The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

Latest stories

Updated farm supply / produce business management software helps local Aussie businesses grow

March 29, 2021
2 Min read
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The management needs of farm supply and produce businesses in Australia are comprehensive and unique compared to the needs of many other ‘retail’ businesses. Specialty software is needed to best serve these needs.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve these specialty retail businesses with produce / farm supply business software made for them.

Our produce / farm supply business software continues to evolve thanks to the generous advice and guidance from our customer community. Our software nurtures many benefits, including:

  1. Quote and invoice management. Strong, flexible, fit for purpose.
  2. Trade pricing profiles supporting pricing flexibility for your customers.
  3. Customer account management: Professional and accurate control.
  4. Pricing profiles. You can set pricing rules based on types of customers.
  5. Sell by weight, including fractions.
  6. Bagging up feed. Bag feed into smaller packs, with accurate stock data.
  7. Colour / size / style. Track what you sell at a granular level.
  8. Genuinely informative receipts. You control design and detail. Including digital receipts.
  9. Pre-orders – pre-sell stock and be ahead of the game.
  10. Special orders – easily manage special customer orders.
  11. Awesome loyalty through which you can easily differentiate.
  12. Seasonal reordering. Easily reorder inventory based on seasonal sales.
  13. Weatherproof labels.
  14. Electronic supplier invoice support – cut mistakes and save time.
  15. Easy Shopify integration. See: www.northsideproduceagency.com.au.

The Tower Systems with produce / farm supply business software does much more than this. It offers traditional POS software facilities with considerable specialisation and customisation to the needs of produce / farm supply businesses.

The needs of produce and farm supply businesses vary, too with those in dairy farming areas having a set of interests that could vary from those in the sugar cane growing areas. It is a testament to the flexibility of the Tower Systems software that it is able to serve varied needs of businesses in such diverse situations.

This software does not stand still. It is regularly enhanced from the tech specs perspective as well as from a user functionality perspective. This keeps it current and useful … Abele to lead the marketplace in providing a software solution for produce and farm supply businesses.

Tower Systems is proud to serve businesses in Australia and New Zealand with specialty software for their specialty business needs. We develop what we sell and support.

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Refreshed POS software website

March 26, 2021
1 Min read
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We are grateful to our in-house designer for fresh retail channel images for our POS software website home page and retail channel landing pages.

Each image has been thoughtfully selected and appropriately accessed for our online and print media use.

The visual refresh of our website reflects the visual refresh of our POS software.

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Retail business advice on POS software integrated websites

March 26, 2021
3 Min read
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We make POS software integrated Shopify websites for a fixed price: $6,600.00 (inc. GST).

Too often we see small business retailers pay a web consultant anything between $5,000 and $15,000 for an awful website, one not connected to your POS software.

A retailer called us just recently in tears about money wasted on a site that looks like it is from the 1990s … thousands down the drain.

We are seeing too many WooCommerce / WordPress websites that businesses want to switch from. Web developers recommend WooCommerce as it guarantees income for them. In our experience, this is an expensive platform to maintain, a platform we moved from ourselves for e-commerce years ago.

If you want a website for your business, please ask us. You have nothing to lose and much to gain by getting us to quote.

See some of the beautiful websites we have created: www.towersystems.com.au/Websites-we-have-created

Before we start creating a beautiful website for your business, we want to know about what you need from the site, your competitors and how you’d like to handle things like shipping, payment methods and more.

We also share details of our experiences with the consumer facing websites we run ourselves as well as experiences from the websites we have developed for others.

Here’s where to start: contact one of our sales people, please call 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au.

Australian made.
We make websites for our customers ourselves. We do not outsource this work offshore. There is something to be said for locally made websites for local retail businesses that, themselves, want local people to shop locally.

At the core of what we do, we create websites that we would want if we owned your business. Each website is a calling card, something we want to show off to win business for you and to win business for us.

Website Q&A.
Can I run multiple Shopify websites from the one business? Yes
Can Retailer POS software connect to a website? Yes.
Where is the best place to manage stock description and price data? Retailer.
Can I have a different price online to in my shop? Yes.
Can I have a different description online to in my shop? Yes.
Does Retailer store photos for what I sell? Yes.
Can these flow to the website? Yes.
Do I have to put everything I sell in my shop online? No.
Where do I start? Do our online questionnaire.
After I do the questionnaire, what’s next? Sign up with us and we will guide through a structured process designed to get the best website possible for your business.
Money is tight. I can get a website cheaper elsewhere. You should go with the web developer that best suits your business. Remember, you get what you pay for.
Let us show you what we can do in creating a website for your business.

We’d love to show some of the beautiful, functional and flexible websites we have created for our customers. Let’s talk …

A website of itself will not drive success. What’s needed is a beautiful website with the right tech and connections to help you reach more customers than you do now.

