The POS Software Blog

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

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Gift shops you can shop online

November 19, 2020

2 Min read

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Tower Systems is grateful to bring the local gift shop to your keyboard. Through our gift shop software and the websites we have created for gist shops have plenty of gift shops in our awesome list of gift shops we encourage you to shop for an authentic shop local gift shop experience:

Baby gifts: www.onebaby.com.au
Christmas ornaments: www.myornaments.com.au
Britto gifts: britto shop
Cute gifts: www.cutenessoverload.com.au
Beanie Boos: www.beanieboosaustralia.com
Chit Chat Gifts: www.chitchatgifts.com.au
Fun gifts: www.funporium.com.au
Pop Vinyls: www.popvinylsinaustralia.com

These gift shops and more are part of the quite of local gift shops that Tower Systems has supported in getting online, to sell to Australians and, in some cases, to sell overseas, bringing gift giving opportunities to plenty of people in different situations.

The local gift shop is no longer the shop down the road. No, it is the shop online that you find the you search for the gift occasion you are purchasing for.

In supporting local gift shops with POS software made for local gift shops and with websites created for local gift shops, Tower Systems is able to being these opportunities to life for local communities as well as for local shoppers who who are shopping for niche and specific gift needs. This is where helping gift shop owners to bring to life solutions online and on the high street makes sense.

While people can shop for gifts overseas, our encouragement is that they support the local gift shop because shopping locally delivers the most important value to gift shops that are themselves called on to help the local community in myriad ways.

With a fully integrated POS software Shopify website solution, the local gift shop is able to take online their carefully selected and curated range of gifts too make them available across many location.

As we head to Christmas 2020, our encouragement to everyone when it comes to gift purchases is to shop locally, seek out local gift shops that can serve your gift purchase needs. Local, of course, can be down the road or elsewhere in Australia. This means that a shop online, interstate maybe, that offers locally made gifts could be better than a shop closer to you that sells imported gifts.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve hundreds of local gifts shops with its POS software. This is a terrific marketplace we serve.

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Shop small, shop local – how Tower Systems helps small business retailers

November 18, 2020

2 Min read

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Here at Tower Systems we believe in shop small. We love small business and small business retailers in particular. This is what shop small is about – supporting local small businesses.

Shop small matters because small businesses are more likely to support local communities. This is what we see in communities across the country where local shops are fast to offer support for community groups.

Shop small and the local community benefits. That’s it in a nutshell.

Through our POS software we help small business retailers to leverage the shop small and shop local opportunities … everyday through the POS software and levers that are available in the POS software.

Using marketing tools, customer communication tools and more our POS software helps small business retailers to demonstrate how shop small works. We offer multiple communication platforms through our POS software, through which small business retailers can pitch and reinforce their shop local messages. We also help small business retailers to go beyond telling and to actually show – you know … like show, don’t tell. We help small business retailers differentiations titan in their shop local messaging, to demonstrate in real terms their local community connection.

We love shop local campaigns because they absolutely do focus attention on the value for the community of shopping local. They bring to live the benefits for local community groups and local folks to be gained from supporting local businesses. This is what shop small shop local is about – the very circular nature of local communities.

The more community groups and their members shop small shop local the more those local businesses that benefit can support the groups.

Here are the benefits to shoppers who engage with shop small, shop local:

Local jobs, which benefit the local community more broadly.
Local makers, boosting local creativity.
Local community groups, they depend on locals for support and they support locals.
Save time.
Save money on travel.
Make the community better.
Nurture local happiness.
Make were you live a better place.

Shop small, shop local is about these things and more. It reaches beyond commerce and into the come and into community groups to make the whole local community better. It really can make a difference to living locally. This is where local small businesses can make a measurable difference.

We are grateful to help small business retailers engage with shop small, shop local.

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Shopify website development for small business retailers in Australia

November 17, 2020

2 Min read

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Tower Systems is proud to offer local, Australian-based, Shopify website development for small business retailers.

We have a team of skilled Shopify web developers, all working from our Hawthorn, Victoria, head office. This is in addition to our POS software developers. Both development teams work together, helping to create valued solutions for small business retailers.

We offer a one stop shop service whereby we offer specialty retail POS software and beautiful Shopify websites connected to this POS software. The connection is safe, fast and seamless. The Shopify websites we develop are made specifically for each retailer customer, to their needs, meeting their requirements, populated with data that is collated through the integrated POS software.

Being a Shopify website developer and a POS software developer in the one business and being Australian based positions us well to serve the needs of local Australian retailers.

We offer more of an end to end Shopify website development solution for small business retailers. Since we are retailers ourselves and using Shopify websites created by us, we bring that experience to life in our own shopper engagement.

Our Shopify website development for small business retailers is done on a fixed price basis. We do this because it is important that small business retailers know exactly what their cost basis will be. We collect information up front to ensure that the fixed price approach serves the needs of our customers, to ensure that the site is the solution our customers are looking for.

handing freight, payment type and other requirements, we help retailers to being to life online their retail businesses or at least parts of their retail businesses. We do this with care from a retailer first perspective. Too often, we see websites created from a tech first perspective and while this is cool for the tech folks, it does not serve the retailer well.

