The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

Latest stories

7 ways our Aussie made and supported POS software helps local small business retailers

October 11, 2021
2 Min read
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Here at Tower Systems we are an Aussie POS software company serving more than 3,000 local specialty retailers. Having switched many from other software, here are the top 7 benefits we offer compared to overseas product.

  1. Made for your market. Our software is made for here, not for an overseas market and then modified to suit here.
  2. Local support. Our entire help desk team understands how local retail works.
  3. You influence us. We’re local. You’re local. Your needs help us grow. We have a transparent platform through which our customers suggest and vote on software enhancements.
  4. Easy contact. You can call, email or even visit (when restrictions permit). Direct contact with us is easy – at all levels of our business.
  5. We are retailers too. We bought our first shop in 1996 to give us a walking in the shoes of our customers experience. We still own and run shops today, and we learn every day from this experience.
  6. Free workshops. We host regular free customer workshops where you can talk directly with our software developers.
  7. Free training. One thing retailers told us years ago was that they wanted easy access to top-up training. We provide access to unlimited one-on-one training for our customers.

We are a small POS software company. All of our customers are small business retailers. This means we are not dominated by any one customer. It also means that our focus truly is on local small business retail. Your needs do interest us.

To catch a look at our Aussie made and supported POS software, click on any marketplace listed below for a video of a recent brief demonstration:

If we can help, please call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

Thank you for reading and considering our locally made and supported POS software. The local Australian IT sector appreciates you for this consideration. Oh, and thank you for shopping local. Local retailers appreciate this too.

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Is our POS software right for your local community?

October 8, 2021
2 Min read
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The question we are asking today may sound a bit obscure, but it is 100% relevant to local small business retail.

Is our POS software right for your local community?

We pose the question to retailers considering POS software because embedded in the question is the bigger question abut what is right for your local community.

If you pitch shop local at all in promoting your business in-store or on social media then this question is key for you, because in calling for your local community to shop local you would want to back this up with your own shop local approach to your business decisions.

Is our POS software right for your local community?  This question is all about shop local – for our POS software is locally made and supported for local specialty retailers. We have competitors in the marketplace that are overseas businesses with overseas software developers and overseas help desk people.

Shop for POS software with us and you are supporting local IT. This is why we like the question Is our POS software right for your local community?  If shopping local matters to your local community then that is a factor in the software you choose.

Of course, you need to choose software that is right for your business and the software company that is right for your business. But, if after all your research it is us and someone else and Tower Systems, being local could be the factor that is the differentiator because our situation aligns with your situation, our value proposition aligns with your value proposition. These are factors when shop local matters to your local community.

We are proud to support local software innovation and to develop local IT skills. These are things that are important for Australia and our small software business plays a role in this.

Is our POS software right for your local community?  Only you can know the answer to this question. Today, we hope that our words were useful in your consideration as to the right POS software for your business.

Tower Systems is a specialty retail focussed POS software company. We are grateful to serve more than 3,000 local small business retailers across a broad range of specialty retail channels.

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Is our POS software right for your retail team members?

October 7, 2021
2 Min read
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In any local retail businesses, it is the people in the business who really make the business stand out, it is in the people working in the business that valuable differentiation can be found.

The right staff members can make or break a shop.

This is why we ask Is our POS software right for your retail team members? when we are talking with a retail business owner about our POS software. It’s a serious question, an important question, a question that helps local small business retailers in their assessment not only of Tower Systems but of any other POS software company they are considering.

In considering this, Is our POS software right for your retail team members? it is important to understand what your retail; business team members want out of POS software. It could be they have needs beyond what the business owner knows. It could be that they see opportunity beyond what the business does today. Including them in the POS software evaluation and consideration process brings them along, gives them some stake in the ultimate decision that is made.

Here at Tower Systems, when we demonstrate our Pos software, we record it, with your permission. We then share the link too the video so you can share it with your team members, so they can learn about our POS software and consider for themselves whether our Tower Systems POS software is right for them, and through that, right for your business.

We welcome the opportunity to demonstrate our POS software to your team members, so they can see the software in action, touch it and feel it. We often learn from these situations, which we love.

Front line retail team members know a lot about the business in which they work and its customers. Tapping into that knowledge is valuable for us and in our consideration of what we can develop in our POS software as we expand its reach.

So, we care about the question Is our POS software right for your retail team members?, a lot. We ask it ourselves and encourage small business retailers considering partnering with us to ask this too. In doing this we are able to nurture more valuable and appreciated partnerships. And, the businesses we say we are not the right fit to benefit as well.

