Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Dealer/Partner Training for Retail Realm Essentials

As we prepare to say good-bye to the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software (sales to new users ends July, 2016 as does mainstream technical support), Retail Realm has started offering more training for businesses interested in selling and supporting the Retail Realm Essentials point of sale software. No word yet on Retail Management Hero point of sale software training but here is a link to the Retail Realm Essentials point of sale software training: http://www.rrdisti.com/events/training-sessions

Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me for unbiased point of sale advice.

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Review of Retail Control Systems (RCS) in New Hampshire and Colorado

As I've had the opportunity to meet with multiple point of sale companies and their customers over the last few years, I wanted to shared some honest feedback on my experience with the folks at Retail Control Systems who has offices in New Hampshire and Colorado and focuses on the NCR CounterPoint point of sale systems for retail stores and museums.

Besides spending some time with the leadership and staff at Retail Control Systems, I have also been able to interact with about 15 businesses and organizations using the Retail Control Systems as their point of sale partner/provider.

Overall, the response has been very positive. Retail Control Systems has taken the NCR CounterPoint point of sale software to a new level for thrift stores like Goodwill with special thrift store enhancements. Retail Control Systems also offers hosted versions of NCR Counterpoint for businesses and organizations who would prefer not to have to deal with onsite servers.

If you have any questions, comments, or want to learn more about my experiences with Retail Control Systems, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com


Thursday, March 17, 2016

Review of LPA Retail in Burnsville, MN

As I've had the opportunity to meet with multiple point of sale companies and their customers over the last few years, I wanted to shared some honest feedback on my experience with the folks at LPA Retail in Burnsville, MN

Besides spending some time with the leadership and staff at LPA Retail, I have also been able to interact with a couple of  businesses using LPA Retail as their point of sale partner/provider.

Overall, the response has been very positive. LPA Retail has provided point of sale solutions nationally as well as focused on offering the rental of point of sale systems for special events. LPA Retail has also created an add-on for NCR CounterPoint specific to retail businesses that buy and sell used products like video games and sporting goods.

If you have any questions, comments, or want to learn more about my experiences with LPA Retail, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com


Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Used Product Add-On for NCR CounterPoint SQL

So this is pretty cool - a NCR CounterPoint Partner has created an add-on module for NCR CounterPoint  specifically for stores that buy and sell used products. Regardless of the economy, the buying and selling of used products like clothing, video games, and sporting goods can make for a very successful retail store.

While the standard version of NCR CounterPoint can work in nearly any retail business,  this add-on makes things a bit easier when it comes to stores that buy and sell used products.

Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me for more information and to be connected to the right NCR CounterPoint Partner.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Point of Sale System Rentals

Back when I was selling and supporting various point of sale systems, we'd often rent out equipment for businesses and organizations who needed complete point of sale systems for a large event like a conference, trade show or expo.

This actually works real well for everyone as the business or organizations that needs the equipment can just use it for the length of the event and then return the equipment when done - much less expensive than buying point of sale equipment that is only used for a few days or weeks each year.

Retailers looking for a special deal liked that they could then purchase the returned rental equipment for a discount and this was equipment that was mainly just broken in and not equipment that had been heavily used for several years and normally still had some sort of warranty.

Each situation is different but normally this type of equipment rental is designed for a business organization that needs between 3 and 50 complete point of sale stations (computer, monitor, software, barcode scanner, cash drawer, receipt printer, etc) for an event lasting from a few days to a couple of weeks.

Full service setup and tear down is also available as is onsite programming and training.

If this is something that would be of interest to your business or organization, please get in touch with me (details on how to reach me can be found on my contact page) so we can discuss your situation and I can connect you with the correct vendor offering rental of point of sale hardware and software.




Thursday, March 3, 2016

Too Many Solutions - Retail Point of Sale

A quick Google search shows that there are over 90 different retail point of sale software programs and apps currently on the market which is way too much in my opinion. This has happened several times in the past and usually only 20% of these companies survive more than 5 years.

I bring this up because it shows how overwhelming it can be to find the best point of sale solution for your business  or organization. This is why knowing the following is important as you begin your search for a point of sale system:

  1. Your budget based on your annual gross sales
  2. Local vendor or non-local vendor
  3. Your feature/function "wish list"
  4. What you can handle internally related to point of sale and related technology 
  5. The type of products and services that you offer
  6. How many locations you have now as well as how many locations you will have in five years
  7. Any other software (eg: accounting) that the point of sale system needs to share data with
  8. Are you looking for PC-based systems, MAC-based systems, or systems that run on mobile devices like iPads (or a system that can run on multiple devices)
  9. Upfront purchase, subscription based, or lease/business loan
  10. Cloud based or something that allows you to have all your information stored locally
These are some starting points to ponder - each situation is somewhat unique but should help you narrow down which point of sale systems you should be looking at.

As always, visit my contact page for information on how to reach me for unbiased point of sale advice.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

ERP Point of Sale Systems

While most of my experience over the last 17 years has been specific to businesses with under 500 locations only requiring a typical point of sale system, I have worked with a few businesses that had more complex needs specific to warehouse management, production, distribution, and transportation logistics. Usually these business had under 50 locations but are part retail/part wholesale/manufacturer and found that most point of sale systems fell short of what they needed.

Not cheap by any means, the Microsoft Dynamics family includes the Dynamics NAV and Dynamics AX software solutions which are true enterprise solutions.  The nice part is that these software programs are also modular based so you can pick and choose what modules are needed for your business or organization.

These are solutions that require a high level of help with training and deployment so finding the right Dynamics Partner is critical and I have worked with a few partners that I might be able to recommend (or you can contact Microsoft directly as well).

Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me for unbiased point of sale advice.