The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

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Advice for small business retailers on running a pop-up shop

December 7, 2020
4 Min read
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As part of our small business retail management advice series, in this article we offer suggestions on what to consider about a pop-up shop opportunity.

While we are a POS software company, we are retailers too. We are often asked by small business retailers to comment on opportunities, like pop-up shops.

Definition: a pop-up shop is a temporary shop, one that is open for a limited period of time, usually around a month, rarely more than three months.

WHY?!

Like any business decision, a decision to open a pop-up retail location needs to be based on good research and the business itself needs to have a purpose. So, before you begin, think about why.

Here are some reasons to do a pop-up shop:

  1. To test new product categories.
  2. To supplement your income.
  3. To help quit slow moving stock.
  4. To enhance your retail experience.
  5. To experiment with a plan b where you might land if you close your main shop.
  6. To engage in targeted, temporary, competition.
  7. To compete with yourself.

LOCATION.

With a pop-up shop you don’t have time to find your customers. The location needs to already have good traffic passing daily, traffic you can easily leverage. Even more so than in fixed-location retail, location is critical.

The best locations are shops that have good passing traffic that is of interest to you and that have been vacant for a while where a landlord might be happy with something rather than nothing.

OCCUPANCY COST.

Negotiate the lowest rent cost possible. Some landlords see pop-up offers as a reason to charge a premium. Only sign up for a price you are 100% happy with. If it is expensive and does not work financially, don’t sign hoping it works out, because in retail it rarely does work out better. In a pop-up business you have less time to see if it works out. Also, preferably, no contingency deposit.

LABOUR COST.

Staff the business with a lean roster. This shop is about selling. that means, products placed for a price proposition rather than beautiful displays that take time to maintain. Every staff member is there to sell and maximise revenue from every shopper visit. There is no room in the roster for fat.

FIXTURES AND FITTINGS.

Don’t spend a cent on fixtures and fittings. That needs to be your starting position. It’s a pop-up shop. People expect it to be  efficient, cost-effective. Using tables and boxes adds to the feel of the shop feeling low-cost and that can help drive sales. Suppliers can be a good source for loaned fixtures.

INVENTORY.

Ask suppliers to offer consignment stock or special clearance deals they’d like to move fast. Go for items that can be sold out of a box, to make display and ranging easier. In-box displays of particularly cheap items can work very well.

PRICING MODEL.

Price to sell. This means being below usual retail. Price to understandable price points. For example, you might have a $10 table, a $20 table and so on. Consider bundling items into packs, which make price comparison difficult.

PROMOTION.

Don’t spend money on sign writing or marketing. Use social media and bargain websites and anywhere similar where you can list the store and its products.

Host an opening party. List this as a local event on Facebook.

MANAGEMENT MINDSET.

Your mindset in managing the pop-up shop needs to be different to a fixed-location retail situation. Pop-up shops are about low cost, low overheads, low prices. Be ready to do deals. Those working in the pop-up shop needs to be different to how they would be in the fixed-location retail business.

SPEED.

You need to move fast. From the moment you sign a lease or agreement, the clock is ticking. Ideally, you’d open within 24 hours and when you are done, closing and clearing out the shop is done in 24 hours or less. This is all about maximising the time for income-production.

TRACK PERFORMANCE.

Cultivate good data that can guide business decisions for your next moves.

Is a pop-up shop worth doing? Only you can determine that. We have seen plenty of pop-up shops work well for the retailers, contribute good GP, help move slow stock and help open to the owners category opportunities not previously considered.

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Shopify POS software solution for small business retailers

December 6, 2020
2 Min read
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Aussie POS software company Tower Systems is grateful to offer a Shopify POS software solution for small business retailers.

As a Shopify partner, the Tower Systems Shopify POS software solution it seamless between the in-store POS snd the online store, with one central dataset for inventory as well as for managing sales – in-store and online.

It’s a complete solution, a proven solution in stores across many different retail niches.