Tower Systems makes and supports POS software for local specialty retailers.

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Is our POS software right for your local retail business customers?

October 6, 2021
3 Min read
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This is a serious question: Is our POS software right for your local retail business customers?

Today’ we’d like to explore why this is a serious question, an important question, a question every local retailer could ask themselves.

Is our POS software right for your local retail business customers?

Retail businesses exist to serve their customers. This is especially true for local retail businesses, small retail businesses, specialty retail businesses. If your POS software doe snobs help you in this mission, it may not be the right POS software for you. that does not make it bad POS softwares just, maybe, not right for your business.

The right POS software for your customers is software that serves their needs for us you are able to well serve the needs of your businesses you will find success for your business.

This is why when considering POS software for your business it is good to ponder this question that we ask ourselves when talking with a sales prospect: Is our POS software right for your local retail business customers?

We want to understand your business and how it serves customers and how you think it could even better serve customers. We then consider your answers in the context of what we know that our POS software offers. Once we have this information, we can form our own view as to whether our POS software helps you serve your customers. If we don’t think our POS software does this, we will say so.

Good POS software for your retail business helps you serve customers how, when and where they want. It gives them the information they want. It helps you reach out at the right time to customers. It helps your customers enjoy your business more. It helps you provide the value-add that your customers will love and through which they will want to visit your more frequently.

Is our POS software right for your local retail business customers? Only you can know this for sure. Our desire is to help you discover what we can do and how we can do it so that your decision is fully informed.Now, if all this feels too complex, remember that the right POS software will deliver more financial and emotional value for your business than you expect. It’s the measure twice cut once rule. Time spent now on a question like this can help you avoid a mistake.

Tower Systems builds and supports specialty POS software for local specialty retailers.

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Is our POS software right for you?

October 5, 2021
2 Min read
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Yes, you, we are asking you. This is a personal question directed at local retailers, small business retailers.

Is our POS software right for you?

We think this is a question any local retail business owner needs to answer for themselves prior to purchasing POS software, prior to making that decision for themselves.

Yes, it is a personal decision, like any vital and important decision you make about the business.

You have to feel good abut the decision. It has to feel right. It has to fit. It has to be the decision you are comfortable and happy with.

We say, take your time, research thoroughly, be sure of what you want, be sure of the people you will deal with. It’s your business after all and every decision you take in and about the business is a reflection on you. This is why we say the decision about the best POS software for your local retail business is likely to be a personal decision for you.

Is our POS software right for you?

We are not seeking to be combative or offensive in asking the question. rather, our goal is to help you make the decision that best serves your own needs for if they are served then the POS software you choose will serve the needs of the business as well. It starts as a personal decision and evolves into a business decision.

The way to answer the question Is our POS software right for you? is by being personally involved, looking at software, talking to people from the company, talking to existing customers, being sure about your needs and being sure about your ultimate decision. If you are not sure, don’t rush, there is no hurry – expect sometimes from the software sales person who is chasing a target. We will not pressure here at Tower Systems – we are here for the long haul. make your decision when it is right for you.

So, Is our POS software right for you? We hope so. But, if it is not, we will wish you all the best. We may even suggest other POS software to consider.

Tower Systems makes specialty POS software for selected niche retail channels. Our focus is on local small business retail.

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Is our POS software right for your local retail business?

October 4, 2021
2 Min read
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It’s the big question for any retail business owner considering POS software for their business. Is the POS software they are considering right for their business?

How can they know?

How can they be sure?

Plenty of POS software sales people will say it is. Here at Tower Systems we will not. We think the question as to which POS software is best for your business is a question you need to answer for yourself.

We do ask it ourselves, though, throughout the sales process.

We ask ourselves: Is our POS software right for your local retail business?

It’s important that we form a view. The last thing we want is to sell our POS software into a situation it is not a good fit for. If we think our POS software is not a good fit for your retail business, we will say so. Life is too short to chase every sale regardless of the value it offers a retail business.

We determine if our POS software is a good fit for your business by asking questions, lots of questions. We want to know what’s important to your business, what keeps it running, where you want improvement, why you are looking for POS software and what POS software must have for it to be considered.

Yeah, we ask lots of questions, and in doing that we help you firm up your own views as to what matters to you and your business. We have had many sales prospects tell us they love this process and how we help them better understand their needs.

