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Cost of Using an Outdated POS System or No POS System: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

Best Point of Sale Systems for Christian Church Bookstores and Cafe's

I've had the pleasure of working with multiple Christian churches over the years that are large enough to have in house bookstores and/or coffee shops or cafe's.  Many have asked me for advice related to the best point of sale system they should be using so I figured that it would be good to share my advice via a blog post.

You can always contact me with additional questions and all Christian organizations and non-profit organizations (churches, charities, thrift shops, retail stores, museums, etc) are eligible for free and unbiased advice - just keep in mind that I do not actually sell anything but can point you in the correct direction and make introductions as appropriate.

The best solution for your organization is based on your annual gross sales volume as follows:

Under $100,000 in annual gross sales:

1. Cash register
2. Square

$100,000 to $800,000 in annual gross sales:

1. Bindo POS
2. Cloud Retailer
3. Retail Management Hero

$800,000+ in annual gross sales:

1. Retail Management Hero
2. Retail Realm Essentials/Microsoft Dynamics AX
3. NCR CounterPoint

I no longer advise using Microsoft RMS or POS 2009 due to these products being "end of life".  I also advice avoiding HarborTouch, First Data Clover, and QuickBooks Point of Sale due to excessive merchant service fees being charged by these companies.

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.

Best Point of Sale Systems for School Stores

With August just around the corner, I have been asked about what I would recommend for a student store or a school store needing a point of sale solution.

I've worked with multiple on and off campus school stores in the past and here is what works best:

• Stores in Universities or Colleges generally use the Blackbaud solution which generally interfaces with other Blackbaud solutions like student accounts.
• Off campus stores that are not directly affiliated with an actual school tend to use NCR CounterPoint SQL or Retail Management Hero (new version of Microsoft RMS).
• Stores in primary and secondary schools generally look at basic Windows based point of sale systems like Retail Management Hero or look at the mobile/subscription based systems like Cloud Retailer or NCR Silver - depends on whether the district wants to make an outright purchase or pay an on-going monthly fee for the point of sale software.

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.

New Review of Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Systems Store Operations (RMS)

Updated information on Retail Management Hero as a direct replacement for RMS as of December 3rd, 2015: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/12/updated-information-on-new-retail.html

New video discussing options for Dynamics RMS and HQ users as of December 5th, 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evVWS7dj0Bs

A quick reminder that sales of Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ to new users as well as mainstream support ends next year (2016) so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of purchasing RMS or HQ as point of sale software for your business or organization (not a wise investment at this point).

Update 28.June.2015 - special discount and incentive from a national NCR CounterPoint Partner for RMS and HQ users: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/06/big-discount-and-incentive-for.html

Update 13.June.2015: A quick note that I have been receiving multiple calls and emails from Microsoft Dynamics RMS users looking to replace RMS due to the upcoming October 1st, 2015 EMV liability shift deadline as well as the "end of life" status for Dynamics RMS and HQ. I have personal experience with RMS users upgrading to NCR CounterPoint and would be happy to share - just visit my contact page for information on how to reach me. I can also put you in touch with a trusted NCR CounterPoint SQL partner.

One of the things that I try to stay on top of are user reviews of different point of sale solutions.  The reviews have been the most popular posts on this site and have also generated the most phone calls and emails from folks searching for free point of sale help and advice.

While it is easy to link to a review, I prefer to paraphrase the review for the following reasons:

1. Over the years I have figured out how to 'read between the lines' to find the key points of each review
2. I'm also able to easily spot reviews that may have been written from someone attempting to increase or decrease a products reputation (not truly a fake review but a review written with an intent that goes beyond just sharing personal experiences)
3. The biggest reason is that a popular point of sale software review website exists only to sell your information to multiple point of sale companies - that's right, they make money by selling your information

The most recent review came from a pet store. I honestly question the truthfulness in the review because the review was very negative and I know of multiple pet stores in the US using RMS and they are very happy with it. A careful reading of the review indicates two possible things that happened:

1. The person thought that they could buy and setup the system without any help
2. The person bought the system from a Microsoft Partner who either over promised and/or got in
   "over their heads".

Again, I have personally worked with multiple pet stores who use RMS and it is a great fit. Hopefully, this particular pet store will find a new Microsoft RMS Partner to help fix things or the existing partner that the system was purchased from will step up and makes things right.

If the pet store thought that they could do everything themselves then they need to pay to have a partner come in and help get them up to speed.

