What Retailers Are Searching For

I know that I have shared various statics from organizations like the National Retail Federation in past posts but also wanted to pass along some interesting statics from this blog site.

The most popular posts on this blog site are the product reviews. If the statics are accurate then...

• 76% of you are searching for Windows based point of sale system (and more of you are searching for Microsoft RMS than all other point of sale software programs combined!).
• 13% of you are searching for an electronic cash register
• 11% of you are searching for a tablet based point of sale system

The only reason I share this, is that the industry is telling us that the split between tablet based point of sale systems and computer based point of sale systems should be nearly 50/50.

Note that this information applies just to specialty retail stores as I am not tracking the restaurant related information.

Another thought is that I know of several new point of sale systems that will be coming on the market over the next few months and they are all tablet based (I'll be reviewing one of them in detail as it offers features that rival computer based point of sale systems while maintaining the affordable pricing that a tablet based point of sale system can offer).

Update 3.April.2014:

51.1% Traditional
43.3% Tablet
5.6% ECR (Electronic Cash Register)

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 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.

Review of Bindo Point Of Sale

Update November 9th, 2014. I can confirm that Bindo, Clover, and Silver have now added the following:

Bindo POS: basic invoicing and quoting functions

First Data Clover (still restricted to using First Data for merchant services): Item attributes, modifiers and barcode label printing.

NCR Silver: Barcode label printing and QuickBooks Accounting interface.

Note that some of the added features may require paying an additional fee and/or using third party software.

I have mentioned in several posts that tablet and smartphone based point of sale systems tend to not include all the functions that a computer-based point of sale software solution can offer. Tablet and smartphone point of sale solutions like NCR Silver and Clover don't offer some key functions like purchasing and receiving, tracking cost, time clocks, printing barcode labels, and item level attributes for style, size, and color.

I had the opportunity to take an in depth look at Bindo Point of Sale (Bindo POS) for iOS devices and this solution is light years ahead of Clover and NCR Silver. In addition to handling purchasing, item attributes for style, size and color, time clock, gift cards, customer loyalty program, printing barcode labels, and other common point of sale functions, Bindo POS also offers 3 key things that should make you take a look at Bindo POS:

1. Flexible Merchant Services – One of my big issues with point of sale solutions like Clover, HarborTouch, and QuickBooks POS is that these companies force you to use one specific company for merchant services (aka debit and credit processing service). I have personally seen the rates that some of these customers are paying and they run about ½% higher than normal which translates to easily $5000 to $20000 in additional fees. Bindo POS allows you to pick and choose the merchant services company that can offer you the lowest rates.
   
2. EMV – Even with EMV coming up next year, I still get a lot of blank stares when I ask companies how they plan to become EMV compliant. Not so with Bindo POS. Testing is already in progress to offer EMV compliant hardware.
   
3. Online Marketplace – Offering your products online is a “must have” in todays era of specialty retailing. Having the time and energy to maintain an online store is tough for most retailers and many point of sale solutions require you to maintain two separate inventories (online and in-store) or only sync the online and in-store inventories a few times per day. Not so with Bindo POS. Bindo POS offers a complete and very easy to manage online marketplace to display and sell your products over the Internet.

I was also impressed how the leadership at Bindo POS has taken the time to develop a point of sale solution based on input from actual retailers.


With a free 30 day free trial offer and monthly pricing starting at $79, Bindo POS will be giving both
traditional and tablet/smartphone based point of sale systems a run for their money. More reviews on Bindo POS can be found here: https://bindopos.com/reviews

You can learn more about Bindo POS by visiting their website at www.bindopos.com or by calling 1-800-MY-BINDO (1-800-692-4636).

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 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.

Free Mini Analysis

Since I have had the opportunity to speak with multiple point of sale companies since the closure of DirectPOS, I have gleaned quite a bit of information related to which company is offering what solutions and what type of end of year promotions.

I realize that this is a tough time of the year to being thinking about technology equipment for your retail store or museum but we do have some pressing timelines related to the MasterCard Unique Terminal ID Requirement, the future of Microsoft RMS/HQ, and EMV Requirements.  This means that everyone needs to start thinking now about where they want to go over the next year with their point of sale system.

