The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

Latest stories

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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Locally made POS software for landscape garden supply businesses

September 17, 2021
3 Min read
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Here’s a new video from us exploring our landscape garden supply business software:

Here are some of the benefits of this landscape garden supplies POS software:

    1. Quote and invoice management. Strong, flexible, fit for purpose.
    2. Trade pricing profiles supporting pricing flexibility for your customers.
    3. Niche inventory management. Track and manage inventory such as sand and soil, items you can’t barcode.
    4. Gift cards. Use these in new developments to win new customers.
    5. Special customer orders – get a sale today, before you order the stock.
    6. Loyalty rewards customers love. Encourage return visits and purchases.
    7. Sell you. Extended product descriptions help you offer plant care info.
    8. Bagging up. Bag bulk products smaller packs, with accurate stock data.
    9. Genuinely informative receipts. Share information that sets you apart.
    10. Customer account management: Professional and accurate control.
    11. Catalogues. Easily manage special pricing for a date range.
    12. Pricing profiles. You can set pricing rules based on types of customers.
    13. Sell by weight, including fractions.
    14. Seasonal reordering. Easily reorder inventory based on seasonal sales.
    15. Weatherproof labels.
    16. Stock write offs – done in a structured way feeding into your accounts.

You can rent our landscape garden supplies POS software for $185.00 a month, giving you:

  1. Australian developed and supported POS software.
  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.

Here are some common questions we get from folks considering this software for landscape businesses:

Can you reach out to customers based on past purchases?  Yes, you can select customers for marketing past on a range of criteria, including past purchases.

Does the system handle account customers? Yes, you can setup and manage customer accounts.

Does the system produce invoicing and statements? Yes, these can be printed or emailed.

Does the software connect with my website? We partner with Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce and offer direct links to these.

Can I email receipts? Yes.

Can I track where my customers come from? Yes.

Do I have to pay for software on additional computers in my business? No.

Can I connect with my EFTPOS terminal? Yes. We have a direct link to Tyro and through Linkly we connect to all major banks.

Can I use my existing hardware? Yes, as long as your hardware meets our minimum standards.

Can I use my existing data with the software? Yes. We’d like to check your data to be sure. We will advise what can be safely brought across.

Does it integrate with Xero? Yes.

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Tower Systems helps local small business retailers through Covid

September 16, 2021
3 Min read
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Tower Systems is grateful to be able to continue to help Australian and New Zealand small business retailers through COVID-19.

Our business is open and our office is open, since we meet the criteria for being essential.

What we introduced in February 2020 when we saw how Covid is playing out around the world and the impact it is having on businesses is still available. This Tower Systems support package is helping local small business retailers to pivot and embrace opportunity found within the Covid situation. Here is what we continue to offer:

  1. Free POS software licences for home access.
  2. Free unlimited personal, one-on-one, POS software training.
  3. No surcharge credit card use.
  4. Free access anywhere POS software reporting tools.
  5. Pivot advice, based on your business data – advice on opportunities for new traffic, new revenue.
  6. Capped price low cost Shopify sites, with fast track to going live.
  7. Business performance analysis help based on a professional assessment of what your data reveal.
  8. Discounted training / installation / setup package – making choosing Tower Systems lower cost right now.

Here at Tower Systems, it is business as usual and, through this, we are helping our POS software customers achieve a business as usual experience. We know this is comforting to our customers, helpful for their business planning and operations.

We continue to offer a full service POS software help desk service, releasing POS software updates and delivering our much-loves free one-on-one training to our retail business owners and their staff.

In offering business as usual, our customers have continuity of service. This helps them have what they need to work on their businesses … as that is what plenty of small business retailers have been doing through COVID-19, working on their businesses, re-calibrating, adjusting and, for some, pivoting. Indeed, we have helped some exciting pivots and we are grateful to have seen this and been part of it.

We are grateful to our team of software developers, help desk experts, POS software trainers, our back office infrastructure support and our sales team in that it is this group of people that has delivered for our customers through COVID-19 every day.

