Handling Multiple Locations

You buy stuff. You sell stuff. Kind of the basics behind the world of retail, right? Well, if things were that simple, any dope with a few dollars could effectively run a retail store. In order to develop an effective store, you need to know what sells, what doesn’t, how much you need, where to put it, what to put on sale, etc. A lot goes on behind the scenes of your average retail store. The exchange of goods is simply the final product. But, what happens when you effectively manage one store? You open another one.

If you thought running one store was a lot to handle, the idea of running two might send you into cardiac arrest. But, it doesn’t have to. Point of sale software not only smoothes out the operations of one store; it helps you manage each store together as one, cohesive business. For lack of a better phrase, it gets all your ducks in a row.

Visual Retail Plus allows you to manage an unlimited number of locations. Basically, each store runs its own database. Then, your various databases can be set to synchronize at specified intervals in order for headquarters to hold up-to-the-minute data. Additionally, if you’re on a large-scale operation, you can query any one of your stores for its specific inventory information. Without this type of software, you’ll give yourself another store’s worth of work each time you open a new branch. Visual Retail Plus allows for you to run multiple stores as if they’re one.

Conquering Retail Return Lines

Return lines have earned a bad rap over the years. The often times long, chaotic mess of a return line can deter even the most patient of consumers from a store. At first, you might be inclined think that it’s a good thing when costumers don’t return products. Well, granted, you certainly want products going out of the store rather than coming back in, but when a customer can’t return a product because of your hectic return line, it can have a negative impact on your business as well.

If a customer purchases a product they’re unhappy with, your business is automatically put at risk for negative exposure. Of course, there are different levels here. If a guy bought a pair of shoes that don’t quite fit, he probably won’t embark on a personal vendetta against your company. But, if you sold a toaster oven that caught fire in a customer’s kitchen, you might want to expect some backlash. Now, add on the fact that this costumer has to stand in the back of a seemingly endless return line, cradling an extra crispy toaster oven. This won’t be good for business. You’ll inevitably lose that customer’s business as well as anyone he or she talks to.

With point of sale software like Visual Retail Plus, you can eliminate the blunders of your typical return line. Visual Retail Plus barcodes each receipt it produces, so with one quick scan you can access the information to accept return items from any store location. In just a few seconds, you can accept the return item and offer a store credit or any other type of refund. Visual Retail Plus’ electronic journal makes it easy to locate and manage receipts.

When costumers come to a return line, they’re most likely not in the best mood. So, an effectively run return line can help to retain customer satisfaction, which, at the end of the day, propels a company towards success.

POS Software

First things first, when you see “POS” placed in front of the word “software” that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s lagging, bug-invested software that will cause you to scream the most heinous of expletives. For the most part POS, stands for "point of sale" in the retail world.

So, maybe knowing that POS stands for point of sale is about as helpful as knowing that the first toilet to appear on television was on “Leave it to Beaver”—look it up if you don’t believe me. However, the term “point of sale” is nothing any retailer should ignore. Today, point of sale means more than just the checkout line. Innovative POS software is drastically changing the way retail stores operate.

User-friendly interfaces and extensive data queries are helping retail store owners run more effective businesses. The best point of sale systems allow for much more than a simple checkout. With the right system you can pull up customer purchasing history, accurately monitor inventory, create custom receipts and gift cards, etc. Visual Retail Plus is a company dedicated to keeping their POS software on the cutting edge of technology. Be sure to check out this blog for future posts on various features and news related to Visual Retail Plus and the world of POS software.