Beer and Wine Stores in Pennsylvania: The 2023 MBDA Conference is this month!

 RITE Cloud Retailer Liquor Store POS is a proud sponsor on the MBDA and will have a booth at the MBDA annual convention.

 

 

 

Liquor Stores: Revolutionizing Retail Business with Technology Solutions

 Liquor Store Owners: a VERY honest discussion with a beer, wine and tobacco store owner in Tacoma, WA - the full free version of the podcast can be found here: https://willtalksbiz.com/2023/05/03/revolutionizing-retail-business-with-technology-solutions/

Live from the MMBA Conference and Trade Show

 A brief live stream from the Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association liquor store conference and trade show in Alexandria Minnesota.  Wow!  What an amazing event! Thanks to everyone who took the time to meet with me!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CrrGkUhqa3d/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

MMBA 2023 Conference in Alexandria Minnesota

 Lord willing, my first (of many) trade shows will be the 2023 Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association (MMBA) annual conference in Alexandria, MN. This conference will be from April 29th through May 2nd 2023. I look forward to meeting many of you there on April 29th, April 30th or Monday May 1st before I head to the Twin Cities May 2nd through May 9th.

More information on the conference can be found at http://municipalbev.com/events.htm

Interested in Retail Liquor Industry News?

 Do you own or manage a retail liquor store? The folks at RITE send out retail liquor industry news via email on a regular basis. Sign up here.

Another Customer Review of RITE and Cloud Retailer

 By request - another review of RITE and their Cloud Retailer point of sale software: https://youtu.be/WRIUkyJvJ1I

RITE and Cloud Retailer can be reached at www.cloudretailer.com, sales@rite.us or by calling 888-267-7483.

By Request: Customer Review of the Cloud Retailer Point of Sale Software

 I've had several retailers ask me for some sort of customer review specific to the Cloud Retailer point of sale software as well as a review of RITE: https://youtu.be/oPpYt0W9Kck

RITE Statement on PAX FBI Raid

Important info on PAX devices Your PAX payment terminals have a known security issue | RITE PAX is one of the biggest payment processing device manufacturers in the world.  You use one of their devices in your store to process customer payments. Yesterday a news story came out about the FBI raiding PAX’s Florida offices due to a security issue with their payment terminals.  It is early in this process but it’s critical to share what we know about the situation. It appears that the security issue relates to a type of problem called DDOS.  This is where a device or computer becomes compromised and can be used to overwhelm another target with traffic. There are millions of PAX payment terminals out there and if a hacker had control over them all, which they likely do not, they could do something like tell all the devices to visit a specific website a bunch of times - all at once, overwhelming the site with traffic and bringing it down. As of this communication, there have been ZERO statements indicating that these devices are unsafe to process customer payments.  No one from the Payment Card Industry, any Payment processors, nor the FBI have said that these devices need to be stopped from processing payments.  You may continue to use the device until further notice. As a reminder, the hardware devices you are using have been thoroughly tested and certified PCI compliant by 3rd party security companies. Based on the limited information we do have, we believe there is a good chance that the problem is limited to a specific payment processor. If true, the problem as far as it impacts you from a technical level, could be fairly benign.  If the news becomes a national headline story, regardless of what is real and what is not, it will impact the perception of your customers.  We are thinking about this as well. Again, it is early in the process.  We are attentively tracking the situation, consider it the highest priority, and are ready for action.  We will keep you posted.  Please standby. Retail Information Technology Enterprises (888) 267-RITE (7483) Fax: (320) 230-1795 Email Us Visit Our Website ‌ ‌ ‌

 

A List of the modules and plug ins for the Cloud Retailer point of sale software

I've had around a half dozen retailers contact me asking for more information about the various plug ins and modules for the Cloud Retailer point of sale software (Cloud Retailer is point of sale software designed as a direct low cost replacement for the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software as well as software for medium sized retailers with more that $1M in annual gross sales).  Here you go:

