The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

Latest stories

Free demo of awesome Gift shop software $155/mth no lock in contract

May 23, 2023
2 Min read
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Watch a fresh demo of this Aussie made and supported gift shop POS software right away, without handing over any of your details, see if this 4155 a month POS software is right for your gift shop:

Rent For $155 A Month – Unlimited Terminals.

  • Unlimited registers. No extra cost.
  • Integrated accounting link.
  • Integrated e-commerce links.
  • Integrated payments.
  • Loyalty programs.
  • Advanced reporting.
  • Customer marketing.
  • Visual analytics dashboard.
  • Special customer orders.
  • Sell by fractions, sell by weight.
  • Integrated LayBys.
  • Customer gift vouchers.
  • Customised onboarding.
  • 24/7 support.

Why do gift shops need specialty POS software? Why can’t they use basic software? They can. However, the more specialty the software, the more facilities the business has to attract shoppers and leverage what’s special about the business.

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

The Tower Systems gift shop software is specialty POS software made for gift shops. It has been made to help gift shops leverage what is unique about their businesses. We think this is a reason many hundreds of gift shop retailers have chosen our software.

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LayBy opportunity for local small business retailers as the federal government is set to regulate buy now pay later

May 22, 2023
3 Min read
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With the federal government set to announce today plans to regulate buy now pay later (BNPL) products under the Credit Act, it could be timely for local independent retailers to pitch LayBy.

The use of LayBy dropped away as BNPL like Afterpay, Zip and others offered shoppers easy access to finance for immediate purchases. While BNPL is used for many products outside the scope of LayBy, I expect the use of LayBy to increase once the BNPL regulations are in place.

While the ACCC defines the LayBy arrangement, LayBy is regulated at the state / territory level. In Victoria, for example, the regulations cover the contract, cancellation, price chan get and more. The level of regulation varies between the states / territories.

In physical stores, the use of BNPL varies by retail channel, but it is a popular payment method, but often expensive to the retailer. Whereas credit card payments today typically cost retailers less than 1%, BNPL payment can cost as much as 6%. The benefit to the retailer is that there is no risk should the shopper default.

The anticipated BNPL regulatory changes give local retailers the opportunity to re-pitch LayBy. But first, we need to ensure our processes are fit for purpose, smooth, understandable, appealing to shoppers and economically viable for us. This is where retail management software like that from us here at Tower Systems comes into play.

Our POS software offers easy and consistent:

  • Structuring of terms and conditions.
  • Managing the appropriate deposit.
  • Setting of different expiry terms for a LayBy based on the products in the LayBy.
  • Tracking payments made by customers.
  • Following up any payments that are missed based on the agreed payment schedule.
  • Tracking where LayBy products are stored.
  • Easy editing of a layBy once commenced – by adding and removing stock.
  • Managing partial collection of items in the LayBy.

This structure is loved by many retailers using the LayBy facilities in our POS software. Some of our customers do thousands of LayBys each year.

Our advice to retailers is to focus on the expectation that all LayBys will be fully paid and collected on time, to consider LayBy as a positive service by the business and opportunity for the customer. Promote it. Welcome its use. Make managing it easy for you and the shopper.

Local retailers can make decisions around offering LayBy that could differentiate their businesses from bigger retailers.

We help our POS software customers with LayBy setup training and advice, so they can offer this payment method in a way that’s backed by consistency and certainty, offering a service that could help them win more shoppers.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Retail management advice: how to encourage a deeper, more valuable, shopper basket in local independent retail

May 19, 2023
3 Min read
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Every retail business can sell more to every customer. This is easy when you have good business data curated by your POS software and use this to make good business decisions.

Making more money from every sale starts with good POS software for this will show basket depth, allied product opportunities and things to avoid. It’s smart to start with what is real in your business and to leverage this to greater success.

In a many retail businesses, the top ten or so selling items will account for between 30% and 50% of revenue of the business.

Look at the top sellers report in your POS software and concentrate on the top selling items. Answer these questions about the top ten selling items from the last three months:

  1. Do you have appropriate impulse purchase products located on either side of each top item?
  2. Are the top items spread through the store, to maximize customer throughput?
  3. How often do you move the top items?
  4. Do you have the top ten items in multiple locations?
  5. What impulse purchase items do you have at the counter which will appeal to customers who purchase any of the top ten items?
  6. Has the list of top ten sellers changed in the last year? If so, how have they changed and what can you learn from this.
  7. Are there products which you do not currently carry which you could add to the store to sell with the top ten sellers?
  8. Do customers who purchase the top ten sellers ask for any other items?

The idea embedded in these questions is that you use the top ten sellers, or top twenty or top thirty, to focus your attention on items with which you can work to achieve more sales in your business.

By focusing on the top sellers and what you can sell with them you can increase the size of the average shopping basket.

