Thursday, July 28, 2016

New Lower Pricing on the Retail Realm Essentials Point of Sale Software

Retail Realm recently announced lower pricing on their Retail Realm Essentials (RRE) point of sale software which is basically Microsoft Dynamics AX without the non-POS modules.

RRE is best designed for retailers with 5 to 200 users and $5M to $250M in annual gross sales but can be scaled for retailers needing up to 1000 users and up to $500M in annual gross sales.

Here is the updated (list) pricing which does not include the required first year software maintenance or factor in discounts for Microsoft Dynamics RMS users:

RRE Server:      $3000.00
Store Server:     $1200.00
POS Device:     $600.00
Manager:           $400.00

Due to there being so many variables, please contact myself or your Dynamics Partner to discuss in more detail. If you are in the US and do not have a Dynamics Partner, I can be reached at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com


Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Retail Management Hero Promotional Pricing Extended to Microsoft POS 2007/2009/2.0 Users

A quick note that Retail Realm and Retail Hero have let me know that users of the Microsoft POS 2007, 2009 and 2.0 point of sale programs can also upgrade to the new Retail Management Hero point of sale software program at the $250/license cost (plus maintenance and labor/new hardware as required).

This is a really great opportunity for stores using these point of sale software programs to upgrade to a newer point of sale program!

Be sure to contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com for more information (US only please).

Monday, July 25, 2016

Idaho Targeted Again for Credit Card Fraud - Who Is Liable?

This seems to be happening about every 2-3 months in the Boise area, criminals come in from out of state with stolen or fraudulent credit cards and hit the town making multiple purchases at multiple retail stores.

So, those of you wondering about the EMV liability shift may be asking who "eats" the $5000 in fraudulent purchases racked up by just one of the criminals?

If the stolen credit card was chip based, and the store did not have the correct EMV equipment in place, it is possible that the merchant will have to absorb the loss.

If you have not implemented an EMV solution, the following news article may give you reason to move forward:

http://www.ktvb.com/news/crime/bpd-out-of-state-fraudsters-target-treasure-valley/279050796

Comments or questions? I can be reached at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com

Sunday, July 24, 2016

Retail Management Hero Running on a Mobile Device

Quick demo showing how the new version of the Microsoft RMS point of sale software - rebranded under the new Retail Management Hero (RMH) name works great on touch screen mobile devices like a Surface Pro 4.



Questions on retail POS, RMS or RMH?  I can be reached at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com for no cost retail point of sale advice.

Friday, July 22, 2016

More Add-ons for Microsoft RMS

Information on a few more of the more unique add-ons/enhancements for the Microsoft RMS point of sale software. Depending on demand, some of these may also be updated to work with the new Retail Management Hero point of sale software.

RITE Advanced Customer Lookup

  • Helps speed up searching for RMS installs with a large number of customers
  • Faster and easier to use search forms
  • Force cashiers to enter specific information like an email address or zip/postal code
RITE Biometrics
  • Skip user ID and passwords and use a fingerprint reader instead
RITE Open Discount
  • Flexible open discount options
  • Touch screen optimized
RITE Price Level Extension
  • Increase the number of pricing levels already available within RMS
  • Define price levels for each group
If you are in the US, and have questions on the above or are in need of some no-cost retail point of sale advice, please contact me on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com

Thursday, July 21, 2016

RITE Expands Westward

Retail Information Technology Enterprises (RITE), Sartell, MN has expanded their local presence westward to provide local retail point of sale system service and sales to the under-served states of Idaho and Utah.

Since DirectPOS (Boise, ID, Salt Lake City, UT, and Spokane, WA) stopped selling and supporting point of sale systems in late summer 2013, retailers in these areas have experienced difficulty in obtaining service and support for their point of sale systems. Retailers in these areas searching for a point of sale system have found that they are limited to simple mobile point of sale systems or working with someone whose sole focus is not just on retail point of sale systems.

Since 2002, RITE has provided sales and 24/7 support of multiple point of sale systems for retailers of all types with a special focus on specialty retail stores with between 1 and 300 locations. 
RITE's Idaho and Utah office can be reached at 208-994-9404 or kevina@rite.us


E-Commerce, Loyalty and Similar Add-Ons for RMS and RMH

I've been contacted by multiple businesses recently inquiring about the various shopping cart, e-commerce, customer loyalty, and email marketing add-ons for the Microsoft RMS and Retail Management Hero (RMH) point of sale software programs.  A few folks have also asked what the mobile options will be for using RMH on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.  Lets try and hit the highlights and you can always contact me for more detailed information.

