AFL Grand Final holiday
27
September
It is a holiday today in beautiful Melbourne on account of it being the day before the AFL Grand Final. While most of the companies y is closed, our help desk is open and helloing customers with queries.
POS software helps small business retailers add a surcharge for credit card use
26
September
Credit cards cost retailers money. Some more so than others. Indeed, some cards can cost a retailer three times as much as the lowest cost card. This is a real cost to business, a cost that retailers are seeking to m mitigate, especially in situations where they are unable to adequately cover the cost due to the fixed price nature of what they sell.
This challenge is especially real in small business retail, where economy of scale is not available and where leverage to push down other overhead costs is not an option.
Here at our POS software company, we have helped retailers for years to have options for charging a surcharge automatically through the software, tracked, managed and collected to help the businesses defray these cards costs.
While the charging of a surcharge is contentious, credit card fees are a real cost of business that is hidden, and that is why big businesses like it we think, because they have negotiating power to keep costs low and therefore not need to recover the card costs they are hit with by banks.
In charging a surcharge, small business retailers are being transparent about real costs and showing customers how they can help businesses to transact on a more equitable footing.
Tower Systems makes it easy. manageable and changeable for indie retailers to charge a credit card use surcharge, which is in line with ACCC requirements, through the software with transparency and tracking through the business and into Xero, MYOB and more through POS software integrations.
Whether you charge a surcharge or not is 100% up to you. For what it’s worth, we do not in the shops we own because they are in competitive Westfield centres and we’d rather not be that business that charges a surcharge.
Tower Systems serves indie specialty retailers with POS software designed specifically for those niche businesses, software tuned to their needs and that help businesses manage more efficiently and safely in a rapidly changing retail environment.
What we offer in the area of a credit card surcharge facility is a small part of a bigger and more valuable offering for indie retailers.
POS connected Shopping web development for retailers in Australia and New Zealand
25
September
Tower Systems is a skilled POS software company that also develops awesome Shopify sites connected to its POS software for indie retailers in niche retail channels like: jewellers, garden centres, produce, toy, firearms, fishing, outdoors, newsagents, pet, gift, book, bike and adult.
Included in our fixed price Shopify work is:
- A pre-development over the phone Q&A meeting.
- Shopify link.This is a facility in the Retailer software to link with Shopify.
- Live Shopify site as per the facilities and functionality outlined in this document – see below, including pre development consultation.
- Up to 2 hours of hand-over training.
- Three months of phone-based assistance (but not software changes) following delivery.
- A comprehensive handover document that provides support, written training and guidance on your next steps. This is the same for all our Shopify site customers. i.e. it is not document written especially for you.
However, what we do is far more comprehensive than this. We work hard to deliver beautiful websites that serve the needs of our customers. This work includes:
- Template / theme selection. We will step you through template / theme options included in the price and with you and choose one for the site. We will then make the selection for you and set this up. Note: there are some themes (not developed by us) that you can purchase outside our package price for more specialist options. These can cost up to $400.00 extra.
- Overall design to be applied to the template selected to customise the look and feel of the site. The design process is not priced to be a back and forth process. We would consult prior to doing the customisation. We will listen to your brief and provide a design. Minor adjustments can be made within the quote but any diversion from the original brief would add to the cost.
- A functioning live website for your businessthat works and can be accessed from different devices – computer, phone, tablet – with auto detect of the device so the site looks good. With the website to be based on Shopify with the following:
- Homepage. Including text, images, button. With you providing g us with the text you want.
- Home page links to any business accounts you have for: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
- A home page feed of your business blog if you have one and it is published through Shopify that allows data feeds.
- Admin page for your management of the site. This is not seen by the public. There is a range of settings you can control for proper management of the site.
- About page. Where your business is described. You will provide the text for this.
- Privacy Policy page listing a good privacy policy we have developed – that you can modify.
- Terms and conditions page listing terms and conditions we have developed – that you can modify.
- Contact us page showing location on a map and making contact easy.
- Up to two additional pages where you provide exact text and images for those static pages. By static, we mean information only pages.
- A shopping cart facility for managing the products you sell. This is the guts of the site, the most important part. This specifically includes facilities you would use to manually load products or import products and product images direct from Retailer.
- The setup of auto-loading of products into the site via a live link to the Tower Systems Retailer software. You need to have this data in Retailer already.
- Interfacing to one or both payment gateways: Stripe and Paypal.
- Interfacing to buy now pay later payments methods you wish. You will need to create accounts for each.
- Defined to Google and Bing so search engines know about the site.
This list is not complete. We do much more in service of our retail business customers who want to get live and selling online with Shopify.
Free small business retailer workshop – web connected POS software helps you win new customers and revenue
24
September
A free workshop for small business retailers: How to find new customers by selling online direct from POS software for your specific type of business using Shopify and Magento.
