A customer walks in with half a jumper on the needles and a problem. They need three more balls of the same yarn, in the same colourway, and ideally the same dye lot. They bought the first lot from you in autumn. Can you tell them, quickly, what they bought and whether you can get more?
Moments like that matter in a sewing, fabric and knitting shop. It’s a small sale, but they’re a long-term customer. Get it right and they’ll be back for the next project, and they’ll probably tell their knitting group. Get it wrong and they’ll go looking online.
The way these shops sell is different
Most POS software is built around a simple idea: one barcode, one item, one price. Fabric and craft retail doesn’t work like that. Fabric is sold by the metre, sometimes by the half or quarter metre. Ribbon, trim and elastic go by length. Yarn is sold by the ball but managed by brand, weight, colourway and dye lot. Patterns, notions, needles and kits all sit alongside each other, often from dozens of small suppliers.
If your software can’t sell by length or fraction, staff end up guessing, rounding or keying in prices by hand. Each workaround is a small leak. Across a year, those leaks add up to real money and unreliable stock figures.
Special orders are part of the service
Craft customers ask for things you don’t have on the shelf. A specific yarn, a backing fabric to match a quilt top, a pattern that’s out of stock. Handling those requests well is one of the best reasons to shop local rather than online.
Good software records the special order against the customer, tracks any deposit, flags it when the stock arrives and helps you get in touch. That beats a sticky note on the till, and it saves an awkward phone call three weeks later.
Know your regulars
Sewing and knitting customers tend to be loyal and project-driven. A simple customer record showing past purchases lets you answer the dye-lot question in seconds. It also lets you tell regulars when new season yarns or fabrics arrive. A discount voucher sent at the right moment often works better than a complicated points scheme.
Look at what actually makes money
Many craft shops carry a huge range. Some of it moves every week. Some of it has been sitting in a drawer since 2022. Reporting by supplier, department and product tag shows which lines earn their space and which are quietly tying up cash. That’s especially useful before the next buying season.
What to do this week
Pick five recent special orders and check how they were recorded. Could anyone in the shop find them, see the deposit and know when the stock arrived? If the answer is no, your software is costing you goodwill.
Tower Systems makes POS software for independent specialty retailers, including sewing, fabric, haberdashery and knitting shops. It handles sales by length and fraction, special orders, customer history and loyalty, and comes with free one-on-one training and local support from people who understand how these shops work.
To talk through whether Tower is the right fit for your shop, call us on 1300 662 957 or email sales@towersystems.com.au. www.towersystems.com.au. Locally made. Locally supported.
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