For years now, we have offered a free business analysis service.  Retailers using our Point of Sale software send us a current backup of their system and we thoroughly analyse the data.  We look at how the system is being used as well as how the business is performing.  The result is a frank report for the business owner(s) to consider.  We often discuss this further with them and use data as a guide to talk through changes which could be considered.

At our end, a review of a business can take up to four hours of working through data and reports.  It often involves two of us comparing what we have found and challenging our views of what steps the business could take.  We take the opportunity very seriously because we understand the value for us of helping our retailers achieve more from their Tower Systems software.

The free business analysis is part of the Tower Advantage ^TM suite of services which help our retail partners get more from our Point of Sale software.

Any customer can request this by sending a current backup with a note seeking a Business Review to our Head Office: Suite 10, 22 Horne Street, Elsternwick VIC 3185.

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.

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.

We are thrilled with the response to our offer published here yestedray of free marketing tools software for Tower Advantage^TM customers.  We have only published the offer here so far - the response is an indication of the use made of this blog by our customers and by prospective users of our software.

We have prepared a simple Christmas greeting for inclusion on receipts printed by our software.  Retailers using our Point of Sale software can include this message automatically on receipts printed between now and Christmas.

There is no extra effort per sale for including a marketing message on receipts.

Receipts are an excellent low-cost way of communicating with and marketing to customers.  Our software enables the image printed to be tailored based on a range of criteria within the sale - making the receipts a smart marketing delivery channel.

We know it is much easier to earn more from an existing customer than to lure a completely new customer into the business.  This is why we provide excellent facilities within our software to facilitate and even encourage this.

We see our Point of sale software as much as marketing assistant as POS software.

The artwork for the latest marketing messages on receipts was developed by Simon Frost, the manager of one of our own newsagencies.

Newsagents have an excellent opportunity later today to learn about the new XchangeIT software and the best practice processes to follow to meet magazine distributor IT standards.  We welcome Tower Newsagents as well as newsagents using POS Solutions, Access POS and Computerlink software.  Our workshop is the most widely attended newsagent IT training ever.  It will be of value regardless of the technology in use.

The workshop is also an excellent opportunity to test run our training.  This is why we welcome people who do not have our software installed.

Our magazine management workshop starts at 2pm today.  Access to our live online training workshops is free to anyone.  They are 100% free. We pay for the toll free call for the audio portion of the workshop.   Book online.

This is another Tower Advantage^TM service for newsagents.

Many of our retail customers tell us they are thrilled with the expanding range of training videos we are loading to our website.  They especially like the training we have developed in areas of the software most used by new employees.  This saves management time and ensures that the new retail employees are properly trained in the use of our software.

We are tracking who is accessing which videos and it is interesting to see the most popular titles as well as the extent to which some customers are engaging with this valuable training resource.  The tracking data indicates the value to our customers of the investment we are making on their behalf.

The videos are part of the Tower Advantage^TM program, a suite of services and facilities available exclusively to Tower Systems customers.

For a full list of videos currently available please click here.

Simon May, our Technical Services Manager has recorded an excellent training video which helps our customers identify hardware and bits of hardware with which they may need to engage from time to time.

In the video, Simon shows which cables are used for what, how to troubleshoot problems with key hardware items and where plugs are usually placed.  It is packed with good practical advice for the non computer expert - delivered in plain English.  Simon’s plain speaking style belies his exceptional knowledge and unwavering commitment to excellent customer service.

The video is another in our series which will helping our customers get more from their IT investment with us.  Our growing video training library is part of our Tower Advantage^TM program.

“We used to cringe when somebody wanted to pay with EFTPOS on our old bank terminal, as it was so slow and would hold up other customers. But now we look forward to using the Tyro terminal. Customers are impressed with the speed and ease of use but are equally impressed with the design of the unit as it offers better privacy when keying PIN numbers. Once again, a really big thank you!”

