pos system

This weeks roundup features two announcements regarding the point of sale industry that will be affecting many small retailers. Heartland Payment Systems has launched a new security option for POS stations that will help retailers comply with the new PCI compliance. The second announcement stating the sale of CAM Commerce to Accelerated Payment Technologies will enhance small businesses using this point of sale software. Our third article this week will shed some light on using mystery shoppers to collect data in your small retail establishment. Then we move onto a way to bring new customers in and retain the old by offering coupons that are easy to find. The weekly roundup ends this week with a tip about a website that will assist small businesses in their daily duties as well as provide some online advice.

1. Heartland Payment Systems(R) Commercially Launches State-of-the-Art Payment Card Security Technology – Heartland Payment Systems is now offering a way small and large businesses to assure their customer data is safe across all payment options without any increased fees.

2. Accelerated Payment Technologies Introduced Following Sale Of CAM Commerce Point-Of-Sale Software Division – I was surprised at the sale of Cam Commerce this week but the good news is that this will help customers of the company’s point of sale software with a higher quality. Accelerated Payment Technologies is the company that will take over and provide POS customers with a 100% focused integrated payment system with new innovative technologies.

3. Opinion: Why mystery shopping isn’t enough for retailers – Although this is an opinion article, it raises some very valid point when considering using mystery shoppers to evaluate your overall customer service. Many small retailers use mystery shoppers to provide insight on satisfaction, spending, loyalty and employee knowledge but the numbers might not be as they seem.

4. Study: 60 percent of customers look for coupons before shopping – Coupons are still a valuable way to retain and gain new customers according to a recent study by The Integer Group. They state that 60% of consumers look for coupon before entering their favorite retail establishment and this could greatly affect their spending. As a small retailer offering coupons at the front of your store could bring the satisfaction and sales you’re looking for.

5. BizSugar Sweetens Your Small Business Social Media Marketing Campaign – As a small business owner you need to be up with the times, fads and new technologies in order to compete with larger brand name stores. This article outlines some of the fascinating things you could be learning at a comprehensive retail website called BizSugar.

Note: The Weekly Roundup will be moving to Mondays featuring Point of Sale and Small Retail News from the previous week.

It was great to hear this week that small retail businesses are finally gaining ground in the battle of credit card fees at their POS terminal. Although the amendment still has to pass The House, experts are confident this will be a huge win for the small retail industry. This is outlined in the first article in this weeks roundup. We then move on to an article that focuses mainly on mobile POS advancements but the beginning has an encouraging update on Dairy Queen’s success using the technology. The third feature this week lead into much bigger things as excitement and curiosity took over. The article showcases new tools that add incredible functionality to restaurant point of sale handheld devices.

I found another great video demonstrating a new restaurant point of sale system that uses the iPad. I decided to write a review post on both systems that will be featured tomorrow morning…so be sure to check back.

Our fourth article this week was an interesting point of view that small retailers should be seeking small suppliers to do business with. Then the last feature is a few marketing tips that will help your small business grow profits even when tines are hard.

1. Swipe This: Small Businesses Smile About Card Fee Controls – On Thursday the US Senate passed an amendment that small retailers across the country are excited about. Although it has yet to pass The House, it could essentially limit the fees that retailers pay for debit and credit card sales. Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who proposed the amendment said:

“Making sure small businesses can grow and prosper is vital to putting our country back on solid economic footing.”

2. Shoppers Check Out of Stores Via Cell Phone – There has been much talk about mobile point of sale technology and it is growing by the day. The retail industry needs to start embracing and preparing for the types of mobile POS options on the market. We featured an article last summer announcing Dairy Queens plan to implement a mobile loyalty program for cellar customers with a “certain” chip attached to their phone. Well according to this article co-owner Dave Reasner says its working and customers are returning at a 3% increase.

3. New Tools Push the Boundaries of POS – The announcement of ASI’s Restaurant Manager POS software being available for the iPod Touch was amazing to me. The new tools that add profitable benefits for restaurant owners’ especially small ones who are looking for a way to compete with large chain restaurants. For a low cost a small business owner could have a handled system that increases customer satisfaction tenfold. That’s the reason for tomorrows review on two “new” restaurant point of sale handheld options.

4. Small Retailers Should Foster Big Relationship With Small Suppliers – This article is slightly hard to read but the information contained is valuable. It focuses on the reasons small retailers should consider partnering with small local suppliers versus larger wholesale suppliers. The overall benefits could easily outweigh any additional cost you would be saving dealing with a big brand company.

5. How retailers can market their way out of tough times – I agreed with these authors when they said

“In an economy like this, cutting back on marketing is flirting with business suicide.”

This article gives five great tips on how to bring marketing back into your small retail business plan without emptying your bank account.

Company Website: Salon Touch POS
Product Website: Salon Touch All-in-One POS
Price Range: $77-$89/month for three years
Operating Systems: Pre-Loaded, All-in-One POS Hardware/Software Package

Salon Touch POS Software Overview

Salon Touch POS is a complete all in one package for salons and spas. The robust software combined with the innovative touch screen hardware makes this an efficient low cost solution for any small business owner in the beauty industry. The hardware resists damage from common salon products that can be hazardous and comes complete with a cash drawer, receipt printer, mouse, credit card reader, extra keyboard and all the cables for easy connection. The Salon Touch POS offers two low cost solutions that can either be leased or a rent to own plan. You pay $89 a month for three years and you own this excellent all in one salon point of sale system free and clear.

[click to continue...]

