Tuesday, March 31, 2015

What type of businesses and organizations have been contacting me so far in 2015

For quarter 1 of 2015, I have been contacted by around 90 businesses and organizations in need of free and unbiased point of sale advice or help. I've also been contacted by a few organizations requesting me to conduct my point of sale workshop at their annual event (conference, expo, etc).

For those searching for point of sale systems, the breakdown is similar to what I saw in 2014:
  • 60% have a retail related business
  • 30% have a food service related business
  • 10% are part of a government entity
  • 30% have more than one location
  • 50% are only interested in point of sale systems that run on mobile devices like tablets 
  • 50% are only interested in point of sale systems that run on computers
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.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Contacts for help or questions related to Dynamics RMS, HQ or Retail Realm Essentials

A quick reminder that sales of Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ to new users ends next year (2016) so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of purchasing RMS or HQ as point of sale software for your business or organization.

As I continue to receive almost daily calls and emails from folks with questions (or needing support) related to Microsoft Dynamics RMS, HQ and the new Retail Realm Essentials (powered by Microsoft Dynamics) point of sale programs, I wanted to let you know that I do have contacts that I can put you in touch with who can provide technical support as well as general information related to these point of sale programs.

These are people that I know in the industry and are fully certified for sales and support of all the entire Microsoft Dynamics suite of point of sale software programs.

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.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Point of Sale Workshop Reminder

A quick reminder that my next free and unbiased point of sale workshop is being held the afternoon of March 31st, 2015 at the Idaho Small Business Development Center in Boise, ID. I will also be covering information related to the upcoming EMV liability shift date as well as providing an overview of how to select the best point of sale system for your business or organization.

Here is a link to register for the workshop: https://business.idahosbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=40350042

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.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

EMV Advice and Discount Options for Former DirectPOS/RVP Business Systems Customers

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

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

With the EMV (chip based credit and debit cards) Liability Shift Date coming up quickly (October 1st, 2015 in the United States), I wanted to pass along some important information for former customers of DirectPOS (RVP Business Systems) who formally sold and serviced cash registers and point of sale systems out of offices in Boise, Idaho, Salt Lake City, Utah and Spokane, Washington.

If you happen to be a former customer of DirectPOS or RVP Business Systems, you likely have questions related to making sure that your cash register or point of sale hardware and software is ready for the EMV Liability Shift Date.  I have made arrangements with multiple trustworthy companies to help you determine what, if anything, you need to do related to your current equipment and EMV.

Even better, these companies will offer you a special discount related to any costs you may incur. Because this involves multiple different types of hardware and software, as well as over 3000 different businesses and organizations, you need to contact me for more information.

Here are the systems that qualify for the discounts:
  • MICROS e7
  • MICROS 3700
  • Sam4S Cash Registers
  • QuickBooks Point of Sale
  • NCR Silver
  • NCR CounterPoint SQL
  • Microsoft RMS
  • Microsoft HQ
  • Microsoft POS 2007 or 2009
If your business is using one of the above systems, and resides in the states listed below, do contact me for free advice and direction on what to do.  I will also be reaching out to all of you as time permits.
  • Idaho - ID
  • Utah - UT
  • Washington State - WA
  • Oregon - OR
  • Wyoming - WY
  • Montana - MT
  • Ohio - OH
  • Minnesota - MN
  • Iowa - IA
  • Wisconsin - WI
  • Louisiana - LA
  • Texas - TX
  • Florida - FL
  • California - CA
The goal here is to make sure that the upcoming EMV Liability Shift Date catches no one by surprise.

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.


Need Help With Microsoft Dynamics RMS or HQ Point of Sale?

A quick reminder that sales of Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ to new users as well as mainstream support ends next year (2016) so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of purchasing RMS or HQ as point of sale software for your business or organization (not a wise investment at this point).

Update June 28th, 2015 - special discount and incentive from a national NCR CounterPoint Partner for RMS and HQ users: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/06/big-discount-and-incentive-for.html

Even with the 'end of life' announcement from Microsoft related to the Dynamics RMS and HQ point of sale programs as well as the upcoming EMV liability shift date, there are still at least 38,000 stores in the US using these point of sale programs.

As my technical skills are limited, I have made arrangements with a certified RMS and HQ technician to be available for folks searching for technical support or training on RMS.  If you are in need of support or training on RMS or HQ, then please contact me for the technicians contact information - he does work for a Microsoft Dynamics partner with multiple locations in the US.

Updated information on the upcoming Retail Management Hero Software (or what I am coining "RMS 3.0 for 2015 and beyond") can be found here: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/06/new-option-for-rmshq-users-retail.html

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Urgent Point of Sale Buying Tip: Ask About EMV!!!

