The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

Latest stories

Small business retail advice: how to calculate gross profit by floor space

November 23, 2021
3 Min read
S

Here is another in our series of retail management advice based on our decades of service to local small business retailers using our Tower Systems POS software:

How to calculate gross profit by floorspace and how to use this information

With retail space usually costing between 11% and 15% of (non agency) revenue, it is usually the next highest cost outside of the cost of stock itself.

Spend half an hour on what we suggest here and the result could provide clarity on immediate steps you can take in your business to improve what you make.

This is not advice you will get from your accountant or from reviewing your P&L or computer reports. It is designed to be practically helpful in managing your business.

Please follow these simple steps.

  1. Take a blank sheet of paper, ideally A3, and roughly sketch out the layout of your shop, marking in display units, wall shelving, the counter – everywhere you have product.
  2. The floor plan layout should also include your back room if you have stock there.
  3. Colour-shade the layout by department. For example, shade all areas with magazines in yellow, all floor space for gifts in blue etc.
  4. List the departments on the side of the floor plan.
  5. Calculate the percentage of total space taken by each department. This does not need to be accurate to two decimal places. List this next to each department you have listed.
  6. Use your computer system to report on gross profit dollars earned by each department over the last year.
  7. Calculate the percentage of total gross profit contribution earned by each department and list this next to the floor space allocated to each department – on the floor plan map you have done.
  8. Circle in green those performing the best and in red those performing the worst. A best performing department will typically be responsible for a significantly higher percentage of gross profit than percentage of space allocated whereas a worst performing department will be contributing a percentage of overall gross profit considerably lower than the percentage of floor space allocated.

Once you have the marked-up floor plan with the space percentage and percentage of total gross profit, think about your floor space allocation.

The above steps do not take into account product size and the average gross profit percentage from each dollar of revenue for a department. For example, ink is a lower margin product than stationery, gifts are a higher margin magazines. Typically, the analysis will highlight challenges with lower margin product.

Here are actions the work you do could lead to:

  1. Changing the location of a department within the business.
  2. Increasing floor space for a department.
  3. Decreasing floor space for a department.
  4. Working on improving the GP achieved for a department through better buying.
  5. Working in increasing sales for a department to lift the overall GP dollar contribution achieved.

You can take the analysis a step further by looking only at one department and analysing performance by category, using the method outlined above.

For example, in one business we saw pens taking 7% of stationery space while they contributed more than 40% of gross profit earned from all stationery.

The type of analysis we are suggesting here is intended to give you a fresh view of your business as you engage in the process of constant change.

Read onRead later

How the Tower Systems POS software helps local small business retailers nurture loyalty in shoppers

November 19, 2021
2 Min read
H

Stamping a loyalty card in a coffee shop, gift shop, pet shop, toy shop and other settings can be a thing of the past thanks to terrific tools in the smart POS software from Tower Systems.

Here is a new video we shot a few days ago explaining how to set this up in our software and how to drive sales through it…

What Tower Systems offers in terms of nurturing shopper loyalty is not new. It is something the POS software company has done for many years. And, it is something the company continues to evolve in service of better solutions for POS software retailers.

For years, retailers, especially independent and small business retailers, have been told to follow retail giants and reward loyal shoppers with points that can be redeemed for gifts and discounts.

Dutifully, many small business retailers acted on this – but without a thought-through strategy to achieve the best outcome for the business.

Without a financially rewarding outcome for a business, a loyalty program is worthless.

This is why retailers, in any retail channel and in any retail situation – high street, shopping mall, rural and or regional – need options in terms of shopper loyalty rewards.

While a points based program is useful, it could be that the business will benefit from a different approach.

Good POS software will offer flexibility. This flexibility can add thousands of dollars to the bottom line performance of a retail business each year.

The Tower Systems Point of Sale software supports multiple loyalty options that include: a traditional points based approach, interfacing to the respected Vii Accumulate loyalty platform, interfacing to the equally respected Transactor loyalty platform, interfacing to Flybys NZ and offering a unique and flexible front end loyalty solution.

Having so many options available provides Tower Systems retail partners with commercially valuable flexibility.

The loyalty platform selected by a business depends on the needs of that business. A business that chooses POS software without broad flexibility will be limited in what they can achieve for their business with their software.

Offering flexibility as well as certainty provides loyalty solutions that local small business retailers can embrace and love, and their customers can love.

Read onRead later

See the Tower Systems POS software for jewellers

November 18, 2021
1 Min read
S

Check out this video in which we demonstrate the Tower Systems POS software for jewellers:

Deeper still, check out the repairs management in the Tower Systems POS software:

Tower Systems develops specialty retail POS software for independent local retailers. we are a local business supporting local businesses.

Read onRead later

Small business retail advice: if you are finding things tough in your local shop

November 17, 2021
10 Min read
S

We are often asked at our Tower Systems POS software company for help when it is too late. In this article, we share steps any retailer can contemplate from them moment they realise their business is in trouble, from the first thought that closing may be the only option.

Tower Systems is more than a software company. We are retailers too. We cherish the relationships with our retail business customers. We will help whenever and wherever we can to help small and independent retail businesses survive challenges and grow. 

If your retail business is in tough times and facing imminent closure, you may be able to save it if you act quickly and ruthlessly. Based on years of working with many different retailers, I have found that some basic steps can successfully turnaround a business in trouble. But you need to be ruthless.