Developed in Australia and delivered first years ago and enhanced regularly since, the Shopify POS software solution is robust and first for purpose for gift shops, jewellers, bike shops, toy shops, newsagents, games shops, pet shops, garden centres and plenty more. This is a robust solution for a range of vertical market businesses.

The Shopify POS software solution from Tower Systems works beautifully both at the sales counter as well as  through the online shopper experience. Tower Systems is grateful to own retail businesses with strong online sales where this Shopify POS software solution has been tested by the business itself.

By walking in the shoes of our retailers we have been able to fine-tune the Shopify POS software solution to ensure it genuinely is a solution. We bring together both sides – the POS software side and all it manages for the retail business and the Shopify side, through beautiful websites that we develop to capture online sales. By building both for our small business retail customers we are able to deliver a wholistic Shopify POS software solution.

As one of the world’s most popular eCommerce platform, Shopify is the perfect tool for selling online. With a customisable template that can be edited with ease, and a powerful backend allowing monitoring of store data, Shopify is optimal for the growth of your business.

Through the Tower Systems Shopify POS software solution link, your business can sell online with very little additional effort. The website becomes a reflection of your physical store, allowing online sales with no change in everyday trading.

We are grateful too be able to help small business retailers transact online in a seamless and data safe way, with one data set, one place to manage critical business data. This ihas been brought about through our Shopify POS software solution, something that is Australian made, for Australian businesses.

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Small business retail management advice: how to stop your business data being useless

December 5, 2020
2 Min read
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Too often in small business retail, there is insufficient care for business data. Data is an asset and needs to be cared for as such. Disrespect data and data will not serve you.

This advice is for retailers, it is offered to encourage respect for data so that the business may benefit.

There is no doubt: poor business data = poor business decisions.

If you ever hope to sell your retail business, accurate business data is vital, it will determine the price you achieve for your business.

Don’t be one of those business owners who only cares about accurate business data when you decide to sell as that could be too late.

Here is all you need to do to ensure you have accurate business data.

  1. Ensure you have a good department and category structure. This helps ensure the reports are useful. By good we suggest no more than fifteen departments and no more than fifteen categories within each department.
  2. Arrive all stock into your POS software. The best way to do this is to receive and import into your software electronic invoices from suppliers. This is done in Invoice Arrivals.

The slower way is to manually enter invoices into your software item by item. This is done in Invoice Arrivals.

If you created an order using the software and this order subsequently arrives, you can receive the order – to save time.

  1. Scan all stock you sell at the point of sale. Resist excuses like items are too small or too big or it takes too long or it is impractical. All these excuses can be countered.
  2. Scan all stock you return to suppliers. Use the Returns facility.
  3. Scan all stock you write off. Use the Write-off Stock facility.

Very simple, right?

Accurate business data is up to you. Not your software company, not your suppliers.

Accurate business data is 100% up to you.

Once you have accurate data, track business performance. Use the accurate data to see trends in your business, to guide better quality business decisions.

It is easy to create accurate business data. The operational and financial benefits are extraordinary.

How Tower Systems can help. Through our personal training, help desk support and knowledge base articles we offer advice, guidance and support on creating more accurate business data.

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Ideal gift shop POS software for local gift shops

December 4, 2020
3 Min read
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More and more gift shops are finding our POS software ideal in serving their gift shop POS software needs. This is fit for purpose POS software, made especially for gift shops.

From a benefits perspective, here is some of what gift retailers tell us they like about this software:

  • Get rid of manual books at the counter for LayBys, special orders, stock you need to order and more.
  • Guide shoppers to spend more with loyalty tools we think you will love.
  • Drive community group member engagement with group pricing.
  • Pre-sell hot items – get paid before the stock arrives.
  • Leverage your knowledge on receipts and elsewhere. Sell you.
  • Reach beyond your four walls with a directly linked Shopify store.
  • Eliminate LayBy and get paid sooner with buy now pay later.’Cut dead stock and re-order based on data facts.
  • Cut theft by knowing what is being stolen.
  • Make price comparison harder with bundled packs.
  • Easily and consistently pitch locally sourced products.
  • Bring customers back with reminders on dates important to them.
  • Save money on bookkeeping by integrating with Xero.

