The POS Software Blog

The POS Software Blog

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

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Small business retail health and safety advice: coming out of lockdown

May 11, 2020
2 Min read
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As Australia takes steps out of COVID-19 lockdown, small business retailers are confronted with challenges to provide a safe and healthy workplace while maintaining a commercially viable business.

As we have been doing since late January, we have shared advice with our customers on steps that can be taken in retail businesses in this evolving post COVID-19 lockdown world.

Here is some of the recent advice we have published to our customers. This list will evolve over time as we discover new resources. As it evolves, we will share updates with our POS software customers.

  1. Coronacast. The latest episode of this excellent podcast, released May 11, 2020, is about what we need to do in this lockdown easing situation. It’s about keeping you, your team and your family safe and healthy.
  2. Social distancing. Reprint and replace your posters. Use this poster from the federal government. It is the one recommended. Consistent messaging is key. Place this at the entrance as well as in-store.
  3. In-store advice. Click here to access up to date post lockdown advice for retailers from the Business resource Council of then UK. I have included this as I found some points to be interesting and relevant to Aussie retailers.
  4. Refresh floor markings to show distance.
  5. Maintain counter measures of distance at the counter.
  6. Maintain good supply of hand sanitiser at the store entrance and the counter.
  7. Reinforce hand washing and hand sanitising at the counter.
  8. Maintain a regime of surface cleaning.
  9. Out of store messaging. Use social media to rem ind your community what you are doing to keep them safe.
  10. Home delivery. The vulnerable cohorts are as vulnerable as ever. Maintain home delivery and curbside pickup services.

We think it is critical for everyone to realise that nothing has changed from when the novel coronavirus was first discovered. There is no vaccine. It is highly contagious. It can be lethal to several cohorts of the community. The best was to deal with it is to reduce infections rates. The best way to achieve this is through personal hygiene and social distancing. Doing this in an environment of easing of lockdown is challenging.

We hope that our advice for small business retailers is useful.

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Small business retail advice: as we come out of lockdown

May 10, 2020
2 Min read
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With several state and territory governments easing movement restrictions, people are talking more about life after lockdown, business owners are talking about this. If you have not done so already, we urge you to consider what your retail business looks like after lockdown or as lockdown provisions are eased.

Here is advice were provided to our POS software customers over a week ago.

While only you can know what is right for your own business, we offer this list of suggestions for your consideration:

  1. Change everything. This is the best opportunity to make major change. Move whole departments, change prices, change the counter focus, the counter process. Right now is a perfect opportunity for sweeping change in any business.
  2. Look at your pricing. Is it appropriate? Could adjustments be beneficial?
  3. Look at every supplier. Ask yourself, do they bring value (and joy) to the business.
  4. Make the shopping experience fresh, more appealing. Help your shoppers feel that they are in a new business.
  5. Quit hard and quick. Dump bins at the front of products you are exiting. This is the perfect time to make the move.
  6. Reconsider every business process. Is it beneficial to the business? If not, why continue with it? Be frugal with your time and capital investments.
  7. Share appreciation. From your front window to inside the shop, demonstrate shopper appreciation.
  8. Play uplifting music. Celebrate any step away from lockdown.
  9. Celebrate stories. Encourage people to share positive lockdown stories, somehow in-store on online through social media.
  10. The past is the past. It is tiresome hearing about how tough things have been, how troubling the times are, how difficult things are. People are living this. We are living this. Reminding people does not help in our view.

Now really is the opportunity for significant change in any business. Opportunities like this are rare. I urge all retailers to seize the opportunity.

Tower Systems helps small business retailers beyond POS software. We provide business management advice in pursuit of more enjoyable and successful retail businesses. As retailers ourselves for many years across several retail formats we draw on personal experiences as well as the collective experiences of our broad user community.

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How does our POS software compare to VEND?