If you can’t see opportunities for achieving more sales by placing products next to or with the top sellers then speak with your team and speak with trusted customers. Don’t rest until you unlock suggestions to try.

If what you try does not work, try more products. I know of retail businesses which have spent months finding add on items to work with their top sellers.

The key to this project is proper use of your Point of Sale software.  You need this to identify the top selling items and to track the success or otherwise of your project to sell more with your top performing stock lines.

There is plenty of additional money to be made from your top sellers. Invest time and attention on this project and get ready to bank the results.

If this all seems simple, it is. We have used this approach successfully in our own shops over many years. We run the shops to give us practical retail experience, so we can better serve our POS software customers.

Tower Systems is not your average POS software company.

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Small business retail advice: Your USP, Unique Selling Proposition, sets you apart, underpins the value shoppers see and feel in your business

May 18, 2023
3 Min read
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In his 1960 book, Reality in Advertising, Rosser Reeves, a respected US advertising executive, introduced the world to the concept of the Unique Selling Proposition, USP for short.

Reeves defined USP in an advertising context:

  1. Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer: buy this product and you will get this benefit.
  2. The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot or does not
  3. The proposition must be so strong that it changes consumer behaviour.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the concept of a unique selling proposition evolved from being essential to advertising to being essential in business. Finding your business USP was considered mission critical to businesses, retailers especially. Businesses drifted however and forgot about the importance of a USP.

Jack Trout told us just a few years ago that it was as relevant today. In 2000, he said that a Unique Selling Proposition was mission critical in business in his aptly titled book Differentiate or Die.

Differentiate of Die. There is no doubt about the call to action in the title, no doubt about the consequences of inaction.

Yet many retailers, for the most part, have remained still in the face of an onslaught of competition.

Retail is complex, challenging and changing rapidly today. The differences between competitors fewer. Retailers are surrounded by competition and it grows by the day. Yet many have remained still and done nothing.

Smart retailers are re-acquainting themselves with the writings of Reeves and Trout and leaning about the mission critical imperative of having a Unique Selling Proposition.

Differentiation could be service, products or location or a combination of these. Differentiation will most likely not be price as anyone can match this easily. Price is, after all, the last line of defense in any business battle. That said, there are some major price-focused success stories – Wal-Mart for example. It is rare in an independent retail situation.

To develop your USP, engage with your employees and other stakeholders. Take your time. Determine what you and your business stand for. Following open and honest discussion and debate, the USP around which everyone in the business can willingly congregate will emerge.

A good USP will not require an advertising campaign to communicate. It will become obvious through actions and decisions. By living the USP in every facet of the business you soon become seen as unique by shoppers and this can drive excellent word of mouth and success for the business.

While differentiation in retail is more important today than ever thanks to today’s economic conditions, the approach to the challenge is the same as in the 1960s.

if you are not sure where to start when considering your USB, look at your POS software and the data it curates about your business for in that data will be insights into your points of differences things you can cultivate to have a stronger USP.

Your POS software is a good place to start as your shoppers show you through their behaviour what they like and don’t like about your business.

Tower Systems offers this small business retail management advice because we are retailers too. we use our POS software every day and have done so for many years.

We serve local specialty retailers with locally made and supported POS software created in service of a defined range of retail channels.

Tower Systems is not your average POS software company.

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How POS software helps local small business retailers serve local shoppers

May 17, 2023
2 Min read
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Local retailers often pitch for local shoppers with emotive language on social media and noticeboards out the front of the shop and while these pitches can help the local retailers feel like they are pitching shop local, we think they are noise in an already noisy space.

The best way for a local retailer to pitch shop local to local shoppers is by showing, rather than telling.

Here are 7 ways local small business retailers can use POS software to pitch local by showing rather than telling.

  1. Share local knowledge. If you sell products that can be used locally, in local conditions, share relevant information as to appropriate local usage on your receipts. Garden centres, fishing shops, camping businesses, produce / farm supply businesses and more are ideal for the sharing on this local knowledge. Big businesses are not structured to do this like you can.
  2. Share local knowledge II. Share information about local places where what you sell can be used. share your local knowledge, insider tips, to add value.
  3. Support local community groups. use your POS software to serve members of local community groups and clubs. Offer the members a deal and an opportunity to fundraise for their club or group. This pay it forward approach offers a level of local support that big businesses will struggle to match.
  4. Highlight local products. Use your POS software to note what you have in store that is locally sourced. Shine a light on local products so your shoppers can support local more.
  5. Offer local value. Use your POS software to offer loyalty rewards to regular shoppers. These are more likely to be the local shoppers who provide the best value for the business.
  6. Communicate locally. Harvest local shopper details from your POS software and email local specific offers to local shoppers. reward their locality.
  7. Be locally relevant. Use your shop as a hub, a knowledge base on local, be known for this and your service of the local community and local places of interest.

We have cultivated this list by being local retailers ourselves, through own own doing, for decades in the gift, homewares and related retail channels. By showing shoppers the value of shopping locally we win more local business for sure. yes, we use our POS software every day in shops we own and run.

