Since a lot of retailers have been contacting me about support for Microsoft RMS as well as replacement options for Microsoft RMS, I wanted to pass along a couple of tips:
I've had multiple calls and emails this week from retailers who received an email from Retail Realm about the July 2021 end of life date for the Microsoft RMS point of sale software.
There are a few comments and clarifications that need to be shared about the email:
That was a great video - well done! I remember the days of QuickSell 2000 and QuickSell HQ very well!
Only Microsoft is ending support for RMS in July 2021. RMS will not cease to function come July 2021 and you will still have support via various RMS Partners across the US for several more years.
What will end is the ability to issue new or replacement license keys for RMS. If you lose your license key - you will likely not be able to obtain a new license key.
Using native EDC in RMS for payment processing is no longer supported. You need to be using stand alone payment terminals or a third party plug in like Card Defender.
Over the next 2-4 years, it will become more and more difficult to fully support RMS. As I have recommended multiple times, you should look at RMS replacement options even if you want to keep using RMS for a few more years.
The email mentions Dynamics 365 (D365) as a potential replacement for RMS. Keep in mind that D365 has a monthly software cost starting around $70/month per user (that adds up to $4200 for one user over the course of 5 years).
Another replacement program, Retail Management Hero (RMH), is potential RMS replacement and RMS to RMH discounts have been extended through June 2020. I've personally upgraded around 20 retailers from RMS to RMH and you are welcomed to contact me for personal experiences in working with RMH.
There is also the Cloud Retailer software that is designed as a direct replacement for RMS and carries a much lower cost than D365 or RMH since the licensing is lane based (not per user and no charge for manager licenses like D365 and RMH require).
Here is a video comparing RMS, RMH and Cloud Retailer:
That about covers the questions that retailers have been asking me about RMS end of life and the email from Retail Realm. If I can be of further assistance, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com
30 Second bullet point summary if you don't have time to read further or watch the videos:
End of Life for the Microsoft Dynamics RMS software is July 2021
There are 50+ liquor stores in Montana and Colorado still using Microsoft RMS
First video covers facts around RMS End of Life, what other retailers using RMS are doing regarding the RMS End of Life Deadline, and general advice
Cloud Retailer is both a low direct replacement program for RMS and is designed for beer/wine/liquor retailers as show in the remaining videos
We do plan on supporting RMS/HQ past July 2021 but not indefinitely
There are support/maintenance plans available for Microsoft RMS that will be available for the next couple of years
Contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 to chat more about your specific situation. No sales pitches - just a conversation.
My understanding from speaking with liquor store retailers in Montana and Colorado is that at least 50 of you are still using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software. To help you with the whole Microsoft RMS End of Life deadline, a few resources are below:
Video about RMS End of Life (facts, what other retailers are doing, advice):
In addition to being a direct low cost replacement for Microsoft RMS, Cloud Retailer is also specifically designed for liquor store retailers. Feature/Function examples include:
Age Verification:
Automatic Cash Discounts:
Supplier Purchase Planning:
Unit of Measure:
Detailed Product Attributes:
If you own or operate a beer, wine or liquor store in Montana or Colorado, and use the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software, then it is worth taking a look at Cloud Retailer.
A quick reminder that 1) Cloud Retailer is a direct replacement for RMS (keep your existing data, possible discounts for RMS users, etc) and that 2) We will continue to support RMS past the July 2021 End of Life date (but will end support at some point). There are support/maintenance plans available for Microsoft RMS that will be available for the next couple of years - please contact me directly for more information.
Free trial versions of Cloud Retailer are available by contacting me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com (US and Canada only please). I am also available for in person or online meetings as my travel schedule permits.
As we start a new decade, I wanted to pass along my personal experience in working with retailers who are using the Retail Management Hero point of sale software. I have been onsite with many of these retailers and/or spoken with them via phone and helped with installation and training.
I can vouch for almost all of those reviews as being valid (these retailers did not acquire RMH through myself, or RITE, but I am familiar with their stores).
As for retailers who did acquire RMH via myself and RITE, there seems to be a 80/20 split between those who love RMH (80%) and those who are struggling to use RMH (20%). These are retailers across just about all industries and are located across the US. The biggest concerns to note about RMH are:
Too many releases and cost to install each new release
No support is included with annual software maintenance
The retailers who love RMH have expressed the following to me:
POS is really easy to train cashiers on
Liked that they could move their data from Microsoft RMS to RMH
Plenty of third party plug ins for e-comm, and accounting software interfaces
Uses fairly standard point of sale hardware and peripherals
The built in customer loyalty program is a nice feature
Physical inventory counts are easy to do using the built in tool
New options for shipping, age verification, and liquor store integrations
There also seems to be a trend of various RMH re-sellers abandoning retailers mid-deployment which myself and RITE have done our best to help clean up. Never an ideal situation but it seems to have gone well 90% of the time in fixing what the RMH re-seller promised but never delivered on.