Join us for a free workshop where we will explore Shopify and Magento direct connected POS software for specialty retailers: jewellers, garden centres, produce, toy, firearms, fishing, outdoors, newsagents, pet, gift, book, bike and adult.
At the interactive and engaging workshops we will focus on new online insights for 2020 and beyond that are relevant to indie small business retailers.
- Hear from current case studies what other indie retailers are doing.
- Find out how to use online to drive in-store shopping.
- Learn how click and collect actually works.
- Find out about the different buy now pay later options for online sales.
- See how stock data including images flow easily from the POS to online.
Each workshop will be live and interactive and relevant to your type of business. It could save you thousands in web developer fees. This will not be a sales pitch. We will share what we know having done this work ourselves for the retail businesses we own in the homewares, pop culture, collectible, plush, gift and games segments of retail.
We live everyday the challenges of pricing, marketing, shipping and more and we will share out learnings.
We will cover hot topics including: SEO, shipping options, free shipping, the role of social in online sales, returns, bundles, branding and a plan b for your web strategy.
Click on your preferred city below to book. Each workshop (except for online) will be in an easy to get to capital city location.
- Sydney. Sept. 30. 10am.
- Adelaide. October 1. 10am.
- Perth. October 2. 10:30am.
- Hobart. October 3. 11am.
- Melbourne. October 4. 10am.
- Auckland. October 7. 10am.
- Brisbane. October 8. 10am.
- Canberra. October 9. 10am.
- Online. October 10. 10am. AEST.
- Online. October 10. 2pm. AEST.
- Wellington. October 14. 10am.
- Christchurch. Oct. 15. 10am.
We are local. Tower Systems serves 3,500+ specialty businesses – with POS software and websites. We make what we sell. We use it ourselves too, in our own retail and online businesses.
With these workshops and all we do, goal is to help you enjoy a more successful and valuable business.
Mental health is about more than one day of the year
23
September
While it was RUOK? Day last week, the mental health challenge for businesses owners and, indeed, the whole community is a 365 day a year challenge.
Recent Bureau of Statistics figures reinforce why this is a 365 day a year challenge:
As an employer of many 15-34 year olds, the stat for suicide is horrifying. The broader suicide rate in Australia is horrifying.
We have written a few times here about mental health. Not as an expert, because we are not experts. Rather, our interest is as an employer and as someone who craves for a healthier and happier country.
We share here today a revised version of information we have shared here before on this topic, and in particular about the mental health of newsagents and those in our businesses.
Despite all the ads on TV, despite the work of R U OK?, despite the work of agencies like Beyondblue, despite the stories in the media, mental health, especially mental health within the small business community, and especially the newsagency community, is not talked about.
The challenge is that we cannot always see unhealthiness. If someone is physically unhealthy, we can usually see it, but not mental unhealthiness. For sure there are occasional signs like behavioural outbursts that don’t make sense but you can’e be sure and often you don’t want to ask for fear of making it worse.
In small business retail and in our channel there are challenges that can make things worse: bullying landlords, overbearing suppliers, demanding customers, relentless competitors. These and other factors can make someone see the road ahead through clouded eyes. For some of those on the other side, however, how they handle a situation could be driven by how the small business has dealt with it up to then.
We are all for personal accountability and often say we need to own our own situation – we sign our leases, we sign magazine contracts, we go into business. However, we do these things expecting fairness. Too often there are people on the other side of a commercial relationship who do not act with fairness.
Social media is a factor with mental health as it gives everyone a megaphone and the ability to publish an opinion without thinking it through. In schools social media is a big focus in mental health awareness, especially around bullying.
It is hard to know the mental health of anyone. That person smiling at you or joking with you could be in a dark place in their mind. This is why it is important we talk and ask colleagues how they are doing and why we all need to help when we think help could be what is needed.
In the workplace, we think being open with each other so that everyone has a shared and open experience. If there are business performance issues, rather than keeping them secret, talking about them could help ease tension: a problem shared and all that…
There are wonderful resources from government departments available. For example, The Victorian Government has a page online on this topic, which includes good practical advice:
- Make time to exercise each day: For example, a simple daily lunch time walk can help maintain a positive outlook.
- Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness means being aware of your reactions/feelings/thoughts as you have them. This helps you choose how to manage matters as they arise. Mindfulness is a great tool to help lower stress and anxiety levels.
- Adopt work/life boundaries: Don’t let work overtake your life. Set some boundaries to ensure you have time for both work and a social life. You might decide not to discuss work from 5pm Friday night to 8am Monday morning because weekends are for family time only.
- Connect with others: Find someone worthy of your stories – a confidant or mentor you can talk to about your business experiences. Make sure this person is supportive, a good listener and someone whose opinion you value.
This website also lists indicators:
- Physical signs: For example, a constant knot in your stomach, tense neck and shoulders, feeling nauseous, heart palpitations or chest pains.
