Not all POS software can handle selling fabric by length
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Giving POS software customers more power
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Last week we released new customer facilities for our POS software customers. These are back office facilities, accessed through our website, for our customers and how they interact with us and, in particular, our support team.
Once our POS software customers log into our website they have access to new technology through which they can log their own cases, see any current cases, search their past cases and, access pre-set help that may offer immediate assistance for any new case.
This advanced self serve technology goes beyond what we offered in the past, beyond what is common is local small business retail POS software support.
What we released last week is a blend of leading edge, best practice, expert technology from overseas, layered with technology we have developed ourselves and populated with a truckload of knowledge and data from our years of service of local small business retailers.
What we released last week is technically innovative, the culmination of a considerable financial investment by us to bring this to life for our customers. we have been working on this project for close to a year. We brought in a CRM solutions expert from outside to help us bring this home.
The project is a good example of us investing in our infrastructure and bringing on board people expert in the area, rather than relying on only our experience.
We are grateful to be able to make this investment for our customers and thankful for the feedback already from customers who are loving the new facilities and the greater power they have for themselves.
POS software support is all about offering advice and answers that suit the questions and in a timely way that serves the needs of customers. What we have released fits with this, and more.
Tower Systems is grateful to serve 3,000+ local specialty retail businesses that trade in a range of unique retail niches. Our focus is on locally owned family businesses as serving their needs is different to serving big mass businesses. We do not serve bug business customers. Our service is personal, local – like the businesses of our customers.
Not all POS software lets you sell product by weight or measure
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Toy shop software helps local toy shops sell to locals as well as online to shoppers elsewhere
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Toy shops are in a competitive situation, dealing daily with well-resourced major retailers chasing the same shoppers. It’s challenging, especially for local small retail businesses.
Local toy shops thrive if they can pitch a point of difference. we see this every day in our work with local toy shops. By having a tight handle on data and leveraging this along with good product and local knowledge to provide a value-add experience, a differentiating experience.
Through our toy shop software local toy retailers can leverage their knowledge and situation to differentiate. This is toy shop software made specifically for toy shops. That’s right, made for them, based on feedback from them, evolving to meet evolving needs.
When general POS software does not go far enough and does not understand toy shop needs, this toy shop software from Tower Systems goes the distance. we are so grateful to our toy shop customers for their support and advice. They have made a difference to us and the toy shop software that we are so proud to sell.
As retailers ourselves, yes we own and run retail shops, we are grateful for experience in the toy / collectibles / gift niches since the late 1990s. Here are 5 reasons we love our toy shop software :
- Local matters. Local toy shops make a vital contribution to local communities and families. Our software helps you leverage your localness, to genuinely differentiate your business from big competitors. By local we mean local clubs, community groups, shoppers and suppliers.
- You are a key asset. Only your business has you and your people. You can leverage you through our toy shop software, to easily share your knowledge in ways big businesses cannot match. What you know sets you apart if you leverage it.
- You can bank on loyalty. Points don’t reward loyalty. What is a point worth anyway? In our toy shop software, you have fresh loyalty tools you can bank on to drive a deeper visit value and bring shoppers back sooner. People love value and value is not always tied to product price.
- The unseen can reveal opportunities. Knowing for sure what sells with what, knowing how suppliers compare knowing return on investment and return on floorspace … knowledge is power. we help you see in the basket to leverage this for tomorrow.
- Not every shopper will walk past your door. A smart and seamless connection between your software and a beautiful website can help you easily and with low overhead sell to people you will never meet.
Local toy shops are vital in local communities. We are committed to helping you run a more enjoyable and successful business.
Our Tower Systems toy shop software is made for toy shops. We are proud and grateful to be in this space.
5 surprises retailers often discover about their business after a stock take
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Smart POS software makes doing a stock take easier, more accurate and more valuable.
Based on the years of experience from Tower Systems helping local retailers to undertake stock takes, here are the top 5 things retailers discover about their business after doing a stock take:
- The extent of theft in the business. The stock take advises what is actually there while the POS software can show what was expected to be there. The gap is the discrepancy, theft, breakage or similar. Either way, a discrepancy is a problem.