Best of all, this gift shop POS software is ideal for retailers who want to differentiate their business from other retailers of gifts. This is software designed to help retailers differentiate on pricing, service, bundling and loyalty rewards. It is smart POS software that any local small business gift shop can use to pitch their differences compared to other gifts retailers.

Gift shops can rent this software easily for a few dollars a day. They can cancel at any time. There is no long term contract.

For a few dollars a day, gift shops get…

  1. Specialty Gift shop POS software developed in Australia.
  2. Software updates as we release them.
  3. Unlimited licences for your retail location. If you need an extra computer, there is no extra software cost.
  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 – connect to MYOB and Quicken through OzBiz.
  7. Tyro link – safe, fast and easy EFTPOS link for streamlined sales.
  8. PC Eftpos link – easy EFTPOS processing for the major banks.
  9. Easy buy now pay later thanks to Zip Pay and Humm – that Boomers, Gen Y, Gen X and others are using more and more.
  10. Support – help desk access, unlimited training, updates and more.
  11. User documentation. Access to our searchable knowledge base.

With more than 3,500 local retailers in our community, we are grateful for customer recommendations that help drive our success.

If you are a gift retailer, consider Tower Systems. We’d love to talk with you.

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Loving the POS software update

December 3, 2020
1 Min read
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We released last week a POS software update last week with new facilities that extend the reach of what our POS software delivers.

The reaction has been terrific.

One of the benefits of enhancing the core technology on which our POS software is built is the ability to deliver more and more benefits to our 3,500+ small business retail customers.

We are grateful to all of ur customers who encourage us and participate in our beta program.

Thank you.

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Helping retailers sell bundled gift packs this Christmas

December 3, 2020
2 Min read
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Using our POS software it is easy for retailers to sell bundled gifts at Christmas time and any time of the year. Our POS software makes it easy to bundle multiple items together for single scan selling. This can be done in-store as well as online though a Shopify website or a Magento website.

Take this Christmas Beanie Boo pack:

This is a special pack of 8 Christmas Beanie Boo stock items bundled together with several special freebies thrown in, put together in a special pack with some Christmas cheer tissue and tinsel and delivered anywhere in Australia for $64.99.

Online, a bundle like this plays well in that with a couple of clicks, a Christmas gift for a child, niece, nephew, related family or the child of a friend can be handled. Shopping is easy and fast and the purchase is presented in a nice way ready for giving.

Better still, a bundle like this makes price comparison hard because of the various items in the pack and because of the freebies included, which while free, have value to the recipient.

Packs like this can change shopper perspective and this can help drive sales.

Using our POS software, local retailers can easily bundle items for in-store and online sales and through these cleverly differentiate their businesses.

Through our work with local retailers we provide advice on how to use the POS software to create the bundle and how, with one click, to have its details and image loaded onto a website for easy online sales.

In the bundled product space this is where online can be particularly helpful as this is where time poor shoppers shop, especially late at night. having an appealing mix in a bindle for easy purchase can drive terrific incremental business. Key is finding ways to add value to the bundle that help you to differentiate your offer from the offer of others.

As retailers ourselves, we bring to the conversation about using POS software in local retail to sell bundled gift packs real life experience and knowledge and through this to help retailers make the most of the opportunity. We willingly share our knowledge and experience to help retailers in our community to make more informed business decisions.

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POS software support – help for small business retailers

December 2, 2020
2 Min read
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POS software support can be hard to access in some retail business situations. It could be due to technical, language or other factors.

Here at Tower Systems, our goal is to make POS software support easy to access, genuinely helpful and cost effective for small business retailers.

Our POS software support team is professional, capable and friendly. We offer access through several languages, too, to make the support experience more useful for customers where English is not their first language.