Tower Systems is not your average POS softer company.

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POS software for local clothing shops

May 16, 2023
3 Min read
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We are grateful to serve local clothing / fashion / apparel shops with POS software that serves their needs.

Tracking inventory by variants (colour / size / style), reporting sales by fashion brands, managing alterations, guiding more successful product descriptions, removing image backgrounds, nurturing shopper engagement and revealing business performance data points, this POS software made for local independent clothing shops helps these businesses thrive.

Here are some of the benefits leveraged through this software developed for fashion and apparel retailers and included in our $185 a month package:

  • Easily setup your POS screen to serve your needs.
  • Quickly create your own barcodes.
  • In seconds offer gift vouchers to shoppers.
  • Offer digital or printed receipts.
  • Colour, size and style: Easily track sales at a granular level.
  • Community group pricing: Helps you attract community group members.
  • Repairs: If you do alterations, this helps manage that for you.
  • Bundle pricing: easily put a package together to encourage value shoppers.
  • LayBys. While we offer Afterpay and Zip, old fashioned LayBy is growing again.
  • Bring them back: Market to shoppers based on past purchases.
  • Sell anytime: With our Shopify / Big Commerce / Magento / Woo integrations.
  • Awesome loyalty: Guide them to spend more.
  • Seasonal reordering: Reorder inventory based on seasonal sales.

Here are answers to some of the questions we have been asked about our POS software for fashion and apparel retailers.

Does the software handle products by colour, size and style? Yes.

Can I report on sales by supplier? Yes.

Can I track product performance by brand, which may be different to supplier? Yes. Through tags in our software you have considerable reporting flexibility.

Can I track time and materials for alternations? Yes.

Can I include product care information on receipts? Yes.

Can I use the software to track and manage items we make? Yes.

Does the software let me track customers by occasion? Yes.

Can I do this by text or email? Either, we support both.

Can I look-up historical records for a specific customer? Yes.

Can I group items together to sell in a pack or bundle? Yes, it’s easy to create packs using the software.

We are proud of our POS software for clothing shops and what it offers these local indie retailers.

Here’s what’s included in the $185 a month rental cost for this POS software for clothing shops / fashion retail / apparel retail: software licences for unlimited computers in the location, help desk support (by phone or email) 6 days a week (including Saturday), access to a comprehensive support knowledge base, after hours support call access for urgent system down queries, access to our Shopify, Xero and other integrations, access to our supplier invoice import tools.

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Retailers love our regular POS software user newsletter

May 16, 2023
1 Min read
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We are grateful for the feedback on our latest Tower Systems POS software customer print newsletter. It’s our third for 2023 and across the pages it is packed with practical advice on how to leverage our POS software for more value in each business using it.

 

The print newsletter is part of a comprehensive comms strategy in serving of our POS software user community. It covers emails, calls, Zoom meetings and personal connections.

The print newsletter is for those who love to hold paper in their hand and read without needing batteries.

We are glad for the opportunity to communicate with our customers through the old-school print medium.

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Where to buy receipt rolls, barcode labels and other stationery for retailers using POS software

May 15, 2023
3 Min read
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Tower Systems offers easy access to quality POS hardware suppliers, POS receipt rolls, POS labels and more through its consumables POS hardware and supplies online shop.

Anyone can shop at the online Tower Systems POS software stationery shop, regardless of the POS software you use.

Shopping for receipt rolls, barcode labels, barcode printer ribbons, barcode scanners, POS computers and more is easy at the Tower Systems online shop.

The website is totally self-serve with easy access, helping retailers stay on top of their stationery and POS consumable requirements. Each product page has good information on the product to enable you to decide if it is right for your business needs.

Online at this POS supplies, hardware and stationery shop, retailers can purchase plenty of items, including:

We know that retailers want reliable printer ribbons, barcode labels, receipt rolls and more for the safe and easy running of their business. We do our best to ensure that we have what people need, when they need it and to a quality that they can trust to provide good customer service for threat local retail businesses.

The Tower Systems POS stationery and consumables shop offers 24/7 shopping access to hardware, printers, barcode labels, receipt printers, receipt rolls POS hardware computer terminals and specialty POS stationery and other supplies.

You can pay by credit card, including American Express as well as Afterpay, Zip and more. we make it easy to choose what you need, pay and then organise shipping.

The Tower Systems POS software stationery, hardware and barcode label shop also makes it easy for retailers to purchase POS software training.

Buying receipt rolls, barcode labels, printer ribbons and other POS software consumables is easy through this Tower Systems retailer services website. We offer this as part of our one stop service for local small business retailers, to help them have the stock of what they need on time to serve that need.

We do so at a modest cost, using products and offering products that we use ourselves in our own retail businesses.

