Beverage Dynamics is the largest national business magazine devoted exclusively to the needs of off-premise beverage alcohol retailers, from single liquor stores to big box chains, through coverage of the latest trends in wine, beer and spirits.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/379477
36 Beverage Dynamics • September/October 2014 www.beveragedynamics.com Painless Point of Sale Another option for retailers looking for an industry-specifi c POS is mPower Beverage. Created in 1998, the company started out as a general POS provider, but after being sought out by multiple bever- age retailers to customize the system for their businesses, the com- pany shifted its focus to the beverage industry. "Everything about the software is industry-specifi c," explains Patrick Mooney, Vice President of mPower Beverage. "You'll see a lot of custom features built in. For example, looking at wine listings, you can sort items based on vintage, regions, etc. mPower is also great at handling split-case options, so if you want to sell a beer as a single item or as part of a pack, it's easy to set that up." Recognizing the specifi c beverage laws of different states, mPower Beverage is set up to easily notate any legal distinctions into its system. Additional features include remote access, a touch-screen interface, an I.D. checking system, and the option to integrate the use of rewards cards into your business. The system automatically checks for any updates and will prompt the retailer to download the latest software. Pricing of the mPower Beverage system is based on the number of store locations and the number of registers used. Generally, the cost is $2,000 for the fi rst register and $1,500 for each additional register. Hardware and installation are available at an ad- ditional cost. Retailers who are interested in the latest and greatest POS features may want to look at Spirits 2000. A prod- uct of Atlantic Systems, Inc., Spirits 2000 has been serving beverage re- tailers for over 30 years. The latest version of the system, Spirits 2000 3.0, is currently in beta testing with select customers and will be fully re- leased by the end of 2014. Ajay Reddy, Marketing Man- ager with Atlantic Systems, Inc., says that one of the highlights of the new Spirits 2000 3.0 system is a new feature that helps retailers do a better job of tracking seasonal beer varieties. "So many brands, like Sam Adams, offer fall ales and winter ales, but a lot of these varieties all use the same UPC code, making it diffi cult to keep stock of," Reddy explains. "The new version of Spirits 2000 offers a way to keep track of individual beers that share a UPC code." Additional features of the new Spirits 2000 3.0 include real-time functionalities on mobile devices, and a "wine-busting" feature that lets retailers total up sales on the fl oor in an effort to save customers time once they get to the cash register. A new data mining feature allows retailers to target their marketing to customers by offering in-depth reporting that targets very specifi c audiences. "You probably have some customers in your systems who are wine buyers, and specifi cally cabernet buyers, and then either $10 to $20 bottle cabernet buyers or $20 and up bottle of cabernet drinkers, etc.," Reddy says. "The new reporting methods will let you tailor your reports as much as you want so you can do much more tar- geted marketing." Spirits 2000 pricing varies by retailer. SEAMLESS POS INTEGRATION: A ONE-STOP SHOP Another consideration to keep in mind when selecting a POS provider is how well the new system will integrate with existing databases. AccuPOS is an accounting-anchored POS solution designed to merge all POS transactions with a retailer's existing accounting software. If your busi- ness already utilizes QuickBooks or Sage, you'll be able to use those existing databases with AccuPOS: there's no need to set up a sepa- rate database. "This is a very important fea- ture to any QuickBooks or Sage user," says Joe Pergola, Vice Pres- ident of Sales and Marketing with AccuPOS. "With our system, every single sale that is made in your store will instantly become a cor- responding line item entry in your accounting program." AccuPOS boasts an impressive unit-of-measure system, allowing beverage retailers to stock items by cases or in other units of their choos- ing. Add-on features such as eCom- merce options and payroll are also available. A new AccuPOS system for retailers is available beginning at just under $2,000. Retailers may also be interested in POS systems that offer Quick- Books integration as an optional add-on feature. ShopKeep is a cloud-based iPad POS system that recently doubled the size of its engineering and product develop- ment teams, resulting in a constant stream of new features being made available to customers every two weeks. Earlier this year, ShopKeep partnered with the company Retail Intel to offer an optional feature that lets retailers automatically transfer data from their POS into AccuPOS is an accounting-anchored POS solution designed to merge all POS transactions with a retailer's existing accounting software. A product of Atlantic Systems, Inc., Spirits 2000 has been serving beverage retailers for over 30 years.