epos solution for retailers - untangle the spaghetti - lakeland computers

GettingSystemsRight

Starting a new food business is tough.

This guide focuses on helping you find the right Retail Management and EPOS solution. It will also make you aware of some of the pitfalls you are likely to face on your journey.

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EUREKA

Academy

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication"- Leonardo Da Vinci

© Lakeland Computer Consultancy Services LtdPrinted in United Kingdom

Tel. +44 (0) 345 257 0829 [email protected] • https://www.lccs.co.uk

ContentAbout Us 5

So Much To Think About 7

EPOS 8

Chip & Pin / Contactless 10

Back Office Software 12

Labelling 14

Scales 16

I.T. Infrastructure 18

Here For You 20

For the Love ofFood...

SYSTEMS GUIDE FOR NEW FOOD BUSINESSES 5

big deal for everyone in our business and it's what keeps us focused on who we are and where we're going.

We are now privileged to look after hundreds of truly outstanding food retailers across the United Kingdom and Ireland; many of whom are nationally award-winning. Weirdly enough I still remember when some of these started out on a simple stall in a garage... the same, years on, are now celebrated as being the best in the UK.

#proud for all you Twitter followers out there!

To my knowledge, as I write this, we remain the only business of our kind (at least in the UK or Ireland) that focuses entirely on this sector. No chemists, no plumbing supplies, just independent food retailers and we think that gives us a unique insight into how we can make YOUR life easier.

I hope this guide offers you useful insights into what to look (out) for when choosing your systems.

Good luck on your journey; keep calm, remember the passion that got you here, surround yourself with good people and all will be well.

Lakeland Computers:Since 1997

It's a massive deal that people trust Eureka™ to look after their livelihood and that of generations to come

When I started this business from my mother and father's kitchen table I never dreamt for one second that my journey would afford me the privilege of working with some of the most amazing people in the food industry. Passionate, sincere, hard working and dedicated are just some of the words I use to describe our customers, many of whom have now become dear friends and part of our Eureka™ 'family'.

My background is in the crazy world of technology first and foremost whilst the folks we work with tend to shun that in favour of ploughing a field or rearing the best beef you've ever tasted. We meet in the middle though; as we share in our love of good food and in our appreciation of what it took to produce, prepare and make ready for the table.

That said there is of course the matter of running our respective businesses. With the odd exception, most of our customers have ploughed their own money (and sometimes the bank's money) into an enterprise to either sustain their existing way of life or to create something new that they can hand on to their son(s) or daughter(s) in years to come.

We REALLY get the responsibility that comes with this. Real people, real families and they've chosen us to help steer them through. That's a seriously

"Focusing on this sector gives us a

unique understanding of the challenges

being faced."

Nigel Bogle, Founder & CEO Lakeland Computers

When implementing your EPOS & Backoffice systems you should leave around 12 weeks to get everything properly sorted. Any less and you'll run the risk of opening with half a system in place.

So you've made the decision to invest your hard earned cash into a food retail enterprise. There are so many plates spinning that you're already getting dizzy... Location, right product mix, branding, website, staff, equipment... Gin & Tonic please!

Even for the most modest of retail empires you're going to need some sort of systems to help you keep track of what's going on. Once you've your 'hard landscape' in place (i.e. building, refrigeration, etc.) You'll be investing a fair amount of capital in your products and knowing where it's working and where it's possibly not is going to prove key to the health of your all important margins and ultimately to the success of your business.

The essential elements to consider are detailed over the next few pages and are worth serious thought if you want to stand the best chance of getting things off to a good start.

Untangle the Spaghetti


So much to think about:So little time!

In (very) simple terms this is the equipment that usually sits on your counter at the point where your customers pay for their basket items.

There are lots of options here but a SERIOUS word of caution: All systems are NOT created equally and you should take time to seek out a solution that has your type of business very much at the heart of its design.

Paying by card has long since been common place in retail stores. This is one area where you can help reduce queueing time at the till and improve customer experience.

At the time of writing the current limit on contactless payments is £30 and ApplePay and AndroidPay are fast making in-roads. A must these days given cash is becoming more rare.