The POS software support team at Tower Systems is all in-house. That is, the company does not outsource POS software support to a cheap labour destination, there is no call centre in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, China, the Phillipines or similar, no the Tower help desk team works for the company 100% and is staffed by full time professionals.

POS software support here at Tower Systems starts with listening as this leads to understanding. get that right and we are more likely to get the customer service experience right. This is at the heard of POS software support engagement that people love.

POS software support is accessible by phone, email, text message, Facebook, Twitter, online chat and more. It is live and available through the company 24/7 given the time zones our retail partners operate through and the needs of the various niche retail channels in which we serve.

In addition to the human based support, all Tower Systems customers have access to our knowledge base. This is a deep well of resources packed with advice on how to use the software. It can be searched through a natural language query and is accessible for our customers 24/7. This easy access to updated and peer-reviewed advice about how to use our POS software makes self serve access to support a dream.

We publish to our knowledge base advice and articles based on what people tell us they want to know. We have made sure that our knowledge base articles are structured in a way that serves the immediate needs of our customers, packing articles with step by step guides into using the POS software.

We take providing POS software support seriously and do our best to provide our customers with engagement to a level and accessibility that best serves their local retail business needs.

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How much does a POS system cost?

December 1, 2020
3 Min read
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How much does a POS system cost? This is a common question from local retailers considering POS software for their business. It is often the first question asked: how much is your POS software?

Let’s get to it. here at Tower Systems, our POS software can be rented. Rental provides access to the software, updates, 24/7 support and other valuable assistance.

You can rent our gift shop software for $99.00 a month.

You can rent our garden centre software for $185.00 a month.

You can rent our jeweller software for $185.00 a month.

You can rent our bike shop software for $185.00 a month.

You can rent our toy shop software for $155.00 a month.

You can rent our pet shop software for $155.00 a month.

You can rent our newsagency software for $185.00 a month.

You can rent our fishing and outdoor business software for $185.00 a month.

You can rent our firearms dealer software for $185.00 a month.

You can rent our farm supply and produce software for $199.00 a month.

You can rent our adult shop software for $155.00 a month.

These prices include GST.

For sure, you can purchase outright, or lease, too. rental, though is the most popular approach. There is no locked-in contract. You can cancel at any time and the next month;’s billing stops.

So, how much does a POS system cost? Probably not as much as you thought when you consider you get the software, software updates, support access as well as access to an extensive online documentation platform of hundreds of articles guiding you in ow to use the software.

Tower Systems does not provide software to all types of retail businesses. Our software varies marketplace by marketplace. Each version of the software is fine tuned to serve the needs of the retailers in that marketplace. This is why the price varies by marketplace, it reflects the complexity for each type of business.

How much does a POS system cost? In addition to the software, there is the hardware. Tower Systems can help with this as a supplier or through advice you can take to a local computer shop or a friend for alternative supply.

Our goal is to help you find the answer to the question of how much does a POS system cost and to do so in a way you are happy with.

Footnote: for billing purposes, at Tower Systems a month is each 30 days.

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Where to buy computer hardware for your retail business

November 30, 2020
3 Min read
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Buying computer hardware for a retail business can be daunting. There are plenty of people who will offer advice and plenty of sources for acquiring hardware for a retail business.

The hardware retail businesses need is specialty in nature. You can’t put in a regular computer. Likewise, you can’t hop on eBay and buy any barcode scanner you find.

No, you need to purchase hardware that is fit for purpose for your retail business, you need hardware that is designed to work with the specialty POS software you have chosen for your retail business.

Take your time, do your research and know that you get what you pay for. Go cheap and you most likely buy hardware for your retail business that is not ideal or may not last as long as quality hardware lasts.

Not all barcode scanners are the same.

Not all receipt printers are the same.

Not all cash drawers are the same.

Not all computers are the same.

With computer hardware, you get what you pay for.