But back to the question on our minds: s our POS software right for your local retail business? We look at your needs, what your business does, what our software does and discuss it through, to form a view. Once we know what we think, we discuss it with you.

Sometimes, when we tell a local retail business owner that we do not think our POS software is a good fit for them, they are frustrated. Usually, once we explain why, they either suggest changes to their business or thank us and move on.

Transparency is key all through this. We benefit from it and so do those considering our POS software.

Tower Systems develops specialty retail POS software for a range of specialty retail channels.

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Beautiful POS software connected Shopify websites help local small business retailers find new shoppers online

October 2, 2021
2 Min read
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Now, not to brag, here are some of the Tower POS software connected websites our awesome web dev. team has developed:

  1. Avalon Nursery – https://avalonnursery.com.au
  2. Berry Newsagency (Books n Gifts) – https://booksngifts.com.au
  3. Bear Essence – https://bearessence.com.au
  4. Making Spirits Bright – https://makingspiritsbright.com.au
  5. Seaspray Jewellery – https://seasprayjewellery.com.au
  6. Gippy Cycles – https://gippycycles.com.au
  7. IT Warehouse – https://itwarehouse.com.au
  8. Sportfishing Scene – https://sportfishingscene.com.au
  9. Northside Produce Agency – https://northsideproduceagency.com.au
  10. NXP Leven (Serenity Home & Gifts) – https://serenityhomeandgifts.com.au
  11. Reservoir Newsagency (The Shop Nxt Door) – https://shopnxtdoor.com.au
  12. Camping World Dalby – https://campingworlddalby.com.au
  13. Randall’s Newsagency (Back O Bourke Collective) – https://backobourkecollective.com.au
  14. Peppercorn Gifts & Homewares – https://peppercorngifts.com.au
  15. NXP Highlands Market Place (Highlands Gifts & Plush) – https://highlandgiftsandplush.com.au
  16. The Shop, University of Newcastle  – https://shop.newcastle.edu.au
  17. The Petfood Warehouse – https://thepetfoodwarehouse.com.au
  18. H Rehfisch & Co – https://rehfisch.com.au
  19. Sprengers Rural Traders – https://sprengersruraltraders.com.au

There are many more than these. We have also developed websites that connect multiple retail outlets.

To help customers keen for a Shopify website we have just launched a trial of a 12 month interest free payment plan for new Shopify website development. This is for new websites ordered from now. Our sales team can explain this to you but essentially it is 12 monthly payments of $550.00. The site goes live as soon as you and your data are ready. The payment plan is designed to help you smooth out your cashflow. To consider a Shopify site developed by us, please email sales@towersystems.com.au.

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How Tower Systems has been helping NSW and ACT businesses through the challenging Covid lockdown

October 1, 2021
2 Min read
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When the lockdowns in NSW and the ACRT were announced, Tower Systems reached to local small business retailers with practical help on how to work on their businesses with minimal cost, to make the businesses more valuable today and, especially, post lockdown.

Through a carefully created offer, we pitched practical help that included free advice with ideas that could be implemented without any outlay through to more commercial engagement that made our specialty retail POS software more affordable.

Tower Systems is an Australian software company. We make POS software for specialty retailers: jewellers, produce businesses, farm supply businesses, gift shops, garden centres, bike shops, bookshops, pet shops, toy shops, fishing & outdoors shops, music shops, sewing shops, mobility scooter businesses.

At our website, www.towersystems.com.au, you can see a video for each specialty retail marketplace we serve.

For a personal demonstration, please email sales@towersystems.com.au or call Tim or Justin on 1300 662 957.

We are grateful to serve 3,500 local specialty retailers with our locally made and supported POS software.

Rent from a few dollars a day.

You can rent our software for a few dollars a day with no extra cost for more computers. Software rental includes:

  • Software updates.
  • Software support, human based support by our own team of retail specialists.
  • Extra training when you need it.

And, in our POS software, you have access to our Xero link, MYOB link, EFTPOS links for major banks, Tyro EFTPOS link, Zip, Humm and Afterpay access for buy now pay later, Shopify integration as well as Woo and Magento.

Plus, we have awesome loyalty tools, smart reporting, easy importing of electronic invoices and a pathway for converting from other software.

Limited time offer: $1,000 off training and setup package.

We charge for the two and a half days of training, setup and tailoring of software settings for your specific business. Right now, for NSW and ACT retailers we offer $1,000 off. This limited offer is put to respect the challenges you’re facing right now.

To find out more, please email sales@towersystems.com.au or call 1300 662 957.