But back to the pivot opportunity. We see plenty of this in a range of local specialty retail channels in which we serve. By see we mean in real and accurate business data. Data show pivot opportunities and we can help our retail partners to explore these and consider whether they are useful. 2020 is a terrific year for a pivot and having the right software with flexibility can be helpful.

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Tower Systems supports op. shops and charity shops and community enterprises with tailored POS software

September 16, 2021
3 Min read
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Local op. shops are part of the retail landscape across Australia. Run by churches, community groups and charities, these shops serve the vulnerable in our community while raising funds for vital local community projects.

Op. shops have unique needs when to comes to managing them. The needs are similar to those in charity shops and other community enterprise retail businesses.

Tower Systems is grateful to offer low-cost POS software for charity shops, op. shops and community enterprise businesses. This is software made for these retail situations, designed to help these community-focussed shops serve their goals, to fulfil their missions.

Charity and op. shops are unique and loved businesses, providing valuable service to the local community and to those supported by the charity. Here is some of what you can expect from the Tower Systems POS software for op. shops / charity shops / community enterprises:

  1. Easy shopper loyalty.  While the software offers a loyalty points system, we have found the cash-off approach in our loyalty tools works better in local retail. People understand money. A receipt showing an amount they can save on their next purchase gets, usually, at least 20% of people spending more that visit.
  2. Manage inventory your way. You can sell by barcode, products code, department, category within department, price point. You can sell, measure and report at the level point appropriate to your needs.
  3. Easy to learn. We have found that in community enterprises easy to learn / easy to use really does matter. Volunteer turnover makes this essential. We can record training specific to your needs and make these videos available for future volunteers.
  4. Secure. You can lock down parts of the software to secure them for management access only.
  5. Check and balances. This software guides processes. It also provides hidden tracking so you can investigate should the need arise.
  6. Club / group marketing and support. Leverage clubs and community groups with offers and pricing just for them.

This Australian made and supported charity / op. shop POS software does much more than what’s on this list. See it for yourself, live and obligation free, to see if it could serve you and your business. We’d be glad to show it to all involved in the operation.

We started din this space many years ago with our first church shop software and it’s evolved since for bigger businesses in this space as well as for much smaller businesses. We are grateful to help these organisations in their commitment to community service.

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Helping local small business retailers beyond POS software

September 15, 2021
2 Min read
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Our own experience in retail enables us to share advice beyond what is typical for a POS software company. here is one example of this, from a small business retail advice email that we sent over the weekend:

In one of our own shops the other day an 80 something guy bought a couple of greeting cards and mentioned it was the first time he’d bought cards for decades. It’s what we have to do when we can’t see the family I guess, he said.

The interaction was a reminder that how we sell, who we sell to and when we sell has fundamentally changed. Take this 80 something customer. The pandemic has him doing something new. All it will take is for him to get a card or a note back in the mail and he will be connected.

We think plenty of the changes will stick long after the pandemic is over, not that we can see it being over any time soon though.

This realisation that how people connect with our shops and businesses has changed is a reason we are trying TV advertising. Yes, our little POS software company is on TV. Last night a test campaign kicked off in Melbourne. (Scroll down to see the ad) Next month we have a much bigger campaign on the Prime 7 regional network across Australia.

How does this relate to local small business retail?

We all have to find new ways of attracting new shoppers and increasing our stickiness with existing customers.

Things won’t go back to the way they were, not in retail, not in business more broadly. They may go part of the way, but not the whole way. We think many changes introduced or sped up because of or through the pandemic will stay long term.

This is why we are embracing change in our POS software company and in the retail shops we own and consumer-facing websites we run. We are enjoying learning from changes, including those that don’t fail. We love a good lesson from failure.

Here at Tower, our job is to help you run a more enjoyable, successful and valuable business. We do this through our POS software and through websites we create for our customers.

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Tower Systems launches Evergreen Connect integration for garden centres

September 14, 2021
3 Min read
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Two weeks ago, Tower Systems announced to its POS software customers the successful integration with Evergreen Connect for electronic invoices for garden centres that are part of that vibrant group.