- Changes in behaviour: For example, being unable to sleep, crying regularly, feeling moody or often irritable, increase or loss of appetite.
- Unclear thinking: For example, not being able to make decisions, not understanding directions, not being able to focus, being inattentive.
- Feeling sad or anxious regularly: We all have bad days – they’re a normal part of life. This flag needs attention if you begin to notice feeling like this regularly.
- Disconnecting from others: This may include not joining in social activities, choosing to spend time away from family and friends or stopping hobbies/sporting activities.
- Feeling overwhelmed: It is difficult to find solutions to problems, and in some instances it feels like they are insurmountable. Problem solving becomes difficult
And it lists useful resources:
- Business In Mind: Business In Mind is an online resource specifically designed to support business owners who may be experiencing mental health challenges.
- Beyond Blue: beyondblue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health, whatever their age and wherever they live.
- The Ripple Effect: A resource for rural communities that addresses suicide in rural areas.(Ph: 03 5551 8587)
- Sane provides online information, support and connection for every Australian affected by complex mental illness through its website, peer-to-peer forums and helpline. SANE also has a range of factsheets on managing mental health in the workplace. (Ph: 1800 18 7263)
Our approach to mental health as business owners has to be continuous, on-going. It can’t be a one day of the year focus or a stunt. It has to be part of how we run our businesses, everyday.
In our experience, talking is key – offering an environment where people can talk, where they know it is safe to talk, where they are encouraged to talk and where active listening happens. While it is not always perfect and does not always achieve what is hoped for, it is documented as being valuable.
While RUOK? Day today is important for awareness, that awareness and engagement need to be year-long.
Free POS software training for small business retailers
20
September
All users of the Tower Systems POS software have access to free training. Long after the software is installed, this free training is available for people to learn more about our POS software and how to leverage the software for the benefit of the retail business.
POS software training is critical to make good use of tools the software. Some of the best learning can be done years after a business started using the software. This is why we make access to POS software training free for our indie retail customers.
We run several online training sessions each week across a wide range of subjects. These are an excellent way for you and your staff to learn in detail about specific areas of the software. Each of these sessions is genuinely interactive and offers a free-flowing Q&A session at the end where any topic can be canvassed.
To participate in an online meeting all you need access to is a computer with a broadband internet connection and a phone to receive a call so you can hear the audio. Each session runs for approximately 45-60 minutes depending on questions. Being in front of our POS software is not critical for the training.
We also host face to face meetings where further training can be accessed. These meetings are free. The face to face meetings are yearly in capital cities and regional centres across Australia. These are in addition to our weekly online live sessions. We also attend more than twelve industry trade shows offering face-to-face meeting opportunities with users.
Free and easy access to POS software training is critical for small business retailers and those who work in their businesses. It provides for unlocking genuine value from the POS software.
Tower Systems is proud to be able to offer this training and to have done so for many years. It is one thing to talk about it and another entirely to actually do it. This is what we are committed to, doing – we really do believe that actions speak louder than words.
Tower Systems serves specialty small business and independent retailers with specialty POS software.
Bike shop software helps independent bike retailers grow their businesses
19
September
The Tower Systems Bike shop POS software continues to evolve to meet chan ing needs of indie bike retailers. It is nimble, powerful and evolving to serve the future of bike retail in-store and online.
Here are some of the benefits of the Tower Systems Bike shop POS software:
- Save time with electronic invoices from bike suppliers.
- Easily and directly and safely sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software – including image flow.
- Like from the POS software to Bike Chaser and Bike Exchange.
- Offer personal customer service by tracking service and other dates by bike. Service like an auto text message when a bike is ready to be collected.
- Use tags to get a fresh perspective, side-view, on stock performance.
- Leverage you. If you believe your knowledge is a differentiator, offer it through structured opportunities in the software. This helps you stand out from other places people could shop with.
- Genuinely differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to you for this.
- Sell more with a direct connect and integrated with the POS buy now pay later services.
- Drive a deeper basket from one-time-only visiting shoppers.
- Offer differentiating personal bike care by tracking serial numbers and by service recommendations based on history of the bike.
- Easily handle special customer orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified by email or text when the goods are in.
- Trade and club 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. This can be specific to cycling situations in the local area.
- Differentiate with bundles. Selling items bundled together makes price comparison hard.
- Track who sold what.
- Say goodbye to LayBy (if you want) – with buy now pay later options.
- Market to customers based on past purchases.
- Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
- Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
These are just some of the many benefits of the Bike shop POS software from Tower Systems.
Portable POS software App – sell anywhere, sell any time from this cloud based solution for small business retailers
18
September
Retailer Roam is a beautiful piece of new software from Tower Systems that facilitates small business retailers selling from anywhere at any time.
