

These are some of the many ways our software can help you serve your customers with consistency and professionalism.

Bear shops can rely on  this specialty software to serve the needs of specialty bear shops where serving the collector is key to the business. ore so than generic POS software, this software from Tower Systems is unique, strong and useful as it helps retailers to separate their businesses from others.

Working with specialty bear retailers, the team at Tower Systems learns as needs evolve and this is reflected in the software itself, evolving over time. This continuous improvement approach results in more useful software that fits the needs of the businesses as they serve in their unique retail niche.

Bear shops need specialty software that serves their needs. This is sits at the heart of what makes them special. And we share as heck need bear shops because of the good they do locally and in the world.

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Awesome Valentine’s Day results for small business retailers

15
February

We are grateful for the opportunity to get a sneak peek at Valentine’s Day 2019 results for several retail businesses … and the results are good.

On a same store year on year comparative basis we are seeing good for Valentine’s Day. As usual, the bulk of the sales were achieved in the last week … actually, in the last five days to be precise.

Valentine’s Day remains an important season in card and gift focussed businesses. However, this year we have seen some nice growth outside of these traditional businesses as more retailers take a more creative approach and play outside of what has been traditional for the season.

In our POS software customer community we have a diverse group of indie retailers. Whereas in the past, Valentine’s Day was narrow in engagement in retail channels, 2019 has seen greater diversity in engagement. This reflects the changing nature of retail, something that is especially evident in small and indie retail businesses.

Tower Systems only sells to small and indie retailers. We have no interest in large retail groups as we prefer to serve and rely on many rather than be dominated by one or two.

Already, the focus is on the next season, Mother’s Day. This is another opportunity to play outside what has been traditional.

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Tower Systems helps indie retailers improve sales counter throughput

14
February

One of the free training courses we are running this year focuses on business efficiency and, in particular, shopper throughput efficiency at the sales counter.

Fast, accurate and personal sales processing at the counter is critical in any retail business. In small / indie businesses the challenge is complex in that these businesses are often not backed by corporate head offices where processes are studied and refined, and systemised.

Thanks to smart POS software, Tower systems makes it easy for small business retailers to improve efficiency without harming the shopper experience.

The free training courses we are offering cover this, in detail, and min a way that any retail business can leverage for theirs own experience.

Our training covers managing the counter, streamlining the sales process and leveraging terrific tools in our POS software that benefit shoppers, retail employees and the overall business itself.

We do it well, in a structured way and in a way that resonates with a host of niche retail businesses in the various retail channels in which we specialise.

The training is live, personal and interactive, enabling retailers to speak to their situation and for our experts to offer help that is tailored to their needs.

This training is part of our free weekly live training program for retail businesses using our POS software.

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Tower Systems helps small business retailers deal with cashflow challenges

12
February

Two weeks ago we published comprehensive advice for small business retailers on dealing with a cashflow challenge. It was not the first time we have provided business advice on cashflow management and it won’t be the last.

What makes us experts on cashflow management in small business retail?

This is a good question. We are retailers ourselves. We have 3,000+ retail businesses as customers. These points and our decades of service to small business retail position us to be able to help in this area.

Our advice was thoughtfully prepared, reviewed and edited, to ensure it spoke to the needs of local small business retailers, to help them in practical and genuinely useful ways.

We are grateful for the engagement of our small business retailer community, the follow-up questions, their engagement seeking help beyond our written advice.

Helping small business retailers beyond our POS software and with ready to use advice on managing a cashflow challenge is something we are proud of offering as part of our service at Tower Systems.

HERE IS OUR CASHFLOW ADVICE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION. 

In it’s simplest form, cashflow management is about ensuring a business has the cash necessary to meet its obligations and, hopefully, build reserves for the owners.

Good cashflow management starts with the understanding that this is your business. You sign the lease. You sign up for any loans. You hire, train, motivate, manage and, maybe, fire the staff. You choose what you sell. You set your prices for most of what you sell. You control how the shop looks. You manage the promotion of the business outside the business. Yes, this is your business.

The cashflow of the business is a product of your choices.

It is critical for every business owner to own their business cashflow performance. Blaming others or external factors is a cop out. harsh as it is, that’s the truth.

MANAGING CASHFLOW.

This list is ordered by priority.