Selling online is a retail activity. It needs to be approached from a retail first perspective. This is what we do. As retailers ourselves we understand this from a unique perspective and through this we are able, we think. to provide our retailers with a Shopify website solution that is fit for purpose with them very much in mind.

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An early look at Christmas 2020 in local small business retail in Australia

November 16, 2020

4 Min read

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We are grateful to the many retailers who have shared recent year on year comparative sales data. This has enabled us to a deep dive into shopper traffic, basket depth and product category performance. We have done this to get an early look into what Christmas 2020 in local small business retail might look like.

The headline is that Christmas 2020 looks good in local small business retail.

Local high street retailers are doing considerably better than shopping mall retail. Suburban, regional and rural high street retail businesses, for which we have comprehensive sales data, are doing very well. They are experiencing solid double-digit year-on-year growth. For the dataset of 60+ businesses in our latest analysis, the average year on year revenue growth is 22%.

What is interesting is that the spike in revenue growth is not matched in a spike in shopper traffic. Rather, the revenue spike has come from shoppers buying more in each visit, driving better shopper efficiency. We are seeing average sale value increase by between 10% and 25%.

The dataset includes business across all states and territories except for the Northern Territory. The results are universal. There appears to be no difference between Victoria, which was in lockdown for some of the weeks under analysis and other states that were not in lockdown.

In terms of Christmas specifically, data indicate excellent year on year growth in Christmas card sales. The same is true for Christmas decorations, Christmas-themed home decor and gift wrap. Year on year growth is, again, 20% and more.

Locally made products are doing particularly well. Shoppers continue to engage with supply chain questions. A common question relates to sourcing from China.

Also of note is excellent growth in sales of calendars and diaries. The diaries growth encourages an optimistic outlook on 2021. Smart retailers are pitching it as that and having some fun with putting 2020 in the past.

Back in March, in the early days of Covid in Australia, jigsaws were hot. They sold out fast. Some expected the surge to fade over time. The latest sales data for October and even into the first two weeks of November suggest otherwise. Yes, jigsaw sales remain strong. half of the stores in the latest dataset sell jigsaws and every one of them is reporting year on year growth. The average of that growth is 150%. Key is breadth of range of supply.

In addition to the jigsaw growth, crafts, art, maker kits and similar are all showing strong results.

Comfort gifts are especially strong. Core in this category is plush. Plush is often dismissed as being tired or ho hum. We have seen sales in the plush space up as much as 50% off a strong base. In one local high street retail business in one recent week, for example, they did $1,850.00 in everyday plush, more than double their usual sales. Range, again, is key this this success.

Not reflected in the POS software collected data is anecdotal evidence that people are spending more this Christmas. Many retailers spoke to this. They spoke of shoppers saying they were spending more on loved ones as well as buying gifts for some they would not usually buy for.

There is the wonder as to the role of government stimulus funding on the sales results. While retailers think is is a factor, they do not see it as the key factor. If time does reveal it as a key factor, local small business retailers will respond accordingly. They are an agile bunch.

Considering the sales data and the and the anecdotal comments, Christmas 2020 looks strong. Plenty of retailers are already talking up the first quarter of 2021.

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Black Friday sales for retailers using POS software

November 16, 2020

2 Min read

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Embedded in the Tower Systems POS software are smart tools for leveraging Black Friday sales opportunities and more. These are tools that have multiple levers, multiple opportunities for retailers with which to compete with online retailers and big businesses.

Black Friday sales can be won by being smart and engaged, going beyond the usual straight discount. There is where the POS software from Tower Systems can help small business retailers differentiate.

Thanks to the seamless Shopify link, selling online to win Black Friday sales is achievable too with minimal business investment.

With the Black Friday sales a few days away, Tower systems has been busy offering advice and help to small business retailers, to help them make the most of the opportunity in 2020. We have been doing this based on experience in past years and as a result of our work across plenty of retail channels in physical stores using our POS software as well as online.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday and now key selling opportunities for retailers and our job as a POS software company is to offer our retail business partners opportunities to leverage these opportunities as much as they are able in-store and online.

Our Black Friday sales opportunities include bundling, BOGO offers, hampers, straight discounts, bonus product offers, post sales discounts and more. There are plenty of opportunities for helping small business retailers to have a terrific Black Friday opportunity this year.

It is easy for small business retailers to say Black Friday is not for me. We disagree, there are many opportunities that we see. It takes planning and engagement and this is where the options available ion our POS software come to play to help drive sales outcomes.

From our help desk team members to our marketing team to our leadership team, we are able to help small business retailers to win terrific business in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Our goal is to help many retailers new to Black Friday to have a terrific experience.

Black Friday is a good example of how we help beyond our POS software by itself. We have in the software tools that help achieve this. We back this with advice and support. We do this from the context of our own retail business ownership and management experience – reaching beyond what’s traditional for a software company.

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Thank you for shopping local

November 15, 2020

1 Min read

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What differentiates our POS software co.