This is very much the 'meat & potatoes' (excuse the pun!) of the system. Usually comes as part of an overall solution with the tills and it is essential that you choose a provider that understands both your type of business and the sort of reporting information that is useful to those running it.

Modular is best; You won't use all the functionality right from the start.

EPOS TILLS CHIP & PIN / CONTACTLESS BACKOFFICE SOFTWARE

Shelf edge ticketing, veg displays, those little stickers to put on small batches of Mrs Miggins' homemade strawberry jam, labels for your own tray bakes, breads... the list goes on.

It takes more time than you might think to get your artwork agreed and ensure you've those all important allergens identified and nutritional information ready to put in the right place to keep on the right side of the law.

Another essential piece of kit for any farm shop. cheesemonger, deli, butcher, fishmonger or simply anyone who needs to weigh 'stuff'.

** Be wary of using these as full blown tills though unless you're a butcher or cheesemonger. It's not what they were primarily designed for and access to key transactional data can be awkward in certain cases leaving you questioning the investment.

Get this right and you'll save yourself a whole heap of pain! Hire someone who knows how to install network cabling properly and can terminate it properly at a network switch which is capable of handling the amount of data being transmitted.

** Word to the wise... if you're planning to operate a cafe or coffee shop... keep the public WiFi on a separate system to that of your shop.!!!

LABELLING WEIGHING SCALES IT INFRASTRUCTURE

Getting some combination of the following elements wrong in any business will cause problems certainly but in a new business particularly it can be a major contributor to high levels of serious anxiety and stress; all at a time when every penny counts, where you're still trying to find your feet and at a stage when time is a luxury you simply don't have.

The purchase that has caused the most headaches has been our Epos system. I wish I'd done more research before buying

You will have ONE budget for EPOS; spend it on the wrong system and you'll be living with your mistake for years. Getting your finances back into the black, once open, has got to be a priority. Cheap is rarely 'Cheerful'. - Nigel Bogle, Founder & CEO

Lakeland Computers

SYSTEMS GUIDE FOR NEW FOOD BUSINESSES8

EPOS:Generic or Sector Specific ???

CUSTOMER LOYALTYEnhance that all important customer

experience with a scheme that delivers

INTELLIGENT VOUCHERSSurprise, inform and retail clever by offering your customers added value

PROMOTIONSSet them up and watch the magic

happen live on the shop floor

MARKETING INTEGRATION Simple, clear, yet hugely powerful

ways to look at buying habits

NUTRITIONAL / ALLERGENSKnow what goes into what you sell?Let your systems take away the pain

HOSPITALITY INTEGRATIONShop first, eat later or the other way around. Whatever suits your style!

The answer to this is best summed up by Ebony Harding from Harringay Local Store, London in her interview with Lynda Searby from Fine Food Digest in 2016.

Ebony had purchased a solution from EPOS Now but says, "It hasn't been right for us..."

In our experience this story is all too common for businesses in the food sector starting out. To be fair it's often a case of: "You don't know what you don't know" and at the time of purchase you're probably thinking... well... it's a till... how different can

From the outset you're going to be faced with lots of choice on EPOS but where is your money best invested? In a cheap out of the box solution or something that's more food-focused?

these things be after all? The answer to that question in this sector is... VERY.

When you purchase you may not use all the EPOS 'bells and whistles' from day one but you should ensure you at least have the beginnings of an idea as to the where you're headed in your business model.

Customer loyalty schemes, Gift Vouchers, Discount Vouchers, Timed Promotions, Account Customers?, Integration with marketing campaigns, KPI analysis, Allergen & Nutritional Information are just some things which you'll come to rely on and which just don't come with a cheap out of the box solution usually.

- Ebony Harding, Harringay Local Store, LondonFine Food Digest: March 2016


BEST PRACTICES

There is no substitute for a demonstration of the solution on offer. Talk to your peers in the sector, what has their experience been like? Visit Exhibitions. Dream of WILD SUCCESS for YOUR business and find out which system is being used by businesses recognised for THEIR greatness. Great Businesses Use Great Systems.

