New POS system for all liquor stores in Oregon?

Update 2/7/2023: Bid Notification is out on the OregonBuys website. Look for OLCC Distilled Spirits Supply Chain RFP.  You must be a registered vendor/supplier to see the RFP and respond.

 

 I have had multiple requests from liquor stores in the state of Oregon to provide an update regarding the OLCC's search for a new POS system.

I do not work for the OLCC but have been in communication with the OLCC. I also have met in person or online with multiple liquor stores in Oregon.

If you have any questions or insights, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com

What is Floor Pricing? How to setup Microsoft RMS for Floor Pricing

 The Oregon Liquor Control Commission recently passed a motion that all liquor stores in Oregon adhere to what is called "Floor Pricing". This got me thinking that not everyone knows what floor pricing is.

Basically, floor pricing is the minimum price that you can sell a product at to a customer. This is useful for not selling products below cost or below a minimum sell price set by a supplier, vendor, or manufacture.

As a retailer, you may also want to set floor or minimum sell prices to ensure that your staff does not sell a product for too low of a price (eg: minimum margin that you want to make or a popular product that should not be discounted).

Each point of sale software program is different, but here is a video showing how you set floor pricing in the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software

 

Any questions? Please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.

Point of Sale Software for Liquor Stores in Idaho and Oregon

So - it looks like there will soon be some more liquor stores in Idaho and Oregon who will be using the Cloud Retailer point of sale software. I'll have some more updates in a couple of weeks as to why these liquor stores choose Cloud Retailer over other POS software programs. 

You can find more information about Cloud Retailer by visiting https://www.cloudretailer.com/

Regional Site Visits 2021

 A quick note that Q3 and Q4 of 2020 was amazing!  You folks kept me on the road for almost 6 weeks straight and we found some great solutions for your stores!

Here are the areas that I am headed to for 2021 - please let me know if we should schedule some time to meet in person at your store:

• Twin Falls, ID
• Pocatello, ID
• Twin Falls, ID
• Jackson, WY
• Evanston, WY
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Stateline, NV
• Battle Mountain, NV
• Winnemucca, NV
• Seattle, WA
• Portland, OR
• Salem, OR
• Eugene, OR
• Bend, OR
• Missoula, MT
• West Yellowstone, MT
• Dallas, TX
• Austin, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Tulsa, OK
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Denver, CO
• Phoenix, AZ
• Minneapolis, MN
• St Paul, MN
  
• LaCrosse, WI
• St Cloud, MN
• Duluth, MN
• Chippewa Falls, WI 

You can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 - no cost to meet in person if I am already traveling to your area!

Point of Sale Software Options for Liquor Stores in Oregon

I've spent several weeks in Oregon over the last few months helping retailers find the best point of sale system for their store and found there to be some confusion about which POS software programs are available to liquor store retailers in Oregon.

After meeting with several liquor retailers as well as multiple calls and emails with the OLCC (Oregon Liquor Control Commission), I was given the impression that KMDS (Kelly Myers Data Systems)  POS was the only approved option for liquor store retailers in Oregon.

This is not true as the Cloud Retailer POS software is also available in Oregon. Here are some comparisons between KMDS and Cloud Retailer:

Similarities

• Both are designed for liquor retailers
• Both are approved by the OLCC
• Both are in use by multiple liquor stores in Oregon
• Both provide OLCC specific reporting

Pro Cloud Retailer

• Integrated processing (no errors due to manual double entry on payment terminals)

Pro KMDS

• Based in Oregon and well established user base

Note about Point of Sale Software Programs:

I did not include Retail Management Hero or NCR CounterPoint in the comparisons as I was focused on just liquor store specific POS software programs that included OLCC reporting integration. I have not come across any liquor stores in Oregon that use RMS, NCR Counterpoint, Vend, Bindo, Clover, etc.

If you are a liquor store retailer in the state of Oregon, I would encourage you to look at both Cloud Retailer and KMDS.

