We are helping newsagents using our Point of Sale software to drive better ink deals by including this ad on receipts. Our customers have control over when the ad prints thanks to helpful tools in the software.  Including this ad, or any ad, on receipts is easy with our POS software. We have created a pack of professionally designed ads for use by our customers. This is a free service we offer to help newsagents using Tower Systems to drive better outcomes from their business.

Earlier this year we offered our Marketing Tools software free to existing customers using our Point of Sale software for a limited period of time. We advertised it only through this blog. Plenty took up the offer.

I made the offer as a thank you to our customers, particularly those engaging in our online activities.

We are starting to hear from people using the Marketing Tools and the benefits they are achieving. This is one note I received overnight from a happy customer.

Thank you Tower Systems. The marketing software is helping us market our business better than ever. We just sent out our first emails.  We are using our customer database and we are getting a response in sales. So thank you for this free gift. It is not often we in small business get a leg up. You have made us feel good.

It is not the first time we have given away valuable software and it will not be the last. We understand our role in helping our retail partners and adding value where we are able. The free Marketing Tools software did that. It is proof of our actions speaking louder than our words.

Every dollar added to the bottom line of a retail business is multiplied when it comes time to sell. We are glad to make our retailers more valuable.

We have invited our Point of Sale software customers to submit designs for any new reports they would like to see in our system.

Believing that a picture is really worth 1,000 words, we have asked them to sketch or lay out in Microsoft Excel the report they would like to see added to our software.

We will take the new report ideas, cost them and consider them in terms of applicability to our wider user community.

While it is easy for our users to create their own reports, pre-packaged reports are what the majority prefer.  hence the importance of this invitation.

We have now shipped our software update out to 900 of our users.  This update, the largest in two years, is being rolled out in a phased way to better manage help desk call traffic.  The remainder of update CDs will be shipped over the next two weeks.

The CDs contain a full copy of the software which can be used by our customers as a backup in an emergency situation.  This can be loaded onto any computer and get the business live with minimal fuss.  This offers more protection than requiring customers to log into a website to download new software in the case of a business emergency.

The feedback from people loading the update has been excellent.

Our development team is busy working on the next release.  Watch this space…

Inactive stock can be problematic for retailers in their Point of Sale software.  There are reasons for keeping a record of the items but often they can clog systems.  We make managing inaactive items easy by enabling them to be tagged as inactive.  By doing this, the inactive items do not come up in searches for current items.  We have just published a new advice sheet (G41) at our website to guide the proper may to manage inactive stock items in our Point of Sale software.

The latest version of our Point of Sale software which was released last week provides even more options for the look of price / barcode labels.

The new barcode printing facilities include additional font selections.  This additional flexibility allows retailers to develop labels which are more suited to their specific business needs.

Our view is that technology should not get in the way of a business representing itself as it wishes.

With a broad range of retailers using our software, from newsagents to jewellers, we have ensured that we offer the flexibility necessary to help our retailers merchandise product in a way which suits their businesses.

We are interviewing today for a new Point of Sale software installation and training role based in Melbourne.  We quietly advertised last month and have sifted through the responses to develop a shortlist.  This new role will boost our installation and training capacity.

We have expanded the panel which will conduct the interviews to include a representative from our sales team.  We see this as important since happy customers are key to sales growth.

We were thrilled to be selected by the Donna Hay organisation last year to provide our Point of Sale software to their new concept store. The installation proceeded well and included some enhancements developed specifically for their needs. These enhancements are also proving useful to other customers using our Point of Sale software.

We shipped our latest Point of Sale software update to 300 of our users earlier this week.  This is the next step in a carefully planned and managed roll out to this major release of our software.  Given the significant scope of the update it is important that we don’t flood our 2,000+ users with this new software.

The next batch of update CDs, which double as security backup of the software, will be sent in a week.

For the update to get this far in the release process, it has progressed through:

• Thorough in-house testing and QA assessment - done separately from the development team.
• Comprehensive beta testing in our own eight retail businesses.
• Comprehensive beta (phase two) testing in a group of customer retail locations.
• Limited release commercial release.