Our advice is think about your shop and what you say to people who say to you that your prices for what you sell are too high. What response do you give them. Think about whether you give yourself that same response if you are looking to buy cheap hardware for your retail business.

We have seen people buy cheap scanners who need to replace them with better and more suited scanners.

We have seen people buy cheap printers for their business only to replace them with printers that actually work in their type of business.

Yes, there really is specialty hardware for specialty retail. It sometimes costs more, but it usually saves money in the long term.

We run an online shop offering computer hardware for retail businesses. It is a small sideline for us, something we got into in service of retail businesses trading on our POS software and looking for quality hardware they could trust, hardware that we ourselves back.

The computer hardware that we recommend to retail businesses is quality hardware, recommended as ideal for the customers we serve. It is hardware backed by good manufacturer warranties, hardware with which we are personally familiar.

Our advice to retail businesses looking to buy hardware, barcode scanners, receipt printers, cash drawers, customer displays and more is take your time, do your research, do not be driven by price, make sure that the hardware you are considering is right for the software you use in your business.

Take care and buy what is best for your business.

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Buyer beware: hidden costs can make POS software expensive

November 27, 2020
3 Min read
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That cheap POS system you might be considering m ay not be as cheap as you think by the time you add the four or five optional facilities that, with our Tower Systems POS software, are included in our everyday transparent price.

Too often right now we are seeing POS software offers, especially from businesses based outside of Australia, where the price quoted and the initial price signed for is not the price you pay foe what you want to do.

The pitch is appealing, hey start here for this price, sure it is cheap wbut it is a perfect place to start.

Soon, though, yonce you try and do what is core to your business, you need extra modules that cost more and, soon, you are paying more than the other software you decided against because it was too expensive. But, since you have invested time in your data, you don’t switch. Then, a year down the track, prices go up and there is something else that is an add-on cost and by then you are paying 50% more than the then price of the other POS software product you decided against because it was too expensive.

Buyer beware, take your time, get all the facts, ensure you understand the full cost, the total cost and the trajectory of the costs and then compare this across POS software packages.

Cheap POS software is not cheap. What may appear to be cheap POS software today will, for sure, be found to not be cheap at some point down the track. We hear this often.

We urge people to shop around, to look at other software, to compare functionality and to compare price. However, this has to be done based on the facts and not marketing spin. It has to be done thoroughly so that you as the customer are not let down. Only the facts matter.

This is why we say, don’t rush into a free trial because, that’s how they get you. They want you to become time and data invested and thereby less likely to actually look around what is genuinely best for your business.

Cheap POS software is like any cheap product, they have either cut corners, paid less for professional work than is the market rate or included less in the product. Its;s business 101. Sure, there is cheap POS software out there, it is not, in our experience, good for most retail.

Buyer beware. The hidden costs of POS software can make cheap POS software look expensive.

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Serial number tracking in POS software helps small business retailers better serve customers

November 26, 2020
2 Min read
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The POS software from Tower Systems offers serial number tracking of products sold. This is a powerful point of difference for the POS software as serial number tracking is not common in software.

Using the Tower Systems POS software, retailers can record the serial numbers of all items arriving in-store that have unique serial numbers. These can be tracked at the point of sale. They can also be tracked for warranty, servicing, valuation and insurance purposes. Stores can also record serial numbers only when they sell – when they record, at arrival or sale, is up to them.

The serial number tracking facilities in the POS software become valuable in almost any retail situation in which they are used.

Thera are some retail sectors where suppliers require the tracking of product serial numbers at the point of sale. There are some regulatory situations where tracking serial numbers is key. Doing this through the POS software brings certainty and consistency to retail businesses.

Tower Systems is proud to offer serial number tracking in its POS software. We are grateful to the many suppliers and retailers who have guided us on this over the years, keeping us on top of the needs of all stakeholders in this serial number tracking space.

Serial number tracking in our POS software has been available for many years. Sure, it has been enhanced over time as needs have evolved, but we first started offering it in software we sold close to 20 years ago. Of course, the software we sell today is completely different, made for today, for today’s needs.