Over the last couple of weeks I have fielded calls and emails from some very upset business owners. Not upset with me but upset as they recently purchased point of sale systems for their businesses without asking about EMV or chip-based debit and credit card transactions. Remember the US EMV liability shift date for chip/contact-less credit and debit card transactions is October 1st, 2015 in the United States.

2 of these businesses invested in point of sale systems that can not be upgraded to work with EMV compatible hardware and the other businesses purchased point of sale systems will require new hardware and software upgrades totaling around $1100/location - this is on top of the money recently spent on a new point of sale system.

I can not stress enough that anything related to cash registers, credit and debit card terminals, point of sale systems designed for mobile devices, or point of sale systems designed for computers should now have a clear and no-cost plan to utilize EMV compatible hardware and be able to authorize chip based credit and debit card transactions when the card is present.

To be honest - the blame falls with both the business owner (for not asking about EMV and not performing 'due diligence' )as well as with the companies selling products that are not ready for EMV.

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.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

New Features Added to Bindo Point of Sale

The popular Bindo point of sale system (www.bindopos.com) has seen some recent enhancements:

  • Accept payments from any source by adding a custom payment button 
  • Scan pre-existing custom barcodes and add these products to your inventory
  • Sell items at $0.00 (like free services or give-aways)
  • Allow for card present and card not present transaction tracking
  • Support for smaller sized barcode labels
It is nice to see that Bindo listens to their user base and adds features and functions on a very frequent basis! More reviews on Bindo POS can be found here: https://bindopos.com/reviews

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Negative Feedback on Lightspeed

While I have personally had positive experiences with Lightspeed point of sale, I have been made aware of some stores who have had negative experiences with Lightspeed.

The main issue appears to be related to the multi-location version of Lightspeed not correctly handling the inventory at all locations (ie: transferring the wrong item to the wrong store or the different store inventory databases not syncing correctly which causes on hand counts to be incorrect).

That is all that was communicated to me so I don't know if the problem lies with the user or with Lightspeed but the situation was bad enough that at least one store stopped using Lightspeed and switched to another point of sale system.

I'd advise anyone looking at Lightspeed to do a little research and be sure to talk to stores using Lightspeed to see if they have experienced any issues.

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.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Prolific Point of Sale

Just a quick note that I am hoping to review the Prolific Point of Sale program sometime in late March or early April. Prolific Point of Sale is an iPad based point of sale application that can work in both retail and food service businesses and organizations.

As Prolific Point of Sale is attached to a merchant services company, I will not only be reviewing the actual app but also asking the tough questions related to costs and fees for using the app, service & support, and hardware costs as well as what sort of merchant services rates are offered and if your rates can be raised over time.

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.

Friday, March 6, 2015

Want to Meet in Person?

Just a quick note that I am going to be in the following locales over the coming weeks if you would like to meet in person:

  • Salt Lake City, Utah
  • Portland, Oregon
  • Boise, Idaho
  • Baker City, Oregon
  • Twin Falls, Idaho
  • Pocatello, Idaho
  • Idaho Falls, Idaho
  • Sacramento, California
  • Seattle, Washington


Contact me for more information.  I'm also working on arrangements to visit other areas as well.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

One Step Retail Solutions Complaints and Reviews

Some time ago I posted feedback and reviews about One Step Retail Solutions in Phoenix, AZ. The complaints related to no shows for scheduled appointments as well as being quoted excessive fees for simple technical support.

I have not received any response or reply from anyone at One Step Retail Solutions so the lack of communication means that I can not recommend considering them as a source for point of sale systems and support.

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.

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

A Little More Information on Retail Realm Essentials - Powered by Microsoft

A note of thanks to the folks at Retail Realm for letting me know that some new content has been added to their website specific to the new Retail Realm Essentials - Powered by Microsoft Dynamics (RRE)  point of sale program.

Retail Realm has assured me that they will pass along more details as they become available - I know many of you are waiting on license cost information as well as any information related to possible license swap options for businesses currently using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ point of sale programs.

Here is a link to RRE website: http://www.rrdisti.com/products/retail-realm-essentials

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.

Monday, March 2, 2015

Next Free & Unbiased Point of Sale Workshop

Wow - so February sure flew by! Here are the details on my next point of sale workshop. As a reminder, these workshops are free and are not sales presentations (I can't sell you anything anyway!).  Given the upcoming liability shift date for EMV, I will be devoting part of the workshop to EMV specifics. The workshop will also cover the following:

  • Differences between point of sale systems designed to run on computers versus point of sale systems designed to run on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets
  • How to budget for a point of sale system
  • What to avoid or common "gotchas' when selecting a point of sale system for your business or organization
  • How to select the best vendor to work with
  • How to use a weighted point spreadsheet to make your final decision
All of this takes place in a free and unbiased environment! The workshop will be at the Boise, ID location of the Idaho Small Business Development center on Tuesday March 31st 2015 from 2pm to 4pm.

Here is a link to more details and registration information:

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.