Celebrating 26 Years in the Industry

 I'm getting old - just surpassed 26 years of working with POS systems (plus the 14 years that I spent in retail and restaurant management). Contact me if you are in need of some general advice specific to POS systems or if you need a speaker for your next conference or trade show.

As retirement gets closer, I will likely cut back on travel and how often I post to this blog site. The site is close to hitting 2 million unique visitors so I may post less frequently once that 2 million number is surpassed.

 Lord willing, I will still keep the blog site up and running (even if I don't post that often) as I know that a lot of you are here for the older Microsoft RMS content.

 

 

 

 

Let's Meet in Person! My 2022 Travel Schedule

 OK - one more surgery to go and then, Lord willing, I'll be back on the road.

If you would like me to stop by your store, and live in (or near) the following areas, please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.

• Boise, Idaho
• Twin Falls, Idaho
• Pocatello, Idaho
• Idaho Falls, Idaho
• McCall, ID
• Cascade, Idaho
• Sun Valley, Idaho
• Ketchum, Idaho
  
• Jackson, Wyoming
• Salt Lake City, Utah
• Baker City, Oregon
• LaGrand Oregon 
• Seattle, Washington
• Tacoma, Washington
• Olympia, Washington
• Belleview, Washington
• Portland, Oregon
• Salem, Oregon
• Denver, Colorado
• Fort Collins, Colorado
• Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Northern, Nevada
• Albuquerque, New Mexico 
• Phoenix, Arizona
• Dallas, Texas
• Plano, Texas
• Temple, Texas
• Austin, Texas
• San Antonio, Texas
• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Alexandria, Minnesota
  

Welcome to some new Retail Clients!

I wanted to squeeze in one more welcome for 2019 to the following retailers that signed on for products or services recently.

• Little Rock Zoo in AR: Retail Management Hero training and support
• Smart Merchants in WA: General Microsoft RMS support and replacement options
• American Airlines CR Smith Museum (fun place!  Glad that I was able to visit in person): RMS Enhanced Maintenance 
• Seattle Shirt Co in WA: Replacing RMS/HQ with Cloud Retailer in all of their stores
• Wagner Jewelers in WA (great store - enjoyed my time on site with them): RMS Enhanced Maintenance
• Travis Wholesale Florist in TX: RMS Enhanced Maintenance
• Clark's Pet Emporium in NM: Upgraded hardware at both stores for Card Defender

Are you in need of some retail point of sale advice, sales, service or training? Then please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.

The Power of Social Media

Wow - I know that I have traveled and met with a lot of retailers over the last couple of years - this is quite the list of new clients!  I'm also including those of you who just needed some basic advice or support that did not require a site visit.

New Clients by State (western states):
AK: 2
HI: 1
WA: 7
OR: 5
CA: 5
AZ: 2
NV: 2
NM: 1
UT: 3
ID: 9
MT: 1
WY: 0
CO: 6
OK: 2
TX: 7
AR: 2
LA: 2

Interested in joining the list? Have general retail point of sale questions? Please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com

As for how well social media works:

Since 2013, this blog site and YouTube Channel have had 406,768 unique visitors of which 1064 (2.6%) of you have contacted me. Estimated spend by blog site and YouTube Channel visitors is $6,384,000 since 2013 - not a bad ROI considering that social media is a time investment and actual monetary cost is around $10/year.

Fall Promotion

As we wind our way through the end of 2019, I wanted to pass along the following promotion valid through November 15th, 2019:

My hourly rate is waived for all on-site consulting services.  All you pay is actual travel expenses for on-site point of sale consulting at your business location.

This offer is valid for contracts signed by November 15th, 2019 and only available to retailers located in the United States. Maximum on-site time is limited to 6 hours a day for up to 5 consecutive business days. Actual travel expenses include airfare, rental car, food per diam, fuel and lodging.

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

Goodwill POS Meeting Updates

I've had the opportunity to speak with a couple more regional Goodwill's about their POS plans - a summary appears below.

• Generally, all Goodwill's are still dealing with tight technology budgets but realize that outdated technology costs them more money in the long run via break/fix hardware costs, excessive labor costs for manual processes that could be automated, and employee errors due to using older technology.
• When looking for a new POS system, major consideration has to be given specific to whether their new POS system "wish list" includes features like production tracking and donor tracking.
• Consultants are proving to be very helping in identifying areas that a new POS system could increase revenue, reduce labor costs, and reduce employee errors.

Now, since y'all don't like it when I share your location information in too much detail, here are the Goodwill's that I have spoke with recently (or consulted with), what POS system they currently use, and what they plan on doing about their older POS system.