Using the serial number tracking tools in our POS software, retailers can also maintain good records that are useful for themselves in their own management of their businesses.

From the moment stock arrives in the business we manage serial numbers, recording each serial number. alternatively, you can enter the serial number of the item when it is sold – the retail business decides on the appropriate time for them to manage the recording of a serial number. This is a local management decision they can make.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve more than 3,500 small business retailers across several niche retail channels – with specialty POS software offering facilities like serial number tracking covered here.

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Can your POS software handle different terms for different customers?

November 25, 2020
2 Min read
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We were asked the other day by a produce / farm business whether your POS software can handle different terms for different customers? Our answer is yes, using our produce business software retailers can offer customers different trading terms.

Using our produce business POS software, a business could have 3 different customers with each having their own trading terms. The extent to which you can set trading terms is set by the business, based on parameters in the software.

There is no requirement that all customers have the one consistent set of trading terms.

This is critical in the produce business / farm supply business space.

We are grateful to offer our retailers the opportunity for flexible trading terms using our POS software. In so many situations we see this and key, essential, necessary to safe and sound business management.

Serving in excess of 3,500 small business retailers in specialty retail channels, we have built into our locally developed and supported POS software facilities like this that enable flexible retail business management.

In the complex and demanding produce business space we find facilities like these to be key and differentiating for Tower Systems. We are able to serve our customers with solutions they love, thanks in part the the maturity of tools like these that we offer our customers.

We were so thrilled when we said yes, we can handle several customer account terms in our POS software for produce and farm supply businesses. The business folks we were answering were happy too. It is wonderful being able to serve niche and key business needs like these.

In rural and regional business situations we particularly find requirements for flexibility like this. It is interesting seeing how business owners leverage this flexibility in customer accounts management to drive business outcomes. Seeing first-hand how flexibility in the software plays for their business is a thrill, it encourages to help in more ways.

This is what POS software is all about, helping local small businesses compete, and through this to become more valuable for all who rely on the businesses.

Tower Systems serves retail businesses across more than 10 retail channels and each is specialty in nature, each encouraging more from the software, each offering wonderful learning opportunities for us and those we serve.

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The best POS software receipt in small business retail

November 24, 2020
2 Min read
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We reckon the receipt produced by our POS software is the best receipt you will find for small business retail. Are we biased? For sure. This is our creation, our baby.

The receipt produced by our POS software is  detailed, flexible, easily changed, encouraging, educational, factual, promotional, product supporting and loyalty engaging.

This is a receipt designed to help small business welcome shoppers back sooner.

So much of what is on the receipt is under the control of retailers. So much can be changed, easily.

Product use can care instructions can be included.

A loyalty encourager can also be included, the details of which are 100% under the control of the retailer and can be dynamically determined based on what has been purchased, when and by whom.

This is a smart receipt, a powerful receipt, a receipt designed to help small business retailers to grow their businesses.

This is a receipt for 2020 and beyond in so many ways, beyond what you can see.

There is much more to this receipt than you can see in this image, too. Our POS software offers plenty of tricks and opportunities beyond what is in this blog post.

Here at Tower Systems we are grateful for the encouragement and guidance from our retailer community to evolve the receipt beyond the traditional into something that is of genuine value in many different retail settings.

Retailers using our POS software have teremndous control over receipts, when they print, the detail included and so much more.  Our customers really are in control of the receipts their software prints.

The receipts our POS software produces can go beyond paper, too. There are electronic versions customers can leverage, but more on that another time. Suffice to say, we are innovators of all sorts of receipts, in many formats.

In addition to meeting statutory requirements, the receipts produced by the POS software from Tower Systems are a valuable and appreciated piece of marketing power in a retail business, showing off key differentiators in the business that themselves held;p to drive repeat business. We love that we have been able to do this.

Tower Systems serves more than 3,750 small business retailers across a range of retail channels. Our 40 years in the POS software development and support business have seen us move through generational changes and the old retail receipt is one example of this.