May 7, 2020
2 Min read
H

We are often asked by small business retailers how our Point of Sale software compares to VEND POS software. We have not used VEND so we cannot comment from personal experience. What we can say is this:

  1. Our POS software is made by us.
  2. It is specialty in nature.
  3. Our POS software is designed for specialty retailers.
  4. It is feature rich, tailored to the specific needs of certain retail channels.
  5. It is not designed to be for everyone.
  6. It is not basic.
  7. It is not the sort of software that would teach yourself.
  8. It is regularly updated.
  9. Our POS software connects with many suppliers for electronic invoices and supplier stock files.
  10. Our POS software connects direct with Xero, Shopify, magenta, Woo, Tyro, PCEftpos and more.
  11. It can be rented or bought outright.
  12. It is updated regularly.
  13. You control when nit is updated.
  14. Our support is offered by humans. When you call us, which is easy, a human answers.
  15. You can speak to the owner of our business.
  16. We provide unlimited one-on-one free training.
  17. People in our company use their real name.
  18. We have a ton of user documentation if you like to read.
  19. We enjoy what we do.
  20. We’ve been in business since 1981.

That’s 20 points. We could go on.

We are proud of what we do, what we offer and that we are a different POS software company to those chasing the everyday marketplace. Our comfortable place is niche, specialty retail. We do it well and have done for many years. We walk away from more opportunities than we pitch to, because we are a specialty POS software company making and supporting POS software for certain specialty retailers.

We’re not for everyone, and that’s good. It helps us focus and that helps our customers focus.

Point of Sale software is critical for small business retailers. More important than that is the right POS software. Too often retailers think any POS software is good for them. Specialty retail needs specialty software and that is what Tower Systems develops, sells and supports – specialty POS software to serve the needs of specialty retailers in the retail channels we name in our website.

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POS software made for small business music shops

May 6, 2020
3 Min read
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Tower Systems offers POS software for music shops. Point of Sale software to help music shops manage sales, repairs, warranty coverage, insurance and more as it brings to life tools and facilities designed to help small business musical instrument retailers to better serve their customers.

Developed on the back of awesome Australian made POS software for toiler specialty retailers, the Tower Systems music shop POS software is unqiue,  niche and highly tailored to the needs of local music shops.

Importing supporters stock files with product descriptions and pricing is easy. The Toower software handles EDI with ease. Indeed, this direct supplier stock file and invoice link frees music retailers for easy access to data direct from suppliers in a modern and 2020 way.

Using the Tower Systems Music Shop POS software, retailers are able to easily and efficiently…

  1. Track all customer purchases. This makes after sales follow up easy and structured.
  2. Track item serial numbers.
  3. Track and manage repairs including those down in-house and those sent out.
  4. Manage marketing to shoppers based on specific purchases.
  5. Provide personal product care information with each item sold.
  6. Bundle items to make packages attractive for parents and to limit the opportunity of price comparison.
  7. Offer buy now pay later to protect business cash flow while allowing customers time to pay for purchases.
  8. Bring in supplier electronic invoices.
  9. Bring in supplier stock files.
  10. Encourage one-time shoppers to spend more in a visit.
  11. Personalise receipts so they are beautiful and functional.
  12. Sell anywhere, any time.
  13. Sell online through a beautiful Shopify link.
  14. Link to Xero and cut the cost of bookkeeping.
  15. Link to EFTPOS to reduce keystrokes and mistakes.
  16. Steamline the sales counter.
  17. Order based on real sales data – thereby reducing over stock and dead stock.

Respecting the capital needs of retail, our music shop POS software is available for rental for $145.00 a month. For this you get…

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

The $145.00 is charged per 30 days, in advance. Access can be cancelled at any time. You can also choose to purchase the software outright.

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Advice for small business retailers: with EFTPOS use up, here are tips for mitigating the bank cost

May 5, 2020
2 Min read
A

Here at Tower Systems we share business advice with our small business Point of Sale software users regularly through emails and other platforms, to help them run more successful and enjoyable businesses.

