Sell how it suits you
S
Small business retail advice: how to reduce the cost of customer theft in your shop
S
Theft by customers hurst retail businesses financially and emotionally. Often, it is this second cost point that can har the business more as it can negatively impact on the mindset of business leadership.
Having a plan to mitigate against customer theft is key to reducing the cost on the business. This starts with knowing what is being stolen.
the cost of theft can be seen in your business profit and Loss as well a discrepancies revealed from stock take work. First, understand the problem. next, develop a plan.
- Ensure all staff know about the problem.
- Spot stock take weekly. Record the number stolen somewhere for staff to see. This sets a target for all.
- Place a portable work table near the often stolen products and move most there such as product pricing, invoice checking or other tasks that could be easily done on the shop floor.
- Ensure you have camera coverage of the location.
- Place the stock so there are no blind spots that make theft easy.
- Try other locations and see if theft declines.
- Watch the location or stand from outside your business to see how shoppers interact with it.
- Act based on your business data.
- Involve the police if you get any actionable evidence.
The alternative is you complain about the problem and do nothing and that is not good management. Theft is something to be managed.
Consistent and unaddressed theft can erode the very foundation of a retail business. It can foster an environment of distrust and suspicion among staff, potentially leading to decreased morale and a less positive customer service experience. Implementing a proactive and data-driven strategy, as outlined, not only serves to minimize losses but also cultivates a more secure and confident atmosphere for both employees and honest patrons. This commitment to managing theft demonstrates responsible leadership and contributes to the long-term sustainability and reputation of the business within the community.
We helped a retailer discover regular theft in their shop and develop a plan for reducing this. The benefit in the first year was $20,000 returned to the business bottom line. In their case, people were stealing because they thought no one was noticing. No one was noticing until we said, hey look at this in your business data.
Our POS software can help local small business retailers reduce customer theft.
Small business retail advice: how to cut employee theft in your shop
S
Theft in retail businesses presents a persistent challenge, often remaining undetected until long after the event has occurred. This lag in discovery frequently stems from an underestimation of the problem’s prevalence, particularly when considering the possibility of employee theft.
Tower Systems helps local small business retailers detect and deal with employee theft.
Our POS software meticulously tracks alterations to transactions, including deleted items, cancelled sales and more. This valuable data is typically stored within a secure, less obvious section of the software, separate from standard reporting functions.
In roughly one out of every ten instances where we have accessed concealed transactional data for a retailer utilising our POS software, we have uncovered indicators of potentially dishonest activity. By carefully analysing this data in conjunction with supporting evidence such as closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage and employee rosters, patterns of suspicious behaviour and individuals of interest often emerge, sometimes with clear visual confirmation of misappropriated funds.
While we will not divulge the specific keystroke patterns that can signal fraudulent activity – information that has been rigorously tested and accepted in court proceedings where we have people who have served as expert witnesses for the prosecution – we urge retailers to actively engage with the theft detection and mitigation capabilities embedded within their POS systems. Take the time to understand these features and integrate them into your operational practices. Importantly, maintain discretion regarding your monitoring activities.
A common, yet potentially counterproductive, approach some retailers adopt is to implement stringent system lockdowns, aiming to minimise opportunities for theft. While the intention is understandable, individuals determined to steal will often find ways to circumvent these restrictions. Furthermore, excessively restrictive measures can inadvertently complicate the very detection processes you need in place.
Instead of creating an overly fortified environment, we advise against excessive POS software restrictions. Granting employees reasonable access while diligently monitoring their activity – guided by your POS software provider’s recommendations on leveraging the system’s data – offers a more effective strategy for identifying potential issues.
The financial consequences of undetected employee theft can be substantial. In our experience, the cost of individual theft cases has ranged from $5,000 to a staggering $245,000. In each of these instances, the proactive utilisation of the hidden data tools we have described could have facilitated earlier detection, thereby significantly mitigating the financial and emotional toll on the business and those associated with it.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. It is often the case that the topic of theft only gains traction when its impact is felt personally. However, by proactively engaging with the tools at your disposal, you can take meaningful steps to protect your business and your livelihood.
Small business retail advice: the best place to manage your inventory data and retail business settings
S
The needs of a physical shop are different to the needs of an online business and the best place to manage the settings for your physical shop are in software designed to manage your physical shop.
Smart POS software links seamlessly with any of the awesome website solutions out there. The POS software manages the shop, its inventory and its physical shop management settings and it leaves the specialist web software to manage online sales – feeding data both ways thanks to integration.
To try and run your physical shop with software designed for running a website could, we think, result in a cumbersome solution that costs time and results in other impediments to the business.
Trying to force a website-centric system to handle the intricacies of a brick-and-mortar store is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. You’d likely end up with a clunky, inefficient setup that adds unnecessary complexity to your daily operations. Think of it this way: a chef needs specialized kitchen tools, not just a Swiss Army knife, to create culinary masterpieces. Similarly, a physical retailer needs purpose-built POS software to truly thrive.
We have been serving brick and mortar shops for decades with software that has evolved to serve the changing nature of physical retail. We’ve also served physical shops with online stores too. The needs of the two types of retail can have similarities. In our experience, the settings are different as is the workflow and other aspects of business operation.
Choosing software made for your needs, your specific tarp of customer interface: physical, online or a mix of both will deliver a more efficient and valuable outcome for your business. We serve physical and online and this is another thing that makes Tower Systems a useful partner.
By selecting software tailored to your specific customer interface – whether it’s the tangible experience of a physical store, the digital realm of online sales, or a seamless blend of both – you’re setting your business up for greater efficiency and ultimately, more value. It’s about having the right tools for the right job, allowing you to focus on what you do best: serving your customers.