In terms of our POS software, here are the retail marketplaces we cover:

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

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What is Point of Sale (POS) software and how is it useful for independent retail businesses?

May 12, 2023
3 Min read
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Point of Sale software is software that helps retailers transact sales, manage inventory, manage employees, manage supplier relationships, manage online sales and more.

In truth, good Point of Sale software is financially rewarding and valuable to small business retailers. This is especially true for specialty software designed to serve the needs of niche retail businesses.

Tower Systems develops specialty retail software for niche retail channels. This is all we do, serve the needs of thoughtfully selected retail channels. We dive deep into their needs, the needs of their suppliers and the needs of their customers. This is evident in our Point of Sale software for each of the specialty marketplaces in which we serve.

Developed in Australia for independent small business retailers in New Zealand and Australia, the various versions Tower Systems POS software are each specialty software for specific market niches.

Tower Systems serves: garden centres, jewellers, bike shops, pet shops, fishing and outdoors shops, firearms businesses, produce and farm supply businesses, games shops, newsagents and adult shops. In each of these retail channels, Tower Systems offers Point of Sale software specific to the needs of retailers in each channel.

Just as local retail businesses promote their point of differences to local shoppers, Tower Systems promotes its points of difference, that is that we offer software specific to the needs each retailer in each channel.

Let’s look at this more deeply. Take our bike shop software. In this software we offer bike retailers facilities developed specifically for bike retailers, facilities such as retail sale, shopper loyalty engagement, management of repairs, follow-up of warranty services and the easy, safe and accurate connection with suppliers to enable more commercially astute engagement.

Each of our retail channel specific POS software packages deliver facilities finely tuned to the needs of each retail channel. The retailers in each channel have a say as to what is in software updates. This process is transparent to all Tower customers, it leads to better software for our customers and for the benefit of those who connect with their businesses.

Tower Systems is a competitive POS software company. Our competitiveness is evident in the deep and excellent facilities in Our POS software, the easily accessible and personal support we provide, the face-to-face in-store training provided and the valuable and professional documentation available to our customers online 24/67 through our customer service portal.

Considering our software starts with us understanding your needs. This is where we begin. It is important to us to understand how your business operates, what you need and what you want from a POS software investment. Our sales professionals meet with you and ask many questions, because what you need does matter to us.

Point of Sale software is an important choice for any retail business. Tower Systems has more than thirty years of service, demonstrating our respect for the importance of the choice you make.

If you think we could be of service to your business, please reach out to us so that we may together see in the Tower Systems POS software could be useful for you.

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A POS software solution for AIRR and Tuckers Pet and Produce members

May 11, 2023
3 Min read
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We are grateful here at Tower Systems to offer plenty of AIRR and Tuckers Pet and Produce members POS software to serve the retail management needs of their businesses.

A good Point of Sale system pays for itself every day by helping retailers increase customer spend per visit, bring customers back more regularly, reduce the cost of slow or dead stock, reduce mistakes and make better business decisions.

Australian POS software company Tower Systems is grateful for the opportunity to help AIRR and Tuckers Pet and Produce members leverage more benefits from being part of the group.

Consistent stock files, electronic invoices, easier business-to-business comparison and more targeted business development assistance are just some of the benefits you can expect from a more consistent solution.

But being independent businesses we understand you need a computer system over which you have absolute control and security within your business.

That is what the Tower Systems solution offers – locally run software for your type of business in your business over which you have control yet that can be run in a manner that helps the group help you.

Tower Systems has a local retail business tech strategy for helping members of groups AIRR and Tucker Pet and Produce.

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

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

WHAT DO WE THINK IS  UNIQUE ABOUT TOWER SYSTEMS?

  1. We are an Australian business. Many software packages being sold to Australian businesses are made overseas.
  2. Our service is personal. When you contact us you are always dealing with a human. We do not use automated communication systems.
  3. Our service is whole of company. From the leadership team of Tower Systems throughout you have access. There are no closed doors. This makes it easy for you to escalate any query you have.
  4. We are a software company, not a consulting business using software as a mechanism for driving consulting fees.
  5. We are in your business. Not a contractor we hire, not over the phone, when we install the system we do it in your business, working with you and your people.
  6. We offer more facilities than any other system. These offer you flexibility for driving purchases in the current visit and for bringing shoppers back more often.
  7. You have access to extraordinary customisation, enabling you to represent your business son receipts, invoices and other documents how you want.
  8. Embedded in our software are facilities for tracking how the software us used. This enables us to help you monitor and reduce employee theft.
  9. Retail focussed. The big challenge of retail is to uncover opportunities, which you can still leverage them. We have smart reports, which unlock for you information about your business, which can help you plan and grow.

We are grateful to offer plenty of AIRR and Tuckers Pet and Produce members POS software.