• Start looking for EPOS as early as possible and get it sorted as quickly as you reasonably can. You will inevitably want to integrate it with your POS counters and everything like electrics, broadband and networking will all revolve around this.

• Do your homework... Establish who has real credibility in the sector. Start to recognise gaps in solution offerings alongside your requirements and the fog will begin to lift. (No dedicated hospitality module? No integration with POS?) Make sure you have a clear vision of the experience you want to deliver to your customer and make sure your chosen system fits that model. • Avoid generic (off the shelf) solutions. They will inevitably be cheaper but we've rarely seen them deliver in this sector.

• Talk to, or better still join, groups like FARMA (National Farmers' Retail & Markets Association) or The Guild of Fine Food. They have been setup to help you and aside from the social interaction and willingness amongst members to share their experience they are a central hub for support resources, training and advice on changes in legislation affecting your type of business.

RESOURCES

FARMA: http://www.farma.org.uk(Milly Stokes / Michael Mack)

GUILD OF FINE FOOD: https://gff.co.uk(John Farrand / Jilly Stitch)

RETAIL READY: https://gff.co.uk/training/retail-ready (Jilly Stitch / Charlie Turnbull / Georgina Mason)

ACADEMY OF CHEESE: http://academyofcheese.org (Paxton & Whitfield / Turnbulls / Quickes)

Held annually at the NEC this show is a must-visit for any food retailer. Loads of new products and a chance to meet the people behind the scenes and hear their story. http://www.farmshopanddelishow.co.uk

Hosted each year in the Olympia exhibition centre this is another show well worth visiting. The Great Taste Awards are also held over the course of the event. http://www.specialityandfinefoodfairs.co.uk

FARM SHOP & DELI (BIRMINGHAM) SPECIALITY FINE FOOD FAIR (LONDON)


There are a number of providers for chip and pin payment services. (Payment Sense, Verifone, Ingenico and YesPay to name a few).

Service provision usually entitles you to the pinpads or PEDs (Pin Entry Device) as they are often referred to alongside the business of carrying the customer's card payment from their account into yours via an authorising bank.

Contract terms can vary and is directly between you and the payment provider; a 48-month contract is not uncommon.

If there are issues during payment processing then these are usually handled by either your payment provider directly or in conjunction with your EPOS supplier depending on the nature of the issue being experienced.

Next day swap out cover is often available for faulty PEDs and worth consideration if you are reliant on taking customer payments on a single terminal without a viable alternative should the device fail.

Note: Leave plenty of time for getting a Merchant Number sorted from your bank and for the completion of your application. This can sometimes take a number of weeks to complete depending on your provider and needs to be monitored to ensure you are ready to go when you open.

The choice of payment options available to consumers today has never been greater. Customers will increasingly expect you to offer these innovative ways to pay for goods and services. So be prepared and get on the right side of the curve from the off.

Chip & Pin / Contactless:Payment Options

Cheques are all but gone, cash appears to be on its way out so what's left? Well... credit cards certainly and with the increased trust being placed in mobile payments we recommend that you spend some time thinking about your ideal customer type.

Who are they? How much are they likely to spend on average, given your type of business, and how can you make their life simpler by offering payment methods that they will want to use instinctively?

If your average basket spend is likely to be on the large side (i.e. > £30) then maybe contactless isn't appropriate just yet but chip and pin certainly will be.

If, however, you're a coffee shop or offer food to go then offering these payment methods might help make the difference from buying lunch at yours or popping to the local Starbucks.


BEST PRACTICES• Your preferred EPOS provider should guide you on the most appropriate provider for your business. Decide how many terminals you think you'll need, consider the costs and get your application underway as soon as possible.

• Typically the terminals will be pole-mounted at your counter so make sure whoever is designing your counters has factored this into their design. These things are pretty common these days; it shouldn't be a problem but worth checking. • Some terminals require additional network ports to be provided at the counter. Ask your EPOS provider for advice on whether this applies to you and your circumstances.