Recently, we have provided advice on addressing concerns about EFTPOS fees. As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, use of cards has risen considerably, adding a layer of cost to small business retailers that they cannot easily mitigate. We put together advice for small business retailers on how to deal with this, through their POS software and through key management decisions they can make.

Here is what we first sent to our customers over a month ago…

With the use of EFTPOS higher now, here are some tips to help insulate your business from a higher operating cost compared to cash.

  1. Promote cash. Check advice from the Royal Australian Mint on handling cash during COVID19.
  2. If you use Tyro, offer cash out as that cuts your fee to $0.00. We love Tyro EFTPOS – it’s fast, easy and safe.
  3. 99c. Use 99c pricing wherever possible. Pricing psychology suggests that 75c, 90c, 95c and similar are seen as the same as 90c.
  4. Price smart. We know from  pricing experts that $12.99 is seen the same as $13.99, that $16.99 is seen the same as $17.99, that $18.99 is seen as the same as $19.99, that $28.50 is seen the same as $29.99 … you get the drift..
  5. Bundle. Package multiple items into an easy shop bundle. This makes price comparison harder and allows you to creep on price.
  6. Have excellent impulse lines at the counter. An extra item or two I the basket drive purchase value beyond what the shopper may have approached the counter with. How do you know items are excellent? Their performance, trial and error.

Practical advice like this is common from us as we serve our small business retailer POS software users with ways they can work on their businesses to improve return as well as business enjoyment. It is advice that comes from our own well of us running ships ourselves, from using our own POS software in our own shops. It helps us walk in the shoes of our customers.

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Newsagency POS software COVID-19 impact retail sales benchmark study

May 4, 2020
2 Min read
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Friday last week we announced the launch of a newsagency sales benchmark study for April to assess the impact on sales of COVID-19 on that quintessentially Australian retail channel.

Here is the announcement we emailed to the 1,700+ newsagents in the Tower community:

I invite you to provide data for a special COVID-19 related newsagency sales performance benchmark study. The benchmark provides data against which you can compare your business performance. 

How to participate.

  1. Please run a Monthly Sales Comparison Report for 01/04/2020 – 30/04/2020 compared to 01/04/2019 – 30/04/2019.
  2. Tick the category box. IMPORTANT.
  3. Tick to exclude home delivery and sub agent data.
  4. DO NOT tick the supplier box.
  5. Preview the report on the screen. Save as a PDF and email this to me at mark@towersystems.com.au.
  6. Read the report yourself and see what it shows you about your business.

I will email the results to all participating newsagents and publish the results on theAustralian Newsagency Blog as a service for all newsagents.

COVID-19 has impacted our channel in myriad ways. I am aware of significant differences between city and country, mall and high street. I’d love to collate data from a good pool of businesses to provide back to the channel useful data on this.

I own and run three newsagencies. Over the years I have had three others. I own newsXpress, the newsagency marketing group.

Tower Systems serves 1,750+ newsagents with best practice newsagency software, We are thrilled to note that our customer base is growing. We welcomed 30+ newsagency businesses as new customers in the last year. Overall, Tower Systems serves in excess of 3,500 small business retailers.

Mark Fletcher
M | 0418 321 338

We are grateful to have the resources to undertake such a study and to have a 15 year track record of running similar studies for the channel.

We will collect the detailed basket data, wash it, analyse it and provide insights back to newsagents.

Our goal is to turn the data around in a few weeks, to provide valuable insights that newsagents can use to further improve their businesses, to leverage opportunities that may be shown in some areas compared to others.

The newsagency channel is a useful view of retail more broadly given the geographic coverage.,

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POS software help desk support on Saturdays for small business retailers

May 2, 2020
2 Min read
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Here at Tower Systems we love Saturdays like everyone. We love our customers too. That is why today, like any Saturday, even in this COVID-19 impacted world, we are open for business, helping our customers with software support through our help desk.

