Tuesday, November 25, 2014

$2M Mark Surpassed!

Just a quick note that folks that have contacted me via this blog site have gone on to spend $2 million in point of sale hardware, software, supplies, and related labor.   Not bad considering the basic nature of this blog site!

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

New Point of Sale Software from Microsoft and Retail Realm

***Note that this software program is no longer available. Please contact me for other options***



Some more information was made available related to the new "Microsoft Dynamics Retail Essentials" point of sale software. As I have mentioned before, I have fielded a lot of calls and emails from upset Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Store Operations (RMS) users over the last year due to the official "end of life" announcement from Microsoft related to RMS and lack of clear communication related to EMV compatibility in RMS.

What we know about Retail Essentials:
  • Retail specific version of Dynamics AX
  • Will be sold and supported via trained Microsoft partners
  • Tentatively will be available for deployment in late February 2015
What we don't know about Retail Essentials:
  • Cost
  • Specific features and functions
  • Mobile device compatability
  • EMV compatability
  • Data conversion for RMS users
  • Multi-location features (if any)
  • Peripheral compatibility
With so many stores looking to me for advice (well over 700 stores in the US), I'm hopeful that someone from a Microsoft Partner, Microsoft, or Retail Realm will work with me to learn more about Retail Essentials so I can share that information with you.

UPDATE: Retail Realm was kind enough to reach out to me so I am going to hold off on making any recommendations until I get a chance to learn more about Retail Essentials.  Then I can hopefully share more and help you make an informed decision on what to do (whether you are searching for a replacement for RMS or whether you are searching for your first POS system).  I hope to have more information to share with everyone by mid December.

Here is a link to the official press release - contact me if you have questions:
http://www.rrdisti.com/announcements/microsoft-and-retail-realm-jointly-announce-microsoft-dynamics-retail-essentials-with-retail-realm

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.


Monday, November 17, 2014

Best Practices for Switching Point of Sale Systems

I've likely covered this before but it never hurts to keep the following in mind should you ever need to upgrade or switch point of sale systems.


  1. Make sure that you have full access to all of your data (inventory information, customer information, history, vendor information, employee information).
  2. Ensure that all the information is backed up and accurate (good time to perform a physical inventory if you haven't done one in awhile).
  3. Ask what the options are related to importing all your inventory, customer, supplier, and vendor information in to the new system - usually this can be done for a nominal cost.
  4. Depending on your situation, you may not be able to transfer any historical information. Don't panic!  What you need to do is make sure that you can run your old point of sale system for another year or so to access any historical information (eg: customer comes in and whats to buy exactly what they bought 8 months ago).
  5. Make sure that you have all the financial data and reports needed to account for the last 7 years
  6. Take time to learn and use the new system - there is likely a good reason why you upgraded or switched systems do get the most out of your hard earned dollars!
Those are the basics - Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Best Point of Sale Systems for Christian Church Bookstores and Cafe's

I've had the pleasure of working with multiple Christian churches over the years that are large enough to have in house bookstores and/or coffee shops or cafe's.  Many have asked me for advice related to the best point of sale system they should be using so I figured that it would be good to share my advice via a blog post.

You can always contact me with additional questions and all Christian organizations and non-profit organizations (churches, charities, thrift shops, retail stores, museums, etc) are eligible for free and unbiased advice - just keep in mind that I do not actually sell anything but can point you in the correct direction and make introductions as appropriate.

The best solution for your organization is based on your annual gross sales volume as follows:

Under $100,000 in annual gross sales:
  1. Cash register
  2. Square
$100,000 to $800,000 in annual gross sales:
  1. Bindo POS
  2. Cloud Retailer
  3. Retail Management Hero
$800,000+ in annual gross sales:
  1. Retail Management Hero
  2. Retail Realm Essentials/Microsoft Dynamics AX
  3. NCR CounterPoint
I no longer advise using Microsoft RMS or POS 2009 due to these products being "end of life".  I also advice avoiding HarborTouch, First Data Clover, and QuickBooks Point of Sale due to excessive merchant service fees being charged by these companies.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.









Monday, November 10, 2014

Vape and Tobacco Stores Beware!

Just a quick note that it appears that some of the tablet or mobile point of sale systems are no longer working in retail stores that sell tobacco related products like cigars, e-cigs, vaping products and cigarettes.   This is likely due to the high risk nature of these businesses which limits the number of companies that provide merchant services to retail stores that sell tobacco related products.

There have some been stores reporting to me that there systems just stopped working and they quickly had to find a new point of sale system.

Only advice that I can offer is to be sure that both your point of sale system and whoever is handling your merchant services understands that your business sells tobacco products and will continue to support and service your type of business.

If you want to see the discussion which does mention point of sale solutions by name, you can visit this forum discussion (warning - R rated language):
http://www.reddit.com/r/electronic_cigarette/comments/28ao0k/shopify_just_abruptly_without_warning_shut_down/

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Full Workshop Is Now Available Online

The video below contains a full version of the point of sale workshop that I conduct for groups of all sizes.  The video is 40 minutes long but covers just about everything related to choosing, selecting and budgeting for a point of sale system designed to be used in retail stores, restaurants, museums, kiosks, concession stands, and food trucks. Note that the video does cover EMV and merchant services as well as information specific to point of sale systems designed to track inventory, customer/guest information, and sales.

All from an unbiased expert!

Be sure to contact me with any questions as well as to request free copies of the materials needed for the workshop (you must be located in the United States in order to request the free workshop materials). You may also want to contact me if you are need of a speaker/presenter at your next event or to assist future business owners seeking assistance via Small Business Development Centers or similar organizations.

Now pop some popcorn, grab your favorite beverage, and enjoy the following:


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Why You Should Be Avoiding Clover, HarborTouch & QuickBooks Point of Sale

As I am now receiving near daily calls and emails from folks considering the Clover point of sale solution, I wanted to explain why you should not be considering point of sale systems like Square, Clover, HarborTouch, and QuickBooks point of sale.

The only assumptions I am making is that your business is generating at least $60,000 in annual gross sales and 90% of payment is made using debit or credit cards.

When you purchase a point of sale system that requires you to use one specific company for merchant services, you are at the mercy of that company when it comes to the rates that they charge you for merchant services. What I have seen happen time and time again is that these companies will raise your rates every 90 days or so.

While paying 1/2% more in merchant service fees (which is what seems to be the norm with these companies) may not seem like much - lets see how that adds up over 5 years.

If your business processes $200,000 in debit and credit card transactions annually the 1/2% is $1000/year so you could easily end up paying $4000+ in excessive merchant services fees over the course of 5 years.

I don't know about you but I would rather have that money as profit!

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.