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Using fake images online can hurt your business

March 25, 2021
1 Min read
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The best images to use on your website or on your blog if you are writing about your business are images you have taken yourself. It only makes your business look bad when you take a stock image and manipulate it in some way and claim it as your image, representing your business or what you sell. People see this for what it is.

Taking your own photos and being in control of images you use for your business speaks to your commitment to authenticity and this speaks to what you make and sell.

If you are feeling guilty reading this, check the images you are using online.

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Aussie made Bike shop POS software helps bike retailers compete in-store and online

March 25, 2021
3 Min read
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5 reasons to love our Bike Shop software for local Australian bike shops.

Australian made. Australian supported. $185.00 a month.

Our Aussie made and supported bike shop POS software is software to love and here’s why …

  1. Local matters. Local bike shops make a vital contribution to local cycling communities and families. Our software helps you leverage your localness, to genuinely differentiate your business from big competitors.
  2. You are a key asset. Only your business has you and your people. You can leverage you through our bike shop software, to easily share your knowledge in ways big businesses cannot match.
  3. You can bank on loyalty. Points don’t reward loyalty. What is a point worth anyway? In our bike shop software, you have fresh loyalty tools you can bank on to drive a deeper visit value, bring shoppers back sooner and genuinely leverage their lifetime value opportunity.
  4. Service, service, service. Offering service and managing this for the benefit of your customers and your business can genuinely differentiate thanks to our Bike management tools. You can bank on this difference.
  5. Not every shopper will walk, or rides, past your door. A smart and seamless connection between your software and a beautiful website can help you easily and with low overhead sell to people you will never meet.

Local bike shops are vital in local communities. We are committed to helping you run a more enjoyable and successful business through our bike shops POS software.

Our Bike Shop POS Software costs $185.00 for each 30 days. The $185.00 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.

New version out now. If you’ve not seen our software in the last six months, you’ve not seen our software. It’s fresh in function and look and feel.

Our bike shop software offers many benefits, including:

  • Save time with electronic invoices from your suppliers.
  • Easy special customer orders. Smart tracking and customer notification.
  • Make money from pre-orders – Easily pre-sell before release.
  • Community group / club pricing. Set pricing rules to leverage these.
  • Easy record keeping: serial number tracking of items with serial numbers.
  • Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Drive sales.
  • Differentiate with bundles. Make price comparison hard.
  • Say goodbye to LayBy – with integrated buy now pay later options.
  • Market to customers based on past purchases.
  • Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.
  • Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify link from your POS software.

Tower Systems is grateful to serve hundreds of bike retailers with its bike shop POS software.

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Haberdashery shop software and fabric shop software

March 24, 2021
2 Min read
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Tower Systems is an Australia POS software company. We make what we sell. we support what we sell.

What we make and support is specialty POS – Point of Sale – software for specialty retail businesses, like haberdashery businesses and fabric businesses.

In our work with other specialty retailers, like jewellers, we have developed facilities in our software to manage things important to fabric and haberdashery businesses. Things like selling in fractions, handling special orders, tracking product and service components … and more.

Here is a short video where we discuss our fabric / haberdashery shop software with one of our sales people. we show you parts of the software and take you behind the scenes into a discussion of the benefits for this POS software for fabric shops and haberdashery shops.

 

This is truly specialty retail POS software. Take the selling of items by decimals or fractions. This is how fabric is sold. We make it easy and accurate. We even handle pricing that can vary based on the length of a fabric purchased. In other words, play less per metre the more you buy. This is handled by the software based on the settings created by those running the sewing shop.

Plenty of POS software solutions do not handle selling items by decimals or fractions.

We are not saying that our software is perfect for any haberdashers shops, fabric shops and sewing shop. That decision must 100% be up to those making the POS software decision in the business. We will demonstrate the software and answer questions, so that the necessary assessments can be made, to determine if our Tower Systems POS software is a good fit for the needs of a sewing business.

Our POS software for sewing shops and sewing machine businesses is already in use in these specialty retail businesses selling by length, doing repairs, handling special orders and more. We have people to whom we can refer. It is their innovation that set us on this path. Hence, our gratefulness.

If you are looking for a software solution for your business, we’d love to show you what we offer. We promise no pressure … our sales approach is the approach we want ourselves if we are considering a purchase – professional, based on your needs, honest and timed according to your needs.

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Candle shop POS software helps candle retailers better serve customers

March 23, 2021
2 Min read
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We were thrilled to discover how useful our POS software is for candle shops. So much so that we’re happy to pitch it as candle shop POS software, software suited ideally to the management needs of candle shops.