This Covid lockdown offer was embraced by plenty of business owners keen to work on their businesses. We re grateful to be able to help.

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7 ways the small business POS software from Tower Systems is valuably unique

September 30, 2021
3 Min read
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Not all POS software is the same. There are companies, like Tower Systems, that invest in creating unique POS software to serve niche needs of specialty retailers. In doing this, for example, for jewellers, we have created facilities that serve the needs of other specialty retail channels.

Good POS software is living, evolving … to meet evolving retail needs. This is what we do, constantly evolve the software based on needs expressed and voted on by customers.

No, not all POS software is the same. There is generic off the shelf and, then, there is specialty POS software for specialty retailers.

Here are 7 unique ways the POS software from Tower Systems helps small business retailers to run more successful and enjoyable businesses:

  1. Loyalty customers love. Too often, loyalty software is all about the retailer. While we get that it has to work for the retailer, it, first of all, has to be loved by shoppers. That is what we deliver, and shoppers respond well as a result.
  2. Seasonally adjust. Seasons matter in retail. A challenge for some is that seasons move. Using our POS software you can adjust for this and be sure of how the business is performing, so you can easily compare and plan.
  3. A leverage-me platform that allows you to leverage intellectual property unique to you as well as to your business, through which you can pitch your knowledge. You do matter. This is a genuinely differentiating opportunity as it is about you.
  4. A no overhead, easily understood and sales driving loyalty solution that you can turn on in seconds and have delivering sales results today. This is smart loyalty, innovative and designed for today’s shopper. It does not leverage legacy loyalty that shoppers are sick of and that supermarkets continue to use.
  5. Seamless online with easy flowing inventory detail and image data between the POS software and Shopify thanks to smart and engaging integration for in-store, online and click and collect sales supported by many payment options including several buy now pay later options.
  6. Sell anywhere thanks to Retailer RoamTM, the on the road POS solution from the shop floor, at local markets, from a truck or from the roadside. This innovative, cloud based, solution is smart, engaging and ready for the new normal of 2020 and beyond.
  7. An access from anywhere insights platform that is your own personal business insights tool, shining a light on a pathway of data that reveals insights into your business andkopens you to considering opportunities ahead.

In the POS software from Tower Systems retailers have access to many opportunities, many more than the 7 listed here, opportunities through which the businesses can more efficiently operate and can reach more new traffic shopper opportunities.

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10 ways the Tower Systems POS software is helping gift shops deal with pandemic challenges

September 29, 2021
4 Min read
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Gift shop retailers using the Tower Systems POS software have at their disposal a proven suite of tools and facilities with which to combat the blues which seem to surround so many retailers at the moment.

By engaging with the marketing and management tools in the Point of sale software, retailers can expect to cut costs, increase sales and drive bottom-lime profit.

These claims are more than a sales pitch.   For no additional cost, local small business retailers can drive more profitable and more valuable business outcomes … and turnaround what may be a tough retail situation.

Using the Point of Sale software from Tower Systems, retailers can expect to:

  1. Cut costs.  Thanks to electronic invoicing, the cost of processing new stock is lower than with manual processes.  This can help cut your labour bill.
  2. Increase sales #1: reward customers.  A good loyalty program works.  Not like FlyBys which is of dubious financial value to customers.  No, a serious loyalty program which guides your customers to spend more money with you.  I have see stores grow sales by 10% on the back of a well constructed loyalty program,  a good POS software package will run this for you, points and all.
  3. Increase sales #2: easy lay-by.  Lay-by run properly and using technology can be highly profitable.  The software can manage the rules and ensure that your shop operates as professionally as a national retailer.  You set your own rules and the software manages the paperwork.
  4. Increase sales: market to your customers.  A coupon on your receipts, an email newsletter, a printed newsletter or up-sell script at the sales counter for staff – these are all ways you can use your point of sale system to help guide your existing customers to spend more money with you.
  5. Increase sales #5.  Connect with a local charity.  Use your gift shop software to make it easy for a local charity to promote your retail business shop and raise money for themselves at the same time.  Each sale earned for you by the charity can be tracked so that you are able to reward them with an accurate donation at the end of the campaign.
  6. Make better business decisions.  Bu buying only stock which works for you or seeing exactly what customers buy with what you are able to make business decisions which are more likely to drive better business results.
  7. Sell your own gift cards.  If a customer cannot find what they want in your shop you could sell them a professional looking gift card with a unique barcode allocated to that card.  This way they money they put on the card is used in your business.
  8. Cut mistakes.  Mistakes in retail can be expensive.  By using smart retail management software, you can and should expect to cut mistakes.  This is because it takes fewer keystrokes per sale.  This reduces the opportunity for mistakes.  The saving could add as much as a full percentage point to your bottom line.
  9. Cut theft.  Theft in retail in Australia was running at between 3% and 5% of turnover.  Thanks to tight controls around employees and better tracking of stock theft, you can expect to cut the cost of theft.  Every $1 cut in theft is a $1 on your bottom line.
  10. Handle special orders.  Using software you can place orders for specific customers.  The software can even sent a text message to the customer’s mobile phone when their special order comes if.  Talk about customer service!