November 14, 2020

1 Min read

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While we think there is plenty in our POS software that separated us from others, it is our active wonderful of retail businesses, where we play with our software daily, that is a key differentiator. here is a video that we shot for one of our stores a few days ago, launching our Christmas card range…

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Tower Systems … specialty POS software for specialty retail

November 14, 2020

1 Min read

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(play with sound on).

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Book a free POS software demonstration

November 13, 2020

2 Min read

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Book you own free demonstration of the Tower Systems POS software. See it live, in a demonstration of POS software featured tuned to your type of retail business.

Click here for your free POS software demonstration.

One of our skilled POS software sales professionals does the POS software demonstration for you, enabling you own use of the software as much as you would like through the demonstration.

Ask as many questions as you would like.

Go into any part of the POS software.

Use the data you prefer.

In this POS software demonstration you can see for yourself in the detail you wish exactly how this software does what it does in the areas of an y business that are of the most interest to you.

This is what a free POS software demonstration is all about … you and your business needs. You are in control, looking at how the software addressed your questions and needs. Just as it should be, since you are the customer, the person relying on the right decision being made.

Sometimes, our POS software is not right for a particular business. We would rather discover this, know this, so we can say sorry we are not right for you. Achieving that depends on what we are told and shown about the needs of a business. This is where a comprehensive demonstration of the POS software is important and why the retailer needs to be in control of the POS software demonstration.

We demonstrate our POS software every day to business owners, business managers, counter stand, accountants and IT consultants. We will demonstrate the POS software as much as someone wants in their decision making process. We 100% leave this up to them as they need to be satisfied that they are making the right decision for their business. It is why we want them to be in control.

A POS software demonstration by Tower Systems is free every time. Book your free POS software sales demo online through our website and one of our sales professionals will get back to you and organise it to suit your schedule.

We’re here to help and an open and transparent demonstration is the start of a good relationship.

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46 Christmas marketing tips for small business retailers

November 13, 2020

8 Min read

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Yeah, it’s odd for a POS software company to offer Christmas marketing tips to retailers because … we are tech people and not retailers. That may be true for some.

Tower Systems has owned and run retail businesses since 1996.

We are not your usual POS software company. We actively share marketing tips with our customers. Here are some Christmas marketing tips for retailers that we hope some find useful, or at least inspiring to you to develop your own.

We offer you 46 low cost and no cost Christmas marketing tips for retailers ideas to help create a different Christmas experience in your business.