The following tips are designed for businesses with a little (but not too much) time available to fix things. While they are not appropriate to every business, the ideas can lead to others that may be appropriate.

This advice is also appropriate or businesses not facing imminent closure but certainly facing tough times.

Crucial to saving a business from closure is to understand why it is in this situation. You have to be honest with yourself about this. How did it get to this?

  • Did you not make changes to your business when you should have?
  • Has something local and unexpected impacted your business?
  • Have you been a bad retailer, allowing the business to fade away?

Do not be afraid or ignorant in confronting these questions.

Make an honest appraisal of the state of the business as the truth can inform what you do next.

You have to own your situation. This means being realistic about what you face and what got you there. This is important as it opens you to what you need to do to resolve the situation, to rehabilitate your business.

Now, to the urgent steps you could take to avoid the closure of your retail business:

      1. Know your truth. If you run a computer system, analyse the data it collects. If you don’t know how to do this, find out. Look for surprise information in your data, things you did not know about your business. For example, look at the top selling items. If there are surprises there they could inform other decisions you make to urgently address your situation. Talk to your computer software company, ask for their assessment. Knowing your truth is key to owning your situation.
      2. Quit dead stock. If you have stock on the shop floor which is old – ‘old’ can vary between product categories – and for which you have already paid, quit it. However, stock that is greater than six months old is a reasonable guide – then take action to sell this at a substantial discount. Move the stock off display units. Line it up to look like clearance stock – stacked up on tables. Setup plain and simple signs indicating the discount prices. Create signage to show it as clearance stock. If you have enough clearance stock in your business, consider signs across your front windows. Give your sale a name that is unrelated to your situation. Here are some suggestions: MEGA SALE, FIRST EVER MARCH SALE, AUTUMN SALE, SMALL BUSINESS MIGHTY BIG SALE. Give it a name you can theme around.
      3. Run a loyalty offer. Immediately setup and run a loyalty program rewarding shoppers with dollars off their next purchase. The most successful loyalty offer in recent times is discount vouchers whereby vouchers are included on receipts offering an amount which is cleverly calculated by your software based on the items in the purchase. The goal has to be encouraging shoppers to purchase again soon based on the offer on the receipt for items they just purchased.
      4. Move things around. If your business is in trouble it is likely that it has not changed much in recent years. Change it. Move departments around, shake things up so your customers trip over things they did not think you sold.
      5. Review prices. Look at the common items you sell, consider a small increase in your prices. It could be a small increase will not hurt sales volume yet will add profit to your bottom line.
      6. Upsell well. At the counter, work to extend the basket for every sale possible. Do this with clever counter product placement and witty and engaging banter with customers offering upsell products. You goal has to be to make more from each customer.
      7. Stand for something. What is different about your business? What is special about it? What makes people want to come back? If you don’t know the answer to these questions you’re in trouble. If your answer is we’re the only shop of your type nearby you’re in trouble. If the answer is people have always shopped here you’re in trouble. You need to have a difference that people want and will talk about to others. It could be a product or a service. However, it cannot be a product line that is traditional to your type of business as that will not add value to your shingle in the way you want or need. What do you stand for?
      8. Market within your budget. Photocopied black and white flyers designed with care can be cheap and effective.
      9. Attract people who don’t know what you sell. Run a no-cost or low-cost campaign to reach out to shoppers who have no ideal what you sell yet which could appeal to them. They are not to blame for not knowing what you sell.
      10. Different retail options: Consider becoming an outlet shop selling items from a supplier keen to quit bulk items. Rent space in your shop to another retailer. If you have higher priced items consider offering employees commission on sales. Maybe become an outlet for local artists taking on items on a consignment basis.
      11. Stop unprofitable behaviour. If you are doing things in your business which lose money or do not contribute to a good future for the business, stop doing them. Regardless of history or what your business might stand for, continuing with unprofitable activity only makes your situation worse. If you know something to be unprofitable and yet you say you can’t stop it, think carefully about that, about why you can’t stop losing money.
      12. Get suppliers to help. Suppliers often have old stock themselves which they want to quit at a substantial discount. Buy items you have not stocked before, negotiate good prices and put the stock out with a healthy margin but still at a discount to what others would be charging. Negotiate to pay once you are paid by customers.
      13. Trim employee costs. Cut employee hours and work more in the business yourself if you are not doing so already. While this can have a significant personal cost, the less you pay others the more be business benefits in financial terms.
      14. Trim overheads. Cut everything you can: cleaning, power usage, insurance, freight, banking. Look at every supplier relationship you have and see if you can negotiate a better deal to cut your operating costs. However, do not turn off lights as darkness is death in most retail businesses.
      15. What assets can you sell? Do you have computers, retail fixtures, vehicles or other assets you no longer use in the running of the business? If they are not being used, turn them to cash as quickly as possible.
      16. Get a job. If you have a partner in the business with you and the business can run with one partner, one of you should get a job outside the business. This is especially helpful in a husband and wife situation where the family income can benefit.
      17. Talk to your landlord. A good landlord will prefer a good business to stay rather than have then close down and a new tenant having to be found. Talk to the landlord, be honest with them about your situation. Given the landlord all of the information they need to make the decision you need them to make. This information will include sales figures, expenses and margin information. Usually, the more transparent you are with the landlord the more they will support your business.
      18. Talk to your bank. While banks tend to not get involved in lending to businesses that are struggling, it may be that they have contacts that can help you navigate to a solution. Maybe talk to another bank.
      19. Talk to colleagues. If you have nearby business colleagues in the same line of business, they might have stock they are happy to provide you for free or at a discount to give you stock to move for a good price.
      20. Refresh the business. Make the business look, smell and sound fresh. Beyond the products you sell and where tings are located, change the environment itself using scents and sounds. Too often when a business is struggling, those involved let standards slip and the business does not look attractive to shoppers. Avoid this laziness at all costs.
      21. Deliver amazing customer service. When serving customers be the perfect shop assistance and not the owner of the business facing closure. Keep your mind on the job at hand and not the cliff you’re worried might be a few steps ahead.
      22. Whoever is pressuring you the most to close or contemplate closing, talk to them. If it’s a supplier, the tax office or some other organisation or individual pressuring you about debts, be upfront with them, lay out for them your plan detailing the action you will take to turn your situation around, be clear about what you are doing and outline a timeline step by step for them. Seek their support.
      23. Set a timeframe. Decide where you want to be in a week, four weeks, eight weeks, twelve weeks. Set realistic goals. Measure yourself against those goals. Know what you will do if you fall short.