Last week, due to an extenuating circumstance I was unable to bring our faithful readers the weekly roundup. BUT I’m back this week, a day early and with an extra news story as an added bonus. The first feature article this week provides fantastic point of sale advice for small retailers involved in the fitness industry and it comes straight from a know business fitness expert. The second article in this weeks roundup focuses on something many of you might not have thought of…spring cleaning your point of sale area and other select areas of your small business. Getting organized and presenting a clean environment will defiantly help improve customer satisfaction in turn leading to an increase in overall profit. The third article offers a list of ten strengths your small retail employees need to have. The next feature is an impressive story of a small retail mom that used RatePoint as a way to gain trust and grow her business. The fifth article (which is usually the last) is proof that small businesses using Facebook as a way to communicate with their customers is working in a very positive way. The last bonus featured article is an invaluable list of six Web 2.0 tools that every small retail business should be taking advantage of to grow their customer base.

1. POS: Are you leveraging this? – This is an excellent article written by Sean Greeley, a leading fitness business owner. In the article Sean outlines the importance of a POS in your retail business and how improve the efficiency of your point of sale.

2. How to Increase Sales With a Company-Wide Clean-Up – This article reminds a small retailer of something you might overlook that could be costing you time and profits. Cleaning and organizing the clutter around your point of sale and other areas of your business is an easy to do task that will bring a ton of benefits. The author offers tips on where to start along with five steps to getting organized in your small retail establishment.

3. The 10 essential strengths of front-line retail employees – All small retailers know how important your retail staff is in retaining customer satisfaction. This article offers some wonderful tips on helping your employees have a better initial engagement with customers. There are also 10 essential traits or skills your retail employees need to have in order to provide the quality you need to succeed.

4. Retailer SmartMomma gains trust, grows business with RatePoint – an inspiring story of a small retailer that has used RatePoint’s small business service to grow her business by establishing trust through her customer relationships. RatePoint offers a 30 day trial for small retail business that would like to try their services.

5. New study reveals impact of Facebook on retail – The latest Morpace Omnibus study shows that small retailers using Facebook to connect with their customers have a distinct advantage over their competitors. This is positive news for small retail businesses that have implemented some type of Social Media strategy for marketing customer service.

6. Six Web 2.0 Tools Retailers Need to Know About – This is the bonus article of the week and the most important especially after reading the article above. The author lays out six essential Web 2.0 tools that small retailers should be using. Some of these tools are Foursquare, Groupon, Yelp and more. The author does an excellent job at describing the service as well as the potential of each for small retailers.

Tips, Tips and more Tips in this weeks weekly roundup. Below you will find great questions to answer when considering the purchase of a point of sale for your business. Then go on to 101 tips for small businesses from small business owners, followed up by three rules you should abide by when using digital audio signage. We finish up with a couple great articles about how small retail has declined and the nostalgia of the mom and pop stores.

1. What Retail Point of Sale (POS) System is best for my business? – This is not your typical article about buying the right POS. The author gives you very poignant questions you should consider and answer before attempting your point of sale purchase.

2. 101 Tips from 50 Small Business Bloggers – This article is invaluable and a must read for all our viewers. There are 101 tips from small retail business just like yours. These are tips you can use and put in place immediately to help conquer any obstacle you may encounter.

3. Three rules for digital signage audio in the retail environment – The retail customer experience pull it off again with a fantastic article about digital signage. This is one of the latest, most effective advertising technologies but it can be ineffective even annoying if not used right. Take these three rules for displaying your audio digital, implement them and reap the rewards.

4. The Slow Drift From Great to Good – This writer makes a great analogy comparing the way to get a good cup of coffee to the way small retail hospitality has declined. Just like the taste of your coffee dwindles as it ages so does the generous experience from your local retail shop. The change is slow and you might not notice but this spells it out and gives you something to think about.

5. The enduring wisdom of Mom & Pop – A truly inspiring story about the time when small retail shops lined the city streets. It was not just a matter of retail style it was about the values, the experience and always the friendships.

The biggest problem for Point Of Sale system vendors are the traditional cash registers. Cash registers not only take a big part of the market, they also influence what shop owners expect from a POS terminal. Many shop owners switching from a cash register to a complete Point Of Sale simply want the same functionality and the ease of use of their old equipment.

I have done some POS implementations where I delivered exactly that: a POS system configured to emulate a cash register, with a few buttons on the sales screen to book sales on the various product groups, but without inventory control, reporting and all other features that make a POS system worth its money. The idea is to provide them the same way of working in a new environment to get the employees used to the new system. Once they now how to sell using the old-fashioned buttons I have them take an inventory so they can start selling using the barcodes on the items. Little by little they get deeper into the available features of the system, and the system becomes more valuable.

[click to continue...]

When I recently visited a restaurant trade show, I noticed that there were just as much companies presenting POS systems as there were stands with on-line reservation systems, while I haven’t seen any reservation system on previous visits. When something new comes up that fast, I immediately suspect a hype.

So when talking to the good ol’ POS dealers, I asked them if they had received customer requests for on-line booking systems and whether their systems includes or can be linked to such a tool. As I already expected and according to my own experiences, no-one had received requests for on-line booking systems from their customers, and therefore none of them had included such a tool in their system. Some POS systems did have a bookings screen, and I even found one system that offers an API to connect external applications to the reservation module.

[click to continue...]

A recent study by Fujitsu Siemens claims that about $217 million (123 million pounds) is wasted every year in the U.K. alone powering PCs that could have been shut down or left in hibernation mode. The report also pointed out the environmental impact of all the wasted energy.

Though the study involved generic PCs, its results are also valid for Point Of Sale systems. Many shops leave the POS terminal running during the night, in order to start working directly when opening the shop the next morning, not realizing that they could save an significant amount of money on the energy bill.

[click to continue...]