- The poor handle on stock, as shown by the amount of dead stock, items not sold. dead stock is not.making money for the business. The stock take count is evidence. It does not lie. It reveals what is working and what is not. This is a huge value from the POS software.
- The best and worst performing suppliers to the business. Indeed, a stock rake can lead to changes in a supplier relationship.
- The most and least efficient product categories in the business in terms of return on inventory investment and return on retail floor space.
- The link between in-store and online. With data flowing between the physical shop and online store, the value of accurate stock on hand data from the PSO software stock take speaks to this insight.
A stock take is when a retailer counts the stock (using g their POS software) that they have in their shop and any other location holding stock,. This exercise enables them to check stock levels, identify shortages and calculate their stock turnover ratios .
A stock take also helps retailers to plan for future stock levels by updating their stock estimation methods if necessary. It can be conducted at any point between monthly or quarterly.
A stock check is a good time for a retailer to reflect on their stock levels and stock management processes. Here are five things that retailers often learn from stock takes:
1. To count stock accurately, you need to know where your stock is
A stock take will usually show how much stock has been counted as being in the store, but it may also show stock that was not counted or stock that has disappeared. This is nothing to worry about though, as stock may have been misplaced or damaged during the stock check anyway.
2. Sometimes stock takes are not conducted regularly enough for them to be used in stock estimation methods
If stock checks are conducted infrequently there may be too much stock variation between stock checks for stock estimation methods to be reliable. This means that stock estimations will not reflect the retailer’s current stock levels or future stock requirements. In this case, stock estimations need to be updated using a more up-to-date method .
3. Stock takes can provide valuable information about how inventory is being used
Stock takes can show what stock is being sold and how the stock turnover ratios of each store is performing. It may also show stock that sat unwrapped on shelves and stock that was out-of-date or damaged.
4. A stock take will reveal stock that has not been entered into stock records
It’s likely that some stock has not been recorded in stock records. This stock may be stock that was sold but not entered into stock records, stock that was stolen or stock that went out of date without being used (and has now expired).
5. Stock takes can help retailers identify theft and loss
A stock check can reveal stock shortages caused by theft or loss which will enable retailers to take action such as tightening stock control processes or increasing security. It may also show stock that was not counted and stock that has disappeared.
7 steps for a successful stock take in your retail business
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In order to stock take in your retail business successfully, keep these 7 steps in mind.
Bit first, make sure you are using smart POS software that lets you stock take while the shop is open, software that lets you stock take using several computers or terminals.
STEP 1: Decide who will be stock taking and how often it needs to be done. Ask yourself the following: “How big is my stock?” and “How long should stock last?”. Another thing to bear in mind is that stock takes must be done systematically and not on an ad hoc basis. Typically, a shop with 3,000 items can be completed by two people in less than a day.
STEP 2: You stock take should start with a stock count of your stockroom, before you move too the shops floor. Be consistent, methodical, in your approach, covering each space fully before you move to the next space.
STEP 3: In the old manual days, you would write a stock take list as stock takes can be very long processes and this list will act like an agenda for the stock taker. Also, it is useful to use reminders on stock take lists such as “if stock isn’t available check with suppliers”. But those days are over. Today, using smart POS software you can do a stock take faster and more accurately using the POS software.
STEP 4: Stock counts must be done individually to get accurate stock counts. Scan an item, enter a quantity, move on. You can scan each barcode if you wish but that tends to take more time. Move down each aisle in a consistent way: Scan, count, scan, count. Your POS software makes it easy.
STEP 5: All stock of the same type of product should be counted at once to get an accurate total of all stock for that item. This will make stock takes very quick and efficient. See point 4 for doing this in your POS software, scan, count, etc…
STEP 6: Rely on your POS software to store the stock take count data.
STEP 7: Once you have the stock take done, you are ready to use this valuable data to cut for the business dead stock, stock that has not sold in months or years, stock that his not paying its way. This is the value of a stock take for a retail shop.
The Tower Systems smart POS software helps small business retailers complete accurate and time efficient stock takes.
