Still Using Microsoft RMS? Just a Few Months Left Before RMS End of Life

 Just a friendly PSA that the July End of Life date for the Microsoft Dynamics RMS/HQ point of sale software is coming up quickly. You need to have a plan in place:

• Gamble and keep using RMS
• Purchase an RMS Maintenance Agreement to keep RMS support running through July 2023
• Replace RMS with either RMH or Cloud Retailer or Dynamics 365

The choice is yours!

My YouTube Channel has some demo and general advice videos specific to RMH and Cloud Retailer.

 Please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 with any RMS or point of sale related questions.

Yes Microsoft RMS Users - Card Defender is Still Available (and fully supported by RITE)!

 

Quick Update: Card Defender is no longer available for Microsoft RMS unless you are a beer, wine, or liquor store that will be moving to the Cloud Retailer point of sale software in the near future. 

With Microsoft RMS coming up on the end of extended support, I wanted to let retailers using the Microsoft RMS point of sale software know that the Card Defender plug in for RMS is still being actively sold and supported by RITE (approx 1700 installations as of 6/2020).

A general overview video can be viewed below:

If you would like more information about Card Defender for Microsoft RMS, please contact RITE at sales@rite.us or 888-267-7483.

If you would like a Card Defender quote/proposal, please complete this questionnaire.

Note that Card Defender is only available to RMS Users with stores in the United States.

RITE's "Bottoms Up" Newsletter for Liquor Stores 6/15/2020

RITE "Bottoms Up" industry news Keeping you up to date on everything BWL Dear Kevin, For over 15 years we have been on the edge of relevant information and offerings within the Retail Alcohol Industry to help guide your interests and decisions. In testament to this, we received the 2019 "Friend of the Retailer" award from MN's Licensed Beverage Association (1st POS company to win the award). The Industry is changing and we are changing right along side it to better suit your needs (scroll down to announcement about our new Curbside Pickup offering). *If you think a friend may benefit from this content, feel free to forward it to them. Mass Voters Will Decide If Retailers Can Carry Beer and Wine at More Locations...and Not Everyone Is Happy Read More Here (estimated read time 2-3 minutes) Cumberland Farms just inched one step closer to eviscerating current regulations that determine the number of retail alcohol licenses a single company can hold in Massachusetts. To the consternation of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association (MPSA), the Supreme Judicial Court for Suffolk County just ruled that voters will be able to vote on a ballot question in November that could grant Cumberland Farms, as well as countless other national and international retailers, access to unlimited retail beer and wine licenses in Massachusetts." Ohio Lawmakers want to make "to go" alcoholic drinks permanent now Read More Here (estimated read time 3 minutes) "Amid the novel coronavirus, Ohio broke the seal on allowing to-go alcoholic beverages from margaritas to adult Capri Suns. Now, some lawmakers want to make the change permanent. House Bill 669 would allow Ohioans to purchase delivery and carryout alcoholic beverages even after Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine lifts the emergency order on the novel coronavirus." Pre-Mixed Cocktail Pickup and Delivery Temporarily Allowed in Washington Read More Here estimated read time 4 minutes "In a major announcement on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (“WSLCB”) issued a policy to temporarily allow sales of pre-mixed cocktails by businesses holding a Spirits/Beer/Wine Restaurant License – the license type held by most full service restaurants – for curbside pickup and delivery. Until now, the WSLCB’s temporary measures only allowed Spirits/Beer/Wine Restaurant Licensees to offer delivery and curbside pickup of beer and wine in growlers, kegs or factory sealed containers and spirits in factory sealed containers only." Best of the Rest Beer Production Is Fizzing Out with a Changing Demographic Gomer's of Kansas City acquires sixth location, opens as remodeling continues Chattanoogans stock up on Tito's and tequila for coronavirus quarantine Albany Business Creates Liquor-Infused Ice Cream But Can It Be Sold? Target on Foster Ave Chicago to include Starbucks, CVS and possible liquor section. The American Wine Experience: The Best Wineries of the Pocono Mountain Region No wine or beer at Montgomery County’s Maryland's newest liquor store Hard Seltzer’s Surge Shows No Sign Of Slowing RITE Releases 'UnCorked Commerce' Curbside offering RITE is committed to supporting retailers in any business environment. We acknowledge that a lot of you have had to shoot from the hip and make it up on the fly to serve customers via phone orders, email orders, product catalogs loaded onto Facebook etc... We applaud your efforts and creativity during these wild times. As you are ready, we want to build off what you're doing and streamline sales methods that will continue to be requested, and to some extent required. Give us a call, and we'll take you "From the Hip" to Fully Hip. Do you have comments, suggestions, or feedback about this newsletter? Questions about liquor store point of sale systems - including the low cost replacement program for Microsoft Dynamics RMS, or other legacy POS systems? Then please contact RITE's sales and marketing team at 888-267-7483 or sales@rite.us Retail Information Technology Enterprises (888) 267-RITE (7483) Fax: (320) 230-1795 Email Us Visit Our Website  ‌  ‌  ‌

