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
www.beveragedynamics.com September/October 2014 • Beverage Dynamics 37 Painless Point of Sale QuickBooks on a daily basis. This new optional feature costs $30 per month on top of ShopKeep's basic cost of $49 per month per register (equipment costs incur an additional fee). In addition to the new QuickBooks feature, ShopKeep has a num- ber of additional options that will be of interest to retailers, including full integration of gift cards with proper accounting as liabilities; a new e-mail receipt function allowing retailers to add logos and pro- motional text to e-mailed receipts; 24/7 technical support; and an "open tabs" function that allows cashiers to hold a transaction in a queue and return to it later. "It's so common for customers to come up to the register with 12 items, and then as the transaction is being rung up, they remem- ber that they wanted to grab something else," says Jason Richelson, ShopKeep's founder and CEO. "That can be a problem if someone is waiting in line behind them. With this new feature, a cashier can put the fi rst transaction on hold, ring up another customer, and return to the initial transaction after the fi rst customer comes back with the missing item." While many retailers integrate multiple systems into their busi- ness, others may desire to incorporate everything into one program. NetSuite is a cloud-based system that incorporates POS, eCommerce, inventory management, CRM and marketing, fi nances, and more. With more than 20,000 organizations using its program, NetSuite is a proven leader in this category and has experience working with businesses of all sizes, from small family-owned retail operations to giant Fortune 500 companies. A key benefi t to utilizing a single system is that all the infor- mation you want is instantly at your fi ngertips. This is especially benefi cial for retailers seeking to connect with their customers as much as possible. "Using one system gives you a greater level of insight into who your customer is, and what that customer is most interested in," explains Branden Jenkins, General Manager of Retail with NetSuite. "With so much information easily at their disposal, your associates will be able to create a more personal experience for customers." NetSuite pushes out two major system updates per year, which are immediately downloaded to all customer systems. Retailers don't need to worry about handling any installation themselves, and will never be in danger of failing to upgrade and not having access to the latest technology. Pricing for NetSuite is subscription-based and is set using sev- eral variables, including the number of user accounts needed and the number of POS terminals deployed. SUPPORT AND SECURITY You could end up with the fanciest, most state-of-the-art POS system that exists, but all those bells and whistles won't do you much good unless you know how to use them. In addition to researching POS systems that have all the features you're looking for, make sure you also look into the kind of customer support and security measures that each vendor has to offer. Warren Scheidt owns Cork Liquors, a chain of 11 stores lo- cated in Indiana. A third-generation family business owner, Scheidt needed to replace his outdated POS. He researched multiple ven- dors for several years before fi nally selecting Keystroke POS, which he purchased through CCR Point of Sale, a company specializing in the Keystroke system. "This is such a major part of your business, and you need to make sure you have a great working relationship with the com- pany you're buying from," Scheidt says. "We liked that the com- pany is located pretty close to us; we're about 60 miles away from our headquarters. They were very knowledgeable, they had expe- rience working with not just other liquor stores, but other liquor chains, and we got the impression that whatever we needed, they'd be there for us." Cork Liquors began converting its stores to Keystroke in Octo- ber 2013. During the start-up period, it wasn't unusual for Scheidt and his employees to be on the phone with CCR six or eight times per day, asking questions and getting help troubleshooting. "When you're a chain, it's not a seamless process getting every- thing up and running like it might be if you have just one store," Scheidt explains. "Each location seems to have its own issues, like hardware not working or Internet connectivity problems. Also, with 65 employees spread out across multiple locations, training became a big project, and we needed support with that." Although Scheidt appreciates CCR's Keystroke customer service most of all, the system also boasts some impressive state-of-the-art features, including a biometric thumbprint recognition login system that is unique to each employee, eliminating the need for a separate NetSuite is a cloud-based system that incorporates POS, eCommerce, inventory management, CRM and marketing, fi nances, and more. Cork Liquors, a chain of 11 stores located in Indiana, utilizes Keystroke POS.