We are grateful for mums in local small business retail
W
As you’re out shopping for Mother’s Day, it’s likely you’ll encounter a mum working in or running a shop, juggling work, the business, family, home and more. Plenty of mums we see in local retail are mentors to others in their business. Plenty are champions in their local community. See them. Celebrate them. Appreciate them. #Local #SmallBusiness #retail #grateful
Small business retail advice: be sure to understand the total cost of POS software
S
The software of the software you choose for your retail; business is the cost of renting access to the software as well as any mandatory costs associated with the software.
Some software companies make it hard to understand the total cost of using their software. They are clever at how they dress up their data.
Take a nameless POS software company. Their monthly rental for a small shop is $200 a month. They require you to use their payments platform at a cost of 1.6% of all transactions. A business doing $500,000 a year using this software has a total cost of ownership of $2,400.00 + $8,000 =$10,400.00 $10,400.00.
That same small retail business using Tower Systems and a price competitive payments gateway would pay $2,800.00 for the software and $4,500.00 for payments, making a total cost $7,300.00.
That’s a saving of $3,100.00 in one year alone on the cost of the software and the payments processing.
If you add in enhanced functionality that supports better productivity and a more useful focus on profitability we can make a case for benefits of more than $50,000 to the bottom line.
Our point here is to note that it is vital for any retailer to understand the cost of ownership of the software they are considering as there are big differences in the costs, especially when comparing with businesses that require you to use a payments platform connected to their software. Oh they will pitch productivity gains and other good-sounding benefits. the thing is, these benefits are available outside their business.
Take your time. Do your research. get the numbers in writing. Compare, and compare again.
Slick marketing can cover many sins, including a higher cost for your business.
Here at Tower Systems our approach to pricing is transparent. The choice you make about payments is 100% yours to make, meaning you can shop the market for the best deal for you.
Look beyond the sticker price; ongoing expenses and limitations imposed by a software provider can significantly impact your bottom line. By forcing you into their payment ecosystem, some companies effectively create a captive market, limiting your ability to secure more competitive processing fees. This lack of transparency and control can erode your profit margins over time, making it crucial to look beyond the surface-level monthly subscription and delve into the complete cost structure, including any mandatory integrations or transaction-based charges.
Small business retail advice: specialty software matters to specialty retailers
S
One thing to love about local small retail businesses is their focus on being specialists, being focussed on a product or service niche. People are more likely to trust a specialty retailer for ethic rout, their uniqueness, their specialisation.
It stands to reason that the needs of specialty retailers are best met by software designed for eerie area of expertise.
Jewellers benefit from software designed for jewellers. Big shop businesses benefit from software made for bike shops. Bookshops benefit from software made for bookshops. Produce businesses benefit from software made for produce businesses. Garden centres benefit from software made for garden centres.
You can see where we are going with this.
If you want plants for your local garden a local garden centre will be more helpful than a general retail shop that sells all manner of things.
We understand and appreciate the value of the specialist.
The same is true of software.
Anyone can say they have software for this or that type of business. Only some software companies actually make software for some specialty retail channels. Take jewellers. Right now, at the time of writing this post, Tower Systems is the only company developing software in Australia for Aussie jewellers. And, yes, Aussie jewellers have unique needs, needs serves by our specialty jeweller POS software.
Specialist retail software made for your type of business is more likely to help more in the running of your business, assisting productivity and nurturing profitability.
Generic software can only go so far. It is certainly unlikely to help you shine a light on the specialty nature of your business, what makes you unique.
If being a specialty retailer matters to you, taker a moment to consider software made for your type of business.
This laser focus on specific industries allows Tower Systems to build in features and functionalities that directly address the unique challenges and opportunities within each of the retail channels we serve. For instance, a point-of-sale system designed for a jeweller might include features for managing valuations, custom orders, and intricate inventory tracking of precious metals and gemstones – functionalities that would be irrelevant and cumbersome in software designed for a bookstore. By catering to these niche requirements, specialist software empowers small retail businesses to operate more efficiently, serve their customers better, and ultimately leverage their unique expertise for greater success.
If you are a specialty retailer, we’d love to see if we can serve your needs.
POS software made for equestrian businesses
P
Australian made. Australian supported.
Here’s what our equestrian POS software offers:
Feed Management:
– Bag feed into smaller packs with accurate stock tracking.
– Track bulk material purchases, mixing, and packaging of your own products.
– Sell by weight, including fractions.
Sales & Customer Management:
– Streamlined quote and invoice management for accuracy and efficiency.
– Provide local produce care information to enhance customer experience.
– Flexible trade pricing profiles.
– Professional customer account management.
– Customisable pricing profiles based on customer types.
– Detailed tracking of colour, size, and style variations.
– Informative, customisable receipts.
– Pre-order and special order management.
– Powerful loyalty programs.
Inventory & Ordering:
– Seasonal reordering for efficient stock management.
– Weatherproof label printing.
– Electronic supplier invoice support to reduce errors.
– International barcode database lookup for quick product addition.
– Logistics & Delivery:
– Dispatch management tools for efficient delivery, including multi-truck and multi-delivery support.
– Integration with Allotrac for advanced dispatch management.
Marketing & Customer Engagement:
– Loyalty marketing to build lasting customer relationships.
– Free integration with FindIt.com.au to drive local shopper traffic.
– Flexible Selling & Integrations:
– Flexible selling options: by weight, length, and fractions.
– Portable “sell anywhere” solution.
– Integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Xero, and more.
– Shopper self-checkout option.
– Digital receipts via Slyp.