Roam is an App that can run on any iOS or Android device. It is POS software on the road. Hence, the name Roam. Retailers really can sell anywhere. From a pop-up store, market stall, school, a truck – anywhere on the go at any time. It is easy, fast and secure, and it can trade even without an internet connection.
Retailer Roam is next generation POS software, bringing facilities engaged and transforming retailers want to their businesses, helping them reach new customers, helping them sell places that are hard to sell at today. Retailer Roam helps small business retailers transform how they sell and through this to find new shoppers for their businesses.
It is fresh software unique and made in Australia by Tower Systems as an extension to our specialty retail small business suite.
Retailer Roam is ideal for retail businesses in these retail segments: jewellers, garden centres, produce, toy, firearms, fishing, outdoors, newsagents, pet, gift, book, bike and adult.
Retailer Roam is portable POS software with all small business retailers expect from portability yet with access to the power of wonderful data held in systems in the back office of these retail businesses. It brings to life out in the field, away from the shop, tools through which the retailer can find new shoppers and win new business.
Retailer Roam in a game changer for small business retailers looking to innovate how and where they sell products for their business. It places into the palm of retail employees on the shop floor the ability to sell to and serve customers that help ease the counter log-jam, that helps provide assistance and service to customers in the store but away from the counter.
It is fast, flexible and evolving. Retailer Roam today will evolve as more use it and provide feedback to guide further enhancement. This iterative approach to development is loved by small business retailers who like a say in the evolution of the POS software they use in their businesses.
Helping small business retailers easily add a surcharge of credit card transactions through POS software
17
September
With tight margins, tough competition, higher labour costs and higher tenancy costs, it is no wonder more retailers are charging a fee for some, maybe all, card use by customers.
Some cards, the premium cards, are especially expensive for retailers to take. These cards typically offer their customers benefits, which are paid for through higher fees for the participating retailers.
More and more retailers are applying a surcharge automatically to each card paid transaction to help defray the costs of taking the cards.
Retailers using the POS software from Tower Systems have the tools in their software today to auto charge a surcharge for card use.
Our view as a software company is to serve the needs of our customers. They asked us some time ago for the auto surcharge facility and we delivered – giving our customers the flexibility to charge if they wished. There is no pressure from us, no requirement, no mandate. Rather, we have delivered through the software tools that make charging a credit card surcharge through the POS software easy.
We are grateful to our customers for their guidance as the the flexibility needed to serve their credit card surcharge needs, to ensure that the POS software levies the charge how and when they want, in a way that does not disrupt or challenge the sales counter experience.
Setting up any surcharge in the POS software, as opposed too on asn EFTPOS terminal, allows the sale total, including the surcharge, to appear on your Retailer receipts as well as your EFTPOS merchant copies. This is a better outcome for the business as well as for the shoppers.
Tower Systems customers have flexibility and ease of implementation, to enable them to use this in a way that minimises the risk or challenge for any retail business. It offers transparency, tracking and management oversight to enable a business to assess the use of and income from the surcharge and to also determine the positive or negative impact of the credit card surcharge on the broader business.
Credit card surcharges by retailers are common as they look at the costs in their businesses. By charging customers based on a cost of a specific service they can guide customers to make other decisions, which may cost less.
Free web connected POS software workshops to help small business retailers sell online
16
September
A free workshop for small business retailers: How to find new customers by selling online direct from POS software for your specific type of business using Shopify and Magento.
Join us for a free workshop where we will explore Shopify and Magento direct connected POS software for specialty retailers: jewellers, garden centres, produce, toy, firearms, fishing, outdoors, newsagents, pet, gift, book, bike and adult.
At the interactive and engaging workshops we will focus on new online insights for 2020 and beyond that are relevant to indie small business retailers.
- Hear from current case studies what other indie retailers are doing.
- Find out how to use online to drive in-store shopping.
- Learn how click and collect actually works.
- Find out about the different buy now pay later options for online sales.
- See how stock data including images flow easily from the POS to online.
Each workshop will be live and interactive and relevant to your type of business. It could save you thousands in web developer fees. This will not be a sales pitch. We will share what we know having done this work ourselves for the retail businesses we own in the homewares, pop culture, collectible, plush, gift and games segments of retail.
We live everyday the challenges of pricing, marketing, shipping and more and we will share out learnings.
We will cover hot topics including: SEO, shipping options, free shipping, the role of social in online sales, returns, bundles, branding and a plan b for your web strategy.
Click on your preferred city below to book. Each workshop (except for online) will be in an easy to get to capital city location.
- Sydney. Sept. 30. 10am.
- Adelaide. October 1. 10am.
- Perth. October 2. 10:30am.
- Hobart. October 3. 11am.
- Melbourne. October 4. 10am.
- Auckland. October 7. 10am.
- Brisbane. October 8. 10am.
- Canberra. October 9. 10am.