This office based help desk support is better and more equipped than someone on the end of a mobile phone. Our Saturday Point of Sale software support service has access to the full suite of services our customers can tap into Monday through Friday.

We are grateful to our local help desk team members who enable us to provide these services of local POS software support to small business retailers.

Through POS software support we help our customers with queries, training, software updates, supplier stock files, connection to Xero, integration with Shopify and more, much more as small business retailers make the most of tech through the coronavirus as the recast their businesses.

Our POS software help desk services for small business retailers has expanded as the needs of retailers have expanded through the pandemic experience,. We are pleased to help and to especially help on a Saturday.

Saturday POS software support is a differentiator for us and we are pleased to be able to deliver for our small business customers, those using our POS software. Helping people today is especially good because the reaction is usually awesome, especially from new customers not used to being able to get support on a Saturday.

On Saturdays, our POS software support services are accessible through all of our contact points.

  • SUPPORT.
    • Help Desk Mon-Fri 7am – 6pm AEST and Sat. 7:30am to 3pm.
      • VIC (and national): 03 9524 8000. If other numbers are not working, call this one.
      • NSW: 02 8556 1600.
      • QLD: 07 3136 6888.
      • SA: 08 8121 3366.
      • NZ: 0800 444 367.
    • After hours support for system down calls: 
      • 0418 554 963
      • 0419 842 334
    • Email: support@towersystems.com.au.
    • Website: www.towersystems.com.au

Retailers are thrilled to have access to us on a Saturday and we are grateful to be able to help them make the most of their POS software technology even on weekends and even in this messy world of COVID-19. Every call, every contact, is another good news opportunity, which we relish and appreciate.

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POS software help for SME retailers in the new normal world of COVID-19

May 1, 2020
2 Min read
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Tower Systems has been helping retailers with advice and support elating to COVID-19 since late January, when we realised that the coronavirus outbreak was going to significantly impact SME retail around the world, especially in areas where we serve.

In a practical sense we have helped by eliminating some fees, making some add-on modules to our software free, offering free home licences and freezing software support fees at 2018 price levels.

We have also maintained full capacity on our help desk – to ensure our SME retail customers have access to the POS software support they need. Call traffic has continued at pre-COVID-19 levels. However, the nature of the calls has changed, which is interesting. retailers are spending more time woking on their businesses. It is terrific to see and we are grateful to the able to help them do this.

We have also recalibrated our web development team to ensure we quickly serve the needs of current and new custommeersd seeking our help to bring their businesses online.

We have also been hosting free online training sessions as well as retail business owner connectivity sessions – helping retailers have a place where they can talk with and support each other. This has been important in encouraging good mental health.

While COVID-19 is challenging for SMEs, Tower Systems is helping retailers to efficiently  and safely serve their customers. That our retailers can offer contactless retail has been a real boost for their businesses and a terrific comfort to their customers. Having our product in the marketplace years before COVID-19 helped is have an established and beneficial solution that retailers can leverage to their benefit as they themselves navigate the pandemic.

There is a silver lining in all this. retailers, especially SME retailers are developing stronger businesses, businesses that are evolving rapidly to the new world, a changed world and we are grateful to be part of these transformations. With many being data driven we are there. With some switching retail channels, we are there. As a specialty retail POS software company we understand niche and are grateful to be able to help.

Tower Systems serves in excess of 3,000 small business retailers in Australia and New Zealand.

Oh, welcome to May 2020!

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Helping small business retailers with safe contactless selling through smart POS software

April 25, 2020
2 Min read
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Using our POS software, contactless selling is easy for small business retailers:

  • Sell from the front of the shop using our portable Roam POS solution.
  • Separate your register from the counter with our Roam solution.
  • Sell from your van or car, taking your business to the people using Roam.
  • Sell online for click and collect – through Shopify, Magento and Woo.
  • Sell online for safe, curbside pickup.
  • Sell online for delivery anywhere.
  • Sell in-store and get contactless payment.