Cities and States I Am Headed To in 2020

Update May 2020: I made it halfway through my travels and then the shut downs began. I will re-evaluate travel starting in June. Presently, I have a list of around 25 retailers that I need to meet work - most are in the Seattle, Tri-Cities, Portland and Salt Lake City areas.

Want to meet in person for some free point of sale advice?
In need of some more in depth paid onsite point of sale consulting?

Here is where you will find me in 2020:

• Idaho (Boise area, Twin Falls area, Burley area, Pocatello area, Long Valley, Wood River Valley and Idaho Falls area)
• Greater Seattle, WA (WOW - you folks are keeping me busy!!!)
• Portland, OR (same as Seattle - amazing demand)
• Tri Cities area of Washington and Oregon
• Yakima, Washington
• Baker City, OR
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Denver CO area
• Dallas - Ft Worth, Texas
• Billings, Montana
• Minneapolis - St Paul, Minnesota
• St Cloud, Minnesota
• Phoenix, AZ
• Tucson, AZ

If you don't see your city and/or state listed, please get in touch with me as I tend travel across whole states (eg: I may in Dallas, TX for a specific event but will also likely travel to Austin and San Antonio as time permits).

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

Point of Sale Systems for Marijuana Retailers in Ontario Oregon

So, the residents of Ontario, OR recently voted to legalize having marijuana retailers in their city.

Because I already have several customers in the Ontario, OR area, and I live only about 45 miles from Ontario, OR, I wanted to pass along a special offer for any marijuana retailers who are in need of a point of sale system for tracking inventory, transactions, and detailed state reporting.

The promotion will include free on site installation (normally $750 to $1500) plus a POS system that runs around $3000 to $6500 up front and $60/month.

If you are not in the Ontario, OR area, but have or plan on opening a marijuana related retail store, please contact me about possible options and incentives to help you find the best point of sale system for your store.

To learn more, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com

Point of Sale Systems for Marijuana Retailers in Ontario Oregon

So, the residents of Ontario, OR recently voted to legalize having marijuana retailers in their city.

Because I already have several customers in the Ontario, OR area, and I live only about 45 miles from Ontario, OR, I wanted to pass along a special offer for any marijuana retailers who are in need of a point of sale system for tracking inventory, transactions, and detailed state reporting.

The promotion will include free on site installation (normally $750 to $1500) plus a POS system that runs around $3000 to $6500 up front and $60/month.

To learn more, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com

2018 Travel Schedule

For 2018, I'll be headed to the follow cities and states. Please let me know if we should schedule time to meet in person - no cost or obligation!

• Twin Falls, ID
• Mountain Home, ID
• Pocatello, ID
• Idaho Falls, ID
• Boise, ID
• Sun Valley, ID
• McCall, ID
• Jackson, WY
• Ontario, OR
• Baker City, OR
• LaGrande, OR
• Seattle, WA (and surrounding cities with 100 miles of Seattle, WA)
• Salt Lake City, UT (and surrounding cities with 100 miles of Salt Lake City)
• Phoenix, AZ
• Tuscon, AX
• Texas (likely Dallas - Ft Worth but possibly San Antonio, Houston and Austin as well)
• Denver, CO (and surrounding cities with 100 miles of Denver)
• Minneapolis, MN (and surrounding cities within 100 miles of Minneapolis, MN)
• Forest City, IA

My travel expenses are already paid for with these trips so our meeting would be at no cost or obligation assuming that we can cover everything in around an hour. Additional time would be at a rate of $125/hour.

Contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com for more information or to see about adding your city to the above list.

Travel Schedule 2016

My schedule for the first 8 months of 2016 is pretty booked at this point with paid consulting commitments, speaking engagements,  or other point of sale related commitments (keep in mind that I have to schedule all of this around my "day job").

However, I do have some gaps where I could squeeze in a 2-3 day trip.