Here are some of the ways our candle shop POS software suits candle shops:

  • Product care information is served automatically on receipts and at other shopper touchpoint in-store as well as online. For a candle shop, we understand product care information can be differentiating.
  • Ingredient details. Noting what is in a product, especially a candle product, can nurture customer satisfaction.
  • For candle shops that make candles on-site, our manufactured goods facilities in the candle shop POS software enable to tracking of raw materials for appropriate inventory control and margin management.
  • With many locally made products in a candle shop made on a just in time basis, finely tuned inventory management can help local candle shops / candle makers keep track of inventory needs so that sales are maximised without large inventory levels being held.
  • Candle shoppers are loyal once they find a shop with the range they like. Thanks to smart and innovating loyalty tools, our Tower Systems candle shop POS software encourages shoppers to return for purchases again and agin without being in your face about it and without pitching a convoluted loyalty pitch.
  • Seasonal performance reporting. Candle scents are popular on a seasonal basis. Understanding this through reporting tracking helps candle retailers to better range inventory to maximise seasonal opportunities.

Our candle shop POS software is ideal for local candle shops that operate in a shop or on the road at markets.

The popularity of candles spiked through 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic. For many candle retailers, interest in and engagement with candles has continued with many first time shoppers returning. Our software helps maximise the opportunity in-store as well as online through our Shopify e-commerce integration. We make it easy for candle shops to sell online, thereby reaching even more shoppers.

Tower Systems serves several thousand small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand – with POS software that we make and support and Shopify websites that we make and support. You can connect with us at sales@towersystems.com.au or on 1300 662 957 or 0800 444 267 (NZ).

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What are the benefits of using the gift shop POS software from Tower Systems in your gift shop?

March 23, 2021
2 Min read
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The gift shop POS software from Tower Systems provides access to plenty of benefits … financial, operational and personal. The gift  shop POS software is packed with opportunities for local small business gift shops to engage with to make the business for successful, and enjoyable for those working in the business.

here are some of the benefits of the gift shop POS software from Tower Systems.

  • Know more about the business. There is solid evidence that data based decisions are more likely to be the right decisions compared to emotional or gut based decisions.
  • Back yourself with facts. Be stronger when dealing with suppliers by relying on evidence from your shop.
  • Easily handle special customer orders and get known for this personal service. Bring product in for a specific customer and have them notified automatically by email or text when the goods are in and ready.
  • Get one-time-only shoppers spending more thanks to an easy to pitch loyalty system embedded in the software.
  • Make the business more able to run under management, without you having to be there all the time.
  • Leverage you. If you believe your knowledge is a differentiator, offer it through structured opportunities in the software.
  • Encourage customer happiness by serving product care info. on receipts.
  • Easily sell online with a direct to Shopify / Magento or WooCommerce link from your POS software – including image flow.
  • Go cashless if that is your goal – we make it easy and affordable.
  • Save time with electronic invoices from suppliers.
  • Use tags to get a fresh perspective, side-view, on stock performance.
  • Bundle items together to make price comparisons harder and thereby increase sales.
  • Business differentiating loyalty. Stand out from the crowd. Have customers coming back to you for this.
  • Trade and club pricing profiles. Set pricing rules based on customer type.
  • Make money from pre-orders – Easily pre-sell a delivery so that when the stock arrives you can manage distribution and billing efficiently.
  • Differentiate with informative receipts. These can include product care, use and safety information based on what customers buy.
  • Track who sold what.
  • Say goodbye to LayBy – with integrated buy now pay later options.
  • Market to customers based on past purchases.
  • Save time by importing electronic invoices.
  • Sell more with a direct connect to buy now pay later services.
  • Cut mistakes with integrated EFTPOS.
  • Cut accounting and bookkeeping fees with integration to Xero and others.

This gift shop POS software is packed with opportunities.

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Helping retailers navigate the buy now pay later POS software integration opportunities

March 22, 2021
3 Min read
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The Australian Finance Industry Association, AFIA, the organisation engaged in self regulation of buy now pay later platforms has a code of practice for its providers. This, from their release:

AFIA and its BNPL members have come together and propose to release a Code of Practice for the BNPL sector. The final Code will be released and come into effect on 1 March 2021.

The BNPL providers, who under AFIA’s guidance have drafted the Code, represent over 95 percent of the BNPL market including Afterpay, Brighte, Humm Group, Klarna, Latitude, Openpay, Payright and Zip Co.

A world-first for the BNPL sector, the draft Code is in direct response to ASIC’s review of the BNPL sector (ASIC Report 600) and an inquiry conducted by the Senate Economics Reference Committee, which recommended the development of a BNPL Code of Practice.

AFIA conducted six-week public consultation which was formally extended until 6 May 2020 due to the COVID-19 crisis. As part of the consultation process, it was important to give additional time to key stakeholders to provide feedback.