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12 POS software facilities that help independent toy shops compete

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

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

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

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

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

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5 ways retailers can use the POS software from Tower Systems to pitch value to shoppers

May 9, 2023
3 Min read
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Plenty is being written about the economy at the moment and it is negatively impacting consumer confidence. There are things you can do with the Tower Systems POS software to show your business offering value to shoppers, and thereby nurturing more value for you.

And here in this post, value means the value shoppers perceive in dealing with your business. You could also use the term savings.

While value can be about price, it is often not as straightforward as that. Something could cost more but it could last longer or you might get more pieces than if you pay a lower price or there may be some other add-on that drives value.

While our POS software offers many ways retailers can pitch value to shoppers, here are 5 ways retailers can use the POS software from Tower Systems to pitch value to shoppers:

  1. Discount vouchers in Retailer are a perfect way to pitch value. A dollar amount discount is better understood than points. You can set the vouchers up in a way so costs are covered by benefits. Show your shoppers what they can save.
  2. Offer to fund raise for local charities, community groups and clubs. They could give their members a card that gets them, say, a 5% discount off purchasing from you while also earning for the charity a 5% donation. The goal here is to bring new shoppers into your business.
  3. Offering a coffee card type discount of, say, buy 9 and get your 10th free for habit-based purchases, like coffee, pet food, cards, magazines, fertilizer etc. can help nurture shopper stickiness to your business.
  4. Bundling products together into something that only your business offers can pitch a value proposition unique to your business.
  5. Volume pricing, where the cost of an item decreases as the quantity purchased increases, can help shoppers save and you sell more.

Your software offers more ways of pitching value to shoppers than these, and it helps you systemise pitching value. Being consistent about this is key to it working for you.

Consider this list of 5 a starting point, a jumping off point for exploring other ways for your business.

Tower Systems offers business management advice like this to all of its POS software customers, taking the POS software help desk experience beyond the technical and onto the shop floor, to help our local small business retailer customers to themselves get more value from their use of our POS software.

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7 ways retailers can use POS software from Tower Systems to help improve the value of their business

May 8, 2023
3 Min read
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When we talk about the value of a retail business we mean what the business is worth when it comes time to sell, which is dependent on the profitability of the business as reflected in the profit and loss statement.

Value is the key business measure here and while there can be non-monetary value perceived by the owners and other stakeholders, it is the value as seen by others, as through P&L results that is the common measure.

Using POS software from Tower Systems, retailers can drive value. Here are 7 ways they can do that:

  1. Dead stock. In the average indie retail business, dead stock is equal to around 3% of turnover and often around 12% of total current inventory investment. Using our software, it is easy to identify dead stock. That’s the first step to converting it to cash.
  2. Stop running out of stock. Selling out of items that will sell costs the business  money.  In a small retail business we looked at recently, sell-outs cost more than $3,000 in a year, or $1,500 in gross profit, all because of poor re-ordering management. Your Insights Dashboard has this information.
  3. Bloated roster. Some prefer to spend money on people, so they have time to themselves for relaxing, golf or to sit in the back office, where no customer purchases from. We often see a bloat cost equal to around 10% of the roster.
  4. Wrong trading hours. Some stay open too long while others are not open long enough. Either way has a cost to the business.
  5. Being blind to theft. Theft in local indie retail costs on average 3% – 5% of turnover. Our software can help you see it, track it, and mitigate against it.
  6. The wrong product mix. GP% is a key measure of retail business performance. Often, we see retailers chasing transaction volume and not watching and chasing GP%. Growth in business GP% is often more valuable than transaction growth.
  7. Reordering. Ordering based on data reduces mistakes. It’s better, too, than letting a supplier order for you. The software can help you with reordering, so there are fewer mistakes, fewer sell-outs, less dead stock.

This list is incomplete as our POS software can help cultivate value in plenty of other ways. We created this list to provide our customers with a starting point, some low hanging fruit.

We shared the advice with our customers via our regular customer email and our regular print newsletter. This is another example of the proactive approach we take to guiding our customers to achieve more from their use of our POS software.

While, for sure, our help desk answers support questions and helps with technical queries, we often go beyond with business advice that crosses the intersection of the technical; aspects of the software and the use within a retail business of the software to better serve the business and its owners.

7 ways retailers can use POS software from Tower Systems to help improve the value of their business is all about showing our POS software user community ways they software they already have can be used to help cultivate business value.

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Your local newsagency will be the best place to buy Mother’s Day cards this year

May 6, 2023
4 Min read
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We are grateful to serve more than 1,700 local Aussie newsagents with our newsagency POS software. This small business community of retailers is dear to our heart. Right now, they are offering wonderful Mother’s;s Day cards.

If you are looking for a Mother’s Day card this year for sure shop your local newsagency because there you are likely to find the best range of Mother’s Day cards.

There’ll be cards for mum, mother, grandma, nan, granny, and more. There’ll also be cards for people who have been like a mum to you. And, there are likely to be cards from the cat or the dog.

If you like to see the best Mother’s Day cards around, if you want a range from which to choose, your local newsagency is the place to shop.