  1. Budget. Have one. Until you do, do nothing. This is priority #1. The budget should include an inventory spend allowance, so you know what you can spend. Plan the budget for the business to be profitable / viable without the need for agency to support it. Business budgeting should involve provision to grow savings / emergency funds without having to borrow / lifestyle choices / exit strategy if you cannot sell the business.
  2. Funding. Before you borrow from any source, get advice as to the appropriateness of this funding. Too often we see expensive, unsecured, loans taken out at ridiculous interest, to the significant cost and harm to the business.
  3. Shop lease. Only sign a lease you are happy with. Be prepared to walk away at the end of the current lease if the new one offered is not good. Run your business through the life of the lease as if you will not take up a new lease in the same location.
  4. Labour costs. Run a lean roster. $25.00 a day saved in labour costs is like $50 to $75 in retail sales. That is, $15,600 to $23,400 in revenue for a six day week over a year.
    1. Ensure every team member has a role description.
    2. Set business performance targets:daily revenue / revenue per labour hour or similar. It is critical everyone working in the business understands the goals and that they support them.
  5. Price for margin. Understand retail price psychology. For example, $13.50 is seen to be the same as $14.99. So, price at $14.99. By pricing to a higher price point you can discount back or fund a loyalty program that discounts for loyalty. Also, choose .99 over .90 or .95.
  6. Loyalty. Run a loyalty program that focusses on people shopping more often with you. Be consistent in your pitch. Do not waver over the offer. It rewards loyalty, not laziness. The focus on loyalty needs to be whole of business, whole of team in pitch and management.
  7. LayBy. Stop it. Instead, offer Oxipay, ZipPay or AfterPay.
  8. Basket depth. Maximise every touchpoint.
    1. Counter. Always have multiple offers at your counter, offers that are easily purchased on impulse, offers that deepen the basket and make a shopper visit more efficient for you.
    2. Top selling items. Look at what is on either side. Make sure the products are relevant and easily purchased with the popular item.
    3. Exit pitch. Make sure you have a compelling and regularly changed pitch to shoppers as they leave the business.
  9. Inventory.
    1. You control your buying. Not a rep of a supplier ordering on your behalf.
    2. A full shop is not necessarily a good shop. A smart shop is better. This is, one that people love to browse, love to shop. Often in retail less is more.
    3. Consider establishing a buying approval process where more than one person participates in buying decision. The goal is to slow impulse purchases. This could be someone outside the business.
    4. If you doubt your ability ton pay, don’t buy.
    5. Move, move and move. Every day there should be movement of products in the sore to keep it feeling fresh.
    6. If products don’t work, quit them as they are worthless if you put them in storage for later.
    7. Work with suppliers, exploring delayed terms or consignment opportunities.

DEALING WITH A CASHFLOW CRISIS.

A cashflow crisis is when you can’t pay your bills on time or a sustained period of dissatisfaction with the cash reserves in the business.Too often, small business retailers ignore a cashflow crisis, leaving action until it is too late.

Here is our advice on how to deal with a cashflow crisis.

  1. Own the problem. Fixing this is on you.
  2. Bring in outside help. This could be a friend, a financial counsellor. The best person will be someone who understands your type of business who can help you see what you don’t see and support you in tough decisions to be made.
  3. Understand the problem. Know if it is short term or long term. Be certain about the role you have played.
  4. If you run customer accounts, collect with urgency.
  5. Ask the landlord for immediate rent relief. The more transparent you are with them the better. Document your case. Be prepared to show your P&L in support of your request.
  6. Cut your roster to bare bones.
  7. If you have stock on sale or return and it is not selling, return for credit.
  8. Immediately start a sale.
    1. Give it a cool, non scary, name.
    2. Price items to sell, especially items for which you have already paid. Even selling below cost frees cash to the business.
    3. Get everything on the shop floor.
    4. Display to clear. i.e. not pretty displays for sale items.
  9. For inventory that you cannot sell, consider eBay.
  10. Consider selling assets. If you have equipment in the business that you no longer use, sell it.
  11. Talk to all your creditors, apologise, outline your plan, ask for help.
  12. When making progress payments on creditors, respect all with payments. NOTE: small regular payments could be key to you not facing debt collection action.
  13. Act. Every decision, every action you take must work to addressing the cashflow challenge. If you have created a plan act on it immediately. This is not a time to overthink things.
  14. Invest. If your cashflow challenge is because of a decline in traffic, not spending money chasing traffic will only make the problem worse. Spend carefully.
  15. Plan for the end point. This will be either coming out on top or closing the business.