AI Enhancements:
– ChatGPT and Google Gemini AI integration for product descriptions, blog posts, and price comparisons.
– Auto background removal for product photos, suitable for online platforms.
– Additional Features:
Our software is designed for local, independent equestrian businesses. We are committed to helping local businesses thrive.
Key Benefits:
– Save time on daily tasks.
– Increase sales and profitability.
– Enhance customer relationships.
– Streamline inventory and logistics.
Tower Systems is a small business focussed POS software company developing, and supporting POS software for niche specialty retailers.
Lest We Forget
L
How to choose the right POS software for your specialty retail business
H
Choosing the right Point of Sale (POS) software is a pivotal decision for any independent, small retail business. A well-suited system can significantly boost your business’s worth and success, whereas a poor choice can be costly.
While this advice is from us and we are a POS software company, it is advice that will stand up to professional and independent scrutiny.
To make a well-informed decision, it’s crucial to carefully think about your business’s unique aspects.
- Specialisation: If your business caters to a specific niche, look for POS software designed for similar businesses, software that serves your needs.
- Local focus: If supporting local businesses is important to you, consider POS solutions developed and supported locally. Talking to people who understand your local situation is helpful.
- Training. be sure to understand the cost of training for professional training by the software company is key to you leveraging the best value from the software.
- Expertise: To establish yourself as a local expert, your POS system should enable efficient and consistent service, and the leveraging of your expertise.
- Services: If you offer repair or maintenance services, your software should handle these functions, and save you time.
- Product bundling: For businesses selling bundled items, the POS system must effectively manage these configurations, helping you to differentiate through what you sell.
- Customer retention: If you operate in a tourist area, loyalty programs can be vital for maximising repeat business – they need to be the type of loyalty encouragement your shoppers will love.
- Product weight: If you sell products by weight, your POS system should have this capability, especially selling in fractions.
By carefully considering these factors, you can pinpoint the specific features and capabilities needed in your ideal POS software.
It’s important to remember that while price is a consideration, it shouldn’t be the only deciding factor. Just as you’d advise customers against compromising quality for price, the same applies to POS software. Investing in a higher-quality system initially can lead to significant long-term savings and advantages.
To make comparisons easier, think about the weekly cost of the software rather than just the upfront investment. This approach gives a more accurate picture of value for money, taking into account support services and software functionality.
If you’re unsure about a particular software package, it’s wise to explore other options. It’s better to pass on a system that doesn’t fully meet your needs than to deal with ongoing frustrations. However, be prepared to adjust some of your business processes to align with your chosen software.
Once you’ve implemented a system, it’s crucial to follow the software provider’s advice and make full use of the training provided. Embracing suggested changes to your business processes can optimise how well the system works for you.
Accurate data is essential for successful POS software use. Put in place strict data entry procedures to ensure reliable information for making decisions.
Building a strong relationship with your software provider can benefit both parties. Sharing feedback and suggestions can contribute to the ongoing development and improvement of the software.
By using your POS system to automate tasks, you can free up valuable time for strategic planning and engaging with customers.
Implementing new software can be challenging. Focus on the long-term benefits of increased efficiency and satisfaction once you’ve mastered the system.
Ultimately, the POS software you choose should reflect your business’s identity. Invest time in careful consideration to select a system that aligns with your goals and helps your business grow.
Here at Tower Systems we make POS software for local specialty retailers.
Let’s talk smart shopper loyalty and POS software for small business retail
L
Here at Tower Systems we offer a range of loyalty options to our POS software customers. Last week we got together to talk shopping and loyalty and why we as shoppers make the decisions we make. It was a terrific discussion on how everyday shoppers view loyalty programs, especially those that require you to sign up.
This is an authentic, unscripted discussion about shopping and how different loyalty program approaches may nurture different responses.
Are loyalty programs worth the hassle? Join Tash, Justin, Tim, Gavin, and Mark as they spill the beans on what makes them sign up (or run away!). From frustrating spam to the appeal of instant discounts, this video reveals honest shopper opinions. Find out what truly drives repeat business.
The conversation kicks off with a common frustration: the deluge of spam often following a loyalty sign-up. Tash voices this concern, arguing that a simple percentage discount often isn’t worth the subsequent inbox clutter. What resonates more? Tangible value, like a specific dollar amount voucher for a future purchase. However, the effectiveness hinges on clarity; retailers must ensure these vouchers are easily noticed and understood.
Simplicity and perceived value emerge as key themes. Tash praises a straightforward pub loyalty program usable across numerous locations, contrasting it with programs that feel overly complicated or offer negligible rewards. The power of immediate gratification is also highlighted, with Justin preferring instant vouchers over accumulating points for later use. This preference is backed by data mentioned in the discussion, suggesting a significant redemption rate (19%) for discount vouchers, effectively driving repeat business, a point reinforced by Tim’s positive experience at a garden center.
The discussion also touches upon different consumer strategies, like Gavin’s wife using a dedicated email address for promotional offers, and the retailers’ perspective, acknowledging vouchers as potent tools for engagement. Yet, barriers remain, such as cumbersome in-store sign-up processes that deter shoppers like Tash. The video even explores modern twists, concluding with a look at a loyalty app employing a multi-level marketing approach by rewarding users for referrals.
Tower Systems is an authentic POS software company focussed on delivering tools retailers benefit from and opportunities their customers will love.
Software for health food shops
S
This POS software for health food shops and wholefoods shops offers facilities that serve the needs of these businesses well.
From shopper loyalty to catalogue pricing management to serving produce use information, to scare integration to selling fractional quantities, this software helps local health foods shops provide professional service.
This is specialty retail POS software made for specialty retailers in the health foods and whole foods space.