Now, if you are thinking a text message might do, mum can’t put the text message on the mantlepiece, she can’t keep it with her other cards to look at every few years. A card is a keepsake that lasts, it nurtures memories she will love. And the cards at your local newsagency give you choice to get it right.

The range of Mother’s Day cards out now at your local newsagency really is good. There are many new designs, many cards to brighten mum’s day.

We understand you have a range of shops from which to choose when buying a Mother’s Day card. Your local newsagency is the card specialist. You’re not pressured. The cards are not mixed in with groceries. Browsing is easy and you know, for sure, that you have many wonderful cards from which to choose.

Once you have the awesome card, from a newsagency of course!, here are 10 text ideas for what you could write in the card. Consider them prompts to kick off your own thinking:

  • Happy Mother’s Day to the most amazing mum! Thank you for being there for me, for your love and support, and for teaching me so much.
  • Dear Mum, on this special day, I want you to know how much I appreciate you. You are my role model, my friend. Thank you for the sacrifices you made for me, and for the ways you show me your love.
  • Mum, you hold our family together and for that I love you. I have learnt from your kindness and your wisdom. Thank you for being an amazing mother, and for being such an inspiration.
  • Happy Mother’s Day to the woman who gave me life, and who continues to shape my life in so many ways. You are my safe haven. I love you.
  • Mum, you are my superhero! Thank you for someone I can always count on. I hope your day is as amazing as you are.
  • Dear Mum, thank you for everything. I would not be me, today, without you.
  • Mum, you are the sunshine in my life. I am grateful you are my mum, and I wish you the happiest of Mother’s Days.
  • Happy Mother’s Day to the queen of our hearts! You have taught us love, and you have shown us how to live life. We love you more than words can say.
  • Mum, you are a true blessing in my life. Thank you for being my rock, and my friend.
  • Mum, I am so lucky to have you. Thank you does not feel like enough appreciation for what you mean to me. I love you.

Remember, what you write will last for years. Mum will look back on your words and the warmth you share today will matter in the future.

Newsagents understand Mother’s Day. We’re local retailers serving local communities and as such we are close to our shoppers. You buying a Mother’s Day card from us, from any newsagency, means so much to us.

Now, get out there and buy your mum an awesome Mother’s Day card, from a newsagency of course!

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Why we don’t claim our POS software is the best POS software

May 5, 2023
2 Min read
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It’s funny seeing POS software companies claim their software is the best. They could not know. We for sure do not know if our Tower Systems retailer POS software is the best PSO software, and here’s why:

Only someone who has used in real life and over some time all the software to which it is compared could really know.

We have not used other POS software. We’;re sure our competitions have not used our software, or other software, too.

A retailer who has used two or three software products could not know how a product they have not used may or may not serve their business.

The thing is, when it comes to POS software marketing, there is too much hype in our view, a lot of businesses saying their software is the best.

It’s why we don’t say our Tower Systems POS software is the best and the same reason we do not say it is perfect for you.

Only you can know what POS software is right for your business.

Here’s what we do know though, as retailers ourselves (currently 3 physical shops and 4 online retail businesses), we know that our POS software is a good fit for our needs, and they are complex needs. As retailers ourselves we use our software every day, at volume, in several specialty niche retail areas.

So, we can certainly speak to our own experience, about how our POS software is serving our needs, and we can show prospective retailers how our POS software works, we can show them in any of our shops. We welcome people to work in the shops and use the software first hand before they make a decision if they want.

We’re not aware of any other Australia POS software companies in our specialty retail; channels who own and run retail. businesses as live labs for testing and enhancing their software and for offering prospective customers a live business in which they can experience the software first hand.

We reckon our Tower Systems Retailer POS software is good. It’s up to you to see if it right for you. We are happy for it to be compared to anything. We welcome such comparison and with co-operate in any way we can to help you do this.

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What are the benefits for gift shop owners from the gift shop POS software from Tower Systems?

May 4, 2023
3 Min read
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Benefits are what matter the most when choosing POS software for your gift shop for its is the benefits that pay for the software and the time you invest in and with it.

Here are key benefits gift shops owners and employees tell us they gain from using our Tower Systems gift shop software:

  • Sell easily and accurately at the counter, tracking everything.
  • Bring in and price new stock quickly and accurately thanks to many electronic invoice links with suppliers.
  • Easily add value from your own knowledge and therefore personalise your business. Your products knowledge is differentiating. The software makes it easy to do this.
  • Make decisions based on facts curated for you by the software as it collects data from transactions. Evidence based decision making has been proven to help gift shops thrive.
  • Seamlessly share data and collect sales with and from websites is Shopify, Big Commerce and Woo Commerce.
  • Easily manage the business remotely.
  • Save money by more quickly identifying theft situations.
  • Easily, without extra keystrokes, have sales data flow across to Xero.
  • Easily identify shoppers for marketing campaigns based on what they have purchased form you.
  • Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to you for this.
  • Maximise the basket with easy to use one-time shopper loyalty tools.
  • Trade, club and community group pricing profiles. Set pricing rules based on customer type.
  • Make money from pre-orders – Easily pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  • Differentiate with informative receipts. These can include product care, use and safety information based on what customers buy.
  • Differentiate with bundles. Selling items bundled together makes price comparison hard.
  • Track who sold what.
  • Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
  • Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.