Through our Software Ideas platform we have had requests to be able to import Evergreen Connect invoices (nursery green life goods). Luke Matheson, our Software Development Manager, has been in contact with Matt at Evergreen Connect and has achieved this. This is now available for our customers. Some setup is required at evergreen connects end which they will walk you through but this is available to all users in their current version.

We have shared with our customers comprehensive information about the connection, how it works and the setting options embedded in our garden centre POS software.

Here is more information about Evergreen Connect:

EvergreenConnect is a new generation in plant stock sourcing. We aim to be the largest greenlife database in Australia and New Zealand with up to date information on who’s got what, where it is, and how to get it. At EvergreenConnect we pride ourselves on using current technology to ensure up to date plant sourcing and supply information is easily available to the wholesale and retail nursery market and landscape industries.

We provide you with one place to find, view and contact wholesale nursery suppliers. Our service is widely used by wholesale and retail nurseries, landscapers, councils and the allied professional landscape community.

Our information is kept up to date and our plant listing is constantly growing, with over 140,000 products, we know you will find what you need and if you don’t we’ll do our best to help you try to find it.

Here at Tower Systems we are grateful to bring this garden centre POS software / Evergreen Connect link to life.

Using this retail channel specific software, garden centres can provide personal service for their local community. They can encode their knowledge and guide that this be served to customers based on their purchases. Through these facilities garden centres can differentiate their businesses.

Unlike traditional everyday POS software, this garden centre POS software from Tower Systems is rich in features for garden centres, loaded with tools and reports that can help garden centre owners and staff run a more efficient and successful business.

The software evolves through regular updates. Many of the changes delivered in the updates are suggested direct to our development team by our users. It’s a transparent and democratic process.

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Tower Systems lobbies Afterpay on behalf of local small business retailers

September 13, 2021
2 Min read
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Afterpay has denied access to is popular buy now pay later finance platform to several groups of retailers based on a small selection of products they sell. While we understand the position of Afterpay and that is is following its own published guidelines, we think the company has an opportunity to revisit these guidelines.

Using our POS software, we can help local small business retailers comply with many regulations. This includes blocking access to some payment methods based on products and categories of concern to parties that support the business. Using this technology and appropriate business support and advice, we think we can help Afterpay connect with more retail businesses and live within its own regulations art the same time.

We are grateful that folks at Afterpay have at least listened to representations we have made on behalf of the engaged local small business retailers that we serve in our 3,000+ strong POS software user community.

This work we have done, lobbying Afterpay on behalf of local small business retailers, is an example of what we do beyond what is traditional for a POS software company. It is us offering help, service and engagement with a supplier so that the supplier might consider doing business with our customers.

Our work on a range of projects sets us up to help achieve the safety Afterpay is looking for, to ensure that their financing platform is not used for products or services outside what is acceptable to them. They would not be the first supplier we have facilitated this for and they would not be the last for sure.

From age checking to shopping basket oversight, we have tech within our software that enables us to serve a variety of regulatory needs and it is through these that we can help Afterpay achieve with it needs, if it is keen to connect with small business retailers in channels it currently does not bring on to its buy now pay later funding platform.

Tower Systems is a vertical market POS software company serving niche specialty retailer needs in only selected retail channels. We dive deep in to the specific needs of each channel to help them run engaged and locally focussed specialty retail businesses.

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How our locally made POS software helps local small business retailers pitch locally made

September 10, 2021
2 Min read
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Our locally made Tower Systems POS software is made for local retailers who are keen to encourage shoppers to shop local.

Within the software there are tools and facilities that make it easy for a local retailer to draw attention to and to feature locally made products. These teens help local retailers to draw attention to their own shop local credentials.

These tools and facilities help local retailers to drive sales to people looking to source locally made products. we make this type of pitch easier for you.

Noting products as Australian made, or made within the state our territory or even made in town, you have a number of ways you can do this with the software, to pitch a thoughtful and factual locally made pitch.