Creating your own products, like muesli, made from other products, can be tracked and managed through this locally made POS software.
Developed locally for local health food shops and whole foods shops, this POS software continues to evolve thanks to the support and advice from those in existing businesses using it. We are grateful for their help in maintaining wonderful POS software for these businesses.
here’s what you can rely on:
- Easy and accurate selling.
- Money making business insights.
- Time saving roster links.
- Peace of mind theft mitigation.
- Awesome supplier links.
- Sales winning loyalty tools.
- Easy bundling of products for more sales.
- Club and group pricing.
- Community group pricing.
- Easy repeat business.
- Personal training.
We get some common questions abut our software for health foods and whole foods shops:
- Do you have health food shops using the software today? Yes.
- Can I set an age check on age restricted items? Yes.
- Can I presell? Yes.
- Can I run BOGO pricing, buy 1 get 1 or similar? Yes.
- Does the software let me manage time-based catalogue pricing? Yes.
- Can I sell gift cards for my business? Yes.
- Is there a loyalty facility guiding infrequent shoppers to spend? Yes.
- Does the software let me buy in bulk and break to retail packs? Yes.
- Can you reach out to customers based on past purchases? Yes.
- Does the system handle account customers? Yes.
- I sell clothing, can I manage this by colour, size and style? Yes.
If you run a health foods or whole foods business and are considering software for your business, talk with us. We may be a good fit. If we think we are not a good fit we will absolutely let you know and wish you all the best in your search.
Using this POS software, local and independent health food shops and whole foods businesses can track inventory, manage sales, handle special orders, manage products that are combined in-store to create other products, provide care instructions, offer local specific advice with consistency and more.
Aussie software made for fishing bait and tackle businesses and outdoors businesses
A
Fishing bait and tackle businesses and outdoors businesses have similar needs when it comes to software, and their needs often go way beyond traditional POS software, basic POS software. For these businesses to serve their customer well, they need software made for them, specialty retail POS software.
This is what we do here at Tower Systems, we make POS software for specialty retailers. We go way beyond basic POS, we delve into specialty needs like age checking, selling by weight or measure and using fractions, handling rental and taking care of repairs management – to name some of the specialty facilities in our fishing and outdoors shop software.
Handling subscriptions or recurring billing is easy. If you rent something, this handles it for you.
Selling by weight (yes, it’s scale integrated) and fractions is easy too, as is selling bundle packs like a rod, reel and net, for example.
Selling to club members at a special price is easy. You can also easily use the software to raise funds for the club, attracting members of the club to shop with your business. This club facility helps you pitch to local clubs, to connect with more of their members.
Best of all, you can easily share local fishing tips, leveraging your knowledge to differentiate your business. selling you can be a game changer in terms of differentiation.
Our software for fishing and outdoors shops aims to help you run a more successful, valuable and enjoyable business. It helps you streamline workflow, eliminate some manual processes and make better business decisions, sooner.
There is no EFTPOS or transaction related fee, just a monthly software rental fee. You choose the EFTPOS that you prefer – we don’t lock you into anything.
And, you can run this software on as many computers in your shop as you want for no extra cost.
We’re often asked questions about what the software does. Here are some of those questions, and our answers:
- Can I set an age check on age restricted items?
- Can I run BOGO pricing, buy 1 get 1 or similar?
- Does the software let me manage time-based catalogue pricing?
- Can I sell gift cards for my business?
- Is there a loyalty facility guiding infrequent shoppers to spend?
- Does the software let me buy in bulk and break to retail packs?
- Can you reach out to customers based on past purchases?
- Does the system handle account customers?
- I sell clothing, can I manage this by colour, size and style?
If you run a fishing bait and tackle shop or an outdoors shop, take a look at what we offer. We’d love to answer your questions and personally demonstrate the software to you.
Enhance your firearms dealership with tailored Australian POS software
E
For firearms dealers across Australia, managing the unique requirements of the industry demands specialised tools. Many local businesses, both large and small, are already using our locally developed and supported Point of Sale (POS) firearms dealer software to streamline their operations. This system manages in-store sales and integrates seamlessly with online platforms, particularly through our robust Big Commerce integration, to manage product data efficiently.
Our software is designed with the specific needs of Australian firearms dealers in mind, offering a comprehensive suite of features and benefits:
Compliance and Record Keeping:
- Age Verification: Implement mandatory age checks for relevant purchases directly through the system.
- Serial Number Tracking: Maintain meticulous records with integrated serial number tracking for items sold, offering multiple methods to suit your workflow.
- Permit to Acquire (PTA): The software includes functionality to handle PTA data gathering requirements.
- Secure Information: Option to load and store a photo of a customer’s driver’s licence on file.
- Clear Receipts: Generate separate receipts for firearms and accessories, ensuring clarity for customers and records.
Enhanced Inventory and Sales Management:
- Real-Time Tracking: Maintain accurate stock levels with real-time inventory updates.
- Automated Alerts: Set automated reorder level alerts to prevent stockouts.
- Efficient Product Addition: Easily add new products using barcode scanning and online information retrieval.
- Variant Management: Effectively handle product variants, crucial for accessories.
- Flexible Pricing: Implement varied pricing options for different customer segments, including club pricing profiles.
- Accurate Sales: Sell items accurately by weight or measure, accommodating whole numbers or fractions.
- Bundled Items: Offer bundled products, making direct price comparisons more difficult for competitors.
- Special Orders: Easily manage unique, one-off customer orders.
- AI Assistance: Leverage AI-powered generation for product descriptions.
Streamlined Operations and Customer Experience:
- Recurring Billing: Simplify billing for locker rentals or other subscription-based services with automated recurring and subscription billing features.