Can I help?  Over the last 15 years I have worked with thousands of retail stores, museums, and government entities to help them find the best point of sale solution. You can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or on my cell at 208-340-5632 for free point of sale help and advice.

Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Systems Store Operations (RMS) Review and Demo

Updated information on Retail Management Hero as a direct replacement for RMS as of December 3rd, 2015: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/12/updated-information-on-new-retail.html

New video discussing options for Dynamics RMS and HQ users as of December 5th, 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evVWS7dj0Bs

A quick reminder that sales of Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ to new users as well as mainstream support ends next year (2016) so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of purchasing RMS or HQ as point of sale software for your business or organization (not a wise investment at this point).

Update 13.June.2015: A quick note that I have been receiving multiple calls and emails from Microsoft Dynamics RMS users looking to replace RMS due to the upcoming October 1st, 2015 EMV liability shift deadline as well as the "end of life" status for Dynamics RMS and HQ. I have personal experience with RMS users upgrading to NCR CounterPoint and would be happy to share - just visit my contact page for information on how to reach me. I can also put you in touch with a trusted NCR CounterPoint SQL partner.

The license swap options mentioned below refer to Retail Realm Essentials and Retail Management Hero point of sale software programs.

My thoughts on the Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Systems Store Operations (RMS) point of sale software and a quick look at the manager/back office part of the software.

RMS has been one of my favorite point of sale solutions over the years and currently is in use at over 40,000 stores, museums, and government entities. Even though sales to new users for RMS will end July 2016, there will be license swap/migration options for RMS users who stay current on their annual maintenance agreement.

Here is the video:

The Highlights:

• Great solution for retail stores, museums, and government entities of all sizes
• Lots of third part add-ons for special functions like online shopping carts and loyalty programs
• Very popular solution for government entities
• User interface is outdated looking
• Takes some training to get a handle on the correct way to run reports
• Sales of RMS will end in July 2016 but their will be a migration path to other point of sale solutions from Microsoft

Bottom Line:

A great solution but sales of RMS and HQ to new users ends July 2016 and the options for complying with the October 1st, 2015 EMV Liability Shift Date are somewhat cumbersome. Flat out, it just doesn't make sense to look at RMS or HQ as a potential 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.

Review and Demo Of Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Systems Store Operations (RMS)

Updated information on Retail Management Hero as a direct replacement for RMS as of December 3rd, 2015: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/12/updated-information-on-new-retail.html

New video discussing options for Dynamics RMS and HQ users as of December 5th, 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evVWS7dj0Bs

A quick reminder that sales of Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ to new users as well as mainstream support ends next year (2016) so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of purchasing RMS or HQ as point of sale software for your business or organization (not a wise investment at this point).

In this video I share my personal experience working with the Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Store Operations (RMS) point of sale solution. I also very quickly show the main parts of the RMS point of sale module.

The key highlights are:

• Very flexible - can be user in nearly any retail store or museum
• Quick when it comes to running transactions
• Sized to work with nearly any sized retail business or museum
• Popular with government entities as well
• Lots of add-ons via third parties
• Big cost advantage over other PC-based point of sale solutions
• Dated interface 
• Sales will end in July 2016 
• There are license swap options that will be available to other point of sale solutions offered by Microsoft
• Must be current on your annual maintenance agreement to qualify for the license swap options

Summary:
 Great solution but getting dated and we need more details from Microsoft related to what Dynamics Retail Essentials will offer compared to RMS plus sales of RMS and HQ to new users will end on July, 2016.

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.

Demo Videos and Downloads

A quick reminder that several companies offer 30 day free trial periods and/or demo versions of the software.  If you are interested here are the various solutions that I have access to for demo purposes:

• NCR CounterPoint
• Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Systems Store Operations (RMS)
• QuickBooks Point of Sale
• Aldelo 
• NCR Silver (back office only - POS pending)
• Bindo POS

I am also working on some demo videos that show some of the high level aspects of each point of sale solution. that should be ready yet this week. Since there isn't a lot of point of sale news (normally) during the summer, I figured that now would be a great time to upload some video demos of point of sale solutions.  Note that a video can only cover the general highlights unless you really want a 45 minute long video (have some popcorn ready).

Same goes for my workshop presentation videos - the actual workshop scales from 45 minutes to three hours depending on the audience. I doubt that any of you want to watch that long of a video!  Let me know if I am wrong tho!