Our software for jewellers helps them hell customers remember important dates
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Everything a gift shop sells is a memory to give, a memory to cherish … how Aussie made POS software helps gift shops achieve this
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Small business retail advice: how to compete with big business competitors
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Here at Tower Systems we only work with and support local retailers ranging from small shops to modest size family businesses with several outlets. We don’t sell to big business.
We have seen many local retail businesses compete with big businesses. The most successful have done well by not competing directly.
This is our advice today. if you have a big business competitor, spend less time looking at them and what they do and spend more time on what you do and how you can make your business more interesting, useful and healthier, because the healthier you are the better you will be.
Don’t compete on price. Price based shoppers are not loyal. They are not.
Be smart about this. Compete on value as value is appreciated. People who experience value will vie back again and again.
Using our Tower Systems POS software you have a range of options for competing on value. yes, the software itself helps you do this. It has facilities built into the software than enable this, that help you pitch value at the transaction level and after the transaction.
Small business retailers often express frustration at big business competitors: they have more money for marketing, get better supplier deals and often have lower overheads per dollar of revenue.
In our experience, there is little to be gained from worrying about these things, which we cannot change. There is more to gain from focussing on points of difference we can leverage.
For example, using our POS software, you can bundle items to make price comparison difficult or impossible, you can offer a loyalty pitch big businesses will not offer, you can be flexible in how and where you pitch products while big retail businesses are structured and, usually, inflexible.
Bundling is particularly useful as you can create a bundle unique to your business, which feels like it is a value proposition unlike anything they have seen to that point. While this is a product by product task, it is in these small steps that you can find success, by changing shopper perspective and winning business more direct competition may have denied.
The best way to compete with a big business is to not be in their lane. Create your own lane, your own playing field where big businesses are air a disadvantage. Our Tower Systems POS software can help you do this.
It’s the add-ons that can cost more with POS software, but not at Tower Systems
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Here at Tower Systems we provide POS software for local small business specialty retailers rich in function, robust in structure and ever-evolving to serve changing needs.
Gift shops, garden centres, jewellers, bike shops, pet shops, toy shops, antique shops, sewing shops, nurseries, newsagents, mobility scooter businesses, farm supply businesses and fishing and outdoor businesses all use our specialty retail Australian made and supported POS software.
We bundle in with the Tower Systems POS software facilities that too many other software companies charge extra for or get to you go to a third party to access, which we think is not ideal for small business retailers.
By including these facilities and services in the one price, Tower Systems POS software customers know what they are in for, they can budget, they can rely on what we do and how we do it.
Take a look at this list of what is included with our POS software, what you done;t need to pay extra for.
- Registers – no additional charge for additional registers.
- Integrated payments for EFTPOS. Less mistakes. Less theft.
- Accounting (Xero integration).
- Ecommerce (Shopify / Magento / Woo).
- Loyalty (points and discount vouchers).
- Integrated LayBy.
- Product care instructions on receipts.
- Product box location tracking.
- Integrated gift cards (your branding).
- Community group pricing and local club pricing – to help promote your business locally.
- Product bundling (hampers etc) – makes price comparison harder.
- Was / Now pricing.
- Special customer orders.
- Seasonal sales tracking.
- Targeted customer marketing.
- Sell by weight.
- Sell by length.
- Sell by fractions.
- Colour / Size / Style.
- Digital receipts.
- Secondhand goods.
- 24/7 customer service. Staffed by humans, who are local. This is not an offshore call centre.
- Launch services. To help you settle in and get running with the software.
- API access.
- Serialisation. Yes, you can sell products that come with serial numbers.
- Dedicated account manager.
This is not a complete list, not by any measure. There are many more inclusions with our POS software that are marketplace specific, inclusions in terms of supplier integrations and more, that make this POS software specialist in nature for specific retail channels.
Tower Systems is a small business focussed POS software company developing, and supporting POS software for niche specialty retailers. Jewellers, garden centres, bike shops, toy shops, produce businesses, farm supply businesses, fishing shops, pet shops, charity businesses, landscape gardening businesses, antique shops, sewing shops, haberdashery businesses, newsagents and more benefit from this software.