As such, here are the places that I am headed to so for in 2016 (in 2015 I ended up traveling to 8 different states visiting 18 different cities and major metropolitan areas):

• Idaho: Boise, Twin Falls, Potatello, and Idaho Falls
• Utah: Salt Lake City, Park City, and areas within 100 miles of Salt Lake City
• Wisconsin: TBD
• Minnesota: Greater Minneapolis-St Paul (Twin Cities) area, Eagan
• Indiana: Indianapolis (tentative)

There are other possibilities as well - just don't have anything confirmed at this point. If you need a speaker for an event or if your organization/business is in need of paid unbiased point of sale consulting and you are located in one of the above areas, be sure to visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

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.

Local Retail POS Installation Help - Idaho, Utah, and Oregon

As I am now part of the RITE team, I am happy to let folks know that local sales, installation, training, and support for retail point of sale systems is again available to businesses and organizations in the states of Idaho, Utah, and Oregon (Montana, Wyoming, Washington State, and Nevada can be coordinated as needed).

This is great as these states lacked companies that focused on retail point of sale solutions ever since DirectPOS/RVP Business Systems closed their offices in Boise, ID, Spokane, WA and Salt Lake City, UT.

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.

Upcoming Events and Speaking Engagements

A quick update on my upcoming speaking engagements specific point of sale and EMV workshops:

Boise State University location of the Idaho Small Business Development Center.  September 22nd, 2015, 2:00pm to 4:00pm. Registration link and more details: https://business.idahosbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=40350090

Envision Retail Conference - Denver, CO. September 17th and 18th at the Denver Marriott City Center.  I will likely have a workshop designed for businesses searching for a new point of sale system or wanting to replace and older system on both days. Time and further details to follow. Link to more information about the Envision Retail Conference can be found here: https://www.retailcontrolsystems.com/envision-conference/

I'll post more details  on other events as they become available.  

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.

National Retail Point of Sale Solution Provider Expanding to Utah, Idaho, and Surrounding Areas

Update April 10th, 2016: this is still a work in progress but I am doing some ground work for the rest of April to see if this can be finalized by the end of May, 2016.  I've tallied around 600 businesses in the areas mentioned below that would benefit from having a local company for point of sale software, hardware, installation, training, and on-going support.

While Idaho and many of states surrounding Idaho contain multiple local companies that specialize in Restaurant point of sale systems, no one has stepped up to replace the local sales and service void left by the closure of DirectPOS and RVP Businesses Systems when it comes to a local company providing point of sale systems for retail stores and museums.  There are a few local companies in these areas that offer some retail point of sale solutions but it is not a primary part of their business.

To early to say for sure but it appears that a well respected  national retail point of sale solution provider is considering some level of expansion to offer sales and support to retail stores and museums located in Idaho, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Northern Nevada, Eastern Oregon, and Eastern Washington State.

I will pass along further details as they become available as this would be welcomed news to retail stores and museums located in these areas!

Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

Point of Sale Roadshows - Portland, OR and Seattle, WA

An invite for those of you in the Portland, OR or Seattle, WA area from the folks at BHD Inc. Nice informal way to learn more about retail point of sale systems!

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.

Any POS Partners/Dealers/VAR's Interested in the Idaho, Utah, E Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, or E Washington State Retail Markets?

Update September 14th, 2016 - I have signed on with a retail point of sale company that can provide onsite service. In fact, I have already been contacted by over 50 businesses in the areas mentioned below!  For retail point of sale service and support, I can be reached at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com.

As businesses and organizations continue to contact me about EMV, replacing older computer-based point of sale systems, or acquiring their first point of sale system, many have expressed that they want to work with a local company that specializes in retail point of sale systems.

I've noticed a continued trend with plenty of local companies offering point of sale systems for food service businesses, but there seems to be a lack of local retail point of sale providers. While there is no shortage of companies that sell solutions online, there are still business owners that want to support the local economy as well as receive some "hand holding" when it comes to installation, training, and on-going support.