• "Haggle"... The payment providers are in a competitive market place just like you so see what you can do in respect of keeping your contract term as low as possible to suit your own circumstances at least at the start until you get established. • Speak to FARMA and The Guild of Fine Food. They can usually help members by providing reduced transaction processing fees from merchant providers like Streamline and Elavon.

Offering these types of services for your customers should be an essential part of your offering in the current retail climate.

By facilitating a faster way for customers to get through the till point you will increase satisfaction and improve their experience; not just for those customers at the checkout at the time but fast payment keeps queues to a minimum especially at manically busy periods like Christmas.

It's all about the experience.

RESOURCES

PAYMENT SENSE: http://www.paymentsense.co.uk


Back Office Software:The Engine Room

STOCK CONTROL

Simply put... "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it" and this is acutely true in the context of stock control in YOUR type of business.

Getting your margins right is absolutely key and directly linked to keeping your business going. This is helped by keeping an eye on your costs, minimizing unnecessary waste and ordering on the basis of real numbers and not a 'gut' feeling.

Throw in the fact that a lot of your offering will have a shelf life and that you're probably not going to have an empty refrigerated warehouse waiting to store tons and tons of stock and you'll quickly reach the conclusion that you're going to need a reliable system to help you through the madness!

FINANCIAL REPORTING & BUSINESS ANALYSIS

Up until the time when you run your first report the whole process has been about feeding information into your system.

A good reporting module is a must; it's that simple.

It must present relevant information in a straight forward, readable way so folks who aren't management accountants (i.e. most of us!) can make sense of what's going on in the business.

Common reports to look out for (Z-Read Analysis, Product Performance, Gross Margins, VAT Report, Top X Sellers, Best Customers, Promotion Analysis)

Software that's been designed with your type of business in mind means you've already got a whole bunch of people on your team. Folks whose job description is all about making your life easier by staying in tune with the needs of the sector, changes in legislation and bringing you the most up to date innovations as and when your business is ready for them.

Note: The back office is very much more that just stock control and reporting but these are two of the most important aspects. Given your size, business model and budget you may well be considering things like: Integration with your website, links to your accounts package, marketing tools, customer account management, customer loyalty and more.

If you'd like information on these types of module just drop us a line to: [email protected] and we'll be happy to advise.


BEST PRACTICES• Make sure you understand the difference between MARGIN and MARKUP. If unsure then speak to your accountant or better still to a peer in the industry for advice on where you can ramp margins up and where you are going to struggle to make much.

• Try to work with software vendors that offer 'operational' support alongside their main hardware and software offering.

N.B. This is NOT training (that should be provided by everyone) this IS usually about providing one-to-one coaching about the best ways to achieve your goals in the context of reporting or stock management. • Invest in a handheld terminal or at the very least rent one periodically to help with your stock takes. Don't try to stock take when the shop is trading if you want anything remotely resembling an accurate figure!

• Spot check random products every day so managing stock is a 'rolling' thing. This way your figures are always there or thereabouts and it is less likely to get unwieldy. • Don't under estimate the human resources required to manage full stock control (i.e placing formal purchase orders, processing goods in, managing discrepancies, credit notes, recording wastage, adjusting costs, monitoring margins)

- Some people don't implement full stock control at the start and do what they can given the people and time available and grow from there. If that's where you are at then don't beat yourself up... you're in good company... do try to keep this moving on though as soon as you can... it's worth it in the long run. Don't lose sight of the fact that there's a lot of capital tied up in that stuff on your shelves and in your stock room.

• Go and spend some time working in an established business and see how things are done there. This type of insight is invaluable and highly recommended.

• Ask to be put in touch with other friendly retailers willing to share the knowledge. In our experience the people in this sector are all too happy to help providing you're not opening up just down the road from them.

• Look at implementing some sort of 'traffic-light' system to keep an eye on stock going out of date.

• If you have a cafe or coffee shop attached to your business then add value to stock that may be unsuitable for sale directly in the shop by turning it into salads, quiche, bread pudding... your options are endless here!