The cashflow achieved by a business is a product of your decisions. Be thoughtful in each decision and single-minded in your focus on a better cashflow outcome.

Thanks for reading. We hope 2019 is awesome for you.

Mark Fletcher
Managing Director
Tower Systems International (Aust.) Pty Ltd
E | mark@towersystems.com.au.

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Shopify connected POS software helps retailers make money online

11
February

The Shopify connected POS software from Tower Systems helps small business retailers get online more easily and make money more seamlessly.

First released years ago and enhanced regularly since the Shopify POS software link offered by Tower Systems is good for small businesses as it makes getting online structured and straightforward. 

Tower uses the link itself in retail businesses it owns and runs, offering the company personal and valuable experience on which it can draw to provide practical and useable solutions to its small business retail customers.

Thanks to the link, retailers can easily feed inventory data to their Shopify store, track online sales and easily facilitate order fulfilment.

Being a direct link offers a better solution for retailers who want to access to extraordinarily successful, Shopify platform. The data flow is immediate, safe, secure and valuable. Two-way, too.

The Shopify link is one of several e-commerce links offered through the Tower oysters POS software. The company supports multiple platforms to provide its customers choice. each e-commerce platform is widely used locally and internationally.

Our customers can link with sites they rate for themselves or have created by a web developer. Tower Systems also develops websites. We are happy to work in any situation people want. We make linking to sites easy with access to documentation on data flow and connection.

We welcome the opportunity to quote on stand-alone web development, where our sole service of your business is the development of a website.

Our POS software integrated websites serve a single inventory database between physical store and online store.

The Tower Systems web development team is skilled in WooCommerce, Magento and Shopify. The company has plenty of sites it can show in a live portfolio of successful e-commerce sites, serving shoppers in Australia and internationally.

Small business retailers can benefit from the retail management experience at Tower Systems experience that helps deliver a more retail focussed solution, integrated with POS software.

The Tower web development team is also skilled at SEO and SEM services that help raise the website rankings in key search engines, ensuring the site is found ahead of others.

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Aussie developed POS software connected websites help small businesses win online sales

8
February

2018 was a terrific year for online sales for plenty of the Tower Systems developed websites connected to our POS software. We are grateful to the many customers we developed websites with and launched them live for.

From single category sites to whole of business sites, we have helped plenty of small business retailers explained their businesses, find new customers and improve the value of their businesses.

Our websites are 100% Australian designed and built. They all connect with our POS software. They are available in Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce.

We are proud of the commercial success we are helping our retail customers achieve. This is good small business growth being achieved for our retail partners, a good small business story.

the websites we develop range from selling products valued at $5 apiece through to offering comprehensive niche solutions for our customers in high end retail where a transaction c an be worth $50,000 or more. The breadth of experience we have is considerable. We leverage this for  all of our customers, to provide them with the value of the expertise we have built over the years working in this area.

Our web development team is separate to our POS software team, working on different platforms, with different tools, but integrated. The two teams work closely together, ensuring a seamless, two-way, flow of data to benefit online and in-store and back office, delivering valuable benefits for the whole of the business while at the same time offering customers a seamless and safe solution for online purchasing.

From simple websites to complex multi business solutions, the Tower Systems web development team for retailers is skilled and capable of delivering valuable solutions.

To find our more about our web development services, speak with a local Tower Systems sales person. They can point you to successful sites from us that are live and transacting today.

Here are some of the store linked websites we have developed:

  1. www.beanieboosaustralia.com
  2. www.cutenessoverload.com.au
  3. www.popvinylsinaustralia.com
  4. www.willowbears.com.au
  5. www.willowbearsworldwide.com
  6. www.ittybittysinaustralia.com
  7. www.charliebearsinaustralia.com
  8. www.ezitask.com
  9. www.sendmytask.com

This is a selection of sites created by Tower Systems. Our web development skills are diverse. Our SEO and SEM skills are fine-tuned, to help you get the notice for your website.

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Tower Systems helps AIRR pet and produce businesses trade more efficiently, more successfully

7
February

Tower Systems is grateful for the opportunity to serve retailers in the AIRR group with its POS software for pet stores and POS software for produce stores.

