RETAIL MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

A retail management system (RMS), is essentially an integrated set of digital applications that the retailer uses to operate their business. Retail management software typically includes: Point of Sale (POS), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Sales Order Management, Inventory Management, Purchasing & Receiving, Reporting and data driven Dashboard applications. Some also offer ecommerce applications as part of their suite.

There are countless options for POS software and many software companies advertise as “retail management systems,” but while researching it can be hard to determine what retail POS features are actually included in the software. We thought it might be helpful (as software providers ourselves) to explain what our definition of an RMS is and why we think it’s important.

One of the primary benefits of using a POS with true RMS capabilities, is that all retail operations occur in the same technology footprint allowing the retailer to run the business end-to-end with one system. Information is easily available so the retailer has visibility on how the business is doing across all functions. Even better, with a web based application the retailer is able to access this critical data in real time from any web device (smart phone, tablet, laptop etc.)retail Point of Sale software solutions are designed to address the challenges of Small & Independent Aspirants, Retailers and large multi-store Retail Chains. Their sector specific orientation, built using latest technologies, assure retailers ‘a visible improvement’ in customer engagement, by helping them source the right product at right price at the right time.

Reach can be used by Super Market, Mom n Pop shops, Convenience stores and Hyper Markets for Purchase, Super fast Billing, Inventory Management, Barcoding, and Loyalty Management across branches

FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS of Retail Management Software

Point of Sale

Touch and Keyboard Billing counters. Works even when the Internet connection is cut. Seperate Cash and delivery counters.

Lots and Barcode Management

Create Lots/ Batches, Auto-generate codes and print barcode labels. Read them automatically using a barcode scanner

Accounting

Income & Expense Grouping,Accounting Ledgers,Tax Heading Creations & Operations,Bank & Cash Creation & Operations,AssetLiability Creation & Operations,Income & Expense Recording,Journal Entries & Contra Transactions,etc

Invoicing

Create Invoices with your own branding or choose from over 20 templates (includes contractor Invoices). Generate Invoices or convert quotes to Invoices. Automatically convert invoices raised in foreign currency to INR. Raise recurring Invoices. Email, print or extract Invoices to pdf. Get reminded every time an Invoice is due. Send reminder sms or emails.

Operations and Process

Product & Service Grouping,Customised Invoice with Logo,Small, Medium or Large scale operations,Retail or Whole sale enabled,Product service and maintenance,Godown & Showroom wise operations etc..

Loyalty Management

Assign points for every sale and redeem them whilst billing next time

Addons

E-stores, Google docs, Google calander, Project management tools, SMS gateways, Payment Gateways and many others.

Tally Import

Easily import excel files taken from Tally and import it into our Software for various time periods and manage accounts with ease.

Purchases

Purchase Orders/Estimates,Purchase Bills,Purchase Return,Vendor Outstanding Management.

Sales

Quotes,Multi Product Operation,Sales Invoice,Sales Return,Recurring Invoices on one attempt,Customer Balance

Access

Multi-User operation with restriction menus,Auto Back up,Accounting Period Auto change,Any Location operation,Easy to handle,No hard accounting process and buttons,Auto conversion to accounting formats

Multi Company

Create multiple Companies and give an option to manage each of them individually from the comfort of your smart phone.

Auditor View

Full Financial Report availability,Read process by Auditor,Tax Reports,VAT Report with e-filing options,PF & ESI Reports,Tax Consulting Modules

Mobile Application

Access across tabs, iPads, iPhones and android phones, pick photos of expense vouchers and attach to expenses, raise invoices, check cash and bank balances, daily profitability and other key reports on phone.

Bank Synchronization

You can sync bank statements by uploading the excel files of Bank statements into the software.

Multi Branch

Create multiple Branch and give an option to manage each of them individually business by the Owne

Strategies to improve profit

Once you have identified and measured your key profit drivers, you should develop strategies to grow them, without increasing costs. Making your business more profitable involves looking at ways to increase sales revenue as well as decreasing your costs and benchmarking your business to see where you can save money.