Cloud Retailer Add On and Module List

Add Ons* (click on link for related video if available) Antivirus: Professional grade Anti-virus/malware software Cloud Retailer Mobile: Cloud Retailer Android App for inventory functions Supplier Integration (Fintech):            Liquor industry supplier QuickBooks Integration: Either QuickBooks for Windows or QuickBooks online PurePOS: Limits the computer to only POS software Base Alert Configuration: 50 email alerts per month on store level            activities or events like voids, discounts, low stock 250 Alert Per Month Pack:                 If using more than 50 alerts per month Customization (per hour):               Hours needed to create a customization Additional Data Pack: Needed If a stores database exceeds 2GB 50GB plus databases:                        Needed If a stores database exceeds 50gb Microsoft PowerBI:                         Integration with Microsoft Business Intelligence Uncorked Commerce: Cloud Retailer e-commerce site for liquor stores Magento e-commerce (basic):           Integration with a basic e-commerce site from Magento Magento e-commerce (advanced):    Integration with an advanced e-commerce site from Magento 1014 Reporting (PA):                      Report required for liquor stores in PA OLCC Reporting (OR):                    Report required for liquor stores in OR WSLCB Reporting: Report required for liquor stores in WA AC Nielsen Export:                             Export data for an AC Neilsen report Additional EDI import formats:         Data Interchange importing setup and configuration   *please contact RITE at 888-267-7483 or sales@rite.us for current pricing

Module* (click on link for related video if available) Basic Install and Training Services:   General POS and Back Office Operations plus POS Basics and Back Office Basics  End Of Day Reconciliation: End of day close out process Back Office Reporting:           Running reports Shelf Tag Printing: How to print shelf tags& barcode labels/tags Age Verification:  How to setup and use Age Verification Gift Card Creation And Processing:     How to create and redeem gift cards Employee Time Clock:  How to use the employee time clock Setting Up Basic Promotions:            How to create general sales and related promotions like discounting Rentals / Kegs: How to use the keg rental feature Inventory:   More in depth inventory training that includes  purchase orders, inventory transfers and physical inventory counts   Introduction To Configuring Taskpads:     How to create, modify and save POS Taskpads (buttons on the POS screen) Creating and managing orders:          How to setup and use work orders, layaway's, and  special orders Wholesale / on account:                     Setup and use of the Accounts Receivable feature Customer Loyalty Program:              Setup and use of the customer loyalty feature Basic Product Importing:                   How to import products from supplier catalogs or  similar sources Supplier Purchase Planning:             How to use supplier purchase planning to create purchase orders Configuring Dynamic Attribute Sets:  How to create multiple relations Multi-store Functionality:                     Various multi-store functions for products, staff, reports, etc. Regional Permissions:                         How to restrict leadership at one location from accessing another store locations data. Formula Based, Advanced Promotions: How to setup complex promotions and sales Multi Layered, Quantity/Volume Discount Schemes, Price levels, etc. Importing Of Other Data Types:         How to import non-inventory data POS Installation Training: How to install and configure Cloud Retailer POS  without assistance from RITE Introduction To Creating Custom Reports: How to use the built in tool for creating custom reports Advanced Task Pad Configuration:    How to create and maintain task  pads in Cloud Retailer Advanced Commands And Workflows: How to manipulate and adjust commands and software work flows in Cloud Retailer

Facebook Group for Liquor Store Point of Sale Software Discussion

 The folks at RITE have started a Facebook group designed for the discussion of point of sale software designed for liquor stores. The group is just getting started so now is a great time to join and share your thoughts or ask questions: https://www.facebook.com/groups/751859958997672

RITE Expands Uncorked Commerce e-comm solution to RMS Users

A quick note that the popular Uncorked Commerce ecommerce solution for liquor stores using the Cloud Retailer point of sale software from RITE is now available to liquor stores in the US using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software. Here are the highlights:

• Must being located in the US
• Product catalog for the online store is free but only designed for liquor stores
• Must use NAB for online merchant services (does not apply to in store purchases)
• Initial setup and training cost is $850
• Ongoing monthly is $180/month for one store
• Processing rates are 2.69% plus $.25 per transaction
• Video overview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioeUtAhw8gI&feature=youtu.be

You can contact RITE at 888-267-7483 or sales@rite.us for more information.