This is all before we send the update to the 300 customers I mention above.

Each of the testing and release phases must complete with flying colours before we move to the next.  This is crucial with such large update.

The next release of our software delivers a simple yet effective tool which will help tobacco retailers fulfill their obligations in retailing tobacco products. The software enhancements provide structure around the checking processes which are essential with new rules governing the retail of tobacco. We are not applying the enhancements as mandatory, that is up to our customers to decide. They can set the rules to apply to every tobacco sale and thereby give ,as business owners, a barrier at the sales counter to selling tobacco to underage customers.

Our January customer newsletter shared the results of our customer survey which was conducted late in 2009. We have received an excellent response to the newsletter including this note:

Thank you for letting us know the survey results in the newsletter. Your report gave an honest view of the results and this supports our confidence in your company.

In addition to ratings on various aspects of our business, we received a good range of longer form notes with the survey. I have now personally responded to all of these, following up on questions and thanking people for specific feedback.

I think it is important to show that feedback has been read and how it is being used. This will encourage greater engagement is other surveys we conduct.

The four pages off notes accompanying the major Point of Sale software update released this week by Tower Systems demonstrate the power of our Software Ideas facility.  We have tagged all of the enhancements which have come out of suggestions posted and voted on at the online Software Ideas forum launched last year on our company website.  We indicate a Software Ideas idea with the graphic as shown here.

We are proud to have delivered many enhancements suggested by users of our software.  The achievement is a testament to the support and engagement of our user community and the commitment of many within Tower Systems to delivering software by and for our user community.

We launched Software Ideas last year in an effort to give our customers a greater and more transparent say in the enhancement of the software.  This latest software deliveres the largest batch of user initiated suggestions.

We are offering four more free live online training workshops this week for users of our Point of Sale software.  The sessions are

• Mastering Sub Agents - Tuesday, Feb 2 @ 11am
• Magazine Management - Tuesday, Feb 2 @ 2pm
• Former POS Solutions users - Thursday, Feb 4 @ 11am
• Systems security - Thursday, Feb 4 @ 2pm

These online training sessions are a great way to learn.  Access is 100% free to Tower Advantage ^TM customers.  We pay for the phonecall for you to get audio content.

We use WebEx from Cisco because it’s the best tool for managing meetings like these.

We are rolling out a fresh look with the latest release of our Point of Sale software which will start shipping next week.  The new design is clean, simple to navigate and fresh.  Very 2010.

The new entry screen connects with other changes we will announce soon - we have exciting innovations coming.

We are hosting a free online training workshop today at 11am which focuses on our Point of Sale screen. We will cover basic functions as well as more unusual function, hidden gems which deliver more than traditional point of sale facilities.

Our POS screen has many shortcuts available to improve customer throughput.  These also reduce keystrokes and each keystroke cut is a potential mistake eliminated.

We also enable multiple tasks to run at once from the POS screen - in we workshop we will show you how.  This can help enable counter employees to do multiple things at once.

Through our smart Point of Sale screen technology we help add value to the sales counter function.  This drives better outcomes for the business as well as making the work day more interesting for employees.

Our training workshop will help sales staff better serve customers and the business - without compromising business security.  Click here to book - it’s free.

Our POS software helps smart retailers make excellent money from key gift giving seasons like Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Christmas and Valentine’s Day which is just around the corner. Hampers are a great way to drive premium business for the seasons and smart retailers are well placed to achieve good business from them.

Besides the good business results, hampers can be excellent centrepieces for a seasonal visual merchandising display.

From simple ‘hampers’ like the one shown in the photo, to full-op hampers with fifteen or more items, our software tracks it all from the individual item up.

Using our manufactured goods facilities, our retails are able to make up hampers, gift packs, by bringing together single items they have in the business.

Hampers can be sold under a barcode specific to the each yet sales are accurately recorded for each item which makes up the pack as well as for the whome hamper.

If the store runs out of single items, the packs can easily be broken down, using our POS software, back to individual items.