What we offer here is general advice, a shopping list of advice from which you can choose. It is intended to get you thinking of ideas that could work for you.

No two situations are the same. No situation is impossible. No business is dead until the doors are closed for the last time.

Never give up. Fight hard and fight smart to turn your business around.

Facing tough circumstances in retail can be like the deer in the middle of the road at night facing the headlights of an oncoming vehicle. Don’t freeze. Take action to mitigate your situation. A series of small steps could be the difference between closure and trading out of the problem.

In your business data there are bound to be opportunities and insights around which growth can be achieved. If you are not sure where to look or what they could mean, ask us. We will help.

Read onRead later

Small business retail advice: consciously pursuing retail success and enjoyment

November 16, 2021
9 Min read
S

A fresh look from at retail today and the opportunity for intentionally pursuing change for a brighter future.

Find a private place, hang a do not disturb sign on the door, put on music you love and please read on.

In this blog post, we share what we hope will prove to be valuable ideas, which help you create a more successful business and a more enjoyable business life. You will have seen some members embracing some of these ideas already as we have shared our thoughts through a process of evolution.

While this is advice from our Tower Systems POS software company, it is advice from us as retailers – yes, we own and run successful retail shops.

To us, conscious intention is deliberate decision making, pursuing change, for a better outcome for you, your business and all it serves.

WHERE ARE WE AT?

Retail is changing, faster than ever. In change, you can create opportunities. This is exciting. The key is to be deliberate in your embrace of change.

Yes, you have heard that before, probably so much that you ignore it. What we share here is important, new, and written for you.

Today, the pace of change is faster and the extent of change more comprehensive, most likely beyond what you see. There are myriad factors at play, myriad pressures on retail.

There are more competitors, many you will never see.

Shoppers are more empowered.

Shopping is less like shopping.

No business is immune: city, country, high street and shopping centre.

The days of making major changes and leaving them in place for years are over.

The borders between types of retail businesses are blurred.

Your customers can easily now be more than locals.

People want to be able to buy when they want to buy.

What constitutes a shop has changed, forever.

It is okay to keep doing what you are doing. Our advice is you make your decisions and take your actions with conscious intention. Drifting is not an option, unless you do it consciously, with intent. If your decision is to not change, we 100% respect that.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT TODAY?

In summary, to get you thinking, here is a list of what we see as different:

  1. Whereas in the past, a shop-fit would have a life of five or more years. Today, shops must look significantly different every eighteen months. We say this based on the rate of change we see in retail.
  2. Whereas in the past, fixtures were fixed, today fixtures float, can be moved, are flexible and enable rapid change without cost.
  3. Whereas in the past, lights were either on or off, today, darkness and shade are used to bring texture and emotion to parts of a store.
  4. Whereas in the past, a shop was made up of shop fixtures, today, everyday items make the best support for displaying products. Rugs on the floor, couches, easy chairs, rustic looking floors, natural looking walls.
  5. Shopkeeping is out. Engaged retail is in. Shopkeepers operate from the back room and behind the counter. Retailers engage on the shop floor.
  6. Local is more important than ever. Supporting local makers reinforces your local credentials.
  7. Whereas in the past, you did what you did because it was expected of the shingle, everything in the business now, all decisions, need to be about demographic targeting, a layered multi-demo strategy – chasing new traffic.
  8. Whereas in the past, your business was dominated by rules, today rules are gone for many product categories. Choices are at your doorstep.
  9. Whereas in the past, supplier representatives were a valued source of innovation advice, today, you are the innovator.

UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION.

Every business needs a Unique Selling Proposition (USP), that which is unique about their business in the area from which they draw customers, that which separates the business from other businesses.

It is vital that you know what your USP is and that you are mindful of this in all business decisions. Please see our knowledge base article on USP.

HOW WE CHANGE HAS CHANGED.