- Locker Rental Tracking: Specifically track the rental of locker space.
- Automated Notifications: Send automated SMS notifications to customers when firearms are ready for collection.
- Efficient Checkout: Provide a smooth checkout process with integrated EFTPOS capabilities.
- Personalised Service: Utilise customer profiles and purchase history to offer tailored service.
- Detailed Information: Display detailed product information and images on receipts and online.
- Loyalty Program: Implement a shopper loyalty program specifically designed to be effective for your type of business.
- Sales Tracking: Monitor individual staff performance by tracking who sold what.
- Knowledge Sharing: Utilise structured opportunities within the software to pass on valuable product knowledge.
Developed and Supported Locally:
We are proud that this software is Australian-made and supported. Our development is continually refined thanks to valuable input from our community of firearms dealers, ensuring it remains up-to-date and relevant to your business needs.
Common Questions Answered:
- Are you Australian based? Yes.
- Do you make your software? Yes.
- How do I contact your help desk? By phone or email. Our help desk team is based in Australia, with one member located in New Zealand.
- When can I contact you for help? Weekdays: 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM AEST. Urgent after-hours support is available 24/7.
- Can I run the software in the cloud? Yes.
- Can I run the software on my desktop? Yes.
- Can I backup to the cloud? Yes.
- How long am I locked in with software rental? There is no lock-in contract.
- Can I set the software to force an age check by product purchased? Yes.
- Can I load photo of a customer’s driver’s licence to have on file? Yes.
- Does the software track product serial numbers? Yes, multiple methods are available.
- Can I handle permit to acquire? Yes.
This locally developed POS solution provides the specialised features required for the compliant and efficient operation of an Australian firearms dealership.
The smart way to do a stocktake in your local retail business
T
The days of using a stocktaker to count stock for your end of financial year stocktake are well and truly over. Smart POS software makes it easy. Smarter POS software makes it faster and even easier. That’s what we offer here at Tower Systems with our POS software for local specialty retailers.
Retailer Roam is a portable POS software solution that can run on your iPhone, iPad or any Android device. It truly is portable POS software.
Retailers can use Retailer Roam to sell from anywhere. It’s perfect for the local market, selling or the road or at a pop-up shop.
Best of all, Retailer Roam offers a live stocktake facility. Use it to update sock on hand data in real time, quickly, easily, accurately.
Using Retailer Roam will help retailers ease the burden of the stocktake and eliminate the cost of using a professional stocktaker.
Retailers can use Retailer Roam to do a full stocktake or part of a store stocktake. It’s easy to use and ideal for shop staff engagement.
This video is one of our training videos. Its;s been made for businesses already using our software. We share it here to show you how to setup to use Retailer Roam for stocktaking and to demonstrate more generally the quality of training we provide.
This video explains how to perform stock takes using Retailer Roam, highlighting its ability to sync data live back to Retailer, which allows for more up-to-date quantity on hand tracking. The video covers starting a stock take, navigating the interface, using search and barcode scanning, explaining scan modes, demonstrating item counting, syncing data, and finishing the process.
We have found short videos like this one to be useful to retailers in training team members.
Every retail business does stocktakes. Our goal with Retailer Roam is to help you save time and improve outcome accuracy.
Tower Systems is grateful to its local small retail business customers for their engagement and helping us to make better POS software that helps local retailers thrive. Their engagement during the software development and testing processes help us create better products.
Retail business advice: being unique attracts shoppers in-store and online regardless of your business size
R
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, or USP for short.
Reeves defined the USP in an advertising context:
- Each advertisement must make a proposition to the consumer: buy this product, and you will get this benefit.
- The proposition must be one that the competition either cannot or doesn’t
- The proposition must be so strong that it changes consumer behaviour.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the concept of a USP evolved from being essential to advertising to being essential to business. Finding your business USP was considered mission-critical to businesses, especially retailers. Businesses drifted, however, and forgot about the importance of a USP.
Jack Trout tells us in his aptly titled book Differentiate or Die that a USP is mission-critical in business.
Differentiate or die. There is no doubt about the call to action in the title and 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 tough today. There are fewer differences between competitors. Retailers are surrounded by competition, and it grows by the day. Yet many have remained still and have done nothing.
Smart retailers are reacquainting themselves with the writings of Reeves and Trout and learning about the mission-critical imperative of having a USP.
Differentiation could be service, product, location or a combination of these. Differentiation will most likely not be price, as anyone can easily match this.
Price is, after all, the last line of defence in any business battle. That said, there are some major price-focused success stories—Wal-Mart in the US and Bunnings in Australia, for example. This 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 will soon be seen as unique by shoppers, and this can drive excellent word of mouth and success for the business.
Here at Tower Systems we leverage our practical retail shop floor experience to provide advice and support for local small business retailers beyond our POS software.
Retail business advice: rules for a strong foundation on which to build your shop
R
Every retail business needs rules—rules everyone working in the shop is asked to follow; rules to guide behaviour.
Businesses without rules can function okay until that one time when someone behaves in a way that is unacceptable.
Here are some suggested rules that we have used in our shops over the years. They include some rules that we have seen others use successfully in their local small business retail settings:
- Customers come first. Please treat them with respect. Appreciate them.
- We value your opinion. If you think there is something we should stock that will sell, please tell us. If you think we’re making a mistake in running the business, please tell us. If you see a colleague misbehaving towards a work colleague, please tell us. If you see theft, please tell us.
- This is a safe place. Thank you for helping us ensure that.
- No staff members are permitted to serve themselves, ever. If you do purchase from the business, purchase from the customer side.
- Any staff discount is not to be added to already discounted items unless a manager agrees.