The most important way you can grow your business in a tough marketplace is doing what you probably do best – providing cheerful and knowledgeable customer service.  You can do this and your employees can do this if you hand over some of your administrative tasks to your software.

It is easy to get drawn to the doom and gloom of the times and through this to lose focus on your business.  This trap must be avoided at all costs … for the sake of the business and all who rely on the business from customers to employees to owners.

By using tools freely available in your Point of Sale software you can find sales, find time and find margin which may have eluded you to this point.

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Small business retail advice: make your shop more valuable

September 28, 2021
3 Min read
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Too often small business retailers focus on the sale of their business as their pay day without actually acting, every day, to ensure that day delivers the best value for them.

Every day in any local small retail business there are decisions that can be made, steps that can be taken that nurture more value from the business. These steps, most of which cost little or nothing to implement, can have long-term gains for the profit and loss of a retail business.

We see this in our work with more than 3,000 local small business retailers. We see the value of good moves. We see the costs of inaction.

Thinking about this, what we see, here is a list of 10 things any local small business retailer could do in their business to drive value today and, more importantly, value tomorrow when they choose to sell their business.

This list is in order of the value we see being achieved in local small retail businesses that act on these things.

  1. Deal with old stock. Old stock is worthless to you and anyone being the business. Keeping it is a waste of space, time and cash. This work starts with you knowing what is old stock – our POS software helps with this.
  2. Trim the roster. Labour costs around 11% of revenue. Every dollar saved is a dollar that benefits the P&L. Yes, this likely means more hours for owners … but you have to ask yourself about your focus as to when you want your pay day.
  3. Review opening hours. Often in business data we see opening hours opportunities – either for longer hours or shorter hours. be guided by your business data.
  4. Clean up online. Be easily found. Review your Facebook, Google and other listings. Make sure they are current for if they are not it reflects poorly on the business.
  5. Declutter. An appealing looking business is easier to sell. On the shop floor, at the counter, in the back room – declutter and make the business more appealing to you, prospective buyers and customers.
  6. Review unprofitable activity. Look carefully at each category of product or service you offer. Get to an accurate understanding of the value of each. Consider quitting those that are under performing.
  7. Price for margin. While plenty of retailers pressure suppliers for lower prices, too few actively consider what they could sell some items for, missing the opportunity for a better margin. Where you can, price for a better margin.
  8. Document. Write up your processes, systems you follow and more. Document this and make the business easier to run and appear easier to run. The documenting process itself is likely to lead to efficiency opportunities uncovered. The resulting documentation will make the business more appealing.
  9. Reduce debt. We see too many retail businesses where debt is used with an expectation that it will be dealt with when the business is sold. Clean it up now as much as you are able. The less interest you pay the more money the business makes.
  10. Balance sheet clean up. While selling a retail business will often not include selling the company structure, the tidiness of your balance sheet may not be ideal for that time you do come to sell. It’s better you discover this and work on it prior to needing to.

This advice is part of the regular advice Tower Systems provides its customers.

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Another POS software TV commercial from Tower Systems

September 27, 2021
1 Min read
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We are grateful to be able to be on air, on national Prime7 TV stations with this new TV commercial. This is the second TVC we have running right now. Thank you to the team that has put this together and made raising our voices possible through this campaign.

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AFL grand Final holiday

September 24, 2021
1 Min read
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It’s crazy, but, hey, we’ll take it. Today is a public holiday here in Victoria for the AFL Grand Final, which will be played tomorrow in Western Australia. Crazy! But like we said, we’ll take it.

So, all Victorian based Tower Systems team members are off.

It’s business as usual though as we have enough team members working outside Victoria who can provide awesome customer services and sales assistance.

If you need us, we’re here to help. Our office numbers are working as are our after hours numbers.