The process of change itself has changed. Whereas in the past we would plan, plan and plan before execution, today, we are in a world of rapid change and more change if the changes are not delivering what we need.

Motion (change) is and must be perpetual. It is almost like every day you asking what can I change today?

SMALL STEPS.

It is easy to feel overwhelmed. We suggest a small steps strategy. Undertaking many small steps can make any project more digestible and affordable. You do not have to do everything at once. Take small steps, but keep taking them.

INVENTORY.

Your inventory determines who your shop will appeal to, the occasions they will buy for, whether they talk about you, whether they will come back and if they trust you.

  1. Buy consciously. Buy with outcomes in mind: know the shopper and the occasion, think about how you could market a product externally and know where a product fits in the story of your business.
  2. Be demographic conscious. The age of shoppers and those they purchase for is determined by what you stock. Buy for multiple demographics: pre-teen, teen, young adult, adult / family, mature / retiree. All product purchases should fit the demographics you preference.
  3. Be price-point open. Two similar items at different price points can perform better than one product at one price point. Choice can drive sales.
  4. Don’t buy for yourself. You are not your customer.
  5. Tell stories. A cool item may not sell if it is the only item of its type or category in the business. The same item placed as part of a story could perform much better. When you buy, buy to a story.
  6. Measure and cut. If items are not performing, cut them. Stocking items because someone may want them some day is not good. Use your data, act on it. Set your stock turn goals and use these to measure against.

SHOP LAYOUT.

The more your business looks like a traditional business in your channel, the more it will be judged as traditional, the more it will perform traditionally. There is nothing wrong with this, if it is a conscious choice.

We encourage you to not run a traditional business because there is no evidence in performance data or in retail history to indicate that traditional model has any upside.

The best way to not be considered traditional is to not look like one.

Here is what this means:

  1. Keep visual noise to a minimum. This means less posters and signs. Let your products be seen and be the heroes.
  2. Your shop should push back against what shoppers used to expect from your type of business.
  3. Make the front third of the shop open with non-permanent fixtures that are flexible and easily moved. These are best if they are everyday items: tables, a couch, boxes and more. The more colour, texture and style the less like a shop your shop will feel and the more relaxed shoppers will be.
  4. Floor rugs are effective too, under a table fixture especially.
  5. No tradition at the counter. Use the counter for products that are easily purchased on impulse, that play against expectations.
  6. A feature wall behind the counter that can be changed easily.
  7. Different colours and textures rather than the usual shop-fit look.
  8. Different lighting to highlight different part of the business.
  9. Less shop-fit made fixtures and more personally made or found items.
  10. Product placement such that it encourages people to explore. Embrace treasure hunt retail … where people wander the shop hoping to find treasure.
  11. Move tasks, pricing, returns and more to the shop floor. This will reduce shopper theft and increase sales.
  12. Have the least amount of staff resources behind the counter as possible. On the shop floor the same people can guide purchases.

CUSTOMER INTERACTION.

Be grateful people are in your shop and show this in your interaction and the interaction of all team members.

Saying hi to shoppers is nice, but not out of the ordinary.

Encourage team members to change up their greeting: good morning, nice to see you, thank you for coming in today…

Work on farewells: thanks for visiting, it was good to see you, take care out there…

In-store, offer experiences that are unexpected and / or appreciated.

  1. If you sell any type of candy, offer tastings.
  2. Have filtered water or iced tea to cool people in summer.
  3. Have homemade soup in small takeaway cups for winter.
  4. Structure times to demonstrate products. Hire people who are happy to demonstrate.

Love your customers. Consider a wall of customer love with photos you have taken of customers and photos customers have brought in.

Reset your customer interaction with a focus on more fun and happiness.

OUTSIDE.

What you do, say and share outside also defines the business in the minds of shoppers and would-be shoppers. It is vital that your out of business communication and representation is intentional and reflective of how you want the business seen.

The more you post on social media and talk about products and services that are not known to be in your type of shop the more you become your own thing.

Be intentional in what you do and say outside your business. Further your mission ahead of the mission of the channel or channel traditional suppliers.

WHAT IF YOU DON’T CHANGE?

If you do not change your business it will perform in line with its current trajectory. If you are happy with that, embrace it.

If you are not happy with the current business trajectory, change is essential.

HOW WE CAN HELP?

Tower Systems, through its local small business experienced retail team can provide insights, suggestions and encouragement for you to reset your business.

We all have current retail experience.

We can bring detached perspective to help you combat store-blindness.

Leveraging our engagement starts with asking.

Read onRead later

There is a big different between point of sale systems for local Australian retailers

November 15, 2021
2 Min read
T

Not all point of sale systems are the same. Indeed, the differences between point of sale systems are considerable, from software function, to ease of use, to support, to price, to inclusions.

Our advice to local small. business retailers considering point of sale systems for their business is do your research, take your time, choose the software that BEST serves your needs, the software backed with the type of service that you want. The company providing the type of training and support you know your need. Then company with the software upgrade and enhancement commitment that suits how you see the needs for your business evolving.

Take your time. There is no rush.

Be sure what is important to you. Your needs come ahead of the needs of the point of sale system software company.

Compare apples with apples. Some point of sale system software sales people are good at playing smoke and mirrors. Be in control of how you compare software. Your needs matter.

Know the true price. Some play games with the total cost of ownership. Get to a true understanding of this before you commit.