- Online. October 10. 10am. AEST.
- Online. October 10. 2pm. AEST.
- Wellington. October 14. 10am.
- Christchurch. Oct. 15. 10am.
We are local. Tower Systems serves 3,500+ specialty businesses – with POS software and websites. We make what we sell. We use it ourselves too, in our own retail and online businesses.
With these workshops and all we do, goal is to help you enjoy a more successful and valuable business.
Fishing tackle store POS software ideal for specialty local fishing and outdoors businesses
13
September
Fishing tackle businesses and fishing a=nd outdoors businesses benefit from the Tower Systems fishing shops POS software. The benefits come in many ways, many forms, through time saving, money saving and greater happiness in the running fo the business.
Tower Systems is proud to serve many fishing tackle and fishing and outdoors businesses today with awesome specialty software for these specialty businesses.
We make what we sell and support. This is critical in terms of the evolution of the software, to serve the growing needs of retailers in the fishing tackle shop space.
here are some of the benefits retailers tell us they love from the Tower Systems fishing tackle shop POS software:
- Leverage you and your team. What you know is a differentiator for your fishing tackle business. Leverage this. Include local fishing information on receipts with consistency and automatically. The praise we get for this feature and how it is used is wonderful, uplifting.
- Sell accurately by measure – by whole numbers or fractions.
- Easily sell by weight. This works for bait especially. Accurate sales tracking leads to better business decisions.
- Sell by bundles / packs – Sell a rod / reel / line bundle easily. This makes it harder to price compare. It pitches you as offering value.
- Unpack bundles – You can take bundles and packs purchased from a supplier and break them down to single products, maximising return. Make more money by smart engagement with packages.
- Repairs & Job Tracking – Manage repairs, track progress in house or with third parties and notify customers by text when items are ready. If you do repairs this is a wonderful facility. If you don;t do repairs, don’t use the facility.
- Stock Notes– Easily add care as well as local use instructions to any receipt, based on the product purchased.
- Catalogue Management– run promotions through the system for automatic pricing (ie multi-buys and catalogue items) (buy any 3 lures for $10 or further discounts when purchasing bigger qty’s of bait). This is especially useful if you are in a group.
- Encourage a deeper basket. Use a loyalty program designed specifically to leverage one-time shoppers.
- Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to youfor this.
- Special orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
- Trade pricing profiles. You can set pricing rules based on types of customers.
- Pre-orders – We make it easy for you to pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
- Save time by importing electronic invoices.
- Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
- Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
- Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
- Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software.
Produce / farm supply / stockfeed business POS software helps serve the needs of rural and regional areas
12
September
Tower Systems grateful to be able launch a rental pricing option that makes our produce / farm supply / stockfeed business POS software available for $199.00 a month. For this, a business using the software can access…
- Australian developed and supported produce business POS software. Specialty software for specialty retail business needs in the farm supply, produce, stockfeed areas.
- Software that can also be accessed from anywhere.
- Software updates as we release them. These updates are developed in consultation with our customers, through a transparent process.
- Unlimited licences for your retail location. If you need an extra computer, there is no extra software cost.
- Shopify / Magento / Woo link. Easily sell online to anyone, anywhere, at any time, from your POS software.
- Xero cloud based accounting software link. Easing bookkeeping costs and streamlining accounting.
- Our OzBiz link. This helps you link to MYOB and Quicken through OzBiz.
- Tyro link – safe, fast and easy EFTPOS link for streamlined sales.
- PC Eftpos link. This offers easy EFTPOS processing for the major banks.
- Easy buy now pay laterthanks to Zip Pay and Humm – that Boomers, Gen Y, Gen X and others are using more and more.
- Support – help desk access, unlimited training, updates and more. Yes, unlimited training.
- User documentation. Access to our searchable knowledge base.
Rental is charged per 30 days, in advance. Access can be cancelled at any time. You can also choose to purchase the software outright.
We have a structured and personalised on-boarding process, done in your business. The up-front on-boarding fee is $4,750.00 (inc. GST). This includes:
- A pre-installation training and information pack to help you be ready in your business and with hardware.
- Pre-installation planning. A structured phone meeting to plan the installation and to go over the training, ensuring we cover what matters to you and your team.
- On-site installation and training. On-site installation of and training in the Tower software anywhere in Australia for up to two days incl. travel.
- Data conversion. Conversion of all data possible (within reasonable time constraints). This is a two-step process:
- Pre-conversion. With your permission we extract data to be checked for layout and consistency.
- The conversion itself. This is done as part of software installation.
- Personal priority support. New user priority support through a specialist area of the new customer help desk.
- Personal post-installation follow-up. A separate structured call to check knowledge and use processes.
- All travel costs to and from the installation.
Save $1,000. You are welcome to have the installation done remotely, with our installation expert located at one of our offices and working with you over the phone. This would reduce the on-boarding fee by $1,000.00 (Inc. GST).