Find out more at www.towersystems.com.au Call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au
What’s different about our POS software co?
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Here’s a video we shot and released yesterday in which we explain and show the Tower Systems POS software difference.
Tower Systems appreciates local shoppers
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newsXpress newsagency marketing group helps newsagents run more enjoyable and valuable businesses
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In addition to owning Tower Systems POS software company, we own newsXpress, a marketing group for newsagents, helping them evolve more valuable local retail businesses. Here’s a video we shot on the weekend in which we discuss evidence of newsXpress … local high street retail thriving.
While is this relevant here? It shows another way in which Tower Systems is different, not your usual POS software co. We really do walk in the shoes on our customers.
The supply chain challenge for local retailers
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A couple of Tower Systems POS software customers were referenced in a report by the ABC last week looking at supply chain challenges.
Ronald Voukolos, the manager of Fishing and Outdoor World in Darwin, says he has taken a risk and resorted to ordering much more stock than needed, in some cases a year in advance.
“We’ve always been used to being able to buy it as we need it,” he said.
But with the Omicron variant causing crippling staff shortages and transport issues in Australia and the unpredictability of a broken supply chain, Mr Voukolos says the future has become too uncertain.
“Some of the footwear we sell, we placed orders last year in July to get them in 2022.”
But still, he said he is letting people know they could be waiting three or four months on some in-demand items like drinkware, and plastic shoes from Vietnam.
…
In the bike world, Paul Clancy says customers at Bikes to Fit could be waiting up to two years to buy a particular brand amid a global shortage of parts.
“It’s not just bikes, it’s bike parts, even simple things like tubes and tyres where suppliers are starting to run very low,” he said.
He said that even though the popularity of bike riding skyrocketed during the pandemic, the scarcity of parts has even seen some shops close down.
It’s now “really hard for surviving bike stores”, which are now overloaded with repair jobs, he said.
“We’ve been flat out.”
We are grateful to have been able to continue service of our customers, and to add new customers, all throughout the pandemic. While supply chain interruptions have been challenging, our early stockpiling have ensured we maintained supply throughout.
It’s about more than gift shop POS software for gift shops
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Nursery POS software helps local garden centres and nursery businesses thrive
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Tower Systems offers POS software made for nursery businesses and garden centres.
Professionally built and nurtured over many years and kept up to date with the latest needs and trends, this software for nursery businesses is fresh in 2022, serving needs local nursery businesses have today as they serve their local community.
This software for nursery businesses and garden centres is unique to the needs of these businesses, as you can see in this video of a recent demonstration.
One requirement we often see in these businesses is for quote and invoice management:
Now for a Q&A on this software for nursery businesses and garden centres:
Can I sell products by weight with this software? Yes.
Can sell at fractional quantities? Yes.
Can I handle re-potting, a plant that is larger now is worth more than when it was smaller? Yes.
Do you have weatherproof labels for items outdoors? Yes.
Can I include plant care information on receipts? Yes.
Can the software handle selling products by colour and size? Yes.
Can you manage quotes? Yes, you can create quotes and then turn them into sales if they proceed.
I sometimes sell away from the shop at an event or on the road. Can the software do this? Yes, our Retailer RoamTM option manages selling from anywhere.
Does the software handle garden club member pricing? Yes, this can be a great marketing tool, getting local community group members support the business and fundraising at the same time.
Does the software track frequent shopper purchases, like what you see in coffee shops buy 9 and get your 10th free? Yes.
Can the software report on frequent shopper purchase items we give away, to get a supplier rebate? Yes.
Does the software have a loyalty facility? Yes, there are several options – you can choose the one that works best for your needs.
Does the software let me manage my own time-based catalogue pricing? Yes.
Can I sell gift cards for my business? Yes.
I buy products in bulk and re-bag them to retail size. Can the software handle this? Yes.
I buy several products in bulk to mix to create my own brand of feed. can the software handle this? Yes.
Does the software produce WAS / NOW price labels? Yes.