- If you want to buy something, you don’t take it off the shelf until you’re ready to pay for the item. NO setting items aside.
- You’re not permitted to buy something on a staff discount for someone else.
- No personal mobile phones at the counter.
- No reading behind the counter.
- No bags at the counter.
- Don’t sit behind the counter.
- When a sale is over, complete the sale. Shut the cash drawer. Don’t leave a completed sale on the screen.
- Only a manager is permitted to remove money from the register during trading.
- Never put anything aside for someone who calls, unless you know them and they are a regular shopper.
- The computers in the business are not to be used for personal use unless approved by the owner or manager.
- This is a retail business. Customers are our only source of revenue. Greet them with a smile. Thank them for shopping with you when they leave. This means that the shop floor is the hub of our operation. Your focus on the shop floor and our customers helps the business, and this helps you.
- If there is anything we can do to help you enjoy working here more, please let us know.
Take a moment to consider your own rules.
Here at Tower Systems we leverage our own retail experience to help our customers, all local retailers, to run valuable ands enjoyable businesses.
Retail business advice: Tips for dealing with being in a small country town with a declining population
R
If you are in a small country town with a declining population we have some tips for you.
Make more babies, and fast!
Okay, seriously, since you have no control over the population growth of the town, you need to work on that which you can control—you need to work on the reach of your business.
Yes, this means reaching shoppers online. This is the easiest way to combat the challenge of a declining population within the reach of your physical shop.
As cliché as it’s, if the population cannot get to your shop, take your shop to the population.
I have seen a shop in a small town do two-thirds of its revenue online and thrive as a result.
Being online is more critical than ever. It is the best way to attract new shoppers, leverage existing inventory, retail space and labour as well as top plot a fresh and profitable path forward for the business.
Tower Systems has team of skilled Shopify web developers, all working from in Victoria. This matters since many web developers actually outsource development to offshore businesses.
Tower offers a one stop shop service whereby we offer specialty retail POS software and beautiful Shopify websites connected to this POS software. The connection is safe, fast and seamless. The Shopify websites we develop are made specifically for each retailer customer, to their needs, meeting their requirements, populated with data that is collated through the integrated POS software.
Being a Shopify website developer and a POS software developer in the one business and being Australian based business positions Tower well to serve the needs of local Australian retailers. Being so engaged with the newsagency channel is a reason Tower has helped so many newsagents attract new shoppers through their websites.
The Tower Systems Shopify website development for small business retailers is done on a fixed price basis.
By embracing e-commerce and leveraging Tower Systems’ newsagency and web development expertise, newsagents can unlock a world of new opportunities. From seamless website integration to a focus on targeted customer acquisition, Tower Systems empowers newsagents to thrive in the digital age.
Retail business advice: Nine one-percenters: easy things you can do for sure wins in retail
R
One-percenters are small things—easy, small things you can do for a win in any retail business.
- Check off invoices and price new stock on the shop floor, located to disrupt shopper traffic, so customers notice you doing it, and they can look at the new products. Pricing is part of in-store entertainment.
- Never be out of stock of popular products. Use your software to predict sales, and order so you don’t sell out. We know from inventory / sales data that most retailers are out of stock of popular items 10% of the time and more.
- Write the value of dead stock somewhere where all staff see it. Dead stock is stock that is not selling. The criterion for dead stock varies by business type. Update the value weekly for a whole business focus on reducing this. Dead stock has no benefit to any business.
- Place two or three products at the counter for impulse purchase. Change them weekly unless they are selling well.
- Have at least one product at the counter that people can touch, feel or taste if appropriate. Physically interacting with a product gets them closer to purchasing.
- Change your front window display every week. The goal is to stop passers-by and have them notice you. If you don’t have a front window, change the front 2 metres of your shop every week.
- Use social media to share knowledge and have fun. Show who you’re. Entertain.
- Have a staff ‘product of the week’ in a good position, with a handwritten note from the staff member explaining the why.
- Make sure the shop is happy, with good music, good smells, happy staff and fun product engagement opportunities.
Create your own list of one-percenters for your business—the easy wins that anyone can do at any time to improve the success of the business. The best one-percenters for your shop will depend your own situation, your own opportunities. Be sure to update the list regularly to keep it fresh and reflecting the season.
We are grateful to have local retail experience that produces us with practical ideas that can help local retailers thrive. Our retail experience is something that adds value to the POS software relationship we have with our customers.
POS software for local independent clothing and fashion shops
P
Our POS software for fashion shops is made for local independent retailers, small retailers, local retailers. This software helps these specialty shops track stock, serve customers, make good business decisions and thrive.
Best of all, our clothing shop software helps these local small businesses compete.
In store as well as online, this Aussie made and supported software helps these local businesses pitch their differences, play to their strengths.
You can rely on this software and Tower Systems for:
- Offering a loyalty solution fashion shoppers love.
- Tracking inventory by colour, size and style.
- Track brand performance.
- Reduce out of stocks.
- Reduce the cost of dead stock.
- Uncover employee theft.
- Easy and accurate selling.
- Money making business insights.
- Time saving supplier links.
- Easy managing by colour, size & style.
- Seasonal insights guide decisions.
- Time saving roster integrations.
- Trusted theft mitigation tools.
- Personal training.
Our POS software for fashion businesses is strong. It continues to evolve as we work with more retailers to lean into changes as they emerge in the marketplace.
This fashion shop software by Tower Systems serves the unique needs of fashion and apparel businesses. It offers a comprehensive set of features aimed at simplifying operations, managing inventory effectively, and enhancing customer relationships.