Here are a few, by by no means all, of the produce business specific benefits produce business owners and managers tell us they love about our produce / farm supply / stockfeed business management software:
- Time saving invoicing and account management – manage accounts in a way tailored to your You can easily account for freight, produce picking slips, manage accounts, feed data to Xero and MYOB and do more.
- Sell accurately by measure – by whole numbers or
- Sell by weight.
- Special orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
- Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to youfor this.
- Trade pricing profiles. You can set pricing rules based on types of customers.
- Pre-orders – We make it easy for you to pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
- Bagging up feed – Easily manage bagging up a bulk feed delivery into smaller, saleable lots, while keeping accurate stock on hand data.
- Making your own feed mix. We help you track managing bulk quantity ingredients and mixing these into saleable packs of your own brand of seed mix. What an awesome point of difference for your business!
- Weatherproof labels.
- Loading electronic invoices from suppliers.
- An automated link to Shopify, Magento and Woo including images.
We are local. Tower Systems is an Aussie POS software co. serving 3,500+ specialty businesses. If you think we could help you, please call…
Gift shop POS software benefits helps gift shop businesses compete
11
September
The Tower Systems gift shop POS software is packed with awesome benefits for gust shop owners. Here are some of the benefits gift shop owners can tap into using the Tower System gift shop software:
- Get one-time-only shoppers spending more thanks to an easy to pitch loyalty system embedded in the software.
- Leverage you. If you believe your knowledge is a differentiator, offer it through structured opportunities in the software.
- Encourage customer happiness by serving product care info. on receipts.
- Easily handle special customer orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
- Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software – including image flow.
- Go cashless if that is your goal – we make it easy and affordable.
- Save time with electronic invoices from suppliers.
- Use tags to get a fresh perspective, side-view, on stock performance.
- Bundle items together to make price comparisons harder and thereby increase sales.
- Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to youfor this.
- Trade and club 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.
- Track who sold what.
- Say goodbye to LayBy – with integrated buy now pay later options.
- Market to customers based on past purchases.
- Save timeby importing electronic invoices.
- Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
- Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
- Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
- Gift shop business specific. This software is developed for your type of business.
- In the cloud or in-store. You choose where the software runs.
- Rent or buy. You choose how to acquire and fund the software.
- We help with business performance analysis and theft checks, services where we take a deep dive into your data and provide confidential insights.
- Every customer has the direct contact details for our leadership team for easy and safe escalation of any query.
- No pressure. You buy when you are ready.
- Retail group engagement. Groups and members of groups have opportunities for group level customisation website sales and more.
- It’s personal. Retail is personal. This is why we prefer to train you in your shop. Yes, we said this above. We say it again as it is a differentiator.
Good POS software cannot stop poor business retains in small business retail
9
September
Good POS software offers flexibility, choices in how the software can be used in a business. What may be a good choice for one business could be a bad choice for another business.
For example, the Tower Systems small business POS software enables the sale of items by department. This could be appropriate in businesses where items are not bar-coded and where stock control is not required because of the unique nature of the products sold.
However, for most retail businesses, selling by department key only is not appropriate. It is old school, risky, poor business management.
A risk of selling items by department, by not scanning each item sold, by not tracking each item sold is loss of visibility of stock movement.
In this scenario, where items are not scanned, it is easy for stock to be stolenby customers or employees and the business owner to either not know or not know until long after the event.
yet, here we are in 2019 and we have some retailers using their POS software too sell items by using the department key, which is genuinely nuts in our humble professional opinion.
Valuable benefits of POS software are the reduction of customer and employee theft, the more efficient management of stock, faster selling and better business management.
All of these benefits are denied a business when it sells items using department keys, when it sells items by not scanning items when they are sold.
While POS software is designed to manage inventory using bar codes, sometimes people make the bad choice to not use this. The consequences of such a bad decision are on them and not on the software as it is doing what they have told it to do through settings over which they have control.
We can help you review your decisions, to improve them, so your use of the software improves. We can help make sure that you are leveraging all the time saving, money saving, mistake saving tools in our small business POS software, to ensure that the benefits flow and that poor business practices are in the past.
We’re here to help.
Free POS software training for all small business retailers using the Tower Systems POS software
8
September
A week ago, Tower Systems announced that all users of its POS software have access to free one on one training in the use off the POS software regardless of the version of the software they are using.
There are no strings to this free POS software training offer for small business retailers.
This is a genuine offer by the POS software company to help indie retailers using the Tower Systems software to get more from the software, to unlock tangible benefits for their businesses and for themselves.
It is rare that a POS software company provided free training to any customer, especially those who might have bought the software years ago and not paid for software support for many years. But that is what Tower Systems has delivered with this offer. That is what the company now has available for its customers.