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Repairs / workshop management software embedded in our POS software

November 23, 2020
2 Min read
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Embedded in the Tower Systems POS software is comprehensive repairs / workshop management software.  This software has evolved over the years, initially in service of bike shops and jewellers and now working in a range of specialty and niche retail and service businesses.

Having repairs / workshop management software embedded in the POS software is key for inventory and m=labour management internally, without relying on multiple software packages and opening the possibility of a demarcation dispute between software vendors.

With many businesses in different retail channels already using the repairs / workshop management software in the Tower Systems POS software, the company has a deep well of experience from which to draw, to serve needs of many different retailers.

This is comprehensive software, packed with facilities, including plenty of options through which you can configure settings for the Repairs module such as printing job cards, terms and conditions and deposits, for example.

Here are the various settings within Repair Options of the repairs / workshop management software facilities in the Tower Systems POS software and their functions:

  • Job Card Setup
    • Select job cards to print out (For Repairer, Customer and/or Internal)
    • Select size of job card and which printer to print to
    • Fonts used on the job card
  • Customer Job Card Terms & Conditions
    • Terms and conditions that print on the Customer Job Card
  • Repair Options
    • Hide/Show cost prices
    • Creating and printing invoices when finalizing repairs
    • Fee descriptions on receipts/invoices
  • Calculating Expected Pickup Dates
    • Default date and time for expected pickups
  • Job Packets / A4 Job Cards / A5 Job Cards
    • Details to print on Job Cards
  • Repair Deposits
    • Force a deposit before repairs can be created
    • Set the minimum deposit amount

This is just the start. There are plenty of options that enable a business using the software to tailor settings so that they work well for the needs of the business.

The repairs / workshop management software facilities in the Tower Systems POS software allows you to create and manage repair jobs, an essential component for bike shops and jewellers. Before we start using the feature, however, it is advisable to configure some default options to make the the process more seamless in the future. Once configured, these options will be readily available for selection instead of having to enter everything from scratch each time.

Tower Systems supports this software with training and comprehensive support services.

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60 Years of Supercars Mint Coin Set from the Royal Australian Mint

November 21, 2020
1 Min read
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We are grateful to promote 60 Years of Supercars Mint Coin Set through the Mint Coin Shop we built using our POS software and its integration with the Shopify e-commerce platform. What a wonderful mint coin product. Supercars are huge and these mint coins will be a Supercars fan perfect Christmas gift.

The Supercars mint coin set is another awesome gift from the Royal Australian Mint that is available from the online Mint Coin Shop.

Australia enjoys an enduring love affair with Supercars racing, and this year celebrates 60 years of the Australian Touring Car Championship. First held in 1960 at Gnoo Blas NSW, the Mint honours the 60 year milestone with the release of 9 coins highlighting some of the most celebrated race cars of the iconic ATCC series.

This Supercars mint coin set is selling fast.

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Small business retail advice: finding optimism

November 21, 2020
2 Min read
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Every day can be tough in small business. You can feel like the big competitors are winning and that you can’t climb the mountain to compete. You may not know where to start.

For some, 2020 has been that year, the year of challenges and worry so much that seeing ahead to the horizon can be difficult.

There are green shoots of good news and opportunities in every small and independent retail business that we look at. The key is to find these and to leverage them for more success.

A green shoot is a product or a category of products or a supplier performing above average in the business. Often, these successes have gone unnoticed.

Finding optimism is like mining, you have to look for it, sometimes for a long time. It is there, though, in every retail business.

As soon as you hear yourself talking your business down, STOP. Look at your data, look for the good news. That is what you need to think and talk about.

By looking at your data, we mean looking at year on year, quarter on quarter or month on month comparison data for departments, categories, suppliers or even individual products. Look for growth and once you see growth, think about what you can do with and around the products achieving growth so that you can achieve other growth.

Any product achieving year on year increases in unit sales is a product to be appreciated, nurtured and used to help grow other products that can sell to the same customer.