Yes, we have thought a lot about this and built within our POS software facilities that enable you to pitch shop local in a more nuanced and practical way than the usual more whiney approach that you might see on social media from some businesses.

Our approach through the software is show, don’t tell.

A valuable shop local pitch is where you find the tools you use in your business, like POS software.

If you want locals to shop with you. If you rely on the local community to support you. If you have ever pitched shop local on social media…

Local does matter.

Local businesses hire locally, support local community groups, engage on local matters, often buy from local suppliers and spend locally.

Local economies benefit from local independent retail businesses.

Local does matter.

We are a local POS software company serving Australian and New Zealand retail businesses in specific retail channels.

Engage with our POS software and you support the local IT community and you tap into software that helps you pitch local.

Yes, using our software you can pitch your local difference.

We develop and support software for: gifts, jewellers, bikes, toys, fishing/outdoors, garden centres, pet shops, produce, firearms, adult shops and newsagents.

Call us so we can find out more about what you do, to see if our specialty retail software could be of value to you and your business.

Now, for a personal pitch:

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Advice for small business retailers considering SquarePOS for their business

September 9, 2021
2 Min read
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Square POS is an American Point of Sale program that is pitched to small business retailers as low cost and easy to use.

There is no doubt that Square POS is easy to setup. As to cost, you need to do your homework to fully understand how costs of using Square POS accrue for a business. Look at your sales, how many transactions each day and the total value of those. Then calculate the cost of Square POS based on your business performance numbers. It is only after you have done this that you are able to calculate the actual user costs of SquarePOS for your business.

Tower Systems offers an alternative to Square POS that does not have any costs associated with transaction volume or transaction value. In other words, using the Tower Systems POS solution your POS software usage, software access and support costs are capped, you know exactly the cost of the software for your business on a daily basis, and it is only a few dollars a day for the software and real human support access.

If you are interested in Square POS for your business, call Square. Pick up the phone and call them. Have some questions ready to ask. We suggest you call Tower Systems too on any of our local office numbers, our mobile numbers or our national sales line 1300 662 957. Or, email us at sales@towersystems.com.au.

If you did call Square POS, or at least try and call them, and then you called us … we think you will have had very different experiences. we say this because one of the reasons local small business retailers go with our POS software over Square POS is because of the easy access to customer service, the human access to customer service, and that we are genuinely local.

POS software can be complex and confusing. A quick phone call with a human can easily answer any questions. It’s when you can’t reach someone that it can be frustrating. This is why we say call square POS with a question or two. see how they respond and factor that into your consideration as to the right POS software solution for your local retail business.

Only you can determine the best POS software for your specific business. Our core suggestion is do your homework, fully understand the costs and benefits of each software package under consideration.

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Advice for small business retailers on POS software connected Shopify websites for boosting retail sales

September 8, 2021
1 Min read
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Two 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.

All up, the four sessions covered close to six hours.

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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SEO advice for POS software connected Shopify websites helps small business retailers drive traffic

September 7, 2021
2 Min read
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We have shared updated SEO advice with our local small business retailer customers for whom we have developed beautiful POS software connected Shopify websites.

Through personal training and backed by peer-reviewed written advice, we have shared how they can. Make the best use of product names, descriptions and other text so as to drive up their rankings through Google and other search engine platforms.

Just as the search algorithms change overtime, so does our SEO advice for POS software connected Shopify websites. Our latest advice was first field tested prior to sharing with our customers. we have been able to sow them how following the advice can play for their businesses.

Small business retailers can’t be expected to be SEO experts. Our recommendation is that they NOT hire SEO experts though as too often we have found that money wasted. The key is to now the best type of customer for your business. They, to research how to best connect with that type of customer. This is where an understanding of your specific specialty retail business can make a difference. It’s where our Tower Systems expertise can make a difference.

Our latest SEO advice for POS software connected Shopify websites has been provided to all customers for no charge, as part of our customer service suite of services. we see it as a genuine value-add for our customers, something we are grateful to have been able to provide to them.