We own six retail businesses ourselves and are using these facilities regularly.

We are in the final days of preparation for the Reed Gift Fair in Melbourne this coming weekend. We’re on stand 3430 at the Melbourne Convention Centre.

In addition to readying a new release of our Gift Shop Point of Sale software, we have developed new marketing collateral for the trade show. This pitches the value of our offer and our focus on the gift shop marketplace.

The new marketing collateral also recognises that the trade show will be attended by newsagents and jewellers - other important marketplaces for us.

This is what we love about the gift fairs, the diversity in retailers attending.  It is an efficient marketing opportunity for us.

It is a challenge to create visually compelling collateral which promotes software and fits with the visual dynamic of a trade show floor full of terrific product. Software can look dry and unappealing.

In our marketing collateral we are connecting our software with the joy of saving time, making more money and building a stronger business - under the banner of MADE FOR YOU.

We have just completed another week of beta testing of a major Point of Sale software update.  The results I have seen are impressive.

We have also completed some visual enhancements and fresh artwork for the CD on which the update will be delivered.  These visual changes along with some exciting and surprise enhancements will strengthen our market position.

We are on track to start manufacturing update CDs and printing the comprehensive documentation pack starting, including new advice sheets, next weekend.

While most enhancements in the last year have been delivered online, our customers tell us that they like to receive a complete replacement copy of the software each year so that this can be kept in a safe place in case of an emergency.

With the CD we will send with this update will be a complete fresh copy of our software which can be loaded on any PC to get the business going immediately without the need to contact us.  This is excellent insurance, especially if internet access is down or slow.  As we have seen in several situations in the late year with fires and floods, having the CD can help a business minimise downtime.

So, we start manufacturing the CDs next weekend.  We will roll the update out on a staggered basis - to manage call traffic.

The update will be sent to all Tower Advantage ^TM customers.

How much is more efficient good customer service worth to a retail business? Our own research over the years suggests that it could be worth between 1% and 5% sales growth, depending on the type of business and the opportunities exploited.

Often, it is the customer service which brings a shopper back to a business. We have found ways, using our Point of Sale software, to reinforce the customer service experience and help present our partner retail businesses in a better light.

Here are some of the ways our software consistently improves the customer experience:

• Answering questions. Thanks to a powerful Point of Sale screen, many customer queries can be answered from the counter. This makes the business look good and encourages a good feeling in the customer.
• Managing appreciation. Our loyalty facilities track customer purchases and helps in distributing points and other rewards. There is store evidence that a well managed loyalty system is key to reinforcing shopper loyalty. We make this easy for our retailers.
• Up-sell reminders. Our software gently reminds retail employees of up-sell opportunities – during the sale. Our software also ensures that customers are given the best price possible – often resulting in an unexpected saving for the customer.
• Accurate selling. Right through the sale and to the receipt we handle each transaction accurately and with detail necessary to show the business off in a professional light.
• Follow-up. Sending your customers a text messages reminding them that special orders are in is loved by many. This is one example of follow up opportunities in our software.
• Purchase options. Offering Lay-By and other facilities improves customer service over more limited purchase plans.
• Easy handling of refunds and credits. Thanks to straightforward facilities in our software, we make it easy to handle what can be messy transactions like refunds and credits. This saves time and gives the customer a good experience.

There are plenty of ways our software helps retail employees deliver professional and friendly customer service. You can bank on the sales lift from this.

Our experience is that retailers like to maintain price consistency in situations where cost price changes are within an acceptable range. Our software permits this based on user settings.

Our software issues a warning message is the price change it outside a pre-set percentage change as a result of a cost price change. This allows retailers to set their own rules and have the software ensure price consistency for them.

Price sensitivity setting are set at the department and category levels - giving good flexibility to our users.

Our handling of price sensitivity is a little known yet highly useful facility in our software.

The free Point of Sale software online demo service we offer is proving to be a popular way for retailers to see our software and assess its usefulness for their business. Using WebEx online conferencing software, we host a live demonstration for as many people as is appropriate.