RITE "Bottoms Up" industry news for Liquor Stores

RITE "Bottoms Up" industry news

Keeping you up to date on everything BWL

Dear Retailer, For over 15 years we have been on the edge of relevant information and offerings within the Retail Alcohol Industry to help guide your interests and decisions. In testament to this, we received the 2019 "Friend of the Retailer" award from MN's Licensed Beverage Association (1st POS company to win the award). The Industry is changing and we are changing right along side it to better suit your needs (scroll down to announcement about our new Curbside Pickup offering). *If you think a friend may benefit from this content, feel free to forward it to them.

Beer sales are soaring, and these brands are winning the booze battle Read More Here (estimated read time 2-3 minutes) Americans' thirst for alcohol has increased since the coronavirus pandemic began, spreading across the United States in mid-March. That's benefiting beer, a beverage that was once falling out of favor with consumers as they shifted their preferences to low-calorie drinks, including spiked seltzer and spirits. People are still buying a lot of White Claw, spirits and wine, but budget beer brands have also spiked in sales over the past two months. In particular, Anheuser-Busch's Busch Light sales have increased 44%, according to inMarket. Other brands have also recorded double-digit sales increases, including Miller Lite, Michelob Ultra and Natural Light. Uh Oh: Underage Drinkers Are Apparently Ordering Delivery Booze Like Crazy Read More Here (estimated read time 3 minutes) "The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control says that - surprise, surprise - a whole lot of underage drinking is happening now that customers can order booze delivered right to their door. In a memo sent last night, the ABC says that “minors are routinely able to purchase alcohol through delivery from restaurants,” and implies that more enforcement against restaurants could be coming if the problem isn’t solved soon." Booze bonanza for shops masks beer and spirits downturn Read More Here estimated read time 4 minutes "...Sales at U.S. retailers shot up more than 50% in the week after the country entered a state of national emergency. But the drinks industry isn’t popping any corks. The surge in demand came as sales through bars, clubs and restaurants fell to zero as they were closed to contain the virus. In the United States, “on-trade” drinking at bars and restaurants accounts for about 20% of spirits sales and 25% for beer, so off-premise drinking would need to keep growing by 25-30% to compensate. The signs are it’s already starting to slow. While U.S. stores’ alcohol sales are up a quarter since early March, the rate of growth slowed to 16% in the week to April 18."

Best of the Rest Don's Diner & Cocktails Takes New Identity as Don's Grocery & Liquor From West Virginia To Kansas, alcohol sales increase in wake of COVID-19 A Tavern fights for NJ restaurants to sell house-mixed cocktails to-go City Council of Monticello MN approves liquor license credits When will Arizona bars reopen? Will to-go cocktails be legal? MN Municipal liquor stores see change in buying habits during COVID-19 5 things to know about Robbinsdale Wine & Spirits right now Massachusetts Lawmakers Approve Bill to Allow Restaurants to Sell Alcohol To-Go

RITE Releases 'UnCorked Commerce' Curbside offering RITE is committed to supporting retailers in any business environment. We acknowledge that a lot of you have had to shoot from the hip and make it up on the fly to serve customers via phone orders, email orders, product catalogs loaded onto Facebook etc... We applaud your efforts and creativity during these wild times. As you are ready, we want to build off what you're doing and streamline sales methods that will continue to be requested, and to some extent required. Give us a call, and we'll take you "From the Hip" to Fully Hip.

Do you have comments, suggestions, or feedback about this newsletter? Questions about liquor store point of sale systems - including the low cost replacement program for Microsoft Dynamics RMS, or other legacy POS systems? Then please contact RITE's sales and marketing team at 888-267-7483 or sales@rite.us

Retail Information Technology Enterprises (888) 267-RITE (7483) Fax: (320) 230-1795 Email Us

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