Retail Information Technology Enterprises | 1001 2nd Street South, Suite 100, Sartell, MN 56377

Travel Schedule Q3 and Q4 2018

OK, so those of you with chains and franchises are getting serious about investing in new point of sale technology come 2019 and 2020. Many of you use Microsoft Dynamics RMS with HQ while others use quite the variety of POS programs that are outdated or lacking certain features and functions. As many of you have requested assistance with needs analysis, process improvements, budgeting, wish list creation, and solution/vendor analysis, I’ve booked travel to the following areas through the end of 2018:

• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Seattle, Washington
• Portland, Oregon
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Multiple parts of Idaho
• Multiple parts of Oregon

I am still working on Texas, Colorado and Arizona so please contact me as needed. Same goes if you are in an area that I am visiting and wish to meet in person for unbiased consulting or sales/service related assistance.

You can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.

What Microsoft Dynamics RMS Users are Doing: 2018 Edition

Quick analysis of what retailers are doing specific to the upcoming end of extended support date for the  Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ point of sale software programs:

Whether it be paid onsite consulting or point of sale sales and service, you can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 to have a free initial conversation to discuss your specific situation,

End of Year Advice - 2016

A few "ponderings" to share as we close in on the final few days of 2016 and look forward to 2017:

1. Please remember the true meaning of Christmas as you celebrate and reflect with family and friends - Jesus birth is the true "reason for the season".
2. Take some time to plan out any physical inventory counts and ensure that you have the correct training on how to use any physical inventory count features in your point of sale software.
3. Reflect back on how you use your point of sale system to spot any gaps or room for improvement (or a new system).
4. Keep an eye out for pesky new regulations and security requirements so you are not blind-sided with outdated equipment that is non-compliant.
5. Still using Microsoft Dynamics POS 2007/2009/2.0?  Full end of life for these programs is coming up on July 9th, 2019. While this is still a couple of years away, I'd recommend that you start thinking now about a migration plan. Keep in mind that you do qualify for a low cost upgrade to the new Retail Management Hero software.
6. Planning on using Microsoft Dynamics RMS for the next few years (end of life is not until July 2020/2021 - depending on which support contract you are on)? A few suggestions:
• Keep an eye on Retail Management Hero since the upgrades are fairly low cost and painless (but watch for differences in features, add-ons and functions).
• Make sure that you are on version 2.02 of RMS so all the latest service packs and hot fixes have been applied.
• Consider using Card Defender to ensure compliance with credit card security, EMV, SHA-2, etc.
• Avoid Windows 10 if possible for the time being.
• Make sure that you are aligned with an Dynamics Partner that is committed to supporting RMS, HQ and Retail Management Hero - we have actually acquired customers from around 3 different Dynamics Partners that are phasing out support for various point of sale software programs.
7. Watch this blog and my YouTube Channel for more information on Cloud Retailer which is a cool hybrid point of sale system that combines the best of what cloud based and on-premise point of sale systems offer.

Right now it looks like I will be headed to multiple states in the first half of 2017. Confirmed so far are Seattle, WA, just about all of Idaho, Salt Lake City, UT, and Minneapolis, MN. Pending are Portland, OR, Denver, CO, Phoenix, AZ, Tuscon, AZ, Dallas, TX, San Francisco, CA, and San Jose, CA.

Do contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com if I can of assistance. Thanks!