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Helping local small business retailers navigate the vaxxed versus unvaxxaxed shopper debate

September 23, 2021
3 Min read
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There has been considerable noise on social media recently when some retailers said they would welcome anyone to their business, vaxxed or unvaxxed. It became heated with plenty of yelling and abuse.

Vaccination is a vexed (sorry) issue. You’re damned if you speak up and damned if you do not. We became drawn into it with retailers asking what we thought, given or reach across a diverse group of retail settings.

We so understand retailers say they welcome anyone as it presents as inclusive. We can also understand retailers saying they prefer shoppers to be vaccinated, especially if they have family and loved-ones who for some reason cannot currently be vaccinated.

While we are keen on fence-sitting, we think with this issue retailers, especially local small business retailers are better off saying nothing because saying something will attract fringe-dwellers and these folks can be demanding, nasty and distracting. We know a retailer who said anyone is welcome and then found tribes of fringe dwellers on their social media doorstep.

By all means have a view for yourself and those who work in the business as it is your workplace and you have obligations. However, we don’t see how that can extend to customers when the government itself does not have a view.

For sure we want everyone who can to be vaccinated, and urgently. If we were in government with the authority, we would try and find a way to force that, for the health and safety of the community. We’d tie it to some funding or benefit, as happens already in child care. But, we are not in government and owning a shop does not give me the right to dictate what my customers believe, no matter how much we see our shop as our little kingdom.

So, for us here in our POS software company, we will have our wish and hope that everyone who can gets vaccinated while, at the same time, serving anyone who comes here for service. And, while doing this, our shops and business locations will remain clean, happy and as Covid safe as possible with masks, hand sanitiser, free face masks and the other steps in place that have kept us safe and trading so far.

Covid has a long long way to go we think. This vaxxed and unvaxxed can shop here pitch is another pot-hole on the road that, when we look back on it, will be a small distraction.

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POS software connected Shopify websites for local small business retailers

September 22, 2021
3 Min read
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Tower Systems develops POS software and it develops POS software connected Shopify websites. We develop magento and Woo, too, but it’s in the Shopify space where the needs of most of our local small business retailers are met.

Our portfolio of POS software connected Shopify websites is comprehensive, covering a range of specialty retail situations including jewellers, garden centres, toy shops, firearms dealers, produce businesses, farm supply businesses, gift, homewares, fashion, and more.

We are grateful to our community of local small business retailers for their support, and encouragement.

We are often asked for website advice, how to be successful online. While we have comprehensive advice for our customers, in this public space, Tower Systems is happy to share this list of top things to consider if you want your local retail business to be successful online.

This best of the best advice about taking your retail business online is based on many years of experience.

  1. It’s urgent. Every retail business needs to be online. You have no idea what you are missing. Online should be at least 10% of your revenue now.
  2. Your POS software should manage your inventory, including what you sell online. This saves time and manages consistency.
  3. Start small, focussed. Don’t obsess about getting the whole business on. The sooner you start the sooner you will get experience and this will feed your evolution.
  4. It’s hard work. If you seek and embrace short cuts, they will come at a. cost. Lean into the hard work. get it done.
  5. Shopify is better than WooCommerce. A WooCommerce website usually costs more to maintain. hey, we’ve been doing this for many years and have used both, and Magento. Shopify gives you more control and requires less tech skills.
  6. Don’t overthink shipping. A complex approach to shipping will negatively impact your online sales.
  7. Accept all payment types. Credit card, PayPal, Buy Now Pay later – they all serve a purpose. Make sure you are flexible.
  8. You are your best asset. Your knowledge about your products is your best asset. It is differentiating. Leverage it on your website in the text write and the blog posts you publish. This is what will attract shoppers.
  9. Describe for the search. In a shop, people browse based on what they see. Online, people start browsing by typing in text. Think about this when they describe what they sell.
  10. Own your complexity. If you choose to have a complex offer or a complex approach to selling online, it’s your complexity. Don’t rely on a web developer or a tech person to make it easier for you. Making it easier starts with you making decisions about your business.

If you are interested in our POS software or having us develop a POS software connected Shopify site for you, please email sales@towersystems.com.au or call Tim on 0401 883 917 or Justin on 0434 365 789.

Click here to find out more about our specialty retail POS software. Click here to see our YouTube Channel where you can see up to date demonstrations of our various specialty retail POS software products.

Click here to access our fixed-price standard POS software connected Shopify website quote.