We are grateful to offer software that facilitates these benefits. We also also grateful to be welcoming new customers to our community as they gear-up their businesses for a fresh and safe approach to retail in what is a new-normal economy.

Offering retailers the ability to sell from anywhere, at anytime and using multiple payment methods as well as product pick up and delivery options is 2020 in motion. We have brought retailers to this contactless world who had previously never considered needing such an option.

To have the contactless, potable and remote accessibility to the POS software and full inventory stock away from the counter is liberating for small business retailers as they found new ways of doing business, new ways that help them find new customers.

Freeing retail staff from the counter, helping them sell from ut the front of the shop[ or on the road is providing retail businesses opportunities beyond what they had been doing. This gives customers confidence that the business is safe. It also helps SME retailers to connect with shoppers they may have never met previously.

We offer POS software specifically developed for:

  • Jewellers.
  • Garden centres.
  • Produce / farm supply businesses.
  • Bike shops
  • Toy shops.
  • Gift shops.
  • Firearms businesses.
  • Pet stores.
  • Newsagencies.
  • Convenience stores.
  • Homewares stores.
  • Adult shops.

In addition to awesome POS software, we develop POS software connected websites to help 0ur retailers make the most of the opportunity of selling and winning new customers online, leveraging their Hugh street store infrastructure to sell to more the those in town.

Tower Systems serves in excess of 3,000 small business retailers with POS software that is made for niche specialty retailers.

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We support small business retailers in their push for 3 months rent free for their retail tenancies

April 24, 2020
2 Min read
W

We urge small business retailers and their suppliers to send the text below, or their own version of it, to politicians to drive maximum interest in a 3 months rent free campaign, to achieve for others what was achieved yesterday in WA. Here is the suggested text:

I am a small business retailer and retailers like me need your help. Thanks to strong leadership, federal and state / territory governments have flattened the COVID-19 curve. A consequence has been an extraordinary drop in retail foot traffic.

While we appreciate the 25% rent waiver we can negotiate with our landlord thanks to the mandatory code, it will not help. There are retailers like us who can’t cover wages let alone the 75% of usual rent. JobKeeper helps employees, not in paying rent.

We urge you to advocate for an immediate 3 month waiver of all rent, funded by government. Without this we think many independent local shops will close, families will lose their homes and demands on Centrelink dramatically increase.

This is urgent. Please help. Small businesses need you.

Here are email addresses you could use in addition to other state and federal politician email addresses you find – especially state leaders in your area.

senator.cormann@aph.gov.au
senator.cash@aph.gov.au
josh.frydenberg.mp@aph.gov.au
attorney@ag.gov.au
Christian.Porter.MP@aph.gov.au
department@treasury.gov.au
Peter.Dutton.MP@aph.gov.au
Karen.Andrews.MP@aph.gov.au
Chris.Bowen.MP@aph.gov.au
jim.chalmers.mp@aph.gov.au
mark.dreyfus.mp@aph.gov.au
senator.katy.gallagher@aph.gov.au
Brendan.O’Connor.MP@aph.gov.au

For the Prime Minister, use a feedback form on his website.

The more retailers and their suppliers engage with this campaign the better.

We emailed 1,700 newsagents about this yesterday morning. We have also engaged with our own customers about this and they have been engaging with politicians, sending the email far and wide.

This is an important lobbying campaign by our channel. Even if your business is not down in revenue, you have colleagues who are and they need your support. The email have been written with that in mind.

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Free online workshops for small business retailers: selling online

April 23, 2020
1 Min read
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Thanks to the seamless connection between our POS software and Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce and our awesome in-house and local web development team, we are able to share personal experiences in these workshops for small business retailers keen to sell online:

Let’s research some of your competitors, popular keywords and more as part of understanding what selling online could look like. Come armed with questions and details of your competitors you’d like us to stalk.