We have partnered with AIRR for years, delivering retail channel specific POS software that serves AIRR members well, helping them run efficient, growing and successful businesses in their selected product and service niches.

AIRR members benefit from easy access to our POS software support and business help team at AIRR events and conferences. They also benefit in other ways including the development of tools for the benefit of AIRR members.

Delivering solutions for members of a group is something we do well at Tower, something we work on for the group and members of the group. We appreciate the support of AIRR in achieving this. In working at a group level as well as at an individual business level we deliver valuable assistance to AIRR and its members.

Group support and management are critical as groups leverage benefits for their members, helping them be strong advocates for the group while at the same time building more valuable businesses.

At a store level, here are some of the benefits you can expect from using the Tower Systems software in your business:

  1. Fast, accurate selling.
  2. Easy connection to Xero, MYOB or quick books.
  3. Easy connection to a website if you have one.
  4. Easy management of customer accounts.
  5. Identifying of shopper and employee theft.
  6. Tracking of stock movement.
  7. Handling of customer loyalty – points and discounts.
  8. Easy reordering based on sales.
  9. Easy handling of multiple price levels for items.
  10. Easy handling of multiple sale pack sizes (or volumes) per product.
  11. Easy performance reporting comparing trading periods, supplier performance and other key business performance metrics.
  12. Security over business data.
  13. Security over business settings blocking changes you do not want made.
  14. Peace of mind thanks to consistent processes established through the software for managing stock, customers and other aspects of the business.

At a group level, here are some of the benefits:

  1. Consistent handling of catalogue offers.
  2. Consistent stock file to facilitate benchmarking and store-by-store comparison to encourage growth.
  3. Reporting in a form to enable AIRR and Tuckers Pet and Produce team members to understand each business and provide analysis and guidance.
  4. Standardised support for preferred suppliers in support of their support for the group.

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The employee theft challenge in small business retail is real and expensive

6
February

Employee theft is a scourge in small business retail since it often, unfortunately, goes undetected for too long.

Tower Systems make employee theft detection easy in its POS software. However, like any tool, a retailer has to choose to use it. Too often, we see retailers ignore the easy access theft detection tools they have in our software, denying themselves the opportunity to catch theft earlier and thereby reduce the costs for the business.

Outside of the awesome theft m mitigation tools in our POS software, we help retailers with practical advice they can implement to further reduce opportunity for employee theft. We have developed these tools based on years of service in this area including working with police, prosecutors and others in catching and prosecuting cases of employee theft.

Here is some of the small business retail theft mitigation advice from our POS software retail experienced team:

  1. Track your stock.Receive all stock into your business through your computer system so you know exactly what sock you have.
  2. Scan everything you sell. Do not use department keys as this makes it easier for employees to steal since they know there is no trackback to stock on hand. Using department keys is an invitation to steal.
  3. Track every sale by employees.Give your employees a card with a unique barcode or have them enter a code – to track every sale they make back to them. Change the code every six months or so.
  4. Do your end of shift through your softwareand have a zero-tolerance policy on being over or under. Reconcile banking to your computer software end of shift. One business where this was not done was being skimmed regularly for $200 a day.
  5. Do spot cash balancing. Unexpected checks can uncover surprises. One retailer needing to do a banking during the day uncovered a $350 discrepancy that lead to discovery of systematic theft.
  6. Change your roster.Sometimes people work together to steal. One retailer found a family friend senior and their teenage daughter stealing consistently.
  7. Check your Audit Log.Look at cancelled sales, deleted sales and items deleted from a sale. Leaving a cash drawer open from the previous sale, scanning items, taking the cash and cancelling the sale is the most common process used by employees to accrue cash they then take from you. Good software tracks cancelled sales and what was in them. This can be matched with video footage.
  8. Check Gross Profit by department.If GP is falling outside what you expect, research it further.
  9. Setup a theft policy.Put this on a noticeboard in the back room. Get staff to read it and sign up to it. See the last page of this advice.
  10. Keep the counter clean.An organised counter reduces the opportunity for theft. It makes detection easier.
  11. Have a no employee bags at the counter policy.This makes it harder for them to hide your cash.
  12. Beware employees who carry folded paper or small notepads.These can be used for them to keep track of how much cash is in the register that is theirs – i.e. not rung up in the software.
  13. Beware of calculators with memories at the counter.One retail business employee used the memory function to track how much cash had to be stolen prior to balancing for the day – cash from sales not rung up.
  14. Do not let employees sell to themselves.If they want to purchase something make them purchase it from the other side of the counter.
  15. Be professional in your management of the business.The more professional your approach they less likely your employees will steal as they will see the risk of being caught as high.
  16. Advise all job applicants that you will require their permission for a police check.From the outset this indicates that you take your business seriously. In many situations applicants who have been asked for permission to do a police check advise they have found a job elsewhere.
  17. Do not take cash out for your own use in front of employees.If they see you take cash for a coffee or lunch some will see this as an invitation.