Always:
1. Have tape with wrapping paper.
2. Have wrapping paper with cards, at the counter and with magazines.
3. Have Christmas bags at the counter.
4. Have tape at the counter.
5. Pitch easy to purchase ready to go hampers close to the counter.
6. Keep displays fresh.
7. Run your loyalty programs through Christmas – to bring them back.
Make it easy. People often talk about how hard Christmas is. Be the local business that makes it easy. The ways to do this are with easy Lay-By, free wrapping, better shop floor help, guide buying advice or tips on perfect gifts no one else will think of. Consider making Christmas easy as being a key part of your messaging.
Host a simple party. To preview Christmas, say thank you to shoppers and support a local cause. Do it when the shop is closed. Limit numbers. have some drinks and food. Have fun. Celebrate.
Use video. To promote products on social media.
Offer impulse purchase of often forgotten lines. At the counter, with newspapers, next to weekly magazines.
Offer help. For kids and others who ,may find choosing a card or writing a card difficult.
Visit nursing homes. With some gifts and cards for easy shopping.
Be thrilled people are in your shop. Your personal smile or greeting is something they may not see in a big business where employees are less invested in each shopper and where the owner is usually thousands of kilometers away.
Make the giving easy. If people purchase items from you to send somewhere else. Offer a one-stop shop. Save them the trip to the post office.
Make the shop less about Christmas. Consider pulling back on the Christmas visual noise. Go for something simple, muted, respecting the season but making a calm statement. Consider declaring the shop a Christmas carol free zone – not because you hate carols but because you want to help customers take a break.
Help people rest and recharge. Create a Christmas shopping rest and recovery zone. Offer free tea, coffee, water and something to eat. Encourage people to take a break in your shop – without any obligation for them to spend money with you.
Let your customers help each other. Setup a whiteboard or sheets of butcher’s paper, yes keep it simple. Get customers to write gift suggestions under different age/gender groups. For example: Girls 18 – 25, Boys 55+. Encourage your customers to help each other through their suggestions.
Make price comparison difficult. If you sell items people are likely to price compare with other businesses, package them so price comparison is not easy. Put items into a hamper as a perfect Boy 8 to 12 bundle for example. Or offer the item with pre packages services if appropriate for an item.
Less is more. The stack em high watch em fly mantra can be wrong. Indeed, it is often wrong in retail. Shoppers can be store blind because a shop is too full or a display is too busy. Consider creating simpler less cluttered displays and window promotions. Draw attention to what you want people to see by promoting that one thing. Every time someone asks if you have something that you think through should be able to find easily – take it as a challenge for you to address rather than a commentary on a facility of the customer.
Change. Christmas season in your shop should evolve. Major change weekly is vital for people to see what you have that they could buy.
Be socially engaged. On Facebook, Instagram, twitter and elsewhere, be the calm voice, the person people enjoy reading or seeing photos from. Provide entertainment this Christmas rather than the usual retailer shrill of come and shop here!
Be community minded. Choose a local charity or community group to support through Christmas. Consider: a change collection tin at the counter; a themed Christmas window display; promotion on your social media pages; a donation to their work; a collection point for donations from customers.
Facilitate sharing stories. Find space in your shop for customers to share their Christmas stories. It could be a story wall inside or in front of the shop. This initiative encourages storytelling by locals and better connects the business with the community.
Award a prize at a local school. Fund a year-end prize at a local school. Attend a school assembly to award the prize. Work with the school leadership on a prize appropriate to your business.
VIP preview. Host a VIP shopper preview night when you show off your Christmas ranges ahead of being available to the general shoppers. Respect and reward your local shoppers with deals and the opportunity to preview ahead of others.
Leverage Christmas traffic. Encourage the Christmas shopper traffic surge in after Christmas. Give them a reason to come back. A coupon promotion or a discount voucher on receipts could be the enticement to get shoppers back in-store. Note: the Tower POS software produces discount vouchers to rules you establish.
Become a gallery. Work with a school, kindergarten, community group or retirement village to bring in local art for people to come and see through Christmas. A small space commitment can drive traffic from family and friends of those with art on show.
Dress the shop. Fully embrace Christmas. Create a Christmas experience such that shoppers know they have stepped into somewhere special this Christmas. Go for more than some tinsel and a tree. Fully embrace the opportunity.
Make your shop smell like Christmas.
Send cards. Send Christmas cards early in the season to suppliers, key customers and local community groups. This connects you with Christmas. Invite all team members to sign each card.
Host a Christmas party. For shops nearby. You are all in the season together – let your hear down before things get crazy.
Ensure you have gifts targeted at occasions. For example: Kris Kringle, by price point and by recipient. Make it easy for people to know what they could give.
Stocking stuffers. At your counter always have one or two stocking stuffers for impulse purchase.
Offer gift vouchers – for someone to give when they are not sure what to give.
Be local. Ensure you have a selection of locally sourced products available for purchase. Make it clear in-store that these products are sourced locally.
Tell stories. On your Facebook page, talk about what is important to you at Christmas. Personalise the season and deepen the connection with those who could shop with you.
Offer a free gift. Bulk purchase an item to offer those who spend above a set amount. For example, spend $65 and receive XX where XX may have cost $5.00 but could have a perceived value of $20.00.
Keep it fresh. Every week make significant change to your Christmas displays and promotions to keep your offer fresh.
Share Christmas recipes. Each week for, say, four weeks, give customers a family Christmas recipe. This personalises Christmas in your business, creates a talking point and makes shopping with you different to your bigger competitors.
Free wrapping. Sure, many retailers offer this. Make your offer better, more creative and more appreciated.
This is essential in any business. Manage it through your computer system with strict rules.
Work the floor. Increase time on the shop floor. Be present to manage shopper flow and to facilitate purchases.
Christmas is crazy busy I most retail situations. Give yourself and your team members sufficient time to recharge so the smile greeting shoppers is heartfelt.
Keep a secret. If yours is a business selling gifts a partner may purchase for their loved-one, create some mystery with a closed off display for the shopper to see the products.
Free assembly. If you sell items that require assembly. Offer to do this for free.
Free delivery. Offer free Christmas Eve delivery for items purchased for kids for Christmas.
Sell training. Leverage the specialist knowledge you have in your business by selling as gifts places at classes you run sharing your expertise.
Hold back. Don’t go out with everything you have for Christmas all at once. Plan the season to show off what you have as the season unfolds. This allows you multiple launches.
Share a taste. Regardless if your type of business, bake a family recipe of Christmas cake, Christmas pudding or Christmas biscuits and offer tastings to shoppers on select days. This personalises the experience in your shop.
Offer hampers. Package several items together and offer them as a hamper. Time-poor shoppers could appreciate you doing this work for them. We have seen this work in many different retail situations.
Buy X get Y. Encourage people to spend more with a volume based deal. Pitched right, this could get customers purchasing items for several family members in order to get the price offer you have. Use your technology to manage this.

Christmas is the perfect time to plan for next year. It is the time to do everything possible to leverage bonus Christmas traffic to benefit your business through next year.

Feel free to share these Christmas marketing tips with others.

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POS software integrated with TheLott from Tabcorp making selling lottery tickets easier and more accurate for small business retailers

November 12, 2020

2 Min read

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Lottery retailers are excited for the integration between the Tower Systems POS software and lottery ticket sales using terminals from Tabcorp’s TheLott. With this proven integration, retailers benefit from reduced keystrokes, thus improving data accuracy and business outcomes.

Having passed comprehensive acceptance testing ages ago and proving the genuine business value of the integration, Tower Systems is grateful to help lottery retailers with this POS software integration and to do so at no cost to lottery retailers.