Shop local. If you want your customers to shop local, shopping locally yourself is a good position to take.

Here at Tower Systems we are a transparent business, offering you easy access to the software before you make any decision. Plus, we will record the demonstration with you and make this available for you to share with others in your team. This helps you bring others in your business on the journey of point of sale system software with you – which is important.

So, yes, take your time, be in control, be sure that the choice you make is the choice you want to make, the choice that is right for your retail business and those who work in the business.

You know your needs better than an accountant or a consultant. Back yourself.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve thousands of local small business retailers. We have been doing this for many years. We’d love to support you with our years of experience. But, we promise, we will not pressure you. We will be here when you are ready …

Thanks for stopping by.

Read onRead later

Our tips for politicians for supporting local retail businesses

November 14, 2021
3 Min read
O

Every election, politicians say that small business is the lifeblood of Australia. Then, after the election, they forget about small business. No wonder trust in politicians by Australian voters is low.

Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy.

Small business retailers are nimble and able to lift local economies faster than big businesses and certainly better than  online businesses.

Here are six tips for politicians on steps they can take, decisions they can make to help lift retail, especially small business retail.

  1. Direct all politician electorate Christmas spending to be with local small businesses.For gifts, parties, cards, everything for a year. Have the results assessed independently. Ensure that spending is fair, too, to benefit a variety of local businesses, and not dolled out as political favours. Shop local, shop small.
  2. Run a national shop small shop local ad campaign. Make it educational, smart, encouraging …, guiding Aussies on the value to them from shopping local, shopping small. Help to understand the true value of shopping local, shopping small compared to the alternatives. The ad campaign should run regionally across multiple media platforms, giving preference to locally owned platforms with a track record for not managing their business to minimise tax.
  3. Local shops refresh grant. Give every local retail business a grant of at least $10,000 with the stipulation that it is spent locally tin capital works for the shop, to improve the shop. Proof of local spending is to be in the form of an invoice from a local tradesperson or company with and ABN and more than a year of trading as recognised by the ATO – to avoid fraud. Spending could be focussed: painting, electrical, carpentry, flooring, repairs. The management of this should be online with quick approval and payment. Note: the $10,000 is suggested as anything less could be cosmetic.
  4. Local artists grants. Offer cash grants to fund buskers for local high streets, to make shopping locally more entertaining. Make the application easy. Focus on local artists entertaining in their local community. This serves the dual purpose of injecting cash locally as well as fostering the local arts. The application process should be online, approval fast and payment immediate.
  5. Local visual merchandising supports. Keeping in-store displays can be a challenge for small business retailers. Fund a network of merchandisers to make a 2 hour call weekly on qualified independent small retail businesses, sub $1M turnover, ABN registered, trading for six months or more. With each visit to be about visual refresh of the shop. Cap the cam pain at three months assess the economic value. Only local merchandisers to be used – i.e. to an overseas agency who hires local contractors.
  6. Establish local currency systems. These work overseas on regional towns where local currency has more value than the national currency. It supports shopping local through a smart value structure. the government role could be on the tech back end to manage the currency – taking away capital cost from local councils. To find out more ab9out this, read up on the Bristol Pound.

This list could be much longer. It is offered here as a start, to gets people thinking of practical ways to support shopping small, shopping local.

The current disinterest by politicians in practical support for local small businesses has us on a path of business closures. Urgent action is needed to engage locals in supporting local businesses.

Read onRead later

New product dispatch facilities make POS software more appealing

November 11, 2021
1 Min read
N

We are grateful to the insights offered by our garden centre, landscape, produce supply and stockfeed businesses in the area of product dispatch and delivery. These insights have helped us craft new facilities in our specialty retail POS software that serve their needs and more.

The new dispatch facilities have been previewed several times through development and further tuned thanks to feedback.

The result is a sweet set of enhancements in our POS software in this area of managing the dispatch and delivery of products from our small business retail customers.

We are days away from releasing this commercially, further enhancing already robust tools in this area.

Our POS software continues to evolve thanks to the active engagement with our customers, for which we are sincerely grateful.

Read onRead later

Who owns your small business data?

November 10, 2021
1 Min read
W

We have a local retail business switching to our POS software from another POS software company. Once they let their current software company know they were moving to us, they were locked out from being able to access their business data, including product images that they had loaded into their software. This is their own intellectual property that they loaded into the software.

This is an appalling situation that has come about solely because someone in the POS software company losing a customer has decided to block access to their current customer.

Read onRead later

POS software referral program

November 10, 2021
5 Min read
P

Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to professionals – accountants,. business advisors, computer experts – who endorse our business and our POS software to others. We appreciate their time and respect that with our POS software referral program

Our POS software Lead Referral Program expresses appreciation to professionals who provide us with sales leads that convert to bankable business.

This document outlines the program, terms and conditions and other information. Any party seeking to be part of the Tower Systems Lead Referral Program is expected to have read and understood this.

ABOUT US.

We are a vertical market POS software company. That is, we sell software designed for specific retail channels. The home page of our website lists all the retail channels in which we serve at any time.

While we may sell/rent/lease our software to businesses outside the retail channels listed, it is rare and only when approved by the leadership team of the company.

We currently serve in excess of 3,000 small business retailers primarily in Australia and New Zealand.