It is great to receive feedback from customers using our POS software.  The kudos above relates to the Tyro broadband eftpos link directly from within our software.  We know from our own shops that we save time and money and we make retail customers happier as a result.

Thanks to the free day of training we offer people who purchase a business running our POS software, we get to develop some good relationships.  We do not expect anything from the free day of training other them learning more about the software already installed in the business.  Our no sales pitch approach builds trust.  We are often used as a sounding board when they face business challenged.

A couple of new retailers who have gone through our free training have been in contact recently to discuss challenges they face.  Four to six months in can be tough for a new retailer.  Cash is tight. They are out of easy gain ideas for the business.  They feel they may have taken on more than they can handle.

Thanks to our broad user community we can usually connect new business owners with others nearby who can help them through.  We also offer help ourselves through analysis of business reports and a review of their data to look for opportunities for change which they can implement.

Our help also extends to store visits to look for opportunities to improve the business and to reenergise and refocus the owners.

As retailers ourselves we understand the unique challenges of independent retail.  We are glad to be able to draw on that to help users of our POS software.

This connection we have with our customers, beyond our software, is something we enjoy and encourage.  It makes our work more interesting and demonstrates a bigger-picture  approach we take in serving our custoemers and the retail channel in which they operate.

The 50% tax rebate available for businesses turning over up to $2 million a year is driving good business for us. Thanks to hardware and finance company partnerships we have been able to package some excellent offers which deliver good savings to our new business partners.

The tax break opportunity ends in just four months so retailers wanting to access the tax benefits needs to hurry.

Even though it is Saturday, we are on deck and helping users of our Point of Sale software with questions.  We are doing this today, like every Saturday, from our office as well as from a network of mobile phones carried by our technical support team up to myself as the owner of the business.

This weekend coverage is vitally important now more than ever with the number of innovation trials under way in newsagencies, a marketplace in which we serve in excess of 1,500 businesses.  The recent XChangeIT issues have left some newsagents twitchy so a confident voice on the end of the phone of the weekend can help to resolve issues.

On a usual Saturday we will process between 30 and 40 calls.  More than half are issues which could have waited but we are able to clear because we are open for business at a time which suits our retail partners.  This is good for them and good for us.

Our full service Saturday Help Desk is another way we demonstrate the Tower Advantage ^TM at work for our customers.

Our team of software developers, testers and help desk people is working hard on the new XchangeIT nesagent EDI project.  Thanks to proactive suppliers, we are able to innovate and deliver better outcomes for Tower Newsagents and those joining our newsagent community. With more newsagents now part of the new XchangeIT trial, we have a bigger pool of experience on which to draw and further enhance the outcome for our users and for the magazine distributors involved.

This work is part of our Tower Advantage ^TM commitment.

Nowhere is the difference between newsagent software companies more evident than in comparing their approach to the new XchangeIT platform.  Two months ago we published a draft revised compliance action plan.  Earlier this month we started a roadshow where we provide copies of our finalised ten page comprehensive newsagent EDI Action Plan free to all attendees.

The Action Plan is more than words on a page.  It is backed with face to face training in our current user meeting tour, online training through our Online Training Academy, help desk support through our national help desk and intervention through our event driven intervention program when we become aware of a newsagent not transacting in a way which meets EDI standards.

The value of EDI compliance for newsagents is considerable: faster credits for returns, fewer out-of-stocks, time saved on receiving magazine stock, time saved on physical processing of returns, and, usually more equitable magazine supply.  These benefits represent money in the bank.

We understand the benefits because we own and operate several newsagencies.

Our attention on EDI compliance and the new XchangeIT platform requirements and opportunities has been consistent from the outset.  This is another area in which we are different.  Our consistency comes from working closely with the drivers of the new XchangeIT platform and our commitment to Tower Newsagents - the largest single newsagent community in the country.

This is all part of the exclusive Tower Advantage ^TM program.