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

RMS Bound Book Interface

A quick reminder that sales of Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ to new users as well as mainstream support ends next year (2016) so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of purchasing RMS or HQ as point of sale software for your business or organization (not a wise investment at this point).

Over the last 15 years, I have been contacted by a few stores that sell firearms and need to maintain a Bound Book for the tracking of firearm sales.  While NCR CounterPoint has a bound book option, I've only talked to one person using it and they said that it does not function correctly.

Another option new to the market is an electronic bound book interface for Microsoft RMS Store Operations. Using an electronic bound book reduces the time and effort required to have a paper and separate bound book system.

You can read more about the bound book interface for Microsoft RMS Store Operations by clicking on this link: http://www.pr.com/press-release/554970

Have point of sale related questions or need some free point of sale advice?  You can reach me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632.

Microsoft RMS Store Operations Update

A quick reminder that sales of Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ to new users as well as mainstream support ends next year (2016) so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of purchasing RMS or HQ as point of sale software for your business or organization (not a wise investment at this point).

Update 28.June.2015 - special discount and incentive from a national NCR CounterPoint Partner for RMS and HQ users: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/06/big-discount-and-incentive-for.html

Quick update - I have mentioned that there are 40,000 users of the Microsoft Dynamics RMS Store Operations point of sale software - the actual number is 60,000.

So, the conference has ended and Microsoft made public their plans for the RMS POS software. The good news is that some of you will be eligible for some new software while others will need to invest in a new solution.

Since I have worked with nearly 500 stores and museums across the country that use the RMS solution, I will be doing my best to contact each of you to explain your options. Any and all RMS users are also welcomed to contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 for free advice on your different options. I will break things down in to two different scenarios:

Currently using RMS but Not Current on an Annual Maintenance Agreement:

• Support for RMS will end in July of 2016 (no word on whether RMS will be updated for the EMV requirements coming up in 2015).
• With no maintenance agreement, you need to consider the following options:
• renewing your maintenance agreement
• explore investing in a different point of sale solution

Currently Using RMS and Current on your Annual Maintenance Agreement:

• If you are happy with your system then keep running as normal - you will be eligible for an equal numbers of licenses for newer point of sale software from Microsoft (but will still have to likely invest in costs related to labor and possible replacement hardware and peripherals).
• If you have been thinking about upgrading, then it is a good time to look at other POS solutions on the market - you can always contact me for some free general advice.

Bottom Line: there is no sense of urgency at this point but it would be good to start looking at your options and have a plan in place before things get busy this fall.

Here is a link to a great article summarizing Microsoft's announcement related to RMS: 

http://msdynamicsworld.com/story/microsoft-maps-out-dynamics-retail-plans-enterprise-smb-markets-retail-realm-event-las-vegas

Again, I can be reached at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 if you want some free advice related to your specific situation.

Note to those of you needing to renew your annual maintenance agreement and/or need help with your RMS solution: I have a meeting with a national RMS Partner in a few weeks and hopefully they will be able to offer some more detailed options after we meet.  

Future of Microsoft RMS and RMS HQ

Updated information on Retail Management Hero as a direct replacement for RMS as of December 3rd, 2015: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/12/updated-information-on-new-retail.html

New video discussing options for Dynamics RMS and HQ users as of December 5th, 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evVWS7dj0Bs

A quick reminder that sales of Microsoft Dynamics RMS and HQ to new users as well as mainstream support ends next year (2016) so please keep that in mind if you are thinking of purchasing RMS or HQ as point of sale software for your business or organization (not a wise investment at this point).

Update 28.June.2015 - special discount and incentive from a national NCR CounterPoint Partner for RMS and HQ users: http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2015/06/big-discount-and-incentive-for.html

For the 38,000 users of Microsoft RMS Store Operations (of which I know many of you personally):

Just a quick reminder that the Microsoft Retail  conference is this weekend (25.April.2014 - 26.April.2014). Microsoft has indicated that information will be shared related to the future of RMS and HQ.  This will finally allow the 35,000+ users of RMS to start planing for any upgrades or migrations that will need to be made over the next year.

I will post any and all information related to RMS as quickly as it becomes available to me (so please ignore any spelling and grammer errors).

I have also scheduled a meeting with a national RMS partner in May so I can also pass along information related to how a Microsoft Partner can assist both my personal former client base as well those of you using RMS and/HQ that I have not had a chance to meet yet.

-Kevin