Food and Beverage POS Software has long realized the importance of touch screen for speed and efficiency, but specialty retail POS Software has lagged behind. Because ProphetLine POS Software had order tracking and all the important reports built into the product, the full functioning touch screen interface was a natural. The interface was built for Morton Golf in Sacramento, California to handle their service inventory and food and beverage. It wasn’t meant to be a fine dining POS Software package, but a fast serve system that made the check out process extremely efficient. It was designed for any business that has service inventory items or businesses that have smaller amounts of inventory without a need for bar-coding. If you are looking for fast check out in your POS Software, look no further because it is built into ProphetLine, not an add-on. Below is a screen capture of the ProphetLine POS Software touch screen interface.

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Obviously there has been a lot of hype regarding Vista as the new OS Microsoft would prefer you to change to. New operating systems are introduced and the older ones are phased out, a fact of life and a cash cow for Microsoft. Should you panic if you are running XP on your business’s computers, which are running your POS Software? Not in the immediate future! Microsoft first announced over a year ago that Window XP would be off the market by January of 2008 and then let it slip back to June 30, 2008. There is still a lot of confusion as to what actually will happen.

Dell has announced that they will sell Windows XP through 2009 with a pre-purchase of an up-grade coupon for Vista. Microsoft has always supported the lifecycle of their products eight years after they discontinued their software, so your decision will have to be made, but you have plenty of time. If your POS Software is running on XP, do not fear. I have attached a link to a blog by Christopher Null, The Working Guy which better explains it:

ProphetLine is the POS/Premium Merchandising Software with easy to understand department/class comparatives, vendor comparatives and built in open-to-buy planning. ProphetLine has developed POS Software for many Fortune 500 companies, but we specialize in providing small specialty retailers with high quality, inexpensive POS Software that enables them to compete and beat larger retailers. If you are a busy specialty retailer that wears many hats, you can appreciate the ease of use and precise reporting. ProphetLine POS Software allows you to do what you do best, sell your products without having the hassles of being a technical guru. ProphetLine promotes good business practices and rewards good business people.

We have all the features you would expect in quality POS/Retail Management Software, without all the import/export, “integration” and other technical procedures. ProphetLine POS Software is truly a high performance all-in-one retail solution that makes technology simple, including point of sale, small business financials, inventory, e-commerce and customer marketing in one all-inclusive package. ProphetLine was the World’s first specialty retail Windows application and the winner of four Microsoft Retail Developer of the Year Awards.

PCI compliance is big news these days. Companies are becoming more aware of the responsibility required to collect and maintain personal information such as…

• Names
• Addresses
• Phone numbers
• E-mail addresses
• Credit Card data
• Demographic information

Most retailers are relieved they are not in the medical fields and have to comply with the HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act) rules. HIPAA made it the responsibility of business (the doctor, nurse, personnel, lab tech, etc) viewing or working with the information to keep the information private. If the information was not kept private and safe, the business could be fined heavily - $100 per violation, this adds up fast, up to $25,000 per year and if determined to be continued knowing misuse, $50,000 to $250,000 and 1 to 10 years imprisonment.

With more media coverage of ‘lost’ credit card and personal data and with identity theft on the rise, retailers are now being looked at much more closely just like the medical field with HIPAA. It is the responsibility of the person/people maintaining the data to keep the data safe.

With your Point of Sale software (POS software), it is easy to just ask ‘is the POS software PCI compliant?’, however, there is a lot more to PCI compliance than just data storage. The data must be protected as well. This can be though of as you in your car. Just because you are in your car does not mean you are protected. You should put on your seat belt, make sure children are in approved car seats, your breaks are in good working condition, the tires have plenty of tread and air, you have plenty of gas to get where you are going, etc. As you can see, safety in more than just putting the data in a place that ‘should’ be safe.

A quote from an article in the April 2008 SC (Security) Magazine states the following, ‘... technology can only go so far in meeting compliance mandates. “Security is 80 percent process and procedure… Vendors can only provide technology to assist in compliance, not do compliance.” Jeff Aliber, senior director, product marketing, Kaspersky Lab (makers of Anti-virus, Anti-malware, Anti-spyware, etc products).

To find out more information on PCI compliance and what is required above and beyond ‘is the data stored correctly’, visit the PCI Compliance Guide website.

Small retailers need to manage their inventory and streamline their business processes. This means making decisions that affect all of their business from top to bottom. To maximize profits and improve the return on your business investment, you need to invest in Point of Sale/POS Software to measure profitability against costs, expenses, and efficiently manage your inventory and vendors.

ProphetLine POS Software has an automated retail stock ledger that gives you comparatives on vendors, items, classes and departments. You can immediately tell which vendor gives you the best turn rates and sell-through. This information coupled with the automated open to buy furnishes you with the knowledge to make smart business decisions. The typical retailer is overstocked by 10-25% at any given point in time, meaning that for every $100,000 in sales, there can be $5,000 to $25,000 (at retail) in excess inventory on the shelves. When you start looking at $500,000 in sales, the wasted investment runs into six figures. Imagine converting $100,000 of excess inventory into cash. Take the guess work out of you purchasing decisions with POS software that has built-in open to buy and retail stock ledger.

The next way to improve profitability is to use all the data obtained From the POS software to better understand your customers buying habits and buy according to their preferences. The easy way to accomplish this is with built in department/class comparatives, retail stock ledger and integrated open to buy. Capturing information at the POS software terminal is essential to mining more business from your existing customer base. Your customers will gladly give you some personal information if they know that preferential treatment or special pricing is the end result. Notifying them of new product arrivals, private showings or a pending sale are a few of the ways to build your customer loyalty and keep them shopping with you and not your competitors.By managing your business more effectively, you’ll be able to provide better values, attract more customers, improve your average sales transaction, and offer customers new opportunities to visit your store.

There is so much gloom and doom in everything you hear or read about with todays tough economy. Spending a little can help you weather the storm if that money spent is in good POS/Retail Management Software. This is a repeat of a blog I did a year ago, but it is even more relevant today. See if this equation would work for you:

If your Retail Store did $500,000. in yearly sales, you could, according to industry averages, add 15% to your Bottom Line with quality POS Software.

Theft and Shrinkage	2%	$10,000.
Prompt and accurate statements	1%	5,000.
Accurate inventory pricing     At time of sale	1%	5,000.
Built in sales prompts	1%	5,000.
Mishandled & inaccurate     Inventory counts	2%	10,000.
Retail Stock Ledger reporting     Better turn rates, sell through &     margin comparisons	2%	10,000.
Targeted Marketing     {know the Buying habits of your      customer and target market}	1%	5,000.
Web Shopping Cart	5%	25,000.
		________
You could make this		$75,000.

For an investment less than $250.00 per month, you receive POS software, support, upgrades, web shopping cart and web hosting.

*All figures are based on industry averages and may vary with each retailer.