Tis the season for Tax Deductions!

OK - So I am no way a tax expert so be sure to validate this information with your tax professional. I do have experience as a business manager as well as a degree that included 300 and 400 level accounting and finance course work).

For the last 20+ years, I am always asked about deducting point of sale system expenses from your taxes as an expense.  For most retailers, the answer is yes - an outright purchase of point of sale hardware and software can qualify as a deduction. The requirements are that the hardware is being used in the business and not for personal use.

Some gray areas include if you can deduct point of sale hardware that you are leasing as well as point of sale software that you pay a monthly subscription on.

At any rate, if you have not used up your computer hardware deductions for 2020, now is a great time to look at investing in a new POS system. At this point, you should expect that you will pay for the point of sale system now but not have the new system installed until 2021.   

One last thought - don't wait until the last week in December to try and purchase a new point of sale system for tax purposes - I've had lots of folks call me on December 31st and generally it's too late with most staff (and most companies) closing early on New Years Eve. A good deadline (depending on what you need) is having everything finalized by Dec 15th, 2020. This allows time to process payments and get you that much needed invoice/receipt showing that the POS system was paid for in 2020.

Thoughts, comments and suggestions on the above are welcomed! You can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.  

Welcome to some new customers!

I wanted to give a quick shout out to the following retailers who recently signed on with me for point of sale related products and services:

• Terra Casa in Oregon: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• The Caring Place in Texas: POS hardware
• Sticker Planet: POS hardware
• Jordan Taylor in Texas: Card Defender for Microsoft RMS
• Pets West in Texas: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• Martin Bruni Liquor in Washington State: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• La La Liquor in Texas: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• Bedrock Comics: Microsoft RMS hardware and software for new store location (congrats!)

Thanks to all of you for your trust when it comes to retail point of sale hardware, software and services!

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