The Code of Practice will be governed by a Code Compliance Committee (CCC). The CCC is chaired by Dr Michael Schaper. Jillian Brewer has been nominated by the Consumers’ Federation of Australia as the consumer advocate representative. Craig Pudig is the CCC’s industry representative.

Part C of the code relates to retailers:

PART C – MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR OUR MERCHANT AND RETAIL PARTNERS

Each Code Compliant Member will require its merchant and retail partners to meet minimum standards. These standards are to:

  • Act lawfully, fairly and ethically in their dealings with consumers;
  • Communicate clearly when dealing with consumers and in marketing and advertising materialthat relates to Buy Now Pay Later Products or Services;
  • Safeguard customer confidentiality;
  • Respond to customer complaints on a timely basis; and
  • Require that their employees or agents understand the standards and are trained to meet them.

Each Code Compliant Member will continue to monitor their merchant and retail partners to ensure they meet these minimum standards.

With many retailers using buy now pay later for payment in-store an online, being across the code is important.

We are across this because our POS software integrates with buy now pay later platforms such as Humm and the Zip suite of products and because several other card related players are entering this space.

Working closely with so many retailers, we are often asked about matters regulatory. Being across the BNPL changes since they were first mooted more than a year ago helps us to provide informed comments that can help local retailers determine the approach best for their business needs.

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Web development for small business retailers

March 19, 2021
2 Min read
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Local small business retailers are benefiting from the local web development that we offer here at Tower Systems. Our POS software connected web development is tuned to the needs of local retail businesses in Australia and New Zealand.

By doing our web development locally and within our own POS software develop0ment community, we are able to deliver a more whole of business solution, something tuned to the needs of the physical and online businesses.

Our web development work is done in Shopify, magenta or WooCommerce. Our customers can choose, which is often done based on the types of needs they have.

Here is a list of what we deliver in our fixed price web development solution for local small business retailers:

  1. Pre development consultation. This will cover what is needed from you, the data, decisions and more. This is thorough and very much driven by your needs.
  2. A live Shopify site as per the facilities and functionality outlined in this document – see below, including pre-development consultation. As the site evolves, there will be discussions by email and phone to ensure that the site is meeting the expectations you laid out at the start. The development, previewing and further enhancement of this is an interactive process involving you and following your needs.
  3. Shopify theme choice. Included in the price is the selection of a paid-for theme up to the cost of US$250.00.
  4. Shopify link. The Tower Systems Retailer POS software to link with Shopify. This link transfers to the Shopify site the following data points for each inventory item:
    1. SKU
    2. Name
    3. Qty
    4. Web Description
    5. Web Price
    6. Department
    7. Category
    8. Images
  5. Up to 2 hours of personally tailored hand-over training once the site is live, so you can be confident administering the site yourself.
  6. Three months of phone-based assistance (but not software changes) following delivery of the site.
  7. A comprehensive pre-prep / handover document that provides support, written training and guidance on your next steps. This is the same for all our Shopify site customers. i.e. it is not document written especially for you.

Developing beautiful websites is something we are proud to offer here at Tower Systems. Helping local small business retailers transact online is wonderful and fulfilling. The joy they experience from their first sales is a thrill for them and for us, too.

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Fast track website development for small business retailers

March 18, 2021
2 Min read
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Tower Systems offers a fast track Shopify website development solution for small business retailers, to help them get up and running quickly should that need be important to the business and those involved with it.

Our fast track Shopify website development approach is considered and structured.

  • We introduced the fast track option in early 2020 in response to the surge of Shopify site requests from businesses dealing with the Covid impacted world.
  • Fast track is all about getting a good and useful site up and running quickly.
  • Going live fast depends on you knowing the focus you want for the site and having the data setup in your business ready to flow.
  • Getting your data sorted is 100% the key. This means descriptions, pricing and images. We guide you on what has to be done.
  • Making a site pretty later is all about us making it look visually more appealing when you are ready, within the first year.
  • We can have you live in days. It all depends on how ready you are. We will only go with Fast Track is you advise us to in writing.
  • Don’t overthink it because a website is not a destination.

Our preferred approach is our usual structured and well thought out Shopify website development approach. While that takes longer and involved more interaction with those working in the business up-front, the result is more complete, more whole of business. Fast track is about speed to going live with a view to doing some of the nice things later.

What a business does in terms of speed of going live with a Shopify website integrated to POS software is up to them, dependent on their needs.

By offering a fast track option we provide our customers with a choice. We will serve to their preference as to speed of going live. Either work, all the work is done, all the commitments are fulfilled – the fast track option is all about timing.

Shopify website development is all about commercial outcomes for small business retailers. This is our focus regardless of the approach taken. We are keen to help our small business retail customers win new business with our Shopify websites connected to our POS software.