This is a good news small business retail story, delivering good outcomes for lottery retailers in jurisdictions where TheLott operates the local over the counter lottery product sales through retailers like newsagents and others.

Already serving close to 1,800 retailers in this space, Tower Systems is well established serving lottery retailers and newsagents with its POS software. bringing lottery sales / POS software integration to life adds value to these relationships. It helps these businesses in terms of counter workflow, sales achievement and overall business data integrity. This is good news all round.

We are grateful to have made a contribution to delivering this solution to small business retailers as part of our structured POS software enhancement program, delivering commercial outcomes for retailers, especially small business retailers.

Following standards set by Tabcorp, the Tower Systems POS software development team delivered a POS software integrated solution that cuts keystrokes and delivers a fresh in-store lottery customer experience. This helps small business retailers to better understand the broader value of lottery product shoppers and to do this without undertaking additional management or data collection work. The data curated through the integration will help engaged small business retailers to further drive outcomes for their business.

Tower Systems has a track record of delivering sound integrations for retailers using its POS software. We work with suppliers and retailers to deliver outcomes that serve all parties to transactions and to do this in a technically professional way, without losing site on small business retailers being our customers and the most important people at the table on projects like this.

Newsagents and lottery retailers using the Tower Systems POS software have access to this new integration, along with all other integrations, through the Tower Systems enhancement and update program.

Every day, this POS software evolves to be of more service to small business retailers.

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Xero connected POS software helps small business retailers save time and cut mistakes

November 12, 2020

2 Min read

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The Tower Systems POS software integrated with Xero is a solid and beneficial solution for small business retailers. And a tech partner of Xero, Tower Systems has delivered a best practice Xero POS software solution, offering seamless, safe and accurate data flow between the two tech platforms, for the time and data accuracy benefit of small business retailers.

Our Xero POS software solution is well proven in many different retail situations. Best of all, we use it ourselves, in our own retail businesses. This first-hand experience helps us help our customers not only with awesome software but with operational advice on how the get the most out of the opportunity.

Using our Xero POS software integrated solution, retailers are able to connect Xero and the Tower POS software for easy data flow of sales, product invoices, credits and more, eliminating the need for data entry, saving time and curing expensive data errors. These benefits are real, they are loved by small business retailers.

While we offer connectivity to MYOB and some Quicken related accounting software versions, Xero is the standard we see used in more small business retail situations. Our Xero POS software link has already been taken up by many to streamline business operations, reduce accounting and bookkeeping costs and provide more accurate and timely business performance data through the beautiful Xero accounting reporting.

On our POS software help desk we have folks skilled to offer guidance on using our direct Xero integration, to safely and securely connect our POS software to Xero, to open that data flow. We provide the software, training its use and helpful advice on making it work for you. We do this in plain English terms – i.e. not tech jargon.

The Xero integration designed by Tower Systems, working with the folks at Xero, makes it easy for small business retailers to cut accounting paperwork and thereby tap into time and money saving benefits.

We use our Xero integrated POS software ourselves, in our own shops. This enables us to provide practical advice on how to benefit the most from Xero and our POS software working together.

We are grateful to help small business retailers to reduce business accounting overheads and to reduce data errors through the POS Software Xero link we offer here at Tower Systems.

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Multistore retail POS software helps small business retailers manage their businesses

November 11, 2020

2 Min read

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Tower Systems has for years offered a multistore POS software solution. Using this, our retail business customers have been able to use our multistore POS software to manage multiple retail locations centrally, with consistency and with a whole of business view without distracting from a local store level performance view.

We have retailers with 2 shipping using our multistore POS software solutions. That’s at the smaller end of the multistore marketplace. We have retailers with 15 and more retail outlets using our multistore POS software solution at the mid-size end of the multistage marketplace.

Using our multistore POS software solution, small business retailers can add more stores as their business model grows. Each store, draws off common inventory data. The stores run in the cloud, making managing them from a tech perspective easy and safe and fast.

We have used this software ourselves in a network of gift shops we had for years and used this personal experience with the software to fitness what it does, how it works and its usefulness as a business management solution.

This personal use of the software set us up for beneficial changes that have helped more retailers in the multistore retail situation.

Our software is made for independent small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand. The multistore version of the POS software continues to evolve, to be better at serving the needs of small business retailers, more useful at helping them manage inventory, customers and other data points across multiple retail locations. This includes loyalty, gift cards and more as you see in multistore business situations.

But like any POS software use consideration, take your time to ensure that this multistore software is suitable to your needs. It keeps evolving and this blog post does not represent what it may do today. Take a close look, be clear about your needs and see for yourself whether this POS software is good software for your multistore retail business management needs.

To find out more about the Tower Systems POS software, please email the sales team at sales@towerystems.com.au or take a look at our website, www.towersystems.com.au, for a look through each of the niche retail products we offer, to see if we might serve your specific business needs.