It is not uncommon for us to demonstrate to the owners, their accountant and maybe a couple of others – sometimes all in different locations.  Web Ex makes this easy to arrange and manage with everyone able to participate as if they were in the same room together.

Our online demo service also demonstrates our online training facilities and how we are able to provide personal service to remote located clients.
It’s the Tower Advantage ^TM in play and we like that. Our online demos show off our points of difference and usually result in sales.

Booking an online demo of the Tower Systems POS software is easy, click on the button on our homepage, enter your details and we contact you to make arrangements.

One of the less obvious ways our Point of Sale software helps retailers is in cutting mistakes. There are many ways that our software does this and they all add up to delivering a measureable financial benefit

In an average retail business, we estimate that the value of mistakes eliminated in a year of use of our software is at least .5% of retail sales. That’s a minimum $2,000 net benefit in a year for using the software properly

Here are some the simple ways we reduce mistakes

• Accurate selling. By not manually entering prices for each item sold you eliminate keystroke mistakes. Also, not manually processing credit card and eftpos payments. We link directly with the baking terminal
• Accurate pricing. By regulating discounting and catalogues, the software ensures that products are accurately priced. We have seen many mistakes with manual operation. Also, by applyingmarkups automaticallyh, we ensure the margin achieved by the business.
• Sales tracking. Whether it is lay-bys, putaways, special orders or other points of customer interaction, our Point of Sale software tracks the activity and helps the business fulfil its obligations on time, accurately and professionally
• Eliminating manual processes. Back office manual processes can be problematic in retail businesses. With the sale counter always demanding attention, back office work is often left mid-stream. By replacing manual back office processes with faster electronic processes we help the business focus more on where it makes its money and to do the office work faster and with fewer mistakes.
• By regulating who can access what. Sometimes people with time on their hands like to play. Using the advanced security features in our software, retailers can stock people playing where they should not.

There are plenty of other ways we help cut mistakes for our retail partners outside of the five listed here. The $2,000 a year saving (for each $500,000 in revenue) is real. We have seen it (and more) many times over. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to help our customers achieve these benefits.

We have now loaded the beta release of our first major software update for 2010 onto systems in twenty businesses across five states running a total of more than forty five POS registers.

The feedback we are receiving is most encouraging.  Many are commenting on some of the unexpected new facilities.

This update delivers many changes requested by our user community through our Software Ideas facility.  It also delivers enhancements which we have developed over a long period of time and not released until now.

The beta program expands next week, getting the update into more sites.

We are taking our time because of the scope of changes delivered.  With more than 2,000 small businesses in our user community and relying on us we take care with every update.

Point of Sale software, like any business investment, has an obligation to deliver a return on the investment.

We regularly assess the return that an investment in Tower Systems Point of Sale can achieve.  Most recently, we have been looking at the benefit of a more efficient stock investment.

Our research shows that a retail business turning over $500,000 a year implementing our Point of Sale software and managing stock using the principles we suggest can reduce their stock investment by at least $4,000 in the first year.  Our software identifies under-performing stock using a range of metrics appropriate to the business.  These include, return on investment, return on floor space, stock turn and return on shelf space.

Using our software, retailers can identify under performing stock, devise a plan and unlock this cash, and space, for use elsewhere.

This is genuine value derived from good Point of Sale software - unlocking cash from inefficiencies in your retail business so that you can spend it where you are more likely to achieve a better return.

While the saving is often more than $4,000, we prefer to publicly state the level of benefit we expect based on years of experience.

Tracking debtors is a key function in software for any business.  In our Point of Sale software we make it easy for retailers to track customer debt and chase payment.  In addition to invoice and statement facilities (print and email) we also provide reports which track debtor status.

Our Bad Debts Report, for example, makes it easy for a retailer to focus on outstanding debts.  The report includes key details to enable easy contact with the customers listed.

In addition to reporting, our POS software has other facilities used by retailers to better manage debtors and the amount they owe the business.

While a basic and somewhat unattractive facility in Point of Sale software, we see debtor management as a core function and vital to the health of retail businesses which partner with us.