Click here to see the checklist we provide our Shopify customers. It outlines what’s critical about preparing for a Shopify site.

Click here to access our website customer questionnaire. This is designed to help you clarify your needs. A copy of your responses is sent to you.

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Bookshop software helps local bookshops sell in-store and online

September 21, 2021
2 Min read
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The bookshop software from Tower Systems helps local bookshops serve their local communities.

This is software for bookshops that they can use in-store as well as connected to Shopify for easy and fast selling online.

Using the Tower Systems bookshop software, booksellers are able to handle:

  • Returns management. Returning unsold books can be time consuming. Using our bookshop software, booksellers can identify titles that can be returned based on arrival in-store, sales and current quantity on hand. We provide the insight and the structured approach for handling the return, in a publisher friendly way. The approach in our software has been tested with booksellers, toe snare it is genuinely useful and in line with what is required from suppliers.
  • Titlepage Integration. Our software has connected to Titlepage fore years. Our latest integration is even better and more useful for book retailers. This will evolve further as the Titlepage software itself permits.
  • Pacstream connectivity. From within our bookshop software you have access to Pacstream integration. Ask us to demonstrate this to you, so you can see how it works live and in person.

We serve local booksellers with bookshop software made to help them serve their local communities. Our software helps them position their businesses as locally focussed in unique ways and touchpoints from reader loyalty to special interest focus to local club support to bundle offers. We help local bookshops better serve local readers and those who buy for them.

Beyond the bookshop, our seamless Shopify link helps local booksellers sell online easily and professionally … enabling them to play in the online world and reach shoppers way beyond their local catchment area. We are proud to have delivered bookshop software connected websites that are doing this.

Also embedded in our locally made bookshop software are other tools that booksellers tell us they like:

  • Easy searching of book inventory by title or part of a title.
  • Easy searching by book inventory by author name or part of author name.
  • Structured handling of special orders for customers.

Our goal with our locally made bookshop software is to help small local retailers more successfully compete every day. We do this through good software that is backed by professional and easy to access software support.

The bookshop POS software we offer today is different to what we will offer tomorrow as continuous evolution is part of our approach to POS software development.

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Discounted POS software training for new owners of retail businesses using Tower Systems POS software

September 21, 2021
2 Min read
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Tower Systems offers discounted personal training for new owners of retail businesses in which the Tower Systems POS software operates.

This new owner training offers these new business owners the same level of training that a new customer of the Tower Systems POS software received.

While the vendor of a retail business should fully train a new owner in all aspects of running the business, often we find there is little training provided on how to properly use our POS software. This is why we offer a new owner POS Software training package, to ensure you are properly trained in the software.

Two days training is our recommended minimum for those new to our software. Usually, this costs $2,200 (inc. GST). SPECIAL OFFER: we offer you this 2-day package discounted.

This is a prepaid service. The training is delivered remotely, by one of our training specialists. It is tailored to each specific type of retail business.

The training will cover entering data, managing data, handling electronic invoices, setting up loyalty tools, reporting, bulk data manipulation, data security, backup, POS screen layout and more.

This training is exactly what we provide to new customers. It is an investment in the business and the future decisions you could make based on data managed by our software.

This training is not mandatory for new owners, not required. It is recommended, though. It provides each new owner with a level of knowledge they will find useful to get the most out of using the Tower Systems POS software in their retail business. And, that is out goal – to help them get value from the software.

It its easy for a business owner to think they know it. the thing is, none of us know what we don’t know. This is why the comprehensive new owner training is vital to any business owner if they are serious about running their business.

The Tower Systems new owner POS software training is another solution from us serving the needs of local small business retailers, helping them run more enjoyable, successful and valuable retail businesses.

We are grateful to our team of POS software specialists to be able to offer this.

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Interest free finance offer for Shopify website development for small business retailers

September 20, 2021
3 Min read
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Tower Systems only serves local small business retailers, with specialty retail POS software and with fixed-price Shopify website development, through which we deliver POS software connected Shopify websites.

To make the cost of development of a Shopify website less challenging on cashflow, we are pleased to have been able to release an interest free payment plan for our local small business retail customers who get us to develop a Shopify website for their business.

By spreading the Shopify website development cost over a year, local small business retailers are more able to afford having a beautiful POS software connected website created for them.

there is no extra cost, to additional charge. All we have done is take our one-off cost and spread it over a year, with monthly payments.

