If you are selling T shirts at Times Square and a quarter million new faces go by, any POS Software will do. Ring up cash customer, sell, close drawer and when the T shirt stack gets down to two feet tall, re-order. Any old horizontal product can do this. That’s the difference in products that are glorified cash registers and products that allow you to market to your best customers, replenish with the right assortment of product at the right time and give you an up to date review of your financial situation.

Many times I am asked why we are any better or different than other software companies and I always try to take the high road, even though that usually doesn’t work in reverse. If you talk poorly about other companies, you usually don’t have enough good things to say about your own product. You have to make your decision on the comfort level you have with the company’s sales and support, functionality requirements and price. Nobody has been doing Windows POS software longer that we have, won more national awards and will work any harder to make you happy.

Four-in-five workers looking to small businesses for Jobs: I found this article interesting because small business already provides most of the jobs in the U.S. and gets the least amount of help in surviving this economy.

17 August, 2009--By Mark Cox

As workers navigate through one of the toughest economies and job markets in the nation's history, they are turning to small businesses in greater numbers, according to data from a new CareerBuilder survey. One-in-five workers (22 percent) who were laid off from full-time jobs in the last 12 months and landed new positions found those opportunities with small businesses. Another 59 percent said they are interested in working for a small business, while others are considering starting a small business of their own.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses employ half of all workers in the private sector and furnish half of the private gross domestic product. They also account for most of the nation's new job creation.

"Small businesses will play a critical role in the rebuilding of the U.S. job market," said Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America. "As drivers of innovation, small businesses will help to re-energize the economy and support recovery efforts. In turn, workers will find that working for a small business can provide a wealth of experience in a variety of roles, a competitive compensation structure, a flexible work environment and more."

Every retailer should have an inventory requirement plan, preferably an open-to-buy plan. This ensures that a retailer has the right amount of inventory, in the right assortment for the time period being planned. You should set a total amount of inventory you would like to carry in your store and using department and class categories, break down the amount to order and to carry any given time. You need to be disciplined in your purchasing or end up overstocked and facing unnecessary markdowns to free up cash down the road. A good open-to-buy plan is broken down into department, class categories. Never try to control a store’s inventory down to the item level. It is important to review and adjust the open-to-buy plan as the marketing strategies change within your store.

When you are purchasing a software support and upgrade package, you are investing in a plan that will guarantee you the most current software which is like getting a brand new system every year. This has never been more accurate than this year will all the PCI-DSS compliance issues for credit and debit cards. With a support and upgrade plan, your investment keeps your software’s usable life good until a hardware upgrade is needed. Every time you receive a software upgrade it is as though you just bought the latest and most current software available with the newest, most up to date features for your retail establishment. The most current feature set ensures that you have the best POS software available that will address changing needs of the retail marketplace.

If your software vendor is diligent about keeping backwards compatibility, then it is as simple as downloading and upgrading. Also product enhancements made for other clients are available to you at no cost. A yearly fee is charged giving you unlimited upgrades, updates, answers to technical issues and procedural issues. Most customers will agree that there are huge benefits and savings when they option for the support package and they will secure the full value of their investment in their software.

By Dagen McDowell-Taken from Fox Business

I just got back from a week with my entire family at Virginia Beach, Va. A vacation. Something that still feels foreign to me. When I was little, other families would rent beach houses or drive to Disney World. We didn't. Once every few years my parents would take a three-day weekend. We might make it to the beach. But that was it. Why weren’t we like other families who took vacations? Now I understand. My parents owned and operated their own business. They simply couldn't leave town. Running a small wholesale grocery business, they always ran so lean and worked with such a tight budget that there was no one there to fill the gaps when they were gone. My grandfather was so dedicated to the business that he famously (at least in my small hometown) unlocked the front door of the wholesale house every New Year’s Day for 63 years. New Year’s Day was not a day of rest; it was when they took inventory. My family never took a break or got a break.

But I know my parents and grandparents are not unique. Their kind of work ethic is on display every day among small-business owners across the country. People dedicate their lives to the businesses they start or run. Maybe they love what they sell or the service they deliver. Maybe it’s just about the joy and pride of providing for your family, being your own boss and about serving your community. The hard work is there -- where paid vacations do not exist. Knowing that, the most frustrating thing to see is that these dedicated business owners do not get a break from Uncle Sam. The government, especially lately, never seems to make things easier. Instead, let’s make life and namely work even harder. Let’s continue to add hundreds – no, make that thousands – of pages to the tax code, so filing your taxes becomes more complicated, frustrating and costly. This is a bi-partisan effort mind you.

Oh and let’s raise your taxes while we’re at it. That’s what House Democrats want to do for many small businesses to pay for the health care overhaul. Let’s mandate that you provide health insurance and tax you if you don’t. Another idea from Democrats in the House. Let’s insert another hidden tax through a cap and trade system. In the works in Washington.

Even when the government tries to help some, it fumbles badly. The stimulus package expanded COBRA health insurance benefits for people who had lost their jobs. But once again, the burden fell on the business owner. Employers had to cover the beefed-up benefits (a 65% subsidy) and then essentially had to wait to be reimbursed by the government. Many were scared of possible cash crunches, which I heard about frequently on “Your Questions, Your Money.” Why can’t the government do something to make life easier for the men and women who’ve created up to 80% of the jobs in this country, who sleep too little, who work too hard and rarely take a vacation?

I don't have that answer.

Bob

“I want to compliment the ProphetLine technical representative on his recent visit to our retail facility. His ability to adjust his communication level to the person he’s talking to, provides great results. Our team is compromised of many personality types, and your representative is outstanding at relating to all of them. Again, we feel he is an outstanding representative of ProphetLine, giving a great impression to your company!”

When you are dealing with Point of Sale software implementations, both sides need to have an ability to communicate with each other and come to a valid conclusion of the steps that need to be taken for a successful installation. We pride ourselves on customer service, which in the end is the most important part of what you are buying when you put in new point of sale software.