To book for a free training session, all Tower Systems POS software customers need do is email bookings@towersystems.com.au and our training booking team will find out the topics you would like covered in the training, determine the best person to co9ver these areas of the software for you and arrange a time for the free training session.
This is a serious, structured and complete free opportunity that we have created to invest value into the businesses of our POS software customers. This is us investing not only in them but in small business retail more broadly.
Our hope its to drive business efficiency, business profitability and business enjoyment for all involved. We know that these are common outcomes from the POS software training that we have provided and can provide in a variety of business situations.
We create, sell, support and enhance POS software for specialty retailers: jewellers, garden centres, produce, toy, firearms, fishing, outdoors, newsagents, pet, gift, book, bike and adult. The free training offer is for retailers in these retail channels, regardless of the age of their POS software, regardless of whether they are covered by a software support agreement.
We are grateful to be in a position to make this investment in our small business user community.
If you know a business using our POS software, please let them know about this free offer from us. Everyone is welcome!
Secret tools help small business retailers cut the cost of employee theft
7
September
The cost of employee theft in small business retail is considerable. It is one of those costs to business that is not known until a business actually looks at the data. Most small business owners, however, do not look at the data until they are forced too. Often, by then, it is too late to recover all of what has been taken from the business.
Retailers can cut the cost of employee theft. Smart POS software makes this easier to achieve.
In the Tower Systems POS software there are secret tools that help small business retailers detect employee theft. detection is the first step to cutting the cost of theft. Knowledge is power as they say. The secret tools cannot be found by any9one unless they know the path and have access to the secret kay.l This information is only provided to business owners – if they want to know, if they want to cut the cost of employee theft.
Using POS software to cut the cost of employee theft in a retail business is, in our view, smart. It saves money, saves time and encourages the business onto a path of greater prosperity.
Tower Systems advises, encourages and guides small business retailers on cutting the cost of theft. We do this using the secret tools embedded deep within our software. We also doo it through our work with the police, crown prosecutors, private investigators and other who9 are also working to help cut the cost of employee theft in retail businesses, especially in small business retail.
This is critical for businesses for too often we see them come to a realisation abut theft only after the money is long gone.
People can be clever and smart as to how they go abut stealing from a retail business. The secret tools in our POS software help small business retailers to see the theft early in the cycle, before the damage is too great and in a way that enables the business owner to think about appropriate next steps to get the evidence necessary for police engagement. This is critical.
Small business retailers can cut the cost of employee theft. Tower Systems can help with this. We have people in our company skilled and experienced to help small business retailers achieve this.
POS software connected Shopify website development for small business retailers
6
September
Tower Systems partners with Shopify to offer POS software connected Shopify e-commerce sites that are finely tuned for the success of independent small business retailers.
All of our POS software connected Shopify sites are created at our head office in hawthorn Victoria, by skilled web developers who can get the most out of the POS software / Shopify integration. This is critical for a seamless commercially successful solution for indie small business retailers.
Tower Systems has a bling portfolio of PO software solutions integrated with Shopify, through which retailers are winning access to new shoppers.
We bring to our web development work years of expertise in retail management and POS software development and leverage with with our awesome web team to create beautiful and functional websites, to win business for local retailers.
We are grateful to have two software development teams in our business, one continually enhancing our awesome small business POS software and the other developing beautiful and valuable websites for small business retailers.
Our small business website development starts with a comprehensive consultation process, to ensure we understand all of the needs of a retail business and agree these with our customers. Too often with offshore web development this is not done and fixing a site from afar is problematic.
The Tower web team is also skilled at SEO and SEM services that help raise the website rankings in key search engines, ensuring the site is found ahead of others.
Best of all, Tower Systems provides professional advice and guidance to small business retailers keen to build their online presence. Our commitment is honest transparent advice on which any small business retailer can rely.
The Tower Systems web development team is Australian based, working out of the company’s head office in Hawthorn. This is important as many web development businesses are overseas. While you might have a locally based contact person development too often is done overseas, leading to challenges with delivery and usefulness.
Professional web development takes time. Time has a per hour cost. IT professionals are paid well. Going for the cheapest price for website development could mean that you have gone with a business that cuts corners or has most of the work done offshore.
Since your website is your business calling card to the world it is not something to cut corners with, it is not something to take offshore for a saving today. A good source of business for us is replacing offshore developed sites.
Xero connected POS software for small business retailers saves time, costs costs and helps businesses grow
5
September
The Xero connects POS software from Tower Systems is helloing indie and small business retailers ro run more efficient, enjoyable and successful retail businesses.
Thanks to the seamless integration from the Tower Systems POS software with the Xero cloud based accounting solution, small business retailers have a solution through which they can expect to achieve reduced bookkeeping costs, lower accounting costs, easier access to business performance projections, reduced data entry errors and an overall better outlook for the retail business.