Shopify web development proceeds unhindered. The site is taken live the moment it is ready and approved by our customer. And, yes, this can be prior to the website development cost having been fully paid. By ensuring this we are demonstrating that the interest-free payment plan offer is really about making getting live online more cash-flow respectful for small business retailers.

Having developed many websites for local small business retailers already, we have considerable experience on which to draw. It was clear to us that the challenge on business finances was a factor in business owners making a decision to proceed. hence, our offer of interest-free financing for the cost of Shopify website development.

Since launch a few weeks ago, the take-up of the offer has been considerable. We are grateful to be in a position to underwrite the cost of this offer for our POS software customers. Our hope is that many businesses get online that may not have been in a position to do so at this point in their business cycle.

This interest-free Shopify website development program is another way Tower Systems offers practical help and support to local small business retailers and thereby empowering them to better serve their local communities.

Retail has fundamentally changed, not only because of the coronavirus pandemic but because of the role technology is playing in operation as well as customer engagement and connectivity. Online plays a key role, making being online critical for any business that wants to be in a position to compete.

Retailers are reaching shoppers they would otherwise not have reached. They are selling more, too. We continually say to retailers considering going online that they done;t know what they don’t know. The first few weeks online can be illuminating, revealing and encouraging.

Local small business retailers can shine online because they can be more flexible and move faster than big businesses. This is critical in the online world today.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve local small business retailers with awesome specialty retail POS software and with beautiful Shopify websites connected to that POS software.

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Software for landscape businesses in Australia

September 19, 2021
3 Min read
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We are grateful to have welcomed more landscape businesses to our specialty POS software user community this month.

Our feature rich garden centre software is proving to be useful to landscape businesses. Configured for their specialty needs, our landscape business software handles a range of business needs, helping these businesses to operate more smoothly and successfully.

Here are some of the benefits they like in our landscape business software:

      1. Special customer orders. This enables you to sell today items that you do not currently have in stock. There software manages this forward order, keeping track of records for you.
      2. Quote and invoice management. You quote for the business and, then, once they order, you can turn the quote into an invoice. You can make changes through the process. This helps you professionally and accurately quote for your work, and grow your business.
      3. Trade pricing profiles supporting pricing flexibility for your customers. Pricing can be set based on their type, giving you layered pricing.
      4. Customer account management: Professional and accurate control. If you run accounts, you can manage them.
      5. Sell by weight, including fractions. If you sell soil, sand and other items by the cubic metre, you can manage that inventory and price based on volume purchased.
      6. Sell you. Extended product descriptions help you offer plant care info.
      7. Bagging up. Bag bulk products smaller packs, with accurate stock data.
      8. Genuinely informative receipts. Share information that sets you apart.
      9. Seasonal reordering. Easily reorder inventory based on seasonal sales.
      10. Weatherproof labels.
      11. Stock write offs – done in a structured way feeding into your accounts.

You can rent our landscape business software for $185.00 a month, giving you:

  1. Australian developed and supported POS software for landscape businesses.
  2. Software updates as we release them.
  3. Unlimited computer licences for your location.
  4. Shopify / Magento / Woo link. Easily sell online from your POS software.
  5. Xero link. Easing bookkeeping costs and streamlining accounting.
  6. Our OzBiz link. This helps you link to MYOB and Quicken through OzBiz.
  7. Tyro link – safe, fast and easy EFTPOS link for streamlined sales.
  8. PC Eftpos link. This offers easy EFTPOS processing for the major banks.
  9. Easy buy now pay later options with Zip Pay and Humm.
  10. Support – help desk access.
  11. Training – unlimited one-on-one training over the phone.
  12. User documentation. Access to our searchable knowledge base.

Take your time to see if this software could be right for your landscape business. Here is a video we shot recently in which we preview some of the facilities in our landscape business software:

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Tower Systems offers free advice for small business retailers on POS software connected Shopify websites

September 19, 2021
1 Min read
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Several weeks ago our team at Tower Systems hosted four free workshops covering a range of topics related to creating POS software connected Shopify sites and how to drive traffic to them. The goal was to share insights and offer free advice and training for retailers looking to grow online sales.

We share here videos of these sessions in which a deep well of free advice was shared and explored.

Here are videos of the workshops for anyone interested. If you are considering a website for your business, buyer beware. There are plenty of shonky business people in the web development space. Our hope is that the four workshops share information that you find useful in navigating a path to growing your online sales.

This last session is all about writing good blog posts and how they play a key role in driving traffic.

We are grateful to the retailer who participated.

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