Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Retailers: What do you want from your POS provider?

RITE has put together a survey asking retailers what they want from their point of sale provider during these unique economic times. The survey should take less than 3 minutes to complete and will help RITE focus on providing what you want and need over the coming months.

Here is a link to the survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Abj_uVMs9zKncSS0c5Mkq5lsIXYy0uPXdeh2GSMtu9A/edit


Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Are You Headed to Any of These Trade Shows?

Please let me know if you are a retailer who is headed to any of these trade shows as it would be great to have an in person conversation!

Malt Beverage Distributors Association of PA (MBDA): April 25th and 26th, 2020 at the Crown Plaza in King of Prussia, PA.

Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association (MMBA): April 25th-27th, 2020 at the Arrowhead Resort in Alexandria, MN

Beverage Alcohol Retailers Conference (BARC): June 8th - June 10th, 2020 at the Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capital in Austin, TX.

Please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com for more information.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

RITE Extends RITE Microsoft RMS Maintenance Program to all RMS Users

As many retailers using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software have expressed interest in using the RMS software beyond the July 2020/2021 end of life date, RITE has extended their RITE RMS Maintenance Plan to be available for all retailers using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software. This is a great way to continue receiving RMS support and is even available to retailers using RMS who are lapsed on their Microsoft Annual Maintenance Agreement (also known as BRAP or annual software maintenance).

With costs starting around $215/lane license if current on maintenance or around $430/lane if lapsed on maintenance, this is a great way to maintain RMS support.

RITE RMS Maintenance includes the following:

  • Automatic weekly backups of the RMS database (daily backups are available for an additional charge)
  • ESET Antivirus software on each POS computer
  • Free clean up of the RMS database (re-indexing, removing un-used files, etc) to help speed up the RMS software and stay under any SQL database size limitations
  • 100% discount against the up front license cost of the Cloud Retailer point of sale software (normally $500/lane license). Cloud Retailer is a direct replacement for Microsoft RMS and also works with the very popular Card Defender processing plug in for RMS making for an easier and less expensive transition to a new POS software program. Discount only applies to RMS users who are current on RITE RMS Maintenance and does not include Cloud Retailer hardware, training or related deployment costs)
  • Access to our Minnesota and Idaho based support team for RMS support via "pay as you go" or pre-paid discounted blocks of support hours options.
The first steps are to get in touch with RITE to complete a Change of Partner form and obtain a quote based on your lane count and whether you are lapsed on Microsoft RMS Maintenance. Additional options for backups and paid technical support can be discussed at that time as well. 

You can reach the RITE team by calling 888-267-7483 or sales@rite.us

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Point of Sale Systems for Camera Stores

A quick shout out to several camera stores who helped me fill in some gaps that are missing from their current point of sale software!  You both mentioned buying groups that independent camera retailers belong to so we'll see if we can reach out to the buying groups to help recommend some point of sale solutions.

For this post, I am defining an camera store retailer as a retailer who sells new cameras and related accessories. This is not for production studios, repair only businesses, pawn shops, etc.

Low Volume (single check out lane, less than $380000 in annual gross sales): Shopkeep or Vend. These are good subscription based solutions with affordable monthly subscription costs. Most retailers can set these systems up with minimal assistance or training which saves on up front costs. These POS programs will likely handle 80% of what you want.

Mid Volume (2+ check out lanes, less than $2.5M in annual gross sales, no more than 50 store locations, basic repairs): You are in a position to utilize a POS system than handles some of the unique requirements that camera retailers have like tracking serial numbers, product attributes, and off site sales at events. Here is an example of serial numbers being used in the Cloud Retailer point of sale software:

Here is what product attributes look like in Cloud Retailer, you can see how the wine data could be changed to camera attributes for focal range, zoom ratio, battery life, etc:

High Volume ($2.5M+ in annual gross sales, 51+ locations, complex operations for repairs, etc): You are in the range of looking at the ERP solutions like NetSuite and Microsoft Dynamics D365 which not only handle POS functions but also finance, payroll, logistics, repairs etc.

If you have any questions (or suggestions) on the above information, please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.



Monday, April 13, 2020

Covid Tips From Fellow Retailers

It is no secret that most non-essential retailers are closed to walk in customers. Here are some tips on staying busy, creative selling, and planning for re-opening that retailers have shared with me over the last 3 weeks:
  1. Performing physical inventory counts
  2. Deep dive in to what inventory is selling and not selling
  3. Posting one product a day on Facebook and offering free delivery (one retailer is even posting display items in an effort to sell existing product)
  4. Deep cleaning the store
  5. Looking at RMS replacement programs
  6. Applying for PPP, disaster loans, etc as part of the CARES act
  7. Replacing old computer hardware
  8. Looking at adding e-commerce and BOPIS (some just want this short term and others are planning to add this long term)
  9. Offering gift card promotions (eg: buy $50 in gift cards and receive an additional $5 gift card)
  10. Changing product mix (focus on health and safety products)
  11. Creative promotions (free role of TP with every gift card purchase)
  12. Bringing in the next generation of store owners for some retail operations training (for when the owners retire and hand over the keys to their children)
  13. Rearranging the store to accommodate social distancing (including taping 6 foot marks at checkout)
  14. Purchasing face coverings and gloves for all employees (some states, like Colorado, are mandating this for all essential workers)
  15. Deciding to move the business online permanently and close the physical location
  16. Putting a simple product inquiry form on their website and offering delivery/shipping
Do you have a tip to share? Please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com



Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Comparison between Microsoft RMS and Cloud Retailer: Updated for 2020

Updated for 2020, a comparison of the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software against the Cloud Retailer point of sale software.

Specific focus on sales transactions, reports, purchasing, inventory item records, sales/promotions and some general settings.

As Cloud Retailer is available as a direct replacement for Microsoft RMS, this video provides an overview of some of the functional differences in Cloud Retailer compared to what RMS users are used to.

If there is a specific feature that you use in Microsoft RMS, be sure to ask for an overview of how that feature is done in Cloud Retailer.



For more information, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com - US Only Please!

Wednesday, April 1, 2020

Reminder: All Microsoft RMS to Retail Management Hero Discounts End June 2021

Just a quick reminder that all discounts for moving from the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software to the Retail Engagement Hero (RMH) point of sale software will end June 2021 thanks to the folks at RMH extending a 10% discount for all RMS users.

Please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com if you have any questions about Microsoft RMS replacement options.