Having partnered with Xero for the POS software integration for years, Tower Systems delivers to small business retailers a proven and valuable solution through which retailers have access to their P&L and balance sheet from data sales, invoice and other data flow from the POS software.
This is smart for the business and financially positive from the outset thanks to the elimination of accounting costs.
Tower Systems is a partner of Xero, listed by the company on its website. We go further, though. We use Xero ourselves, for retail businesses we own and operate, walking daily in the shoes of our customers integration POS software with Xero and overseen by our own in house CPA. This is a unique position for a POS software company – being a retailer too and using our POS software and its Xero integration for valuable advantage.
Our Xero POS software integration is one of many approved integrations provided by the software to serve the needs of retailers. Other integrations include:
- Tyro broadband EFTPOS, which is fast, efficient and secure.
- Links to all major banks through PC-EFTPOS. This includes, NAB, ANZ and CBA.
- Magento e-commerce. Magento is an excellent platform for website sales for small to medium businesses.
- Shopify e-commerce. Shopify is an excellent entry-level solution for small to medium businesses.
- FlyBys in New Zealand.
- Transactor loyalty in New Zealand.
- Scale integration for selling by weight.
- Touch networks for vending event tickets, phone recharge, fishing licences and more.
These integrations, like the Xero POS software integration, deliver time saving, cost saving and other benefits to the small business retailers with whom we happily partner.
Our goal is to help small business retailers run more successful and enjoyable businesses.
Specialty POS software for firearms retailers and gun shops
4
September
Gun shops and firearms retailers have needs beyond traditional retailers, needs that are often not covered in off the shelf POS software. This is where the gun shop software from Tower Systems helps, we address needs unique to the channel including these important areas.
The specialty POS software from Tower Systems delivers access to an extraordinary range of benefits including…
- Sell accurately by weight or measure – by whole numbers or
- Leverage you. If your knowledge is a differentiator, offer it through structured opportunities in the software.
- Easier record keeping with serial number tracking of items sold.
- Ensure compliance with structured age checking.
- Easily handle special customer orders. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
- Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to youfor this.
- Maximise the basket with easy to use one-time shopper loyalty tools.
- Trade and club pricing profiles. Set pricing rules based on customer type.
- 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.
- Time saving invoicing and account management – manage accounts in a way tailored to your
- Market to customers based on past purchases.
- Save time by importing electronic invoices.
- Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
The firearms business / gun shop POS software from Tower systems is deeply specialty in nature, for the specialty businesses in this unique and important retail channel.
In developing these and other facilities, Tower Systems has consulted with professional gun shop owners to ensure that our software is indeed a useful and appreciated solution.
For the best advice on choosing software for your gun shop, read How to choose the best gun show software.
With more gun shops added to our users community in the last few months, we are building better experience and expertise which we can use to help more businesses drive efficiency and business success.
Free POS software e-commerce workshops for small business retailers
3
September
How to find new customers by selling online direct from POS software for your specific type of business using Shopify and Magento.
Join us for a free workshop where we will explore Shopify and Magento direct connected POS software for specialty retailers: jewellers, garden centres, produce, toy, firearms, fishing, outdoors, newsagents, pet, gift, book, bike and adult. We will focus on new online insights for 2020 and beyond
- Hear from current case studies what other indie retailers are doing.
- Find out how to use online to drive in-store shopping.
- Learn how click and collect actually works.
- Find out about the different buy now pay later options for online sales.
- See how stock data including images flow easily from the POS to online.
This workshop will be live and interactive and about your type of business. It could save you thousands in web developer fees. This will not be a sales pitch.
We will cover hot topics including: SEO, shipping options, free shipping, the role of social in online sales, returns, bundles, branding and a plan b for your web strategy.
Click on your preferred city below to book. Each workshop (except for online) will be in an easy to get to capital city location.
- Sydney. Sept. 30. 10am.
- Adelaide. October 1. 10am.
- Perth. October 2. 10:30am.
- Hobart. October 3. 11am.
- Melbourne. October 4. 10am.
- Auckland. October 7. 10am.
- Brisbane. October 8. 10am.
- Canberra. October 9. 10am.
- Online. October 10. 10am. AEST.
- Online. October 10. 2pm. AEST.
- Wellington. October 14. 10am.
- Christchurch. Oct. 15. 10am.
We are local. Tower Systems serves 3,500+ specialty businesses – with POS software and websites. We make what we sell. We use it ourselves too, in our own retail and online businesses. If you think we could help you, please call…
- VIC/SA/WA: Tim Batt 0401 833 917 tim@towersystems.com.au;
- QLD /NT: Justin Randall 0434 365 789 justin@towersystems.com.au;
- NSW/ACT/TAS: Nathan Morrison 0417 568 148 nathan@towersystems.com.au.
Our goal is to help you enjoy a more successful and valuable business.