These steps work – based on decades of helping small business retailers to reduce and manage employee theft.

Theft, employee and customer, costs a typical small / independent retail between 3% and 5% of product sales revenue.  Management attention can cut this dramatically.  It does not take much time. No, it is more about having professional processes in place that everyone in the business follows.

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The new POS software help desk service that customers love

5
February

Late last year we launched a new free service for our customers that involves us doing some business performance analysis work for them through our POS software and delivering our assessment to them.

Our customers are loving this service. They love the insights, the fresh eyes view of their business performance, the respect we show for accurate business data and the deeper understanding they get from the work we are doing.

In each case the interaction is personal, specific to the business. We deliver valuable outcomes on which our customers can rely.

This new service was tested first, honed, buffed and then pitched, a couple of months ago. This week, we have reminded customers as we are keen to help as many customers as possible to get more from their investment with us.

This is a unique service that leverages our own retail knowledge and experiences. It enables us to deliver to our customers practical business outcome focussed data they can use to make better quality business decisions without having to harvest data themselves.

What we are doing is outside the usual scope for a POS software help desk. It is a point of difference delivered by Tower Systems.

Giving our customers insights is a terrific way to demonstrate real value from proper use of our software and engagement with the data analytics and reporting tools available through and allied to our software.

From unit count data to basket size, shopper visit efficiency gross profit and other data point analyses, we are delivering to small business retailers insights of genuine and understood value.

Privacy is respected through the process.  Educational opportunities are embraced where we see opportunities to help our customers nurture better business data for their own insights. We are thoughtful and careful in how we approach this, ensuring we are dealing with business owners.

Seeing a business make good business decisions based on their own business data is terrific and then seeing them nurture even more valuable business data in pursuit of growth is wonderful. that is what this free service from us guides for our small business retailer customers. It is a point of difference that is 100% is support of small business retail.

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Newsagency software helps Aussie small business newsagents navigate change

4
February

Tower Systems is grateful for the support of Aussie newsagents who use its newsagency software to help run their businesses.

From a range of newsagency specific capabilities, the company provides newsagents tools for traditional newsagency functions as well as a pathway to new services and facilities as they evolve their businesses to be more relevant in this rapidly changing world.

In retail there are terrific newsagency specific just as there are for the home delivery newsagents. The company has well established, well proven facilities that serve this specialty small business distribution and retail channel.

The company has also sold its software to supplier related businesses following thorough selection processes. Serving suppliers has helped better inform the Tower team about enhancements that deliver additional benefits to Tower customers.

The Tower Systems newsagency software is used by more newsagents than any other newsagency software.

TOWER SYSTEMS NEWSAGENCY SOFTWARE Q&A:

What are the most significant benefits of the system?

In addition to newsagency management specific facilities, using this software you can expect to reduce the cost of dead stock, improve traffic flow at the counter, spend less time agonising over decisions and enjoy the benefits of selling more.

Like any business tool, the benefits you get from using our newsagency business software reflect what you put in. There is no limit on how much training you can get from us.

Tower Systems approaches the opportunity as a long-term relationship.

Can I help local charities and community groups raise funds?

Yes, easily. You can track purchases by people supporting those groups and offer a rebate of your choosing to groups that support your business.

Can I ensure I do not sell to underage shoppers?

Yes, you can have a prompt come up on the screen to check that a customer is age-appropriate.

Can I offer buy now pay later like Afterpay?

Yes, easily.

Can I offer click and collect for online shoppers?

Yes, easily.

I have multiple loyalty offers for different categories, can I handle this?