Having internal stock management systems is one thing; ensuring that everyone in the business follows them can be a challenge. One trick is to make it so easy to do things like recording wastage that your team don't have any hoops left to jump through and it simply gets done as a matter of course.

Good systems make for happier staff and ultimately you get what you want... genuine insight into what's going on in your business so you can adjust course as necessary.


Labelling

YOUR BRIEF

Submit your ideas / designs along with any stipulations

about required or conditional content.

PROJECT PROPOSAL

You'll get a quote for all relevant elements and if any recommendations have been made they will be

discussed at this stage with you. (e.g. different adhesive given product is to be stored in a chiller)

DESIGN CONCEPT

Supplier takes the details & assesses what is required before discussing the particulars with the printers.

APPROVE AND ORDER

Providing you're happy then the order is placed and delivered in

the quantity required.

Easy to overlook but vital in getting your message across; even more so now with government legislation demanding you make customers aware of allergens and nutritional information in the products you produce and retail.

You might think labels are straight forward until you try to sort them yourself... different sizes, varnishes, pantones, cutting plates, rotations, adhesives... are you ready for a lie down yet?

Having access to a vendor who can be your one-stop-shop for this will save you time, money and a whole heap of hassle.

Typically the process should look something like this.

TIME MANAGEMENT

As the months roll in it'll become more apparent how little time you have to look after all the

elements of your business personally in any 24 hr period.

Being able to hand things like this off to a trusted supplier will give you peace of mind and some of

your day back!


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BARCODE LABELS

Invaluable if you're working with small producers. You can create the labels in advance, give them to your supplier and have the products pre-labelled by the time they arrive in-store.

SHELF EDGE TICKETS

Clear, effective shelf edge ticketing is one of the first chances you get to get your product's story across. These should be quick to produce and be consistent right across your shop.

PRODUCT / SCALE LABELS

Multi-purpose labels which you produce in the quantitites you need when you require. Use for labelling cheese, charcuterie or pre-made soups, stews, jams, chutneys and much more.

COUNTER LABELS

Typically seen on stands or in front of trays of produce or cheese in a serve-over counter. Usually more surface area is available to get your message across (i.e. Awards, allergens, etc)

Talk to existing business owners in your sector about their experience.

On-going support is going to be key to making sure your scale equipment is properly maintained and experiences can vary.


Scales:Weighing Up The Options

Counter scales, packaging scales, checkout scales... bathroom scales... (only joking on that last one!) The fact is that this is another area where you need to be careful when spending your money. Choose wisely; the best way to do that is to be clear up-front on the use(s) to which you are going to put these pieces of equipment.

In terms of manufacturer you should stick to the two big players, Avery Berkel or Bizerba. There are other options yes but in our humble opinion you are best served with a solution that's tried and tested in your sector and these two are about as good as it gets.

On a counter situation you'll need scales to weigh and label product before it is scanned at your till.

Labelling should have all the required allergen info. in bold to make sure you comply with the law and increasingly you will need to show nutritional information along-side this.

There are lots of options, colour displays, customer displays and the like. Make sure you get the basics first then spend what your budget allows.

Make sure your computer system is capable of updating product information on the scale from the back office otherwise it'll not be long before you'll be tearing your hair out having to do it all manually!

Also, decide if you are the type of business that wants/needs to use the scales for production of customer orders. This may limit your options and not all scales communicate this type of data to the back office easily for the production of invoices / delivery notes.

Whilst scales do have the ability to operate as tills we wouldn't recommend you go down this route unless you have to. i.e. You are a butcher.

This is mainly due to the fact that these pieces of kit have been designed first and foremost to be fantastic weighing machines.

They are usually behind the curve on the other EPOS-type functionality such as customer loyalty integration, intelligent vouchers, complex promotions and other things you should be making the most use of if you have the option. This will be determined by your type of business though and you may not have much choice if space is an issue.

You usually get some basic software with your scales to help with product maintenance and whilst this is fine for very simple operations you should be looking to a seamless integration with your chosen EPOS vendor. It is very rare these days to find a provider that doesn't link their systems to either Avery Berkel or Bizerba.