Are you considering RMH and/or have RMH feedback? Then please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com
A quick update from the folks at Retail Management Hero regarding RMH Central for retailers who currently use the Microsoft Dynamics RMS HQ software and/or retailers who have multiple store locations and are searching for point of sale software:
"As it stands today RMH Central is in the Early Adopter stage of release."
I'm not sure what this means time wise but it sounds like the release of RMH Central is getting close but it not quite ready for a general release. The biggest concern for Microsoft Dynamics RMS HQ users is whether RMH Central will be in general release before the RMS discounts for RMS users end. The first phase of RMS to RMH discounts ending is coming up Oct 1st, 2019 with all discounts ending April 1st, 2020. This has prompted RMS HQ users to communicate 3 things to me:
We are going to move from RMS HQ to RMH Central so we are buying the RMH licenses now to take advantage of the larger discount and will plan on actually deploying RMH and RMH Central in 2020 or 2021.
We can't wait and have eliminated RMH as a potential RMS replacement.
We are going to gamble and wait another 12 to 18 months before deciding on a replacement for RMS HQ.
For response # 2, the replacement programs these retailers have decided on include the following point of sale software programs for retailers with multiple store locations (in no particular order):
Cloud Retailer
Epicore
LightSpeed
NCR CounterPoint
Catipault
Are you a retailer using Microsoft Dynamics RMS HQ? A retailer who has multiple store locations and searching for point of sale software? Please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 for general advice as well as more in depth on site consulting as needed.
Over the last 2 months I have been involved in the deployment of Retail Management Hero (RMH) to 5 different retailers across the US. These are all specialty retail stores with between 1 and 3 check out lanes. Each store uses name brand computers, receipt printers, cash drawers, etc. None of the stores use any special add-ons for RMH like e-commerce/shopping carts.
Overall the feedback has been positive. Time was spent during the pre-sales process to ensure that the retailers knew some of the limitations within RMH when it comes to reporting and credit card processing. About the only issues that came up was needing to upgrade SQL server for 2 of the 5 customers and error messages when trying to edit purchase orders (which appears to have been corrected by upgrading to SQL 2014).
However, I was contacted by four retailers who went from RMS to RMH in 2018 and are both searching for a POS system to replace RMH. Main issues are the following:
Having to pay for bug fixes (labor for re-installing RMH)
General slowness of RMH (RMH is not like RMS speed-wise but is similar to other POS programs)
Lack of drill down capabilities in Reports
Lack of ability to add a new item at POS screen
Poor reseller / VAR / Dealer support (these are Positive Technology and EZB Solutions customers)
I've also had 3 different RMH Partners/Resellers contact me via phone. Combined, they have installed around a dozen RMH systems over the last 4 months. These resellers have also provided positive overall feedback on RMH.
This is making me feel somewhat better about RMH as a solution for new retailers as well as retailers using the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software. I will continue to keep in touch with these retailers and pass along feedback as time allows.
If you would like more information, please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.
Quick note that Retail Realm has released a POS Users Guide for the Retail Management Hero software that covers many of the daily POS functions. This is a great guide for existing and potential Retail Management Hero users. Also helpful for retailers wanting to take advantage of the 30 day trial of Retail Management Hero to "test drive" a full version of the software.
You can also contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 if you would like the users guide emailed to you or want more information on the 30 day trial version of Retail Management Hero.
GREAT NEWS! The latest version of Retail Management Hero (RMH) is now available. Added features and functionality in RMH Version 3.3.0 include:
• Store Availability and Returns (POS with RMS HQ) • Time Clock (POS) • Blind Closeout at the Store Manager (Store Manager) • Supervisor Override (POS) • Lot Matrix Items (POS) • Select Multiple Items in the Lookup Window (POS) • Exchange Rate in Customer Invoice (POS) • Search Customer by Account Alias (Store Manager) • Search Item by Alias (Store Manager) • Define Paths for Labels, Receipts, Pictures, Reports (Store Administrator) • Loyalty: Basket Points - add multiple levels (Loyalty) And more!
I have not had time to test any of the above so you may want to contact me first at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 for more information.