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Small business retailers beware POS software comparison websites

March 17, 2021
2 Min read
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Do a Google search for POS software and most likely ad from several POS software comparison websites will list first.

Do a search for Tower Systems in Australia and, again, most likely ad from several POS software comparison websites will list first.

These Marketing companies are paying for the POS software and for the Tower Systems keywords.

There is no law against it. But … and it’s a big but … there is a law against misrepresentation.

If a software comparison website claims they have done the research for you, if they claim to offer to suggest to you the best businesses, if they pitch anything indicating any research into the products they list, ask for the evidence, ask for proof of the research they undertook not only of the companies they recommend but the companies they do not recommend.

Tower Systems has not been evaluated by any POS software comparison website. They have not seen or used our software, they have not experienced our training. They have not experienced our support services.

No POS software comparison website can speak with authority as to how Tower Systems may compare with any other POS software company in the marketplaces in which we offer our specialty retail POS software:

  • Bike shops.
  • Jewellers.
  • Pet shops.
  • Gift shops.
  • Toy shops.
  • Newsagents.
  • Garden centres.
  • Produce businesses.
  • Farm supply businesses.
  • Homewares businesses.
  • Fishing and Outdoors businesses.
  • Firearms dealers.
  • Music shops.
  • Bookshops.
  • Fabric businesses.

… and more.

Having looked at POS software comparison websites, we can’t see any we recommend, any we would trust to provide valuable help or guidance as to this software or that.

In our opinion, the comparison websites are merely marketping platforms paid by software companies to effectively advertise their businesses.

We suspect this is why some POS software comparison websites pay for keywords that match the names of successful POS software companies.

Our advice: be curious, ask questions, ensure that any claim as to research undertaken has actually be undertaken.

Tower Systems is a local POS software company making POS software for specialty retailers in New Zealand and Australia. We research each retail channel in which we operate thoroughly to ensure that our specialty retail POS software is specialty in function.

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Small business retail advice on making your website successfully work for you

March 17, 2021
2 Min read
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Having a website for your retail business is terrific – as long as the site is terrific. That means serving a need, being easily found, being enjoyed and integrating seamlessly with your business.

Here at Tower Systems, we develop websites for our POS software customers. Websites that integrate with your POS software.

To help you consider what your retail business website could look like and could be used for, here are some suggestions that we and our customers have found useful for those considering a website to engage with …

  1. Look carefully at competitor sites online locally and overseas as it is beneficial to see what someone else is doing.
  2. Only use unique images. If you use supplier supplied images, they may be on other sites and Google will know this. Google likes fresh content.
  3. Write your own product name / title. Use search keyworks in the name. Google likes fresh content.
  4. Write your own product description and think about what shoppers search for.
  5. Do not load everything. Too much stock makes a site hard to navigate.
  6. Consider using a website name that is different to your business name. Online can benefit from a different brand to your in-store situation.
  7. Be open to additional sites. You may make more money from having multiple.
  8. Support the site with active social media. A Facebook page with a name the same as the web name.
  9. Promote the site with an email monthly at least, through MailChimp or similar.

Too often we see small business retailers think their website needs to reflect an online version of their shop. While that may be okay, it may not be the best business move. Sometimes, exploring a new category of product or service online could be a soft and good way to explore expanding the business without disrupting the existing in-store business.

A website connected to a retail business can be a good way to explore the expansion or evolution of the retail business. Tower Systems as its webstore team can work with you, helping you to explore options and opportunities that may align with your current business and the goals you have for it and for yourself.

This is where an engaging and consultative approach could work to help you walk to an online solution that is more nuanced and enjoyable to your personal and business needs.

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POS software connected websites developed by Tower Systems for small business retailers

March 16, 2021
3 Min read
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We are grateful to be expanding out portfolio of websites for small business retailers, helping them to transact online.

Here are some of our recently completed POS software connected websites:

www.backobourkecollective.com.au
www.inspiretasmania.com.au
www.brindabellastockfeed.com.au
www.heavensabove.com.au
www.loavesrobe.com.au
www.masterjewellersonline.com.au
www.chitchatgifts.com.au
www.eidsvoldrural.com.au
www.forevergiftsandmore.com.au
www.funporium.com.au
www.goulburnstationery.com.au
www.rehfisch.com.au
www.merimbulaextra.com.au
www.morganpark.com.au
www.nextragiftsorange.com.au
www.northsideproduceagency.com.au
www.pamperedpetz.com.au
www.www.paperplayonline.com.au
www.parkesnewsandgifts.com.au
www.rivercitypets.com.au
www.smithstreettraders.com.au
www.sprengersruraltraders.com.au
www.hefeedshop.com.au
www.shop.newcastle.edu.au
www.toyworldcanberra.com.au
www.toyworldwauchope.com.au
www.reasureboxgifts.com.au
www.uncletomspps.com.au
www.warragulpetemporium.com.au
www.welbygardencentre.com.au
www.wollongongbikehub.com.au

If you are interested in a POS software connected website, please reach out to our sales team: sales@towersystems.com.au.