If your business offers complete retail point of sale solutions, and would like to have a local presence in the following areas, please get in touch with me. If your business is already established in one of these locales, please let me know so we can chat more I can get the word out via email, phone, and social media. Each of these markets has folks with retail stores and museums actively searching for new or upgraded point of sale systems.

Here are the locales:

• All of Idaho
• All of Utah
• All of Montana
• Western Wyoming
• Eastern Oregon
• Eastern Washington State

Visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

Yes - I Help Food Services Related Businesses as Well

I've made some minor changes to this blog site and my YouTube channel to remove most of the references to being just retail and museum specific. This change was prompted due to the fact that I have been receiving an equal number of calls and emails from retail and food service related businesses. I will work on creating more news and information specific to food service businesses as well as retail stores and museums (like what the heck is going on with Aldelo?!?!).

In the meantime, if you are in need of some free impartial point of sale advice, are located in the US, and have (or will open) one of the following types of businesses listed below, see the various ways to contact me to the right.

• Specialty Retail
• Retail Chains of 2-75 locations
• Museums of all sizes
• Quick Serve Restaurants
• Sit Down/Table Serve Restaurants
• Counter Serve Restaurants
• Company Employee Stores
• Cafeterias
• Concession Stands
• Venues
• Food Trucks
• Kiosk, seasonal, or 'pop-up' businesses
• Retail and Restaurant Franchises
• So...just about anyone who isn't a large scale chain like Sears, Home Depot, or Denny's.

Some of you have been asking about my availability for in person visits or speaking at trade shows, conferences, expos, or small business development centers.   My schedule is flexible enough that I can travel almost anywhere with some advanced notice.

I do not charge anything for my workshops or consultations but if the location is more than 200 miles from Boise, ID then I do ask for enough to cover my travel related expenses.

There are also other options related to using online meeting tools as well to save time and money.

Best way to figure out our options is to contact me vie the contact form to the right, via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com or on my cell at 208.340.5632.

If it helps, the majority of the folks that I worked with or the locations I have spoken or conducted workshops at are:

• Boise, ID
• Twin Falls, ID
• Pocatello, ID
• Idaho Falls, ID
• Burley, ID
• Rigby, ID
• Rexburg, ID
• Jackson Hole, WY,
• Helena, MT
• Nampa, ID
• Caldwell, ID
• Atlanta, GA
• Ontario, OR
• Baker City, OR
• Portland, OR
• Seattle, WA
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Minneapolis, MN
• St Cloud, MN
• Reno, NV
• Shreveport, LA
• Spokane, WA
• Post Falls, ID

And obviously the areas around these cities.

Big News at Bindo

Some very cool news related to the Bindo Point of Sale (POS) solution.  As I have mentioned before, Bindo POS is a true "Mobile 2.0" point of sale solution with additional features and functions not found in Clover or Silver.  Bindo POS still retains the affordable monthly payment structure that today's retailers prefer over an upfront cost of $4000-$10000+ for a traditional point of sale system.

Based on phone calls and emails that I receive several times per week via this (rather basic) blog site, retailers of all sizes are choosing Bindo as their POS solution with a nearly 5 to 1 margin over other solutions like NCR Silver, Clover, QuickBooks POS, NCR CounterPoint, Retail Pro, and Microsoft Dynamics RMS.

I also want to let folks know that Bindo will be expanding to service the geographical areas formally served by DirectPOS who stopped selling and supporting POS systems in late summer 2013.  This is great news for retail stores and museums in the states of Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington and Montana!

