A bookshop isn’t like most other shops, and its software shouldn’t be either.
Loc al independent bookshops are unique, with a voice of their own that is vital to in-store and online representation.
A local indie bookshop carries thousands of titles, and plenty of them sell one copy a year. Customers ask for “the new one by the woman who wrote that lighthouse book”. Every supplier has its own rules for ordering and returns. Generic retail software isn’t built for any of this, and it doesn’t take long to show.
Start with how your shop works
Before you look at any software, write down how a normal week runs. Receiving stock, special orders, returns, events, the book club, online orders.
Then mark the jobs that eat the most time and the mistakes that keep happening. That’s your list of problems to solve. Take it to every demonstration. It stops the presenter steering you towards features you’ll never use.
Title lookup and book data
When a new title arrives, you should be able to scan the barcode and have the title, author, publisher and category fill in. Typing them by hand is slow, and the typos come back to bite you every time you search or run a report.
Check that the software connects to the industry data you already use, such as TitlePage. Then ask how it handles imported titles with international barcodes. If you stock overseas editions, adding them should be no harder than adding local ones.
Finding books in your own stock
Customers rarely give you the full title. They remember a word from the cover, half a name or just the author’s surname. Your software should let you search by title, author, or part of either.
Test this in the demonstration with real requests from your counter. If it takes more than a few seconds to find a book, your staff will give up on the search and start walking the shelves instead.
Ordering and supplier connections
Ordering is one of the biggest admin jobs in a bookshop. Look for software that connects to the platforms book suppliers use, such as Pacstream. Ordering from inside your POS means less double handling and stock records you can trust.
Find out how supplier invoices get into the system, too. The less you have to type, the better.
Returns
Handled badly, returns tie up cash and shelf space. Good software shows you which titles are eligible to go back, based on when they arrived, how many have sold and how many are still on hand.
Ask the presenter to take you through a full return, start to finish. It should follow a clear process that matches the way publishers and distributors expect returns to arrive.
Special orders
Special orders build loyalty. Tracked on paper, or in someone’s head, they also go missing. Your software should record the order, track it until it arrives and help you let the customer know it’s in.
Check how the system flags a special order when the stock is received. The last thing you want is a customer’s book going onto the shelf and out the door with someone else.
Clubs, loyalty and community
Book clubs, school and library groups, author events and loyalty programs are a big part of why people choose an independent bookshop over a website.
Your software should keep customer records and purchase history, and handle loyalty rewards and group pricing. Being able to contact customers based on the authors and genres they buy is one of the simplest ways to bring them back.
Selling online
If you have a website, or plan to, check how the POS connects to it. Stock should stay in step between the shop and the site, so you don’t sell a book online that went out the door yesterday.
Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce are common choices. Ask which ones the software supports. Choice matters here, because if your POS only works with one platform, changing later gets painful.
You want control over your online presence, including how you describe what you sell.
Accounting, rostering and payments
Your POS shouldn’t sit on its own. See whether it links to your accounting software, such as Xero, and to rostering tools such as Tanda or Deputy if you use them. Confirm which EFTPOS providers are supported, and whether the software adds transaction fees of its own.
Cloud or desktop
Some bookshops want cloud software they can reach from anywhere. Others want a desktop system that keeps trading when the internet drops out. Ask whether you get to choose, and whether you can switch later.
Support and training
On a busy Saturday with a queue at the counter, support matters more than any feature. Ask who provides it, where they’re based and what hours they keep. Support from the company that writes the software is usually faster and better informed than support from a reseller.
Training matters as well. Casual staff come and go, and good training material gets them confident on the counter sooner.
Questions to ask in every demonstration
- Can you add a new title by scanning its barcode?
- Can you find a book using part of the author’s name?
- How does Pacstream ordering work from inside the software?
- Can you walk me through a complete return?
- How are special orders tracked, and how is the customer told?
- How does stock stay in step with my website?
- What does it cost each month, and what’s included?
- Who answers the phone when I need help?
Bring real titles and real situations from your shop, and ask the presenter to work through them live. A polished script tells you very little about a wet Tuesday with two staff away.
Look past today
Ask how often the software is updated, how updates arrive and whether recent changes came from booksellers’ feedback. A company that’s still developing its product, and still listening, is a safer bet than one that’s coasting.
Some systems now offer AI-written product descriptions and automatic invoice importing. Both take a lot of the typing out of a big week of new releases.
How Tower Systems helps independent bookshops
Tower Systems has made and supported POS software for independent specialty retailers in Australia and New Zealand since 1981. Its bookshop software is built for local independent bookshops, not chains. Our software for bookshops is made for bookshops.
Title lookup runs through TitlePage and ordering through Pacstream. Staff can search by title, author or part of either, and scan international barcodes. Returns follow a structured process that picks out eligible titles, and special orders are tracked from the first enquiry to collection. Book club management, loyalty tools and group pricing are built in.
For online sales, Tower works with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce and Magento. It also links to Xero, Tanda and Deputy. You can run it in the cloud or on desktop, and when you call for help, you’ll reach a local team.
If you’re reviewing software for your bookshop, bring a list of your own titles and situations. Tower Systems will happily work through them with you in a demonstration.
BOOK A BOOKSHOP DEMONSTRATION
Book a demo. We’ll set up Tower Systems as a book shop would use it, answer your questions and record the demonstration so you can review it whenever you like. Understanding your business comes first. If our software isn’t suited to something you need, we’ll be honest about that. Email sales@towersystems.com.au, or call 1300 662 957 in Australia or 0800 444 367 in New Zealand.
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