We actively promote our software through direct mail, social media marketing, search ads, trade shows and, recently, on radio and TV.

WE ARE RETAILERS TOO.

We own and run three unique retail shops, offering us hands-on retail experience where we can test and refine our software. This has been particularly useful in workflow management where we have tuned our software for efficiency in counter-based retail.

Owning and running retail businesses enables us to provide a unique and valuable level of practical, retailer-focussed, advice to our customers.

ACCOUNTING LINKS AND SERVICES.

Our software is directly integrated with Xero. We are a Xero partner. We also link with MYOB and Quicken through third party product.

Our customers, through our help desk, have access to support in the use of our software as well as advice on the correct linking of our software with accounting software.

OTHER LINKS AND INTEGRATIONS.

In addition to plenty of retail channel specific integrations and supplier connections, we also integrate and partner with Shopify, WooCommerce / WordPress, Magento, Xero and plan ty more.

TRAINING AND SUPPORT.

All of our customers, when they acquire our software from us, are offered two or three days one-on-one training. This training is backed by a new customer support program to help them settle.

Once we sure are they are comfortable, they have access to the full, regular, help desk.

CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION.

We have an unmoderated private customer Facebook page.

We send a weekly email. This email contains use and business tips. It is a customer service and not a sales communication.

We snail mail a quarterly print newsletter with information about our software and advice on its use.

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT.

We have a separate, in-house, website development team that develops websites for our software, POS software connected websites.

All of our web development is done in Australia, usually on a fixed price basis.

We have also developed websites for our own retail businesses, where we showcase our development, SEO and deployment skills.

POS SOFTWARE UPDATES

We release three or more updates to our POS software each year. These updates are in-house tested ahead of a robust and transparent beta release program.

Our approach with updates is to not surprise our customers.

Small business retailers have told us that they do not want to be surprised, that they want to control when they update, once they are certain of the value of an update.

THE CLOUD.

Our software can run in the cloud or on a desktop. We have plenty of our customers using it this way.Our customers can choose the approach right for them and their business. We can host for cloud customers or work with external hosting.

OUR REFERRAL PROGRAM.

We offer a one-off appreciation amount paid to a business providing a referral that leads to our software being installed and paid for. The terms and conditions are:

  1. A party wanting to refer sales prospects to Tower Systems needs to register by emailing sales@towersystems.com.au, providing business details and a summary of their experience with retailers.
  2. We will confirm by email acceptance or otherwise and confirm the then prevailing POS software referral fee.
  3. All referrals are to be submitted in writing, by email only to sales@towersystems.com.au. This facilitates head office tracking.
  4. We will advise in writing, by email, the acceptance of a referral.
  5. We will not accept a referral if the prospect is already in active discussion with us. That is, if we have had discussions with or demonstrated to the prospect in the last six months.
  6. We will also not accept a referral if another party has submitted the referral within the last six months.
  7. On receiving the referral, a Tower Systems sales person will make contact with the prospect and qualify them and their business.
  8. Only one referral is paid per business, regardless of the number of retail locations involved.
  9. The referral fee paid will be discounted by the same percentage (if any) of any discount offered the sales prospect.
  10. The referral relationship involved is not
  11. The Tower software available for referral is everything that can be purchased or leased or for which there is an on-boarding fee of more than $1,500.00
  12. The referral relationship may be terminated by either party, by email, with seven days’ notice, without nullifying any pending referral appreciation payment already due.

THE BUSINESS GOAL.

The sole goal of the referral program is for Tower Systems to achieve sales it would otherwise not have achieved.

Read onRead later

POS software made for Australian Antique businesses

November 9, 2021
3 Min read
P

Tower Systems makes POS software for specialty retail settings. Our POS software for Antique shops has evolved from work in other specialty settings. It has been tuned to the needs we have seen in Antique businesses.

Antique businesses are unique and special businesses. Here are some of the ways our POS software for antique dealers helps leverage that uniqueness:

  1. Rare visit loyalty.  The customer visit cycle in antique shops is infrequent. Our loyalty tools nurture shoppers to provide more value each visit.
  2. Pre-orders. Easily manage selling products before you have them in-stock. You might be asked to source a piece. These tools help you lock that in.
  3. Valuations. provide a professionally presented valuation certificate.
  4. Second-hand goods. Track details into a digital register for easy data management and record keeping.
  5. Leverage buyer and seller interests. Through easy to leverage database management you can connect people through their special interests.
  6. Buy Now Pay Later and LayBy. Through our software you can have both.
  7. Repairs management. Track labour and parts for each repair, from the moment of the request. Advise the customer when the repair is complete.
  8. Group marketing and support. Leverage groups and clubs with offers and pricing. It’s easy to serve multiple special interests.
  9. Product care. Product care knowledge can be differentiating. Sharing this in a systematic and consistent way can separate your business.
  10. Serial number tracking. If products have serial numbers, track them.
  11. Anniversary marketing. Collectors love their antiques. Remembering purchase anniversaries can help maintain a connection with collectors.

Our Australian made and supported antique shop software does much more than this. Be sure to see it for yourself, live and obligation free, to see if it could serve you and your business. Or, watch this video in which we demonstrate some of the features.

Here are answers to some of the questions we have been asked about our Antique Shop Software over the years

When you are ready, we’d love to show you our Antique Shop Software and through that show you answers to other questions you have.