Here is the official press release from Bindo:

FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE 

PRESS CONTACT 

Benedict Wong 

VP Business Development at Bindo 

ben.wong@bindo.com 

+852 6202­5613 

+1 (212) 603­9715 

NYC RETAIL STARTUP BINDO RAISES USD1.8M SEED ROUND AND OPENS NEW 

OFFICE IN SINGAPORE 

Bindo Expands in Asia: An iPad POS That Helps Small Businesses Compete with Amazon 

MAY 29th, 2014 (New York, NY) ­ Bindo, a New York­based retail startup has just raised an 

oversubscribed $1.8mn seed round for international expansion. The round is co­led by Gary 

Vaynerchuk, a renowned social media and wine expert, and Singapore/Tokyo­based East 

Ventures. Other investors include NYC­based Metamorphic Ventures, and other private angels 

with decades of experience in brick and mortar retail, ecommerce and internet­related 

businesses. 

Bindo has developed a cloud­based iPad Point of Sale (POS) system that enables 24/7 online 

shopping for the end consumer. Not only does the POS offer a comprehensive array of features 

ranging from inventory management to customer relationship management (CRM), Bindo offers 

merchants the mobility to consult, sell, and close the deal simultaneously, providing a VIP 

experience to every customer. Its CRM creates customer profiles at the point of checkout 

enabling the merchant to later engage with the customer post­sale. 

More uniquely, merchants can launch their entire store online onto web and mobile with one click 

and efficiently operate omni­channel commerce with one unified inventory, saving hours of store 

management tasks each week. This turns the POS into a powerful retail platform capable of true 

online and offline commerce. Bindo Marketplace then aggregates all the stores on the Bindo 

network, onto one consumer platform, and allows consumers to shop from their favorite 

neighborhood store online, and have it delivered within hours 

 “Our mission at Bindo is really to strengthen local economies and support local businesses, 

whilst making shopping more convenient for consumers”, said Brad Lauster, cofounder of Bindo. 

“Having personally experienced the difficulties small business face selling online, we wanted to 

find a way to bring merchants online without diluting brand awareness. We are not interested in 

simply providing an online storefront for merchants to promote themselves; we are aggressively 

co­marketing our marketplace with our merchants so that together, we have the means to battle 

the Goliaths of e­commerce.” 

The Bindo Marketplace app also makes mobile commerce and e­commerce infinitely more 

convenient for the consumer, by bridging the gap between online and offline retail. In­store 

purchases are saved, viewable and reorderable on the mobile app, and loyalty points are tracked 

across multiple channels. It is a hyperlocal marketplace for consumers that want to find and 

purchase a particular product in their neighborhood stores online, which they can do so scanning 

the barcode with their app. 

Bindo will split the funding equally between development and sales. The development team will 

focus on delivering the Marketplace and providing a seamless experience for both merchant and 

consumer. Since Bindo’s private beta launch, inbound leads have been increasing exponentially 

each month; substantial resources will be allocated to scaling the sales team to support the 

rapidly growing number of merchant demo requests. 

ABOUT (BINDO) 

Bindo is a NYC startup with offices in Hong Kong. It was founded in 2011 by Jason Ngan and 

Brad Lauster. Bindo has developed a cloud­based iPad POS (Point­of­Sale) that enables online 

shopping for the end consumer. In a few months, it will be releasing Bindo Marketplace: a 

consumer app that aggregates all the stores using Bindo POS onto one platform, allowing 

consumers to purchase directly online from their favorite neighborhood store, and have it 

delivered. In doing so, Bindo aims to close the loop between the online and the offline. As the 

network grows, Bindo becomes a real­time product graph, connecting brands, consumers and 

merchants.  

Onsite Installation and Training Options

Due to feedback from calls and emails received via this blog site, I wanted to pass along that there are some options related to onsite setup/installation and training with the purchase of the Bindo POS solution. The initial focus for the area that I cover will be Southern Idaho. Since I have former clients in the states of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Montana, and Wyoming, I may look at expanding the onsite setup and training service based on client needs.

The cost for this will depend on travel time and complexity of the setup and training. In most cases this will fall into the $99 to $199 price range.

Since this is something fairly new, you can always contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 (email preferred as I have limited availability during normal business hours) for more details.