Running consumer-facing websites ourselves positions us for useful knowledge, which we leverage for our customers through advice like we have mentioned here. We’ve made SEO mistakes from which we have learned. we have also made some very cool SEO moves, from which we have also learned. We have sheared our own experienced, to add to the free resource pool available for our customers.

Helping our local small business retailer community leverage practical advice for SEO settings for their type of business is part of what we offer as a specialty retail focussed POS software and web development business. We have helped several retailers recently stop paying fees to external businesses based on the free help in this area available to them as part of the Tower Systems community.

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Advice for local small business retailers considering a website for their business

September 6, 2021
4 Min read
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Our CEO sent the following email to small business retailers on our database Saturday morning. We share it here as we know some retailers are being encouraged to go online, including by some with dubious claims about their success and what they can do:

Good morning this Saturday morning.

Like many of you, I guess, I am sitting here getting some work donw while rgularly checking for Covid updates, to find out when the various press conferences will be. I’ve also been checking emails.

I am frustrated at some of the email pitches I am seeing to retailers offering websites. I am especially frustrated by those who claim it is cheap and easy.

Like anything in this world, you get what you pay for. 

There is one shonk emailing claiming that you’ll make a ton from selling online from a. website they setup for you. I check the traffic they get to their own online shop and it’s under 100 visitors a day.

I own Tower Systems and I own several retail shops. Each shop has a website connected to it. I know how hard it is to get the website up and running, attract shoppers and maintain traffic. The rewards can be worth it.

There is no easy road. But, that should not put you off for if you get it right, the reward can be wonderful.

Click here to see some of the many websites we have created.

I have a small high street retail shop in suburban Melbourne that will do more than $160,000 in online sales this year. What we have done for that shop is what we advise our POS software and web development customers to do. It runs a POS software commented Shopify site, which we created here at Tower Systems.

A website is a hungry beast. If you leave things to someone else, I guarantee the results will not be as good as they could be.

There is no easy road. We have a pathway that focusses on early wins, good commercial outcomes you will like.

We develop POS software connected websites for our customers for $6,600.00. But, we expect you to get your data ready, in the POS software, so it flows across. We guide you through this.

We also develop Magento websites. They are for more complex needs. One of our magento websites does around $500,000 a year in sales. It’s connected to a group of retail businesses, which are owned by local retailers.

We have used WooCommerce but no more. It’s expensive to maintain. Anyone who asks our advice, we say don’t go with WooCommerce.

With the news our of NSW yesterday about click and collect, we can help you with this. It’s part of what we do for customers through a POS software connected website. We can also help you navigate complex shipping requirements as well as connecting with a variety of payment options.

If you are interested in a POS software connected Shopify site, click here to see our fixed price quote.

In addition to developing a beautiful site for you, we can help with the planning by sharing data for your competitors, guiding you on keywords and making suggestions on look and feel.

Given what has happened in NSW, VIC and the ACT in the last few days, we can fast track a site for you. let us know if this interests you.

To find out more, email sales@towersystems.com.au or call Tim on 0401 833 917 or Justin on 0434 365 789.

If you have the time, check out videos some of the workshops we have hosted in which we discuss with retailers web development and how to make some of the decisions you need to make around this.

Thanks for reading. I hope you are safe and well. And, please, beware claims offering cheap websites setup entirely by others.

Mark Fletcher
Managing Director
Tower Systems
0418 321 338.

PS. As a guide, online should by now be at least 10% of your product revenue.

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Practical online sales management advice for small business retailers

September 4, 2021
3 Min read
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Like any Saturday, today has been busy helping local small business retailers. In between, we took an opportunity to write an in the moment email with our top advice for selling online. The email we sent explains itself …

The 4 free how to sell online using Shopify for small business retailers workshops we hosted almost 2 weeks ago were appreciated by plenty.

Based on the questions and feedback, here is our top advice, our most important advice for local small business retailers about selling online:

  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 1300 662 957.

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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