1. Southern US - Using Microsoft RMS/HQ - general discussions to replace in 2021 but no formal plan yet.
2. Southeastern US - Using Microsoft RMS/HQ - general discussions to replace RMS in 2021 - have looked at Retail Management Hero and Cloud Retailer - no formal plan yet.
3. Midwest - Using custom POS system - no plans to replace
4. Southwestern US - Using PC America - RFP is presently out to narrow down search for a new POS.
5. Rocky Mountain - Using NCR CounterPoint - no plans to switch away
6. Northeastern US - Using NCR CounterPoint - no plans to switch away
7. Southern West Coast - Using Microsoft RMS/HQ - starting searching for RMS replacement
8. Pacific Northwest - Using Microsoft RMS/HQ - started search for RMS replacement by looking at Retail Management Hero and Cloud Retailer - budget limitations mean using RMS through at least 2020
9. Pacific Northwest - Using Microsoft RMS/HQ - have not started looking at RMS replacement options
10. Pacific Northwest - Using Microsoft RMS/HQ - have not started looking at RMS replacement options
11. Northern Rock Mountains - Using NCR CounterPoint - no plans to replace CounterPoint at this time.

If you would like more details about the consulting that I have done for Goodwill Industries, or just have general thrift store point of sale questions,  please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632. Thanks!

20th Anniversary in the POS Industry

So, after spending several years in retail and restaurant management, I moved to Idaho and joined a little cash register company called RVP Business Systems in April 1999.

From the days of working from a hallway to a bathroom furiously making sets of QuickSell 2000 demo disks (not CD's - actual 3.5" floppies - high density even!) to the cloud based solutions of today, a lot has changed.

But a lot hasn't changed:

• Successful retailers know their customers and their products 
• Successful retailers know how to use technology without having technology use them
• Successful retailers see technology as an investment and expect a return on their investment
• Successful point of sale dealers, partners, VAR's and resellers know retail & know how to help customers increase revenue and reduce labor costs to compete 
• A high percentage of retailers still place a high value on face to face conversations (thus why I travel 110+ days each year)
• The credit card companies are always looking for ways to raise rates and come up with new requirements to sell more hardware
• POS companies come and go no matter how big or how small they are
• The price for QuickSell 2000 was around $999 when it first came out - the price for Microsoft RMS held steady at $1190 throughout the years - not bad when factoring for inflation.
• A complete POS system for a small retailer in 1999 sold for $2995 plus shipping. In 2019, you can get a complete POS system for around $5000. Again, not bad when factoring for inflation.
• The Epson TMT88 is still an awesome receipt printer
• I still can't stand merchant services companies/credit card processors due to how many times they interrupted my day when I worked in retail and restaurant management. However, I have found some good eggs out there like Gravity Payments and certain reps at TSYS, First Data, and Heartland. The bad eggs keep changing their names (or merging) but not their reputation (I'm talking about you WorldPay and Cayan!)

What will the next 20 years bring?  Pass along comments and questions to me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.

Minneapolis St Paul Visit

7/19/2017 Update - only slots that I left available while in MN are on August 3rd - if needed, I will schedule another trip to Minnesota later this fall.

Quick note that I am headed to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN in the coming weeks and would be happy to meet at your business if you are in need of some retail point of sale advice or consulting. Due to my schedule, I'd likely only be able to spend an hour or so with you but this would be completely free as I will be in the area anyway.

Contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com for more information or to schedule a time to chat.

Thanks!

Reminder on Consulting Rates

A quick reminder that I am still able to offer a large variety of on-site consulting services based around retail point of sale systems. Here are the common requests that I receive:

• you need a better understanding of your existing POS system
• some help documenting processes
• looking for gaps in your existing system
• budgeting for a new POS system
• creating a wish list for a new/replacement POS system
• comparing options
• What to do about Microsoft Dynamics RMS/HQ
• Replacement options for Microsoft Dynamics RMS/HQ

Generally you are looking at costs of $125/hour for these types of services but I also have flat daily or weekly rate options which run $2000 to $4000/week, depending on travel expenses. This would mean that my time would be exclusive to your organization for the entire length of my stay (example - a retailer in Minnesota with 40+ locations paid to have me onsite for 2 weeks and that my time was exclusive to them).

Discounts are available if there are multiple retailers that I can meet with in the same geographical area (example - multiple retailers in Texas combined to have me onsite with each of them during different days of the same week to save on travel expenses). 

On-site consulting costs can also be rebated towards the purchase of Retail Management Hero, Cloud Retailer, Dynamics 365, Microsoft RMS/HQ, Card Defender, or the other POS systems that the company that I work for is certified to sell, install, and support.

As each situation is unique, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com to have a no cost conversation about your specific situation. If you would rather contact me via my employer, my work contact information is 208-994-9404 or kevina@rite.us

Do I still Offer Consulting Services?

I've had a couple of retailers contact me wondering if I still offer point of sale system consulting services. The short answer is "yes" but with the following stipulations:

1. Hourly rate is $125 which is billed in 15 minute increments via my employer.
2. The first 15 minutes is free.
3. Travel expenses may apply for in person assistance.
4. I can consult outside of the different point of sale solutions that RITE offers (I've worked with around 20 different POS systems total).
5. If you do happen to purchase a POS system from me, the consulting fees (less any travel) can be deducted from the cost of the POS system.

Even if I can't provide you with the system that you need, I can help you select the best system and connect you with the best resource.