Included in our fixed price local retail business website development package, we will create a Shopify site for you.

For ease of reference and clarity, below is a numbered list of all work and tasks included in the above quote and work you will have to do. This is the complete list.

  1. Shopify account. We would use our development account until such time, as we deliver the live site to you. Once this has occurred you will need your own Shopify account and we will transfer the site to you.  At this point you will need your own Shopify account.
  2. Template / theme selection. We will step you through template / theme selection options. You will have free choice over any theme available at themes.shopify.com. Many templates have no cost while some have a cost, paid to Shopify. We will also fund the purchase of a paid-for theme up to US$250.00 in value if that is the theme you want.
  3. Overall design to be applied to the template selected to customise the look and feel of the site. The design process is not priced to be a back and forth process. We would consult prior to doing the customisation. We will listen to your brief and provide a design. Minor adjustments can be made within the quote but any diversion from the original brief would add to the cost.
  4. The site will have the following base elements created for you
    1. Including text (which you are to provide), images, button. We would also include a location map.
    2. Home page links to any business accounts you have for: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
    3. About page. Your text, describing you and your business.
    4. Privacy Policy page listing a policy we have – that you can modify.
    5. Terms and conditions page: terms and conditions that you can modify.
    6. Contact us page showing your contact details as well as an enquiry form.
    7. Configured Product Page showing the images and details about products.
    8. Shopify Chat setup, if you want chat turned on.
  1. The setup of loading of products into the site via a live link to the Retailer software. We would need you to have this data in Retailer ready for export.
  2. Interfacing to one or both payment gateways: Stripe and Paypal.
  3. Interfacing to both of Humm and Zip. You will need to create the accounts with them. Afterpay is an additional $500 and you will need to create an account.
  4. Training of your nominated person in the management of the site. This is done over the phone and should take no more than two hours. We would suggest two sessions of training for appropriately skilled people.

We have many moe websites in our portfolio and new sites launching every week.

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Retail business advice: disaster planning today can save you tomorrow

March 12, 2021
5 Min read
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No one wants to plan for disaster. It’s a negative activity, easily put off for more happy and optimistic pursuits. The reality is that most business owners will confront some form of disaster at some point in their business life. This advice is far-reaching, designed to act as a broad list of steps you can undertake to be prepared. Do it all or some, but do something … otherwise when you need good planning you will not have a plan on which to fall back.

Too often, the need for good disaster planning is realised after a disaster has hit the business.  Our retail business advice here offers business and computer related advice which is designed to mitigate the impact of a disaster on your business.

Insurance Protection

Insurance coverage is vital to helping a retail business overcome any type of disaster.  In addition to ensuring that your insurance policy covers all disaster situations of concern to you, including flood, theft, water inundation, fire, earthquake, riot—be sure to carefully read the policy, ensure that your insurance policy / policies cover payouts for the following:

  1. ‪Business interruption.  The amount should equal your anticipated gross profit for whatever period you choose to be covered.
  2. Data recovery.  Including the hiring of experts to recover data from backup sources or the manual entry of data which cannot be automatically recovered.  It needs to ensure that you are covered to the point of recovered data being useable in transacting business.
  3. Lost stock.  This is stock stolen, lost from the business.
  4. Damaged and unsaleable stock.  This is stock which is water damaged, scuffed or dented and which will not attract full price.
  5. Dated stock.  This is stock that you cannot sell by the due date.
  6. Many policies require explicit statement of glass coverage.
  7. Temporary trading premises.  Business interruption may cover this.  Ensure that it is explicitly stated.
  8. Key person injury and/or death. This will usually be a separate policy.  Depending on the disaster, coverage may also be available through the overall business policy.

Ensure that the value of stock, fixtures and fittings covered by your policy is an accurate reflection of the real value of these items.  Talk with your insurance company about the best approach to track this on an ongoing basis.

Insurance brokers can provide access to assessors who can advise on the appropriate level of insurance for your situation.

Use your Point of  Sale system to track all stock movements in and out.  The stock on hand in  your software should be your coverage.