This is how you grow optimism. Find those small green shoots, no matter how small, leverage them with some small steps and, over time, build more success for your business.

Here at Tower Systems, we go beyond our POS software in our help for small business retailers. We leverage our knowledge to deliver good outcomes for our customers based on their business performance data. We work with them, guiding them, helping them to see opportunities and encouraging them to lean in to green shoots of success.

We are grateful to our small business retail customers for their engagement with son this path to success by cultivating green shoots.

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Spare parts inventory software helps parts retailers run more successful businesses

November 20, 2020
2 Min read
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Tower Systems helps parts retailers with spare parts inventory software, as part of its specialty POS software solution.

Using our spare parts inventory software, retailers are able to easily…

  • Track stock from large items to small, from items with barcodes to those without.
  • Handle customer special orders.
  • Sell online. Track by manufacturer.
  • Track by vehicle / product use.
  • Share care instructions.
  • handle bundles of spare parts sold together.
  • Track spare parts as they are used in repair work.

Using the spare parts inventory software that is part of the POS software from Tower Systems you can reasonably manage your inventory, track what you are selling and using, more accurately reorder and even better focus on adding value so that you are able to drive better business outcomes.

When it comes to special orders, managing spare parts inventory software is key in that you can sell spare parts to a customer before you have them in stock. This helps position you for better business outcomes, selling with certainty prior to the good arriving.

Developed for bike retailers, farm supply businesses and jewellers, the spare parts inventory software within the Tower Systems POS software is rich in features, designed to serve the spare parts inventory management needs of a variety of businesses.

While it can sound dry, spare parts inventory software is vital to the core successful operation of a business that deals in spare parts.

If your business deals in spare parts, look at the Tower Systems POS software to see if it may serve your business needs. Have a demonstration of the software. Compare it in detail to what you have today, with what you need. decide for yourself, in your own time, if this POS software is what you need to manage the spare parts side of your business.

Integrated with Shopify, you can easily sell online. Also integrated with Tyro and other EFTPOS payment platforms, easy payments are a dream.

Tower Systems seeks to help specialty retailers in many ways. Retailers selling share parts fit that bill. We are grateful to be serving more and more retailers in this space.

To organise a demonstration of our spare parts inventory software, please contact one of our sales team members, email sales@towersystems.com.au.

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When a small POS software company closes

November 20, 2020
2 Min read
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When a small POS software company closes it can leave retailers in the lurch.

A small POS software company is one with less than 1,000 customers. We say that in the knowledge of what it costs to properly support and maintain POS software. Less than 1,000 customers and you are unlikely to have the income necessary to properly fund the proper maintenance of the software.

We are sure there are small POS software companies with a few hundred customers, maybe even 600 customers who will disagree with what we have said. They will say they are big enough to maintain their software. The thing is, proper maintenance of POS softer requires contingency planning, appropriate redundancy and other protections built into their systems so that they can maintain their software in a timely manner and in a way to deliver good outcomes for small business retailers.

This issue of small POS software companies and the closure of a POS software company is on ur mind today as there is a small business out there that has dramatically dropped their price. We think it is at a price that is unsustainable for them. The deal feels like a race for cash for the business.

Our advice is do your homework, know the company you select software from, ensure they have what you will need for your lifetime use of the POS software. Cheapest is often not the best. it may be, but take your time, do your homework, ensure it is right for you and they have a financial stability to serve you as long as you expect.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve more than 3,500 retailers using our POS software with more being added weekly. We expect to pass 4,000 in a few weeks. 2021 is already looking good too with a pipeline of healthy opportunities where businesses plan ahead to switch software at a time that best serves their business needs.

There is one situation where partnering with a small software company is appropriate and that is in the case of a start-up. Start-ups or course start small. They are an important part of the software development eco-system in any country and need to be encouraged. There are many advantages going with a start-up. So, to be clear, our comments in this post do not relate to start-ups.

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