Key capabilities:
- Stock Management with Variants: Easily handle diverse product lines with variations in color, size, and style, ensuring accurate stock levels for each specific attribute.
- Loyalty Programs: Implement and manage customer loyalty programs to encourage repeat business and build lasting customer relationships.
- Lay-by Options: Offer customers the flexibility of lay-by payment plans.
- Integrated Payments: Facilitate smooth transactions with integrations for various payment systems.
- AI Product Descriptions: Use artificial intelligence to generate engaging and informative product descriptions for your merchandise.
- Barcode Scanning: Quickly and accurately add new inventory items using barcode scanners.
- Efficient Point of Sale (POS): Process sales transactions with ease, add items to the sale, and associate purchases with specific customers.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Build detailed customer profiles to personalize marketing efforts and provide tailored service.
- Comprehensive Stock Control: Maintain optimal inventory levels, track stock movements, and manage purchase orders efficiently.
- Marketing Tools: Leverage integrated marketing features to promote your products and drive sales through various channels.
- Image Editing Functionality: Perform basic image editing tasks, such as removing backgrounds from product photos.
Pricing and support:
The software is offered at a monthly subscription rate, which includes licenses for unlimited users within a single location. This subscription also encompasses local support, ensuring assistance is available whenever needed. Fashion retailers benefit from continuous software enhancements and updates, keeping the system current with the latest features and functionalities. The software also supports integration with e-commerce platforms, enabling seamless online sales operations.
We are grateful to serve thousands of retailers in Australia and New Zealand. To see if we might be able to goof fit for your business please email sales@towersystems.com.au.
The best gift shop in Perth?
T
Olivis & Grace in Mount Lawley, Perth is, we think, the best gift shop in Perth. Okay, we are biased, they are a customer, and we created their website. The thing is, Olivia & Grace and a wonderful and ever-changing fist shop. We were last there a few weeks ago and it is an inspiring local small business transformation story.
A year ago, we got to talk with the owner about what they had done already up to then:
What was a newsagency is now an inspiring local gift shop that people will travel hours to visit, and shop.
We think it’s the best gift shop in Perth.
Matt bought a traditional newsagency shop in late 2020. It was his first retail business. He knew he wanted to reinvent the business, to be relevant and appealing.
In less than 4 years Matt with his family and team have transformed the business into a thriving and loved local shop in Mount Lawley 10 minutes out of Perth.
While it’s called Mount Lawley News, this shop is not a newsagency, not what you think of as a newsagency. It’s a gift shop, a fun place to shop, somewhere you’re likely to find a gift for just about any occasion.
As Matt shares in this video, he embraces the opportunities of change, and he shows that even though the shop has been transformed, he’s not done. What he has created online through the website as well as on social media is fresh, engaging, and successful.
We are grateful to Matt for the opportunity to find out more. Be sure to check out their website: http://www.oliviaandgrace.com.au.
Helping local retailers thrive is in our DNA here at Tower Systems. Small local retail is at the heart of local communities. Our software can reveal opportunities and help local retailers transform their businesses based on data, evidence, as to the path they can take ahead.
Our specialty retail POS software offers insights specie to your business, insights based on your data, insights that lay a solid path for decision making. We back our software with retail experience and the ability to help you interpret data results revealed by our POS software.
We’re not your usual software company.
If you can measure it, we can help you sell it, easily
I
If you can measure it, our POS software can help you sell it. If you can weigh it, our POS software can help you sell it. Our Tower Systems POS software helps retailers sell by fractions, by weight, by measure.
Here are 5 easy things you can do in your shop today, Friday, to drive sales this weekend
H
It’s Friday April 11, 2025. Here are 5 things we think any shop could do to boost sales this weekend:
- Reset the counter. Seriously. Take everything off. Only put back on items that genuinely add value. Include at least 3 things people will buy on impulse. Be sure to have at least one thing you’d not expect to sell at the counter. The goal here is for you to be surprised at the results.
- Reset the first 3 metres. Go outside the entrance and walk in as if you are the customer. Try and only look at what they’d look at. Move what’s not working and replace it with items people will buy from close to the entrance.
- Refocus on loyalty. If you use a loyalty program, like the awesome discount vouchers in our software, talk to all your team members and ensure they are on board, pitching to every shopper. Discount vouchers help infrequent shoppers spend more in their visit with you.
- Demonstrate. Choose a product that you can demonstrate on the shop floor. The best one is where you have a team member engaging with the product but not in the usual boring demonstration type way. This shop floor interaction is all about shoppers noticing a product they might not otherwise notice.
- Change up your music. Select a completely different playlist to usual. Lift the volume too. Spotify has retail shop playlists ready to go.
- Do more. Okay, this is point 6 and we said there would be 5. That’s the point here – do something unexpected. If you have products people can eat – offer samples. If you have products people use in a certain way – show them how to do this. If you have products people need training with – offer training. Go the extra mile and show your business as providing a level of service and engagement that is more than typical.
Let’s go back to loyalty. If you’re not using our discount vouchers tools, try them. Setup is easy and the customer reaction is usually terrific. If you follow our advice ion settings the vouchers will pay for themselves easily.
This advice is part of our general retail advice. It is offered to help local retail businesses thrive.
Tower Systems is not your usual software company. We leverage our own retail experience and years of service of awesome local retail businesses to offer advice any local retailer could use.
POS software supporting local indie gift shops
P
Here at Tower Systems, we are proud to say our gift shop POS software is built specifically for local, independent gift shops. Our customers are independent retailers, small business retailers, specialty retailers, local retailers.
We are 100% focused on small businesses, and absolutely dedicated to supporting our local business community. This isn’t just lip service; it’s the core of everything we do.