2 sessions: Apr 23, and 24 2020 10:00 AM Melbourne time.
https://zoom.us/j/96727738375?pwd=ZUprQzJKRDAxL3Z2YXNWTE80c2ZOQT09
Meeting ID: 967 2773 8375 Password: 004633

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Advice for small business retailers in COVID-19 world

April 22, 2020
2 Min read
A

Small business retailers are getting stuff done in this COVID-19 world. rather than sitting on their hands or staying home, many are in their businesses, working on their businesses and prepping for life on the other side.

Here are some of the things we are seeing retailers in our POS software user community doing in these COVI(D-19 impacted days. each of these ideas presents what we call a covid pivot opportunity.:

  1. Getting online – connecting the POS software to an online store. We seamlessly connect to Shopify, Magento and WooCommerce. It’s fast, k easy and safe. Product descriptions, price and images flow easily to online.
  2. Stock take. Getting it done now and out of the way for the year. We offer multiple approaches to serve a variety of needs.
  3. Doing a Marie Kondo of data – getting rid of data that no longer sparks joy. Decluttering data is refreshing and commercially valuable for retailers.
  4. Culling suppliers. Taking a deep dive into supplier performance data and paring back. Suppliers not pulling their weight have no place in a retail business.
  5. Using the software. Finally going beyond using it as a cash register, unleashing the power! This makes us happy.

Of course, there are plenty of retailers in our community of 3,000+ not affected by COVID-198. Indeed, we have retailers trading up with some as much as 30% up year on year.

Working on your business and to in it has been a mantra for ages. It’s cliche, yet true. The opportunity right now to get stuff done is present and wonderful and the payback for small business retailers is excellent.

Tower Systems is helping retailers to work on their businesses with unlimited free training. This can be done in a group or one on one. Making training and guidance this accessible is key to helping the Tower Systems,ms small business POS software community make the most of the COVID-19 situation, to make the other side look even better.

We are grateful to our customers for embracing the opportunity to turn the challenge of COVID-19 into a learning and productive opportunity in so many independent and small retail businesses.

This is good news, a silver lining, and we are grateful to be able to be part of this.

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We support small business retailers in their fight for just and fair rent relief in this COVID-19 world

April 20, 2020
2 Min read
W

Here is a list of information requested by some retail tenancy landlords, including some shopping centre landlords where tenants have registered for JobKeeper, advised they qualify for JobKeeper and provided retail turnover data (in the usual format supplied to the landlord) showing declines of between 30% and 75%. Landlords have asked for information prior to opening discussions on rent.

Note: the list is not from the one landlord.

  1. Business bank statements for the last 2 years.
  2. Personal bank statements for the last 2 years for all business owners.
  3. Tax returns for the last 2 years, certified by your accountant.
  4. BAS statements for the last 2 years.
  5. A personal assets list for each owner or shareholder for the business.
  6. A full stock listing showing age and value of all stock.
  7. A list of all other businesses you own.
  8. A list of all other retail tenancies you have.
  9. Details of all state and federal government COVID-19 related funding and or grants you have applied for.

In my view, landlords have no right to this information. The CODE OF CONDUCT agreed by the national cabinet is clear. If a business applies and meets the criteria for JobKeeper, their lease falls within the details of the code.

The only data points that matters are comparative revenue. This can be provided in the form that has been used for years with most landlords. Their request for it in a different form is not part of the done. Indeed, I suggest that any such request is outside the good faith  goals of the code.

I think it is critical that retailers advise state and federal politicians when their landlords seek information outside the code, like any of the information on the above list. At the time of advising politicians, I also suggest advising the office of federal small business and family enterprise ombudsman, the shopping centre council of Australia, the treasurer, prime minister, premier / chief minister, local small business commissioner as well as your local council.

Landlords and tenants have clear obligations under the code. From what I am seeing, too many landlords are misbehaving in their requests for information. I doubt this is due to ignorance. I think it is to create a barrier to providing financial relief to tenants. If it continues, more retail businesses will close for good.

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