We sell products on behalf of others. Can the software track this? Yes, the software can report on sales by those you carry antiques for in the business, enabling you to easily calculate your commission.

We carry items on consignment, can the software manage this? Yes, you can track consignment items and report on sales.

We rent access to part of our shop to people who display antiques here, can we charge for this through the software? Yes.

We do not barcode products, can we easily sell items without a barcode? Yes, you decide the level of tracking and reporting you require and that determines the best approach to recording sales.

Can we use the software to print barcodes for products if I want? Yes.

We sell very small items, does the software support barcode labels for these? Yes, we offer a fine butterfly label that you could use on a ring or fine bracelet.

Does the software track the purchase and sale of second-hand goods? Yes.

Can we produce a valuation certificate from the software? Yes. This software is also used by jewellers, who do valuations.

We’d love to show you more of this software if you think it could serve needs in your business.

Read onRead later

Our transparent approach to selling our POS software

November 8, 2021
1 Min read
O

Here at Tower Systems we follow a transparent and no-pressure sales process for our locally made and supported POS software for specialty retailers. It is a process that has been tuned over many years, a process that benefits from serving thousands of local small business retailers.

We made a short video recently in which we discuss our POS software sales process. Here it is:

We are here for the journey, to serve local small business retailers using our POS software, to help them run more successful, enjoyable and valuable retail businesses.

Read onRead later

Today, we are grateful

November 6, 2021
1 Min read
T

We are grateful for the small business owners who believe in us here at Tower Systems, those who have been with us for decades and those who have joined us in recent weeks, and all those in between.

Every local small business retailer customer means a lot to us and all who rely on our business for income.

We are also grateful that we can take this moment … to be grateful.

Business is challenging, especially in 2021 and especially in the small business space.

So, thank you … if you are a customer of ours passing by here. If you are not a customer, we hope we can be of service some day.

Read onRead later

Helping local small business newsagents grow their businesses

November 5, 2021
3 Min read
H

In case you’d missed, the local Australian newsagency business is changing, and doing so rapidly. Most have has a good Covid – in part due to decisions by government and in part due to smart pivots.

Here at Tower Systems, we sell newsagency software. We also own and run the newsXpress newsagency marketing group, which has 200 stores working together reinventing the local newsagency experience … with energy, optimism and success.

In September, newsXpress announced to its members that the success of the group has enabled the group to cut monthly membership fees from $375.00 to $175.00.

This is another example of newsXpress investing in our newsXpress community, just as the bonus 5% rebate was recently, adding thousands of dollars profit for many newsXpress members.

While the member fee has been reduced, services have not: exclusive suppliers, discounts off wholesale, special deals, early access to valuable trends, lease negotiation help, half price websites and advice in transforming businesses to attract more shoppers.

Oh, and you can choose any card company you want.

The $175.00 a month newsXpress membership fee is not a special offer. It is our new pricing model. It coincides with a new member agreement.

If you are keen for a more successful, more enjoyable and more valuable newsagency business, we invite you to consider newsXpress. Call Michael on 0400 331 055 or email our team at help@newsxpress.com.au.

We’d love to email you Cultivating Joy in your newsagency, a 64-page booklet that outlines exactly what newsXpress provides its members.

We’d also love to send you a copy of our agreement, so you can see the detail for yourself.

We can share evidence with you of newsXpress members adding tens of thousands to their business with no capital investment.

Size does not matter. Most of our members are regional / rural or suburban high street. Our online and in-store strategies are designed to help maxmimse success regardless of population.

If you are keen for all of this and more, please consider newsXpress.

Tower Systems benefits from the newsXpress connection as it sees is working more closely with many suppliers that would otherwise be the case. This work has included better EDI, electronic invoice, integration, better just in time inventory practices and better group retail engagment.

It also has helped us develop world’s best practice Magento integrations serving many locally owned stores under a single website umbrella – helping those sites sell online more easily.

Read onRead later

Checklist for those considering buying a local retail business

November 4, 2021
3 Min read
C

In our work here at Tower Systems providing POS software for local small business retailers we are often asked for advice about buying businesses. A common question is: what should I ask for when looking at buying a newsagency?

The question itself, when asked, indicates how green a prospective purchaser is when it comes to purchasing a business.

Here is an updated list of data we suggest local retail business purchasers access from the vendor or their representative. We first published this list ten years ago. It has been regularly updated since. here is our latest version:

  1. P&L from the accountant for at least the last two full years. i.e. not a spreadsheet created for the purpose.
  2. Management accounts for the current part financial year.
  3. Tax returns for the same two years. While note always appropriate given business structures, they can provide a cross check with the accountant P&L.
  4. A good explanation of any add-backs proposed for the P&L.
  5. Sales data reports, for the last two years, from the POS software in use – to verify the income claim.
  6. Sales data reports from any external supplier or data source to verify the income claim.
  7. BAS forms to confirm data in the P&L.
  8. A list of all inventory to include purchase price and date last sold for each item.
  9. Copies of invoices from which you can randomly select to verify the above point.
  10. A copy of the shop lease.
  11. A copy of any equipment or other leases the vendor expects you to take on board.
  12. A detailed list of all forward orders placed on behalf of the business.
  13. A list of all employees: name, hourly rate, nature of employment, start date, accrued leave and accrued long service leave.
  14. A testament from the vendor as to the claimed accuracy of sales data.