Can you reach out to customers based on past purchases? Yes, you can select customers for marketing past on a range of criteria, including past purchases.
Does the system handle account customers? Yes, you can setup and manage customer accounts.
Does the system produce invoicing and statements? Yes, these can be printed or emailed.
Does the software connect with my website? We partner with Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce and offer direct links to these.
Can I email receipts? Yes.
Can I track where my customers come from? Yes.
Do I have to pay for software on additional computers in my business? No.
Can I connect with my EFTPOS terminal? Yes. We have a direct link to Tyro and through Linkly we connect to all major banks.
Can I use my existing hardware? Yes, as long as your hardware meets our minimum standards.
Can I use my existing data with the software? Yes. We’d like to check your data to be sure. We will advise what can be safely brought across.
Does it integrate with Xero? Yes.
Australia Day 2022
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We acknowledge that today is not a day of celebration for indigenous Australians. We are, nonetheless, grateful.
We are grateful to help Aussie newsagents nurture heartfelt memories
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Here it Tower Systems, it’s about more than POS software every day.
We are grateful to welcome more newsagents to our newsagency software community in 2022
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These first few weeks of 2022 has been busy with more newsagents joining our newsagency software community.
With fewer newsagency software solutions now in the marketplace, stability and a commitment to the future are more important than ever to newsagents.
If you appreciate up to date newsagency software, easy access to live software support, free training and time-saving and mistake-reducing supplier links, Tower Systems could be the software company for you.
Call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au and we’ll arrange an obligation free demonstration for you.
Or, click here to see a full demo immediately. This was recorded a few days ago. See real people talk about the software. You don’t have to login or provide your details. Or go to www.towersystems.com.au/newsagent for more information from the newsagent page on our website.
The Tower Systems newsagency software has been chosen by 1,800+ newsagents. It offers …
- Exclusive smart card reporting Embedded in our software is category / segment level reporting that newsagents are using to grow card sales 25% and more. That’s money in the bank.
- You can bank on loyalty. Our fresh and successful approach to loyalty can help you drive a deeper basket and bring people back sooner.
- Safe decisions make for a better P&L. From data feeds from suppliers through to Xero, we help you nurture data for the safe decisions.
- Not every shopper will walk past your door. A seamless connection between your software and a beautiful website can help you sell to people you will never meet. We develop websites for newsagents.
- Easily accessed personal service. A key reason 4 times more newsagents have chosen Tower than any other software is customer service. We are here for you, with you, every day.
- Current software. Current technology. Fresh, current design.
Plenty more, too.
Making specialty POS software for newsagents takes time and investment given the unique needs of this retail channel, linking to plenty of suppliers, handling unique data requirements and serving evolving needs in a rapidly changing space.
We are grateful to have been in this space for decades. That investment has given us the capacity to handle the changes we are seeing today, to help our community of newsagency business customers keep up and flourish in 2022 and beyond, in changing situations.
The local Australian newsagency is a vital local community business, serving many different needs and while many do serve as they have in the past, many have a foot in the future, offering fresh retail experiences in product and services categories not traditional for newsagency businesses. This is where Tower Systems also helps newsagents – to trade to their newsagency of the future.
Our POS software co. helps local fishing bait and tackle businesses sell memories
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How Australian made POS software helps local Australian retail businesses
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Any local Australian retail business that wants to see local shoppers engage with local retailers should consider these benefits of local Australian made POS software:
- We better understand you. A local Aussie POS software company will understand local retailer needs better than a software company located offshore.
- Your business is different to retail overseas. There is an Australian way, an Australian style, an Australian approach … embedded in our POS software.
- We speak Australian. Terms used in our POS reflect local terms, they make sense.
- We are awake when you are awake. If you need us for something serious, or even not so serious, we are open when you are open whereas an offshore company operates their local hours.
- We pay taxes here, which benefit the local Aussie community. And by taxes we mean GST, payroll tax, company tax, regulatory fees and more. And, since we hire locally, our employees contribute locally. If you buy from a software company located offshore, much less of what you spend will benefit the Australian economy and the lives of Australians.