Ensure that your insurance policy protects for the seasonal nature of your business

Data Protection

Business data is one of the most valuable assets of the business.  Like insurance, the value is often not understood until you need what you do not have.  Retailers who are serious about protecting their business data in the event of any disaster follow these steps:

  1. ‪Backup your business data every day, at the end of the day, without fail.
    1. RECOMMENDATION: use a cloud based backup service that undertakes the backup as the day unfolds without you having to every do anything to cause a backup to be taken.
  2. Maintain a separate backup for each day of the week.  Consider a separate backup for the last day of each month.
  3. Remove the backup medium, usually a USB stick, from the business premises each day – outside the business property.
  4. Store the backup in a safe, dry place.
  5. Check the usefulness of the backup by restoring and checking the data.
  6. Store original business software in a safe off-site location.
  7. Check the backup every three to six months – to make sure the backup is actually backing us current data and can be read. A backup you cannot read is a waste of time and money.
  8. Change your passwords regularly.
  9. Do not share passwords widely.

Disaster Planning

Here are broader suggestions on planning for a disaster in your business property.

  1. ‪Keep off-site copies of: Business contracts and agreements; employee contact details, business account and other passwords, insurance details, recent photographs of fixtures, fittings and stock.
  2. For records you cannot easily copy or that may change as the trading day unfurls, consider having a go bag ready for you to grab if there is a risk to the premises such as a bushfire.
  3. Maintain a register of all employees in the business premises at any time.
  4. Prepare and place in a prominent place an evacuation plan.
  5. Maintain a professional grade OH&S compliant first aid kit. Have this checked regularly.
  6. Regularly maintain all fire extinguishers – check with your local fire brigade about this.
  7. Ensure that the business premises is safe and maintained to the local building codes and OH&S regulations.
  8. Have a trained first aid officer in staff. Your local St Johns or similar will be able to provide training.
  9. Use government resources such as the emergency planning kit at the federal government website: http://www.business.gov.au/business-topics/templates-and-downloads/emergency-management-template-and-guide/Pages/default.aspx
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Retail business advice: finding confidence in a fog out doubt

March 11, 2021
3 Min read
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Retail can be tough. It is easy to lose your mojo, to lose your confidence. Here are things we have found nurture confidence. We share these here not as mental health experts but as business colleagues, talking with friends …

  • Know your business. This starts with knowing your business data, respecting it and basing decisions on the data. This provides a foundation for changes that are right in and for your business.
  • Take small steps. Sometimes, confidence fades or can be a challenge when the task ahead or the changes to be made appear too big. Break them down. Focus on the next step. Take that one step. Cheer the result. Next, take the next step.
  • Know you are not alone. No matter what change or challenge you face, there are people who can and will help. Put your hand up. There is no shame in this.
  • Focus on the destination. Where do you want to be as a result of a change in your business, new products or a new marketing initiative. Focus on the destination and ignore the barriers you create in your head. Often, the barriers are only there because you allowed yourself to see them.
  • Facts encourage confidence. Facts such as evidence of success of others and evidence of success in your own business underpin confidence. The key is to look at the facts, to focus on them and not the possible barriers you can create.
  • Hire confident people.
  • Let go of people who are not confident, who talk change down, who are negative at their core.
  • Play confident music in your office and in the shop.
  • Dress with confidence.
  • Know that a failure is always a success. Every change you make in your business is a success because you either make more money, enjoy your business more or learn what not to do next time because it did not go as planned. There is only upside from change.

A lack of confidence is not easily overcome. We understand that and do not seek here to be glib about it. Lack of confidence in anything is a serious challenge, yet one to overcome for the future of the business, personal achievement and the benefit of all who rely on the business.

Rather than investing time in the fog of a lack of confidence, our advice is to look out beyond the fog, to take small steps … forward.

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Retail business advice: how to reduce the impact of shoplifting in your retail business

March 10, 2021
3 Min read
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Theft by customers costs a typical retail business on average between .7% and 2.2% of annual product revenue. While this can vary by type of retail business, the band of .7% to 2.2% are considered a reasonable guide in costing this to the business.

Things you can do to reduce customer theft in your business …

  1. Greet customers as they enter and leave. Make eye contact.
  2. If you have a security system, have a screen on the shop floor in plain sight showing that it is on and filming.
  3. Have a notice at the door indicating that you have video surveillance.
  4. Be wary of people in bulky clothing, anyone constantly looking behind or around them, any group of shoppers, anyone distracting attention of staff members, someone looking for too long at an it or someone who is uneasy with an offer of assistance.
  5. Make a mental or written note of the description of anyone fitting patterns noted in 2.
  6. Have a policy of reporting suspicious behaviour to the most senior staff member in the shop.
  7. Consider asking the suspicious person to leave.
  8. If you are successful in catching someone, let your local newspaper know and post it on Facebook – without identifying the person.