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POS software integrated buy now pay later solutions for small business retailers

November 10, 2020

2 Min read

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POS software company Tower Systems offers its 3,500+ small business retailer community several options for integrated buy now pay later payment options for customers.

We are grateful for the opportunity to be early adopters of integrated buy now pay later solutions for small business retailers. We were the first POS software company to integrate with Humm, the terrific buy now pay later platform that now has a legion of customers and retailers engaged with it.

Our work with Humm was ground breaking, laying a path forward for many POS software companies, offering them a buy now pay later integration that suits many different types of specialty small business retailers.

The tech folks at Humm were a joy to work with as together we developed the approach for over the counter sale through POS software of products purchased using the Humm buy now pay later app.

Humm was our first POS software buy noway later integration with our POS software but certainly not our last we this space of finch has expanded rapidly. We are grateful to offer our retailers choice, with a nod to fees and charges, enabling our small business retail partners to manage their cost base and attract shoppers looking for payment flexibility.

Another buy now pay later integration we offer our small business retail customers is with the Zip platform and their Zip products that serve the buy now pay later shopper needs. Using Zip is easy, fast and secure for the shopper and for the retailer. the Zip integration with our POS software is seamless, direct. This is a perfect solution for small business retailers looking to offer respected buy now pay later payment options.

While some retailers continue to offer LayBy, it is the buy now pay later option that shoppers like, especially where they want immediate access to the product. It suits retailers, too, as they are not dealing with prescriptive LayBy regulations that can end up disadvantaging the retailer through the change of mind requirement.

Whether it is through, Zip, Humm or some other buy now pay later payment offering, Tower Systems is grateful to help small business retailers across plenty of specialty retail channels to connect with shoppers how, when and where they like, through our locally made and supported POS software.

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Australian made POS software for Australian retailers

November 8, 2020

1 Min read

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Australian POS software MYOB Retail Manager alternative

November 7, 2020

2 Min read

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With MYOB Retail Manger POS software at end of life in terms of development, enhancement and extension, Tower Systems has been helping small business retailers move to its fresh and alternative platform.

We help with new and fresh POS software that is being updated regularly, often based on customer suggestions and taking into account marketplace changes.

We also help with the transition from MYOB retail Manager to our POS software, bringing across the data we can, to facilitate seamless transition from MYOB retail Manager as much as possible.

Tower solution offers MYOB Retail Manager users an accounting software familiarity with back office accounting in its POS software integrated solution, through the OZBiz platform.

Retailers looking for a complete change to the accounting and retail business management solution cold consider the Tower Systems Xero POS software integration. Tower directly integrates with the Xero cloud based accounting solution. This is an integration that we use ourselves in our own retail businesses.

We have been told that Retail Manager by MYOB is approaching end of life – that is, no future development enhancement planned. This has led to a rush of queries from MYOB retail Manager users looking for a POS software alternative.

If this is the case, the Tower POS software solution is an alternativePOS software solution that we submit for consideration in any of the specialty retail channels in which we are well established. Like jeweller, garden centre, bike shop, toy shop, gift shop, newsagency, homewares shop, produce business, farm supply business, pet shop and more.

In terms of a small business accounting solution choice, Tower Systems walks an agnostic path, leaving that choice to retail business owners and those who advise them on accounting software requirements. That said, in our own shops, we use Xero.

Tower Systems offers stable, proven and respected POS software solutions for small business retailers. Stability is at the heart of our offer and day to day operation.

We offer MYOB retail Manager POS software customers a path for the future, POS software on which they can rely for in-store accounting, inventory and operational management in partnership with core accounting software.

We are happy to show our software to anyone considering this change, this transition from MYOB Retail Manager.

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Boxed Christmas cards support local Aussie charities thanks to our POS software connected Shopify website

November 6, 2020

2 Min read

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We created a website for selling boxed Christmas cards for one of the local suburban shops we run here in Victoria.

This Shopify website is connected to our own Tower Systems POS software. At the boxed Christmas cards website we sell charity Christmas cards that are designed and 100% made here in Australia.

What a wonderful buy Australian made and shop local story.

We are grateful for our Australian card company suppliers who have made this a reality, offering Australian designed and made boxed Christmas cards for shipping anywhere.

Supporting charities like Beyond Blue, the Starlight Foundation and the Peter Mac Cancer Centre, our boxed Christmas cards do more than send love and warm thoughts this Christmas season, they do good in the community, supporting these vital charities.

Charity Christmas cards are important to Australians not only for the money they raise but the charity stories they support as the details of the charity being supported by a card are included on the back of the card – as a badge of respect and honour, something that makes the card giver and receiver proud and happy.

Boxed Christmas cards are wonderful for offices, schools and community groups. They provide beautiful cards that people are proud to give and happy to receive.

Our online boxed Christmas cards store that is offering Australian designed and Australian made charity Christmas cards is doing good work supporting Aussie shoppers looking to spread Christmas greetings this year.

This is a good story for Tower Systems as we are working here as the POS software company, the Shopify website developer and the local small business retailer serving not only our local community in suburban Melbourne but the Australia wide community through a thriving online store.