This is good basic information that will enable any purchaser to undertake reasonable initial assessment of a business.

A good business will shine through the numbers just as a business with upside achievable by new owners will shine through.

Our advice to local small business retailers looking to sell who are concerned about this list is: think about it now and focus on your business so the data we have listed looks appealing to any prospective purchaser.

Every day you make decisions in your business that impact many of the data points listed.

This is why we often say every day is your pay day. Run a smart, lean and profit focused business and you will have a good pay day today and a good one when you come to sell.

The most appealing businesses are those that are easier to run and are making money.

The time to focus on that is now.

Sure a purchaser can turn a business around. They should get the rewards if they are expected to do that for your business.

The price you can sell your business for will be based on what it is making now.

Getting the data ready for the sale of the business could, of itself, help you improve how you run your business.

Read onRead later

Newsagency software helps newsagents run more successful businesses

November 3, 2021
3 Min read
N

Tower Systems offers specialty newsagency software that has been chosen by more than 1,700 newsagents. It is the most widely used newsagency software in Australia.

Using this software, newsagents have at their fingertips industry-leading tools and insights that are key for business success from the traditional of newspaper and management management and lottery sale integration through to leading-edge online sales, accounting integration and more.

This newsagency software helps newsagents achieve terrific outcomes and find commercial joy in their shops.

Here are 5 reasons to consider the Tower Systems exclusive newsagency software …

  1. Being current matters. We meet connectivity standards including Indue welfare card, digital receipts, Epay, TitlePage, theLott, XchangeIT, Tyro, the banks, Newspower catalogues, GNS, Xero and more. Save time, cut mistakes and cultivate better business data.
  2. You can bank on loyalty. Our fresh and successful approach to loyalty can help you drive a deeper basket and bring people back sooner.
  3. Safe decisions make for a better P&L. While following your gut can see you catch wins, safe decisions, those based on the data, are bankable. From data feeds from suppliers through your POS to accounting software, we help you nurture data for the safe decisions.
  4. Not every shopper will walk past your door. A seamless connection between your software and a website can help you sell to people you will never meet. We develop websites for newsagents. Check out www.onebaby.com.au, www.backobourkecollective.com.au, www.heavensabove.com.au and www.goulburnstationery.com.au.
  5. You are a key asset. You and the people in your business are a differentiator to big business competitors. Our software helps you sell you in smart and engaging ways.

We also do the quarterly newsagency sales benchmark study and have done for 18 years. This is a valuable benchmark helps you see the future.

We are the only newsagency software company to own and run newsagencies, which we have done since February 1996. Here are 6 reasons to consider our newsagency software …

  1. 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.
  2. You can bank on loyalty. Our fresh and successful approach to loyalty can help you drive a deeper basket and bring people back sooner.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Current software. Current technology. Fresh, current design.

Our software costs $185.00 a month. For on as many computers as you need in the business.

There is no extra charge on top of this for support or updates. It’s all included.

How can we do this? We serve more newsagents than all other software companies combined. We leverage our size to save you money.

Read onRead later

We are proud of our POS software help desk team members with practical retail experience

November 3, 2021
2 Min read
W

Here at Tower Systems, our POS software help desk team members all have practical retail shop floor experience.

From selling using our POS software to pricing inventory, receiving new inventory through to completing a full sock take.

It is practical experience this this, and more, that helps our POS software help desk specialist to have context that is useful when speaking with local small business retailers. It is a key difference, a valuable difference, something to set tower Systems apart.

No small business retailer or staff member wants a tech person telling them how it is in retail because oftentimes the tech knowledge does not match the shop floor experience or requirement. Having real world retail experience can guide a more useful conversation that can help local retailers and POS software help desk people together find the appropriate approach.

We’re not saying that our retail experiences trump yours, no way! Rather, we are saying that our retail experiences provide us with an empathy for shop floor retail and it is this that we can bring to any discussion. It makes us more attuned to real world situations that those without retail shop floor experiences may dismiss before even listening fully to you.

Yes, shop floor retail experienced POS software help desk people are more useful when providing POS software help desk services to local small business retailers.

This is a big different. Our commitment to ensuring our POS software help desk team members have retail shop floor experiences demonstrates our commitment to retail above the software technology itself. It offers a discernible point of difference that anyone considering POS software can assess and measure. We do think it is differentiating for us, and has been fort decades. It’s a factor in our 3,000+ small business community size.

When you call our POS software help desk it starts with us understanding your query, requirement or concern. We listen, ask questions and engage in a conversation. landing on a thorough understanding off what you are calling about is key to the next steps toward resolution that satisfies you.

If you want to talk retail, give us a call. We’d love to talk shop with our, sharing war stories and learning from each other. We believe in local small business retail and appreciate its vital role in the local economy.

Read onRead later

Melbourne Cup day POS software support

November 2, 2021
1 Min read
M

It’s Melbourne Cup day today and o0ur head office is closed. But fear not, our POS software help desk team is here for your assistance. All our numbers are live and working, ready for your calls.

Read onRead later
The POS Software Blog

Categories

Categories

Categories

Recent Comments

Monthly Archives