If you suspect that theft has occurred:

  1. Immediately you are aware of a theft, call the police. Make a clear and concise report.
  2. Note down everything you can remember including date, time, description of the person(s) involved, what they looked at, your notes about seeing them entering, what they looked at, what they took and that they left without paying. Get all staff involved to make noted without referring to each other.
  3. If you are comfortable, considerer approaching the person (only after point 1) and saying you think they may have an item they did not pay for. Invite them back to the shop to resolve the matter. If you decide to do this: approach them from the front in a non-threatening way, do not touch them, say something like: Excuse me, I’m with newsXpress XXX, could I speak to you about the merchandise in your coat/purse/bag? Would you please accompany me back into the store? If they run, don’t chase them.
  4. If they accompany you back to the store, invite them to show you their bag, coat, purse or anything where your goods could be hidden. If it looks like you made a mistake, apologise and let them go. If the goods are found ask what they would like to do about it. If the goods are not found and you remain suspicious, ask them to wait for the police.

If the person left the store with no opportunity for you to speak to them, consider carefully what you may do with any video footage or photos. While the law varies state to state, police and lawyers advise retailers against publishing photos of videos, especially if there is an accusation that the person identified committed a crime. Such publishing could be used to have the case withdrawn. When you speak with your local police, ask their advice on this.

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Online Easter gift pack helps local retailers expand the reach of Easter

March 9, 2021
1 Min read
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The Easter gift pack being sold through a local retail business connected magenta website we developed is proving popular with Easter shoppers this year.

This gift pack bundle uses smarts embedded in our POS software that enable and manage product bundling into a pack or hamper, tracking sales and facilitating easy picking and packing of the Easter gift pack opportunity.

This clever POS software tech / Magento website integration developed by us here at Tower Systems is another way we are helping small business retailers to reach shoppers beyond their local areas.

We are proud to help local retailers in this way.

Since we are retailers too we help our retailers appropriately leverage our POS software for best advantage in-store and online … whether it be with a Magento, Shopify or WooCommerce website connected to our POS software.

The online Easter gift pack opportunity is another way our POS software is helping connected retailers to make the most of the Easter retail season.

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Retail business advice: how to assess gross profit by floorspace in your retail business

March 9, 2021
3 Min read
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While there are plenty of retail performance KPIs you can use to assess the performance of your retail business, what we outline here is simple and easy … a good starting point for people not sophisticated when it comes to grad school business KPI analysis.

This advice outlines one of the first assessments we undertake when asked by the owner of a retail business to review the performance of a business. The approach we outline here provides an understanding of the return being achieved from floor space allocation. With retail space usually costing between 11% and 15% of  revenue it is usually the next highest cost outside of the cost of stock itself.

Spend half an hour on what we suggest here and the result should be a different view of the performance of your floor space allocation. This is not advice you will get from your accountant or from reviewing your P&L or computer reports. It is designed to be practically helpful in managing your business.

Please follow these simple steps.

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

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

The above steps do not take into account product size and the average gross profit percentage from each dollar of revenue for a department.

The objective of the analysis is to provide you with fresh insights you could use when considering floor space change.

You can take the analysis a step further by looking only at one department and analysing performance by category.

This advice is an example of the practical small business retail management advice provided buy Tower Systems in its assistance to indie small business retailers. Beyond the POS software we help retailers run more valuable, successful and enjoyable businesses.

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Retail business advice: choosing the POS software that’s best for your business

March 8, 2021
2 Min read
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How do you choose the POS software that is best for your retail business? Here is our advice based on years helping small business retailers.

Note, while we are a POS software company, our advice here is not specific to our product. rather, it is general and couple apply to any retail business considering POS software.

There is no short-cut or easy way to choose POS software for your retail business for if you do take a short-cut it is likely to hurt you. It’s kinda like the carpenter mantra, measure twice, cut once. For choosing POS software for your retail business, research, research again before you decide.

This is not something to outsource. It is your business, you need to own the decision.

Technology knowlkdge is not required. If a POS software company representative speaks in tech speak tell them to stop. It is likely they would do this to dazzle you into a possibly wrong decision.

But let’s take a step back. before you can start the process of choosing the right POS software for you business you need to know what you want and what all those in your business who will use the software will want from the POS software. Get your requirements right first and your process of selection from there will be easier for you and better for the business.

So, let’s get is a list of what we think you need to do to choose the right POS software for your retail business …

  1. Own the process of choosing the right POS software for your retail business yourself.,
  2. Know what you want.
  3. Be sure of what you need.
  4. Prioritise these list. And, yes, they are two lists.
  5. Keep conversations away from tech jargon.
  6. Take your time.
  7. Look at the software.
  8. Talk to others using the software.
  9. Get claims made by any POS software company in writing or recorded – so you have a record. A good POS software company will want to do this for you.
  10. Make a decision when you are ready.
  11. Don’t be pressured by a pricing deal.

Choosing the right POS software for your retail business is something to approach seriously, in a structured way and with the needs and wants of you and your business paramount at all times.

Remember, you are choosing a relationship with tech ology and not the person selling it to you.

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