This software made for gift shops is delivering these benefits and plenty more to gift shops of all sizes and in a variety of settings from shopping centres to the high street to regional and rural businesses.

Come and join 3,000+ local small business retailers who already use our software.

It costs $159.00 a month to rent (inc. GST). This includes the software, help desk support (Melbourne based), half a day one-on-one setup and training and access to an awesome knowledge base of advice and help.

You can cancel the rental at any time. There is no lock-in contract, no requirement for you to pay up front for a year. Pay as you go, monthly.

There is no requirement that you use a particular EFTPOS service. We mention this as some POS software companies lock you in on a service with a high price.

Find out more at www.towersystems.com.au/gift.

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Advice for local retailers on how to deal with EFTPOS fees

May 3, 2023
5 Min read
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It’s an easy complaint for a retailer to make – my EFTPOS merchant fees are too high, it’s not fair, time for me to consider another supplier or to consider charging customers a surcharge.

Customers hate surcharges, especially if there is another retailer selling what you sell who does not charge a surcharge.

Every method of payment has a cost, including cash. In my experience working with retailers, the cost of cash is higher because of theft. However, it is not easily seen, especially in retail businesses that do not research or teach theft.

Here are some business ideas for addressing the cost of EFTPOS:

  1. Promote cash payment – if you want the costs associated with cash of course.
  2. Be clear as to the cost of using a card. You could apply a surcharge, which I think is a ridiculous idea though.
  3. Price knowing that cards will be used by customers. Build the cost into your pricing model. Keep the bump under 1.5% and it is less likely to be noticed.
  4. Lower a cost elsewhere to cover the cost. Shaving a hour of employee rostered time can save you around $30.00, that’s equal to purchases of $3750.00 on a card – depending on the type of card used.
  5. Increase sales. While you should be focussed on this anyway, increasing sales helps you address the EFTPOS cost and more in the business.

If you are annoyed/upset/angry about EFTPOS fees, I’d like to gently and respectfully suggest you look at parts of your business over which you have control and that offer a better return from your physical and emotional attention. These are things that I regularly see ignored in favour of complaining about someone or something else:

  1. Dead stock. A problem not seen is not a problem to too many. In the average indie retail business, dead stock is equal to at least 3% of turnover.
  2. Stop running out of stock. Manual process for stock reordering, by retailers and suppliers, regularly result in sell-outs, and, therefore, missed sales. Every time that happens it is a cost to the business. In a retail business I looked at recently, the cost of sell-outs was more than $12,000 in a year, or $6,000 in gross profit, all because of poor re-ordering management.
  3. Bloated roster. Some prefer to spend money on people so they have time to themselves for relaxing, golf or to sit in the back office, where no customer purchases from. I often see a bloat cost equal to around 10% of the roster.
  4. Wrong trading hours. Some stay open too long while others are not open long enough. Either way has a cost to the business.
  5. Being blind to theft. Theft in local indie retail costs on average between 3% and 5% of turnover. Not watching for it, tracking it and mitigating against it has a cost to the business.
  6. The wrong product mix. GP% is a key measure of retail business performance. Increasing yours beyond what is traditional for your channel provides you with a buffer. For example, transaction count / sales can decline and you can be okay. Measure GP%. Set a goal. Chase it. The air is cleaner in above average.
  7. Ignorance. No, it’s not bliss. There are insights in your software that can guide better decisions, faster decisions, more financially rewarding decisions. Yet, too many in retail don’t want to know. That failure costs them plenty.

The items on the above list are all on the retailer to address. The benefit is that addressing these results in a stronger, leaner and more valuable retail business.

Adding a surcharge to each EFTPOS transaction is an easy step, but the wrong step in my view as doing that could shield you from more important and valuable business moves you can make.

…

One of us here at Tower Systems ate at a Melbourne restaurant recently while in the city for the Comedy Festival. The bill was $195.00. They only took payment by card. They presented the EFTPOS terminal. After navigating the tip screen on the EFTPOS terminal a message appeared: If you proceed a surcharge may apply. There was no option but to proceed. The surcharge was $2.14.

What was annoying was that paying by card was the only option and that they control the prices of what they sell.

Maybe we are ignorant about restaurant management but this place could have charged 10% more on each item and not charged a surcharge and customers would be happier than with them now. In fact, customers would probably have been more likely to return than now.

We think EFTPOS fee question is more one about acting on what we can change rather than what we cannot change.