You should also prioritise the strategies you’ve chosen to improve your profit so you can focus on the most important ones.

Advertise

The first step to increasing grocery stores sales is getting consumers to come in. Major chains use regular, weekly advertising newspaper inserts that showcase specials. If you can’t afford a multi-page insert each week, use display ads placed in sections of a newspaper that cater to your customer, such as the cooking section. Ask your suppliers about co-op programs they offer. Many manufacturers will reimburse you for a portion of any advertisements you run that contain their names and logos. Print coupons on high-sale items to get the biggest return on your investment. Consider donating fruit and sports drinks to local sporting events to position your grocery as a place weekend warriors can stop before a tennis match, softball game or bike ride.

In-Store Coupons

Place coupons on shelving in the aisles of your store to get consumers to notice particular foods they might not have come to buy. Put coupon sheets with multiple coupons at the front of the store near shopping carts to encourage customers to look for certain items.

Change Item Locations

Each month or quarter, change the location of popular items so shoppers who are motivated to buy them will have to look for them. This is to make them pass by and notice other products, stimulating impulse buys.

Tier Items

Place items that appeal to children on the bottom two or three rows of your shelves so they are at or near eye level to young children. This will generate requests to buy items parents often can’t resist. Place impulse items such as gum or candy at eye level near the checkout counter to catch the attention of adults.

Use Larger Carts

A cart with space in it sends a subliminal message to many shoppers that they have not exhausted their budget and have more money to spend.

Group Products

Use end-of-aisle kiosks or sections of an aisle to group products that create a recipe or meal. For example, put shortcake, strawberries and whipped topping together to encourage customers to buy all three. Place spaghetti, sauce, dressing, croutons, Parmesan cheese and Italian bread together to put the idea of a convenient meal into shoppers’ heads.

Use Loss Leaders

Loss leaders are products that retailers sell at cost or less to bring customers in. If the price of milk spikes, sell it at your cost or a slight loss to get shoppers in who will fill their baskets with items that will more than make up for your loss. Use staples such as milk, bread and eggs as loss leaders on a regular, rotating basis to position your store as a bargain grocery.

Offer Free Samples

If you are selling a new product consumers haven’t tried, offer free samples using displays near the items. Display a new cheese with a popular cracker, or chunks of your homemade bread with a vegetable dip.

Strategies to increase sales revenue

• Increase productivity of your staff – recognise and reward staff contributions with staff performance reviews, and teach them sales skills and how to upsell products so customers make multiple purchases at one time
• Develop new product lines – survey your customers about new products
• Find new customers – new customers can help grow your business
• Find new markets – use market research to determine if you could expand your business into new areas
• Customer service – improve your customer service and develop a staff training program
• Increase your prices – check if you have priced your goods and services correctly and if you could increase prices without reducing sales
• Price discounts – consider price discounts and promotions to increase your customer base (e.g. 2-for-1 deals or happy hour)
• Retail displays – use effective retail displays to increase your sales

Strategies to decrease costs

• Decrease inventory – stock control is a good way to streamline your business
• Decrease direct costs – make sure you have the right suppliers for your business and negotiate for better prices or discounts for buying in bulk
• Decrease indirect costs – for example, try to minimise waste and errors in your business by training staff, or reduce marketing costs by using low-cost marketing techniques
• Decrease overheads – for example, save energy wherever possible or try find a cheaper energy supply company
• Benchmark key financials – benchmarking your business helps you compare your costs (like rent and utilities etc.) to similar businesses in your industry to see if you are paying too much

Prioritise your strategies

Once you have chosen strategies to make your business more profitable, you should prioritise them in order of importance. It’s a good idea to write down your goals and the corresponding strategies to achieve them, and also how you plan to implement your strategies.