Microsoft RMS:
  • Shopping Cart/E-Commerce: NitroSell has proven to be one of the more popular shopping cart/e-commerce add-ons for the Microsoft RMS point of sale software
  • Customer Loyalty: Hero Points and bLoyal are two that I have worked with in the past
  • Email Marketing: RITE Retail Emailer can do some basic email list compiling and then you can export to your own template or a third party email marketing program
  • Mobile Version: There are add-ons for RMS that can work on mobile devices but these are normally special mobile devices like what you would see at a garden center or warehouse and not consumer mobile devices like iPads. 
Retail Management Hero (RMH):
  • Shopping Cart/E-Commerce: NitroSell has committed to offering a solution for RMH - more information will be released in 2017
  • Customer Loyalty: RMH will have some basic loyalty tracking and Hero Points will offer more enhanced customer loyalty functionality
  • Email Marketing: Nothing announced yet but RMH can capture email addresses so exporting to third party email marketing program may be possible
  • Mobile version: Nothing official but a mobile friendly version of RMH will likely be available sometime in 2017
How to obtain a 30 day trial version of Retail Management Hero: http://www.pospondering.com/2017/01/how-to-obtain-30-day-trial-license-of.html

Do contact me if you have any questions on the above or are in need of no-cost retail point of sale advice for your US located retail business. I can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com


Monday, July 18, 2016

New Version of RMS/Retail Management Hero Demo and Overview

So excited for Microsoft RMS users as well as retailers in general as the new Retail Management Hero (RMH)  point of sale software is here!  While the name is slightly different, I can really see why RMH could be labeled as version 3 of Microsoft Dynamics RMS.

There are multiple reasons why RMS users and retailers should take a serious look at RMH.  From an RMS users perspective you have the following:
  1. No need to start from scratch for training 
  2. Low cost upgrade licenses $215 to $465/computer depending on your software maintenance 
  3. Keep nearly all of your historical data (sales, customers, etc)
  4. Works with Windows 10 - eliminate the issues with RMS and Windows 10
  5. Use your existing peripherals (cash drawer, receipt printer etc) or start fresh with new hardware
For Retailers in General, RMH offers the following:
  1. Proven database platform
  2. Potential existing user based of 40,000+ stores
  3. Overall costs are 20% - 30%  than similar point of sale systems like NCR CounterPoint and Retail Pro
  4. Solid solution for retailers who need more that what the tablet POS systems can offer (Clover, Vend. Shopkeep, Lava, Silver, Bindo, etc) but don't have the sales volume to justify investing in NCR CounterPoint, Retail Pro, or Dynamics AX
My advice to RMS users is that you get in touch with myself or your existing Dynamics RMS Partner to take a look at your various options and chart a course for the next 60-90 days.  Each situation is different but the good news is that everyone has multiple options.

How to obtain a 30 day trial version of Retail Management Hero: http://www.pospondering.com/2017/01/how-to-obtain-30-day-trial-license-of.html

You can reach me on my cell at 208-340-5632 or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com.  I'm presently only able to provide service, sales, and support to retailers in the United States at this time.

Oh yeah, here is the video:



Thursday, July 14, 2016

Unique Add Ons/Enhancements for Microsoft RMS

As promised, some more information on a few of the add-ons/enhancements for the Microsoft RMS point of sale software. These are somewhat unique compared to the usual shopping cart, loyalty, and e-commerce add-ons for RMS. It is also possible that some of these add-ons will be adapted to work with Retail Management Hero as well.

Card Defender:

  • Allows RMS users to accept /EMV/chip cards 
  • Initial hardware and software investment and then a small ongoing monthly fee per terminal
RITE Age Verification:
  • Read state issued ID's to verify age
  • Can set different age criteria like 18 for tobacco but 21 for alcohol
RITE Keg Registration:
  • Track kegs or similar products 
  • Flexible deposit tag/label printing options
RITE Label:
  • Automate the barcode label printing process in RMS
  • Enhance the type of information that can be printed on each label
In need of no-cost retail point of sale advice? As long as you are in the US I can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com



Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Bulk Discounts on Point of Sale Hardware

Over the years I've actually provided large quantities of point of sale hardware to chains that use their own point of sale software but still need to buy large quantities of point of sale peripherals like cash drawers, barcode scanners, and receipt printers. As I am able to work directly with multiple distributors, do get in touch with me for a quote if you are in the US and looking for quantity 10 or higher of each item.

