Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Retail Management Hero Point of Sale Software Brochure

Update July 2016, Retail Management Hero demo and overview: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2016/07/new-version-of-rmsretail-management.html

Updated information on Retail Management Hero as a direct replacement for RMS as of December 3rd, 2015: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/12/updated-information-on-new-retail.html

New video discussing options for Dynamics RMS and HQ users as of December 5th, 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evVWS7dj0Bs

Below is a link to a brochure related to the new Retail Management Hero point of sale software which is targeted as a direct replacement for the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software. Looks like a great solution for single location RMS users and smaller chains that use RMS and HQ.

No word on a release date or which companies in the US will be certified to sell and support Retail Management Hero (please contact me if your organization plans on becoming certified to sell and support Retail Management Hero - I have a lot of RMS users who are interested but it depends on the final timing when the software will be ready for deployment).

Here is the link: http://www.rrdisti.com/_literature_141375/Retail_Management_Hero_Brochure

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.

Retail Realm Essentials Point of Sale Software Brochure

Here is a link to a brochure with more information about the new Retail Realm Essentials point of sale software. Of note, I have yet to find anyone in the United States that is actively selling and supporting Retail Realm Essentials (please contact me if your organization is located in the US and certified to sell and support Retail Realm Essentials):  http://www.rrdisti.com/_literature_128529/Retail_Realm_Essentials_Features

Visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

Point of Sale Company Reviews

Over the last 17 years not only have I been able to use and review multiple point of sale programs but I have also gotten to know the companies actually selling point of sale systems in the United States. In my travels I have had a chance to spend some time visiting many of these companies in person (commonly referred to as Point of Sale VAR's, Partners, or Dealers).

If you are in need of a referral or just want to make sure that you are dealing with a reputable company, please get in touch with me and I'll be happy to pass along brutally honest feedback if it happens to be a company that I am familiar with.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Goodwill Easter Seals of Minnesota

Just wrapped up a week of meetings at Goodwill Easter Seals of Minnesota related to their search for new retail, warehouse, and e-commerce technology.  I had a great time meeting with them and making some final recommendations which they will hopefully be moving forward on.


Thursday, August 13, 2015

True Cost of Payment Gateways

Update July 2016: Since many Microsoft RMS point of sale software would like to keep using RMS for another couple of years but still need to deal with the EMV Liability Shift Date, visit this post for more information on the Card Defender EMV add-on for Microsoft RMS versions 1.3 and higher (and HQ as well): http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2016/06/card-defender-emv-add-on-for-microsoft.html

One of the various options for Microsoft Dynamics RMS users to meet the upcoming October 1st, 2015 EMV Liability Shift Date for card present transactions in the US is to use a payment gateway to process chip based credit and debit card transactions. While this may seem like an easy fix, here are a few things that you need to be aware of:
  1. Cost Over Time: As an example, if the payment gate costs 2 cents per transaction, your business averages 500 transactions per day, and your business is open 300 days per year, then your cost over 5 years for using the payment gateway is $15,000 (2 cents X 500 transactions per day X 300 days open per year X 5 years).
  2. Note that there are variables with #1 as the payment gateway provider may discount your merchant services rates for credit and debit card processing - you have to to the math and see what works be for your business in the long run (5 to 7 years).
  3. You are still investing in a point of sale system whose sales end in July 2016 to new customers and extended support ends in July of 2021. What other new requirements will come out in the upcoming years that will require an additional investment?
While payment gateways in general are secure ways to processing chip cards, meet the EMV Liability Shift Date, and use added security like tokenization, some businesses and organizations may find the costs to be too high versus investing in a new point of sale system.

Confused? Have Clarifications or Questions? In need of free and unbiased point of sale advice? Then please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.