We are grateful to the many shoppers who already have purchased boxed Christmas cards from us, supporting our charity Christmas card offer, bring light and love to their family and friends while sharing wonderful messages of the good work done by the supported charities.

Christmas 2020 will be very different to Christmases past. It will babe unique, it’s own thing. Our online boxed Christmas card shop is one way we are helping people to express themselves this Christmas.

Thank you to everyone who has supported our work in bringing Aussie designed and made boxed Christmas cards to so many already this year. We are sincerely grateful.

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Small business retail advice: 7 principles for navigating the Covid recession

November 6, 2020

3 Min read

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Through our work with small business retailers, we help with POS software and broader management advice. recently, we have been asked for advice about trading in this period of recession.

7 principles for navigating there Covid recession

We get it, Australia is in a recession, a Covid recession brought on by the pandemic and responses to it here and overseas.

Relentlessly, media outlets overload with recession stories, fuelling worry and anxiety and challenging consumer confidence.

It’s tempting to get drawn to the doom and gloom stories, to amplify the woe is me narrative. But that does not help.

Plenty of people in business, especially small business, prefer to look ahead, to focus on the other side of the recession as it is that view of what could be that motivates.

We think a back to basics approach is what is needed to get us through the recession. We think it’s right for our software business, the retail shops we own and for the many local businesses we serve.

The back to basics guiding principles we share here are focussed on this, focussed on providing sure footing today and encouraging optimism for tomorrow.

This is not a list from which you choose what you like. Our advice is that you do everything on this list, because in our experience, together they provide the best chance of navigating the recession well.

Nurture what makes the business money and fix or stop what does not make the business money. Leverage strengths. Fix or eliminate weaknesses.
Embrace ways to broaden the reach of the business.
Make safe decisions, decisions you know will work. For example, buy well. That is, buy what will sell easily, quickly.
Embrace ways you can add value to what you sell without spending more.
Be frugal. Before every spending decision ask 2 questions: do we need this? Will this add value? Review every business expense. Cut those that do not add value.
Your next step is in front of you. Look ahead, not behind. Talk up, not down.
If you feel overwhelmed, take it one step at a time. Every day, do something that makes you happy.

When should you start? Now. But not alone. This is a whole of business project. Involve the whole team and embrace all the points at every opportunity.

How do we know these principles work? We have experience trading through two recessions, one country wide and the other sector wide. We’ve also traded through Covid with excellent results – because we embraced these principles back in early March 2020.

Let’s take a moment to unpack principle #3, make safe decisions. Safe decisions are those you can bet on because they work every time. They may not be exciting, but they are safe. They may not be the best margin, but they are safe. Safe decisions are all about certainty, providing a small step that is stable, sure-footed. Put a few of those in a row and you feel better. Feeling better is key to helping you navigate the Covid recession.

While we understand the value of news, there may be value in consuming less news, staying away from the negative stories. Your success is the most important news right now.

We provide practical support for local small business retailers.

It is cliché, but …. We are here for you.

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Bookshop POS software helps local book shops drive sales

November 5, 2020

3 Min read

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The Bookshop POS software from Tower Systems is made in Australia for Australian bookshops. It brings to live smart and engaging features that help bookshops serve local in-store and online shoppers.

Using this software for bookshops, book retailers can offer best of breed loyalty tools, integrate with safe and secure EFTPOS, integrate with Xero or link to MYOB and some Quicken versions … all wonderful time savers for the business.

As bookshop POS software, this software from Tower Systems also offers an integration with Pacstream as well as a link with Title page, each of which offer data and time saving options targeted for booksellers. These connections are part of what helps make the Tower Systems POS software a specialty POS software solution for book retailers.

Our commitment is to maintain best practice links for Pacstream and Title Page, to ensure these links are genuinely helpful and useful in helping to drive the efficiency of store management.

Special orders are a key need experienced by booksellers. Embedded in the bookshop POS software by Tower Systems are beautiful special order facilities that facilitate capturing the order, tracking this and then advising the customer that the order is in-store and available for pickup. This is all done with a focus on data accuracy, time saving and customer service.

Customer marketing is also key for booksellers in that they can benefit from niche marketing to shoppers based open past purchases, especially where they connect to special interest topics. The Tower Systems bookshop POS software has a range of marketing tools that help in this process.

Thorough customer receipts. Booksellers like to have detail on their receipts. In our Tower Systems bookshop POS software booksellers have plenty of control over the look and feel of the receipts. This helps these retailers represent their business and brand as they wish.

Bringing shoppers back. In sales basket data we can see that folks buying books often shop in the sale place, indicating it is easy to bring them back, if you pull the right levers. In the Tower Systems bookshop POS software there are wonderful levers booksellers can use to entice shoppers back. In our software is a unique and proven loyalty related tool that does appeal to local shoppers.

Embedded in our bookshop software are other tools that booksellers tell us they like, tools such:

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.
Tracking stock returns.
Pacstream integration.
Title Page link.
Structured handling fo special orders of books.
Website integration for online sales. We integrate with Shopify, magenta and WooCommerce.