You can reach me at 208-340-5632 (mountain time), using the contact form to the right, or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com .

Thursday, July 7, 2016

Microsoft RMS to Retail Management Hero (RMH) Upgrade Pricing

For new users, Retail Management Hero (RMH) will have nearly the same licensing cost as Microsoft RMS did with an exception that each store can only have 2 manager licenses for free - after that the manager licenses are $400/each.

So now comes the confusing part for stores using the Microsoft RMS point of sale software that want to upgrade to the new Retail Management Hero (RMH) point of sale software. I've been in contact with around 174 stores interested in this upgrade and each of you has a different scenario.  Below I will try and break down the costs based on the most common scenarios.  Note that I am not including HQ in the examples and am also not including labor costs or the costs to replace any hardware.

Because this can get very complex, please contact me for more information (if you are not already working with an RMS/RMH partner or are willing to switch Partners as I can't access your RMS license information unless you are assigned to RITE or DirectPOS/RVP Business Systems) - my cell number is 208-340-5632 and my email address is kevinantosh@gmail.com.

Scenario # 1:
2 Lane RMS License - RMS Version 2.02 - Current on Software Maintenance - 2 Back Office/Manager Computers

Upgrade to RMH: $430.00

Reasoning: RMS users who are current on software maintenance and are using RMS version 2.02 or higher receive an equal number of lanes for RMH and up to 10 manager licenses at no cost. Only software costs are to to purchase RMH software maintenance at a cost of $215/lane.

Scenario # 2:
2 Lane RMS License - RMS Version 1.3-2.01 - No Software Maintenance - 2 Back Office/Manager Computers

Upgrade to RMH: $930

Reasoning: RMS users who are lapsed/not current on their RMS software maintenance agreements and using an older version of RMS will need to pay $250/lane to upgrade to RMH plus buy software maintenance at a cost of $215/lane.

How to obtain a 30 day trial version of Retail Management Hero: http://www.pospondering.com/2017/01/how-to-obtain-30-day-trial-license-of.html

Again, each situation is somewhat unique so do contact me with questions but please note that I can not provide accurate pricing unless you agree to use RITE as your RMS/RMH partner of record (it is a simple one page form that I can send you).

Wednesday, July 6, 2016

Best Point of Sale Systems for Wineries

Even though I live in a desert like area of Idaho, I'm actually only about 15 miles away from two areas of Idaho that have multiple vineyards and wineries and felt that it may be helpful to pass along my experience working with wineries to provide them with cash registers or complete point of sale systems.

Wineries have some unique needs depending on size, customer base, online sales, distribution, and on site events.  Many wineries have tasting rooms, offer tours, have on-site sales, a restaurant, a loyalty program, and distribute their products and/or sell their products online. There is also a seasonal factor depending on the location of the winery.

Smaller wineries whose annual retail sales are under $150,000 would find that a basic cash register or a simple cloud based point of sale system will automate some aspects of the business and provide basic sales and inventory reports.

Wineries generating $150,000 to $400,000 in annual gross retail sales will find cash registers to be too basic so cloud based mobile point of sale solutions are a good match.

For wineries exceeding the $400,000 mark, you are at the point that a true point of sale system is the route to take as you likely want some or all of the following:
  • Custom products labels with extended descriptions
  • Ability to sell products by single item or case
  • Mix and match promotions (special price when 6 different type of wine is purchased)
  • Promotional packages like selling the wine along with an opener and decanter
  • Wine Club loyalty program
  • Email marketing
  • Ticketing/Admissions for events and tours
  • Sample event tickets
  • Food sales
  • Wholesale product sales/distribution sales
This is not a complete list but these are some of the more common requests that wineries have shared with me.  I know that Microsoft RMS/Retail Management Hero, NCR CounterPoint, Cloud Retailer and Retail Realm Essentials/Microsoft Dynamics AX are systems that are in use at wineries and market their solutions specifically to wineries. 

As these systems have significant cost differences, you'll want to speak with someone directly who can help you decide which systems are best for your winery. If you are not already working with a company that sells the above systems (or are not happy with their level of service & support) , and are in the US, please contact me on my cell at 208-340-5632 (mountain time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com and I'd happy to provide some no cost advice.