We believe every single customer matters, and every customer is treated equally. In the world of big software companies catering to massive retail chains, it’s easy for the unique needs of a local gift shop to get lost in the shuffle. You can feel forgotten, a small fish in a very large pond.
But we’re different. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of learning directly from local gift retailers. They have hared invaluable business insights with us, knowledge that we’ve been able to weave into the very fabric of our software. Our aim? To empower other local indie gift retailers, just like you, to thrive.
Our vibrant community of thousands of local retail business users is a testament to this collaborative spirit. Within our gift shop software, you’ll discover features meticulously designed to handle all the usual point-of-sale tasks accurately and efficiently. But it goes beyond that. We provide you with insights to help you run a more enjoyable and successful retail business, minimise errors, and ultimately, flourish.
The Tower Systems gift shop software is crafted for this, and so much more. Here are some of the benefits that gift shop owners and their teams love:
- Boost spending from one-time shoppers: Implement an easy-to-use loyalty system built right into the software.
- Leverage your expertise: Offer your valuable product knowledge through structured opportunities within the system.
- Enhance customer satisfaction: Include product care information directly on receipts.
- Effortlessly manage special orders: Bring in specific items for customers and automate notifications via email or SMS when they arrive.
- Seamlessly sell online: Connect directly to your Shopify, Big Commerce, Magento, or WooCommerce store from your POS, complete with image integration.
- Ensure compliance: Utilise structured age verification prompts when required.
- Save valuable time: Import electronic invoices directly from your suppliers.
- Gain fresh perspectives on stock performance: Use tags to analyse your inventory from different angles.
- Increase sales with product bundles: Make price comparisons trickier and encourage larger purchases.
- Create business-differentiating loyalty programs: Stand out from the competition and keep customers coming back to you.
- Offer trade and club pricing: Set specific pricing rules based on different customer profiles. This facility alone can open your business to many new shoppers.
- Generate revenue through pre-orders: Easily pre-sell upcoming stock and efficiently manage distribution and billing upon arrival.
- Differentiate with informative receipts: Include tailored product care, usage, and safety details based on customer purchases.
- Stand out with unique bundles: Selling items together can make price comparisons difficult for customers.
- Track individual sales performance: Know who sold what within your team.
- Say goodbye to Lay-bys: Offer integrated buy now pay later options for greater flexibility.
- Targeted customer marketing: Reach out to customers based on their previous purchase history.
- Reclaim your time: Streamline your processes by importing electronic invoices.
- Drive more sales: Offer convenient buy now pay later options directly through your POS.
- Reduce errors: Benefit from integrated EFTPOS for smoother transactions.
- Lower accounting and bookkeeping costs: Integrate seamlessly with Xero and other accounting software.
But at its heart, remember this: our software is made for local indie gift shops. And at Tower Systems, every single one of our customers is valued equally.
Software for Garden Centres: Benefits, Features, Loyalty, & AI
S
Join Tim, Justin, and Mark as they discuss garden centres and software tailored for specialist garden centres, landscapers, and related businesses.
This software is designed to help local garden centres flourish and effectively serve their community’s needs with personalised and engaging interactions, including the ability to sell items by weight or length, incorporating fractions.
In this discussion, we explore some of the artificial intelligence (AI) tools integrated within the software, demonstrating how they can save time and assist individuals working in garden centres in making sound and valuable business decisions. We’ll look at everything from fundamental operational tools to advanced features like customer loyalty programs and the potential of AI. Discover how this software solution can contribute to the success of garden centres.
Adopting a “show, don’t tell” approach, this video provides a live demonstration of some of the useful functionalities within this software specifically developed for garden centres.
Here are some of the advantages of using the Tower Systems Garden Centre software:
- EASILY SELL BY MEASURE OR WEIGHT – in whole numbers or fractions. Enjoy accurate billing and stock levels, which customers appreciate.
- CUSTOMERS APPRECIATE LOCALISED GARDEN CARE RECEIPTS – customise receipts with your specific care information relevant to the items purchased.
- STAND OUT WITH OUTDOOR LABELS – utilise high-resolution, customisable, weatherproof product labels.
- INCREASE PROFITABILITY AS PLANTS GROW – easily re-pot plants into larger containers and adjust pricing accordingly.
- DIFFERENTIATE WITH BUNDLED PACKS – for example, offer a plant, pot, and nutrients as a single priced bundle – unique to your business.
- BOOST FOOT TRAFFIC WITH SEASONAL MARKETING – share seasonal planting and care advice relevant to your local area to encourage customer spending.
- SIMPLIFY SEASONAL ORDERING – reorder stock based on minimum/maximum levels or historical seasonal sales data.
- SAVE TIME – AI streamlines the process of importing invoices.
- SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE CUSTOMER ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT – track all purchases and payments, minimising the risk of non-payment.
- MAKE DELIVERIES EASIER AND MORE RELIABLE – delivery notes and picking slips improve your operational flow.
- SECURE AND FAST EFTPOS – fewer keystrokes mean fewer errors.
- INCREASE SALES PER VISIT AND ENCOURAGE REPEAT BUSINESS – implement a meaningful loyalty program that incentivises return visits.
- EASY AND ACCURATE STOCK MANAGEMENT – readily identify fast and slow-moving stock to reduce unsold inventory.
Tower Systems is a small Australian business focused on developing and supporting point-of-sale (POS) software for niche specialty retailers.
Businesses such as jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, produce businesses, farm supply businesses, fishing shops, pet shops, charity organisations, landscape gardening businesses, antique shops, sewing shops, haberdashery businesses, newsagents, and many more benefit from this software.
Find out more at www.towersystems.com.au.
Call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.
Recent Comments