Our customer service is provided by us and is accessible 24/7. This matters as you know the support is coming from the company that developed the POS software.

Our bookshop POS software development is done by us. This matters as we are not relying on another company to develop our POS software for us.

We’d love to show our our bookshop software. We can arrange a personal demonstration where we show any function you’d like to see and answer every question you have. reach out at sales@towersystems.com.au and one of our bookshop software experts will get back to you.

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The top 5 reasons the Tower Systems Toy Shop software is ideal for local Australian toy shops

November 5, 2020

2 Min read

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Here are the top 5 reasons toy shop owners, managers and staff love about our toy shop software.

In developing this list, we thought about it as retailers. We’ve owned and run retail shops in the toy / collectibles / gift niches since the late 1990s. Here they are, 5 reasons people love out toy shop software:

Local matters. Local toy shops make a vital contribution to local communities and families nearby. Our software helps you leverage this, to differentiate your business from big competitors.
You can bank on loyalty. There is excellent data revealing the lifetime value of a family and those they purchase for. Leveraging this through smart loyalty tools and marketing tuned for toy shops helps you maximise the opportunity.
Safe decisions make for a better P&L. While following your gut can see you catch wins, safe decisions, those based on the data, are bankable. From data feeds from suppliers through your POS to accounting software, we help you nurture data for the safe decisions.
Not every shopper will walk past your door. A smart and seamless connection between your software and a website can help you sell to people you will never meet. This should be easy, certain and financially rewarding.
You are a key asset. You and the people in your business are a differentiator to big business competitors. Too often we see toy retailers not leverage themselves. Our software helps correct this … because you and your knowledge are an asset.

Our Toy Shop Software costs $155.00 for each 30 days. The $155.00 is for access from as many computers as you have in the business. There is no long-term contract. You can cancel at any time. There is no finance application.

We can help you bring across existing data if you switch to our toy shop software. Plenty of MYOB Retail Manager users have found this helpful.

Our toy shop software offers many benefits, including:

Save time with electronic invoices from suppliers.
Differentiate with you. Share your product use and care information.
Easy special customer orders. Smart tracking and customer notification.
Make money from pre-orders – Easily pre-sell before release.
Community group pricing. Set pricing rules based on customer type.

And … much more than these benefits!

We are grateful to those in toy retail and toy supply who contribute to the evolution of our software for this vital retail channel.

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What if the most important stream of revenue for your business was cut off overnight?

November 4, 2020

3 Min read

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Hundreds of Australian businesses yesterday discovered that China was blocking their exporting of products to that country. According to news reports, Australian wine, copper, barley, coal, sugar, timber and lobster are set to be banned from Friday.

This is dreadful news for the businesses, those who work for them and the communities that rely on them for income and purchases. The ramifications across Australia could be extraordinary.

Hearing the news of the move by China, I wondered – what would happen to your business if a key income stream was cut off overnight?

Would your business survive? Do you have a plan B? Can you move quickly enough to recover? Were you too exposed to and too reliant on the key revenue stream?

These are questions you can discuss with clarity with hindsight. Better still, they are questions you can discuss in advance.

I raise the questions today because considering them before you face the challenges being faced right now by Australian exporters of wine, copper, barley, coal, sugar, timber and lobster gives you the opportunity today to be less reliant on a single revenue stream.

I get that this can read as a ho-hum topic, something not worth worrying about today. However, I bet there are wine makers, sugar farmers and fishermen who several days ago would have thought the topic ho-hum too.

What if the most important revenue stream to your business was cut off overnight, without notice?

Actions I think anyone reading this could consider include:

Assess income to understand the income category streams on which the business most relies and take immediate steps to broaden these.
Assess income sources. In retail especially most income comes from a shop or physical presence. Broaden this, rely on more than the physical presence.
Assess the importance of suppliers by looking at percentage of revenue attached to each and taking steps to broaden these.
Look at your business finances and consider the impact if any supporting finance arrangement was removed overnight.
Workshop with key people as to what it would mean if any supplier was cut off from you or if any product category or brand was overnight stripped from your business. Those participating in this need to challenge each other.

In terms of the situation that has emerged in China this week, we need to look at our reliance on product from China, especially is we rely on people connected with wine, copper, barley, coal, sugar, timber and lobster. For example, if we have customers who work in wine businesses that export to China. How will they feel purchasing product from us that are sourced from China when China has struck so hard at the core of their income source?

What has happened in China is a reason for us to take stock, look more carefully at our businesses, and ensure that we are better structured to trade through unexpected decisions by others.

A personal story: Decades ago, my software company developed software for radiology practices, managing patient accounts and reports on x-rays. I wrote a word processor to make it easier and faster for radiologists to write report. It was a hit, gaining terrific early sales. A year and a half in, an international x-ray film supplier offered radiology practices free software from the US if they contracted to buy their film for 5 years. Our sales stopped overnight. I decided then that my company would never rely on a single customer or a single channel for the majority of business. It’s why we are now in 12 specialty retail channels, why we only sell to sell business retailers and why we will not borrow to fund the business.

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