I've helped organizations with anywhere from 1 to 297 locations find the best point of sale system over the years and can be reached at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com

2016 Goals, News, Reviews, Etc

I've been made aware of the fact that I am one of very few professionals in the United States who can offer unbiased point of sale advice who has real world retail and restaurant management experience plus 15 years of experience selling and supporting over 20 different point of sale systems for retail stores, restaurants and museums.

While the paid onsite consulting and speaking engagements do keep me busy, I still want this blog site and my YouTube Channel to offer free point of sale advice, news and reviews for those of you who just need some basic advice.  As such, I still plan on providing the following as the Lord allows:

• Point of sale system news for businesses and organizations of all sizes
• Special focus on retailers using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS Point of Sale software
• General advice for choosing and selecting a point of sale system
• Tips and Tricks or How To videos specific to the following point of sale systems:
• NCR CounterPoint SQL
• NCR Silver
• Microsoft Dynamics RMS
• QuickBooks Point of Sale
• Bindo Point of Sale
• Aldelo Point of Sale
• Any promotions, specials, or discounts that might be beneficial to you and your organization
• Updates on EMV and EMV 2.0

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.

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.

A Few Changes

Since starting this blog site and via my YouTube channel, I've been contacted by over 600 businesses searching for point of sale advice, technical information, and general advice. Due to a schedule change, and based on feedback, I am currently only offering on site paid consulting services for businesses located in the United States.

I've found that these are the businesses most in need of the type of services that I can provide. It has also become a bit of a gamble recommending any of the tablet and cloud based point of sale systems designed for smaller single location businesses as these tablet and cloud based point of sale systems having been going through various growing pains and just about all of them have various user complaints.

So, if your organization has between 5 and 300 stores in the US (or a single location with more than $1M in annual gross sales) and is in need of unbiased paid point of sale consulting, be sure to get in touch with me by visiting my contact page for information in how to reach me.

New Videos: Options for RMS/HQ Users and Consulting Process Overview

A couple of new videos that may be of interest to you.  First up is some updated honest advice for stores using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS (and HQ) point of sale software programs.  General advice related to the end of life status with RMS and HQ and how the new Retail Management Hero plays in to your various options:

By request, I have also created a video that highlights in a bit more detail the process that I use when offering unbiased paid point of sale consulting work for larger organizations with between 5 and 300 locations:

Information on how to reach me for more information can be found on my contact page.

Using Me and My Sites as a Resource for Your Chain, Franchise, Association, or Organization

Just a quick note that you are more than welcomed to use myself and my sites as a source of unbiased point of sale information as needed. This works well for the following:

• Franchises
• Chain Stores
• Organizations (non-profit and government)
• Retail Associations
• Retail Conferences
• Retail Trade Shows

I'm actually already a point of sale contact for multiple businesses and organizations (representing well over 5,000 retail stores in the US) whose members/stores/leadership need any or all of the following:

• Free and unbiased point of sale advice
• Unbiased in-depth onsite point of sale consultation
• Speaker for events
• General point of sale advice

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.

Thanks!

A quick thanks to everyone that attended my most recent free and unbiased point of sale workshop at the Boise, ID location of the Idaho Small Business Development Center!  It was great that we had a chance to interact!

If you are in need of unbiased point of sale advice, paid in depth on-site point of sale consulting, or a point of sale speaker for your event that is completely vendor neutral, please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

Unbiased Consulting for Goodwill Stores

***2018 Update***

I started offering a 10% discount to all non-profit organizations plus some very large software license discounts if you happen to be using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software. You can reach me at 2208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com for more information (and references as well).


A quick note that I have a great deal of experience providing in depth (but unbiased) point of sale consulting services for Goodwill stores. This also applies to thrift stores in general. As this normally involves some travel, there are some fees involved (unless you are only in need of some general advice which is free) but the outcome is solid recommendation of the next steps your organization should take.

Here are some videos that highlight my processes for in depth consulting. As always, visit my contact page to learn more and to see whether I can help you chart the best course for point of sale, warehouse management and/or inventory control software and systems.

Process Overview:

Cost of Using an Outdated POS System or No POS System:

Advantages of Using an Unbiased Consultant:

Advantages of Using an Unbiased Point of Sale Consultant

A brief video highlighting the advantages of using a unbiased point of sale consultant for point of sale consulting services.

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

Envision Retail Conference/NCR CounterPoint Users Group Conference in Denver, CO

A quick note that I will be speaking at the Envision Retail Conference in Denver, CO on September 17th-18th, 2015 at the Marriott City Center.   A schedule and more details will follow but this is an excellent opportunity for unbiased advice related to choosing and selecting a point of sale system for your business or organization.

Envision will focus on offering the following:

1. In depth sessions for users of the NCR CounterPoint point of sale software
2. Sessions for retail marketing, social media, and EMV
3. NCR CounterPoint Lab staffed with CounterPoint technical specialists
4. Sessions offering free and unbiased advice and information for businesses and organizations searching for a new (or first) point of sale system

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.