- We report in a way that makes local sense. How businesses assess their performance varies around the world. Having local software provides you with access to reporting in a manner that makes sense to you.
- Local software helps you compete locally. We need local businesses, small retail businesses. Our software is fine-tuned to help these businesses compete against bigger businesses, just like we do in our own company. We think our local POS software will do better at helping your local business compete than POS software from some big offshore company that may not be as locally connected as we are.
- We support local community groups. Local small businesses understand local community support.
Of course, we’ll pitch this as we are a local Australian POS software company serving local Australian retailer needs.
While this is a nice emotive case, the real decision has to be what’s best for your business. Now, best can be about the tech. of the software or the broader assist from the company to your business and the local community we share.
Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to have been chosen by more than 3,000 local retail businesses in Australia.
Thank you.
POS software customer Zoom meeting
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We are grateful to our POS software customers who joined us live Thursday last week for our first Zoom meeting of 2022 and to the many who accessed the video we shared after the meeting.
In this Zoom meeting we demonstrated some of the enhancements to our POS software that will be released in our first update for 2022 as well as taking questions and feedback from customers.
Accessibility is key not only to POS software users but to those who make the POS software. Connecting our development team with our customers regularly as we do makes for better, more useful POS software.
Good POS software does not come from dark rooms disconnected from the real world.
We are grateful to support the Australian Jewellers for more than 25 years now
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We are also grateful that 100s of jewellers use our POS software for jewellers.
People see copying for what it is
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We demonstrated our latest integration with Google maps last week, through our enhanced integrated dispatch tools. We have been working with produce businesses, garden centres, landscapers and more to deliver an advanced solution that serves their needs for managing anything from one delivery vehicle to a fleet.
The enhanced Google maps integration is a small part of a much bigger solution. We say enhanced because it is ahead of what we have done for years.
Rather than speaking to any innovation of their own, a wannabe competitor wrote publicly about Google maps integration, a day after we did. They’ve done it before and we’re sure people see it for what it is.
Retailers would benefit more from innovative competition, not a game of follow the leader.
Helping local bike retailers grow in 2022 with customer-focussed strategies
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Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to serve hundreds of bike retailers with POS software for bike shops, made here for local bike shops in Australia and New Zealand.
3 small steps any bike shop can take to compound profit growth.
- Set higher retail prices on stock every time you can. Grow GP%.
- Guide shoppers to purchase more in each visit. Grow basket value.
- Invite shoppers to return sooner. Grow shopper value.
Do these 3 behind the scenes and easy to implement things consistently, and together, they compound profit growth. 1 + 1 + 1 = more than 3.
Small steps really are the most valuable in profitability growth.
2 bonus moves: leverage sales data for targeted marketing, leverage your knowledge consistently at key touchpoints and shine a light on your unique selling proposition.
The Tower Systems bike shop software systematically helps in these areas and more.
Like online, our bike shop software connected websites help bike shops reach further.
- Wollongong Bike Hub:wollongongbikehub.com.au
- Gippy Cycles: www.gippycycles.com.au
- Artavilla Emporium:artavillaemporium.com.au
These bike shop software integrated websites were made by our web team as part of our fixed-price web development connect solution.
$185.00 a month for the Tower bike shop POS software delivers valuable benefits.
This is a total package software rental solution including bike shop software, updates, help desk support, supplier invoice imports and knowledgebase access.
There is no extra cost for more terminals, no fee based on transaction or sales volume.
This software is made for bike shops, made to help you maximise GP%, made to help you promote your USP, made to help you easily encourage shoppers to return sooner.
This software nurtures customer value.
Find out more our Aussie made and supported bike shop software, including a video demonstration: www.towersystems.com.au/bike We’d be glad to arrange a personal demonstration based on your specific needs. Call us on 1300 662 957 or email our sales team at: sales@towersystems.com.au.
Our goal is to empower local bike shops to run more successful, enjoyable and valuable businesses. We want to see you thrive.
We are grateful to serve hundreds of bike shops in Australia and New Zealand. These independent bike shoppers matter in serving the needs of devoted cyclists young and old, new and experienced.
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