We worry too much about price in local indie retail. A retailers we know selling a range of products widely available increased their price by 10%. Unit sales continued on their upward trajectory. This business now makes more GP from each item sold. The owner does a back of the envelope calculation about the value and tips the additional GP into a bucket, a buffer if you like, for when they see something not going their way.

…

In the Tower Systems POS software you have facilities for addressing the 7 points listed above. If you’d like help navigating these, please reach out.

We are keen for you to maximise value from your Tower software.

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Software made for local clothing and apparel shops saves time and guides good business decisions

May 2, 2023
2 Min read
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There was a time when the only software clothing shops could use was expensive and cumbersome, made for big businesses, retail chains, software packed with ERP tools and workflow management.

We know that local clothing shops, small business clothing shops, want an easy way to manage stock by colour size and style, a successful way to report on sales by fashion brand, a certain way to track seasonal sales and a way they can trust to bring shoppers back.

The Fashion retail POS software from Tower Systems is designed to help local clothing shops do these things and more. This is software made only for local clothing shops, software designed to equip them for competition.

And, at $185 a month, this POS software for clothing shops is affordable. There is no lock in contract. This is software with facilities clothing retailers tell us they want:

  • Colour, size and style: Easily track sales at a granular level by these variants.
  • Tracking sales by brand. This is in addition to suppliers and other reporting points.
  • Quickly identify what’s working and what’s not working.
  • Community group pricing: Helps you attract community group members.
  • Repairs: If you do alterations, this helps manage that for you.
  • Bundle pricing: easily put a package together to encourage value shoppers.
  • LayBys. While we offer Afterpay and Zip, old fashioned LayBy is growing again.
  • Bring them back: Market to shoppers based on past purchases.
  • Sell anytime: With our Shopify / Big Commerce / Magento / Woo integrations.
  • Awesome loyalty: Guide them to spend more.
  • Seasonal reordering: Reorder inventory based on seasonal sales.

Made and supported by Tower Systems, this fashion shop POS software is feature rich and designed to equip local cloths shops to perform well. It’s packed with fresh tech to save time and offer opportunities:

  • ChatGPT AI integration for better product descriptions. This is a free optional feature.
  • Auto removal of image backgrounds for a better online experience.
  • International barcode look-up to auto fill inventory data points if you sell products that are also overseas.

These facilities and more a designed to help nurture data consistency, which is key to repeatable success in any business.

Tower Systems is grateful to help local fashion businesses thrive. We don’t sell to chains or big businesses. We love local and small as that is where we find and appreciate community.

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Comparing Lightspeed POS, Vend POS, Square POS and Eposnow with Tower Systems POS software

May 2, 2023
3 Min read
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Lightspeed, Vend which is owned by Lightspeed, Square and Eposnow are all overseas POS software companies spending up big to try and attract Aussie retailers to their POS software.

Whether deliberate or not, we often see Lightspeed, Vend which is owned by Lightspeed, Square and Eposnow competing with us in Google search results, often through ads they pay for to get ahead of us in search results.

Hey, it’s okay, competition is good for all of us in business.

The thing is, though, we cannot compete with Lightspeed, ]Vend which is owned by Lightspeed, Square and Eposnow on advertising spend.

Where we can compete with them is value, functionality and service. We think we compete well with each of Lightspeed, Vend which is owned by Lightspeed, Square and Eposnow on these important points.

Our service is Australian based. we are an Australian company after all, building and supporting here the software we offer. There is no offshore call centre, no contractors helping you out. Call us and it’s us you speak with.

Good service starts with local knowledge and marketplace specific knowledge.

Our price is a per month price. It’s not a price pitched that requires you to pay for a full year up front to get. Also, our price is all inclusive. There is no extra cost for more registers or for functions like advanced reporting, loyalty or some integrations. We know that price transparency is important. There is no lock in contract.

What our software does, its functionality, is considerable, deep, and regularly evolving. Serving 3,000+ retailers in a diverse mix of specialty retail marketplaces has seen us develop functionality that is comprehensive and useful in many different business sectors. This depth sees us stand up well in comparison to other products.

We make specialty retail POS software for specialty retailers. While we cannot match the advertising spend of Lightspeed, Vend which is owned by Lightspeed, Square and Eposnow, we think we do match where it matters.

Choosing Tower Systems POS software, for the monthly rental cost, you have access to:

  • Unlimited registers. No extra cost.
  • Integrated accounting link.
  • Integrated e-commerce links.
  • Integrated payments.
  • Loyalty programs.
  • Advanced reporting.
  • Customer marketing.
  • Visual analytics dashboard.
  • Special customer orders.
  • Sell by fractions, sell by weight.
  • Integrated LayBys.
  • Customer gift vouchers.
  • Customised onboarding.
  • 24/7 support.

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

We are proud of this list, and our POS software, and our customer service. We are grateful to our customers who enable us to do this. They make us better at what we do.

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