Celebrating 37 Years in the Business!

 Yikes! No candles on this cake please. April 8th, 2021 marks 37 years of experience for me when you tally up my experience in retail/restaurant management as well as retail/restaurant point of sale consulting, sales and support.

Lord willing, I've got another decade or so to go before formally retiring.

Headed to Texas, Minnesota, Wisconsin Oklahoma and Arkansas!

 OK - I have some retailer that have requested to meet with me at their stores so I'll be hitting the road over the coming months. Please contact me if you have a store in (or near) the following areas and want to meet in person for some retail point of sale advice:

• Minneapolis, MN
• St Paul, MN
• Hastings, MN
• Hudson, WI
• La Crosse, WI
• Chippewa Falls, WI
• St Cloud, MN
• Duluth, MN
• Rochester, MN
• Dallas - Fort Worth, TX
• Austin, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Tulsa, OK
• Fayetteville, AR
• Mountain Home, AR

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

Welcome to some new customers!

I wanted to give a quick shout out to the following retailers who recently signed on with me for point of sale related products and services:

• Terra Casa in Oregon: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• The Caring Place in Texas: POS hardware
• Sticker Planet: POS hardware
• Jordan Taylor in Texas: Card Defender for Microsoft RMS
• Pets West in Texas: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• Martin Bruni Liquor in Washington State: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• La La Liquor in Texas: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat: upgrade from Microsoft RMS to Cloud Retailer
• Bedrock Comics: Microsoft RMS hardware and software for new store location (congrats!)

Thanks to all of you for your trust when it comes to retail point of sale hardware, software and services!

Searching for Retail POS? 9 Questions to Help You Get Started

By popular request from multiple retailers over the last few weeks, a list of nine questions that you should be asking yourself as you start searching for a retail point of sale system. With 200+ POS systems currently available, your answers to these 9 questions will help you quickly narrow down which POS systems will be of interest to you.

If you have questions or would like me to review your answers, please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632. Note that this information is only designed for retailers in the United States (it might also be slightly helpful to retailers in the UK and North America as well).

In Light of the Coranvirus....

Update August 2020: I have been traveling again and will be for most of the next couple of months. For more information on my travel schedule and to arrange an in person visit for 2020 or 2021, please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.

I'm writing this in a hotel in Portland, OR after meeting with multiple retailers and existing clients this week.  Based on our conversations, I am pausing all new posts for the next 30-60 days.  Right now, all of you are focused on keeping your businesses afloat for the time being.  This really isn't the time to think about IT equipment - especially as many of you have temporarily closed and/or reduced hours.

I would encourage everyone to look at your balance sheets and businesses plans. Take some time to pray for guidance when it comes to making various operational decisions. Once we see the situation stabilizing, then we can revisit POS plans for the rest of 2020 and in to 2021.

With all trade shows and conferences being cancelled through at least 2021, I am in the process of cancelling all planned travel at least for the next 30 to 45 days.

This is my 4th ride through a major economic disruption and what we are going through now will become part of history books - likely no more than a few pages when compared to the grand scheme of things.

If I can be off assistance, whether that be in prayer or for general POS guidance, please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.

In Christ,

Kevin Antosh

Why Do I have to Pay Monthly or Annual Fees with my POS System?

I have been hearing this almost daily now for the last few months: "Why do all of the new point of sale software programs have a monthly or annual fee to use the software? I have been using Microsoft RMS for 7+ years and never paid for anything once I purchased the software. I want a POS system without any monthly or annual fees.".

The short answer is that times have changed. Do we still see leaded fuel at fuel stations? Cigarette vending machines in bars and restaurants? Of course not.

The same is true with point of sale technology. Aside from Y2K, there was little change in the POS industry from 1995 to 2010.  For retailers using stand alone payment terminals, there has been little to no change until Windows 7 support ended.

Aside from the credit card processing/merchant services changes coming out every 5 months or so, computer operating systems and hardware are changing which may or may not create issues with an older point of sale software program.

With technology changing, and retailers using POS technology to increase revenue, you need to be using a POS system that can be updated on a regular basis.

Also, if you are using stand alone payment terminals, you are likely loosing around $40/week per terminal in mis-keyed transactions based on a survey that I did last year.

A good percentage of retailers need point of sale software that can be continually improved to match changing technology and a competitive marketplace. To get this type of point of sale technology requires paying an annual or monthly subscription - no matter what point of software program you use.

Now - there are exceptions:

• Retailers who are operating the store as a hobby
• Retailers is smaller towns with no competition
• Retailers who offer something unique and don't foresee local or online competition
• Retailers not looking to grow - just maintain status quo until retirement or the business is sold
• Retailers willing to gamble that nothing will ever happen to their POS system (eg not having to pay $500/year for 7 years equals $3500 which would get me at least a basic new POS when the current system dies),

In these situations, it may be possible to put in a POS system like Retail Management Hero or NCR CounterPoint and never pay a dime once the system is up and running. Of course, if something does happen, the expense could be quite significant. Think of it like car insurance - you can pay $90/month for car insurance or gamble and then pay $12000 for a new car if your car is totaled.

If you go the route of not paying for software maintenance, then I'd recommend having a plan in place should the POS system crash and also having at least $5000 set aside to pay for a POS system or repairs to the existing POS system.

Thoughts? Comments? Suggestions? Questions? Then please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com

Welcome to the first Customers of 2020!

As we wrap up the first full month of 2020, a hearty welcome to the following retailers that selected myself as their point of sale partner:

• Sage Brush Trading in Arizona: Retail Management Hero support and training
• JD's Market in Washington State: Card Defender for Microsoft RMS
• Noble Spirits in Washington State: Card Defender from Microsoft RMS
• Pet Adventure in Washington State: New Point of Sale Hardware
• Station Wine and Spirits in Oklahoma: Microsoft RMS Maintenance Agreement
• Grape Wine and Spirits in Oklahoma: Microsoft RMS Maintenance Agreement

Are you curious why these retailers choose myself ? Then please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com for more information.

New Page: Client Map

http://www.pospondering.com/p/client-map.html

Idea is to pin retailers on the map who contact me for on-site or remote point of sale advice, consulting, sales or service.

Want to appear on the map? You can contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 for point of sale related advice, consulting, sales and service.

Travel Schedule and On Site Consulting: 2019

So 2018 was a record year for meeting onsite with retailers looking for help in choosing a POS system. 90% of you are on the Microsoft Dynamics RMS point of sale software and the looping end of life deadline has you anxious to come up with a plan to replace RMS at some point in the next 1 to 3 years.  From March 2018 to October 2018, I spoke or met with 421 retailers with a total of 680 stores in the US.

For 2019 I do anticipate more RMS users requesting onsite consulting so please get in touch with me if you are in or within 150 miles of the following areas (or wish to cover my travel expenses for dedicated onsite consulting as 7 retail chains did in 2018):

• Boise, ID
• Salt Lake City, UT
• Denver, CO
• Jackson, WY
• Seattle, WA
• Portland, OR
• Phoenix, AZ
• Dallas, TX
• San Antonio, TX
• Houston, TX
• Austin, TX
• Corpus Christi, TX
• Minneapolis, MN

For more information, please contact me at 208-340-5632 or kevinantosh@gmail.com. Note that I am happy to travel just about anywhere, but, my expertise is best suited for retailers located in the US.