Focus on your more profitable items

Your products or services with the highest gross profit margin are the most important to your business, as they generate more money. Once you have identified your most profitable items you should concentrate on achieving higher sales targets for them. This may require you to rethink aspects of your business or to devise strategies for improvement. Consider using a business adviser to help you.

 Know Yourself
Having your own business is more than just creating a job for yourself. Your basic roles are in marketing, finance, administration, and the responsibility of personnel. To get the best results, it is rare for one person to play all these roles equally well. You must know which parts you can handle yourself and which parts you’re going to need help with.

Plan Ahead
Many stores are run by well-intended people but who don’t have all the information they need to do their job. This includes a clear idea of market segment, target markets, customer service, product selection, marketing mix, promotional activities and pricing tactics. If you want to succeed you need a well thought out business plan that helps you make the right decisions.

Know The Industry
You can gain the greatest competitive edge if you have an intimate knowledge of your business. To thrive and prosper, you must be committed to learn and have the desire and energy to accomplish your goals. These are five main reasons why most businesses fail:

1. Lack of Industry Knowledge
2. Lack of Vision
3. Poor Market Strategy
4. Failure to Establish Goals
5. Inadequate Capitalization

Understand Your Customer 
Make it your business to give your customers what they want, and they will do business and buy from you. The products and services you provide should reflect your customers needs and wants. Think in your customers’ terms; buy, show, sell, and say things that interest them, not just what interests you. Remember, it is the customer that determines whether or not you succeed.

Keep Good Financial Records
If you don’t know where your money is going, it will soon be gone. The “game of business” is played with computers — and the score is evaluated in dollars and cents. Good financial records are like the instruments on an airplane, they keep you posted of your height, direction, and speed. Without them you’re flying blind with no controls to guide you to your destination.

Manage Your Cash
It doesn’t matter how unique and wonderful your store is, your business can’t survive without cash flow. Money coming in your store is the vital component that keeps your business financially healthy. If you budget wisely and know the interval of your monthly income and expenses, you won’t have to worry about running out of money.

Use Sound Management Practices
As a store owner, you are also a manager. You have to make decisions, offer customer service, manage time and resources, and know how to merchandise and run the business better than anyone working for you. Give your employees the opportunity for growth, treat them fairly, pay them what they’re worth, and they will help make your business successful

Develop A Distinctive Image
Your image is important and is a function of your marketing efforts and materials. Customer’s create their perceptions of your business from your name, web site appearance, store location, products, prices, visual merchandising, signs, displays, business cards, newsletters, advertising material, customer service and anything else that relates to your business.

Control Your Inventory
All retail stores need to manage inventory. It is your money sitting on a shelf and represents a large portion of your business investment. The retailer who merely watches the store’s shelves can’t maintain a proper balance between the right amount of merchandise and probable customer demand. Without adequate control, slow-moving inventory becomes dated and very costly.

Buy and Price For Profit
To understand retailing, one must start with the concept that the price of your merchandise is nothing more than a temporary estimate of what the customer is willing to spend. In devising your overall pricing strategy, a practical approach can be based on the function of supply and demand. To be more competitive, join buying groups and seek out manufacturer discounts that allow you to purchase merchandise below wholesale prices. By offering better values, you’ll be able to attract more customers, and offer more opportunities to shop at your store.

Learn From The Pros
In today’s explosive markets, making the right moves is absolutely essential, there is little room for error. Without knowing how to navigate through these fast-moving times, it can be a tricky and even a self-destructive experience. Because of the emotional and sometimes difficult decisions that must be made, the crucial difference is having fresh ideas with an impartial business position.

 Ask For Help When You Need It
Remember, getting results is what counts! Don’t be too proud to ask for help, we all need help sometimes. It is important to recognize that what you don’t know can end up costing you money, hurt the odds of success, and greatly reduce the chance of achieving your business goals. Hiring an expert with specialized skills can be the most profitable decision you can make to protect both your business and financial future.