Yes, easily. We have businesses managing a discount for shoppers who purchase 10 of one category, eight of another category and more where each offer is managed easily from the software. A single customer can engage with multiple loyalty offers. Plus, we track what customers buy so you can leverage this data.

Can I handle customer magazine putaways?

Yes, easily.

Can I take payment for newspaper subscriptions?

Yes, easily.

Can I do magazine returns electronically?

Yes, easily.

Can I handle a bundled price like buy 2 get 1 free?

Yes, easily.

Can I give manage newspaper home deliveries?

Yes, easily.

Can I take steps to manage / reduce employee theft?

Yes.

Is there management only control and access for seeing what people do?

Yes.

Can I create a roster?

Yes.

My business is changing and I want to sell café type products?

This is easy.

Will this software help me evolve my newsagency business?

Yes, easily. The software is web connected, to Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce. These connections help you engage online, attracting shoppers who would not walk in front of your shop.

Can I give loyal customers better prices?

Yes, easily.

Can I track sales to a particular customer?

Yes, easily.

Can I market to customers based on their purchase history?

Yes, easily.

Can I sell items by colour, size and style?

Yes, easily. This means you can sell fashion items if you want to get into a new area.

Can I sell bundled items like a gift pack I put together?

Yes, this is easy. You can have a bundled price as well as single prices for each if you wish. Creating bundles is easy as is retreating from bundles back to single items, maintaining the integrity of stock on hand data at all steps along the way.

Can I unbundle items from a pack back to single items?

Yes, easily.

Can I sell items by weight?

Yes, easily. We see this work well in newsagencies where they sell fudge and other items by weight.

Can I sell gift cards?

Yes, easily. You can sell gift cards for other businesses as well as your own branded, made just for you, gift cards.

Can I easily handle LayBys in the software?

Yes, you can establish your own rules and have these managed through the software.

Can I share useful local information on receipts?

Yes, this is easily setup and changed.

Can I handle special orders where a customer orders something I do not currently have in stock?

Yes.

Can I connect my POS software to a website?

Yes. This is very easy if Tower develops the website. If you already have a website we will provide your web developer with link instructions to connect the site to the data in the POS software. Your POS software holds all your inventory data including images. We will advise settings necessary to ensure the easy flow of inventory and sales data.

Can I buy an item from a supplier in bulk and separate this down to smaller retail packs?

Yes. Plus, you can set your own pricing and generate your own barcode for these packs.

I have a local technician who suppliers all my hardware. Can I still use them?

Yes, if they follow the hardware configuration advice we provide. Like any software, we expect a specific environment. We provide the information to local techs at no cost.

If I install your software do you come to my shop?

Yes. Being in your business enables us to see how and where the software could be used and to ensure what we propose is right for you.

Is there a limit on how much training is provided?

No.

You can purchase additional days on site for the installation, based on the needs of the business.

Is there a mandatory subscription fee?

No, maintaining annual software support coverage is optional with Tower Systems. You can choose to pay per call – this means if you don’t call, there is no cost.  After 12-months initial support coverage in our package pricing, we will invite you to stay supported.

Is the software installed on my computer or in the cloud?

Whichever you prefer. Most of our customers like it installed locally and backup to the cloud so they can keep running if the internet is down. That said, running in the cloud is easy.

Is the software specific to firearms businesses?

Yes, it has been highly tailored and will continue to be, based on customer feedback.

Is there a loyalty facility for people who I will only ever see once – to get them to spend more in that only visit?

Yes. We have an excellent loyalty tool in our loyalty facilities for exactly this type of shopper. It works particularly well with guys. We have businesses getting 25% engagement with it, increasing the value of the one-off shopper visit.

Can I have my sales and other data flow across to my accounting software?

Yes, we send your purchase & sales information across to Xero, MYOB & Intuit (Quickbooks).  While you can choose, we love Xero and use it extensively ourselves.

Do I have to buy a licence per computer?

No

Can the software run across multiple stores?

Yes. We call this multi-store.  It allows you to easily share stock and customer information, order and transfer stock, create stock orders and produce performance reports across your multiple stores.

How can I pay for the software?

You can buy it outright, lease it or rent it. The choice is 100% yours.  Lease is popular as you can claim the cost up front and spread the payments over a set term. We are happy for you to acquire the software through the payment method that suits you.

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