I am currently offering a free basic phone or email consultation to help you determine whether you need to upgrade (if you already have a point of sale system) or which point of sale systems might be best for you (if you currently do not have a point of sale system).  This is a strictly non-sales consultation since I do not currently represent any point of sale companies or software manufactures.

You can reach me via cell at 208-340-5632 or email at kevinantosh (at) gmail (dot) com. I am in Mountain Time and a typical phone consultation takes less than 15 minutes.  You will receive professional advice and related options to help chart your point of sale technology plan.

Owning versus Renting Point of Sale Systems

One of the more recent trends in specialty retail point of sale systems is the ability to 'rent' a system. Generally one monthly payment includes the software, hardware and support.  Traditionally, point of sale systems have been purchased outright (or leased with intent to own after 3 to 5 years).

This question came up again when I was co-chairing a retail technology forum at the IFTD show in Reno, NV.

The answer simply comes down to down works best for your budget. An outright purchase means that you own everything and can start enjoying a return on investment with your system. However, just like some people prefer to lease a car, a monthly rental payment tends to be easier on your budget.

Things to watch out for when renting a point of sale system include the following:

1. Is everything included in the monthly payment (software, hardware, support and upgrades)?
2. Do you still have access to all you customer and inventory information should you decided to switch to a different system?
3. What happens if the company goes out of business?
4. How are hardware repairs handled?

The final pondering point we talked about at the conference is that renting will cost more in the long run. With a typical point of sale system starting around $3000.00, we determined that utilizing a similar system with a monthly payment of $79/month will cost $4740.00 over the course of five years.

In the end - it is what works best for you and your budget.  Of note, there are some 'free' point of sale systems being offered. We all know that nothing is free - these companies make money on the back end by charging higher fees for credit card processing or similar services.

Your Employee's are Stealing from You - But Here are Some Things Point of Sale Can do About it.

I'm currently working on a workshop for the Idaho Small Business Development Center leadership as well as a expanded workshop for the clientele who want to learn more about specialty retail point of sale systems.  In gathering some updated data for the workshop (which allows a retail business owner to properly budget for a point of sale system), I came across a surprising statistic on retail theft from the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The survey indicated that employee theft accounts for 43.9% of all retail theft (or "shrinkage" as we like to call it in the industry).  This would account for intentional and unintentional employee theft (which I will explain further a bit later).  Naturally, that is a large percentage - higher, percentage-wise, than even shoplifting!  An official overview of the NRF survey can be found here: http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1389

Almost every time I talk to retail store owners about employee theft, the response normally is "not at my shop - my employee's are trustworthy". Based on the survey, that may not be fully true. But, employee's may not be intentionally stealing. Here is a how most point of sale systems can help prevent intentional and unintentional employee theft:

Intentional employee theft: security settings in point of sale software will help prevent an employee from discounting the price of an item, voiding an item, taking a return, or voiding a sale without permission from a manager.  The customer display (little screen that faces the customer which shows items as they are rung up and then an overall total) that comes with a typical point of sale system can help keep an employee honest as well.  If the customer display says "$0.00" but the employee gives a total amount due of $124.95 then something is amiss.

Unintentional employee theft: use of barcode labels with prices will eliminate the need for an employee to guess what the price may be.  Inventory control puts checks and balances in place when it comes to trying to sell a product that is out of stock. Finally, the system does tell the correct amount of change to provide since I rarely find anyone who knows how to correctly count change anymore.

Studies by National Cash Register and feedback that I have received from retail store owners indicates that using a point of sale system will increase net profit by up to 3% by simply reducing employee theft.  That equals about $7,500 in additional net profit for a typical specialty retail store.  Not bad since this is only one aspect of a point of sale system.

Next up - specialty retail point of sale systems for 2013 and beyond as well as more data on how point of sale increases a stores net profit.

Your comments and personal experiences with employee theft and retail point of sale systems are welcomed!

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 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.