Finally... don't use scales in a hospitality environment...! It may seem like an obvious thing to say but we've seen folks do this more times than we care to say and 100% of the time I ask myself... why on earth?? They are excellent at weighing... Stick to that.

It's a fairly sure thing to say that if you're opening a deli, cheese shop, farm shop or the like that you are going to want to weigh 'stuff'. As with tills... there are a lot of options and they all look very similar. You need to be clear on what exactly you are planning to use them for.

AVERYBIZERBA


Trust Me Does It Work..!

BEST PRACTICES• Write down a list of all the functions you think you'll need to use scales in your business for:

e.g.

- Weighing at counters (meat, fish, cheese, etc.);- Weighing in-store (vegetables, cereals, etc.);- Weighing at the point of sale (Fruit, etc.);- Pre-packing goods;- Customer Order fulfillment.

• Get a demo from both manufacturers to be sure of your options and encourage a good price from each. • Ensure your chosen scale and EPOS combination will deliver on your requirements.

• Talk to other users of the same scale/manufacturer. Find out about on-going support and costs. • Try to keep scales, slicers and weighing equipment generally under the one manufacturer 'roof' for compatibility and ease of support.

RESOURCES

AVERY BERKEL: http://www.averyberkel.com/en-gb

BIZERBA: http://www.bizerba.co.uk

Never EVER allow members of the public to access the internet on the same wireless connection as your business network.

Aside from the security risk you may find that your tills weirdly start to slow down during busy lunch times!! (Thanks YouTube!)


I.T. Infrastructure:The Right FoundationWith everyone being a so-called IT expert these days you'll have no end of folks stepping up to 'sort' this for you. Our advice... get a dedicated IT company in to install and configure this for you; you'll be glad you did. Your network needs to be robust and reliable; your business is going to be depending on it all day every day after all so best get it right first time around.

In simple terms your computer network carries information from one part of your business to another.

This might be to facilitate: surfing the Internet, online banking, making sure tills work, running reports, accounts, printing, scanning, labelling and on... and on... and on... In short your network IS your computer infrastructure and it needs to work reliably.

Usually this is achieved by network cables (CAT 5 or 6: CAT is short for Category) being installed by a qualified person from various points in your building to a network 'switch' (bit like a junction box where all ends meet). As a result devices are able to communicate with one another.

You may also have wireless network access which is handy for allowing devices to talk to one another if you're on the shop floor or to allow customers to browse the net whilst in your shop / cafe. Word to the wise though... In the case of customers

browsing... do make sure that if you're allowing customers to have free WiFi in your business that this is handled on a separate network from your main business network otherwise you may suffer from children trying to download the entire Toy Story back catalog whilst in your shop and things will just grind to a halt.

When having a wired network installed a common question to be asked is... "How many network points do you want/need?" These are the actual

sockets on the wall where you'll plug network-enabled devices into. Our top tip is decide where you want them located, how many you need to install and install more than you need by about half as many again at least.

They are fairly cheap to install and it is always advisable to make sure you've plenty of spare capacity for all those tills, credit card machines and printers you'll collect over the years.

You should also invest in a separate computer or small server to run your tills from and let it be dedicated to that purpose.

It's an added luxury yes but it means your tills will run without issue and you'll not have to fight for disk space when a manager comes back from holidays and decides to upload all their holiday snaps onto your work machines!

Networking Golden Rule #1Hire an expert

[Or be prepared for headaches!]

Whether you're just starting out or changing things around for the better we hope this guide has been of help to you.

There's a lot of subject matter to cover and whilst we've covered the essentials here you may still have more questions.

If that is the case we're happy to advise; if you have queries on other things like customer loyalty schemes, gift vouchers, customer marketing, website integration, discount vouchers or anything frankly in relation to systems in your business then we'd love to hear from you and see if we can't lend a helping hand or free advice.

Good luck with everything; we wish you all the very best for now and into the foreseeable future.

From All @ Lakeland Computers

We'reHere for You

SUPPORTwww.lccs.co.uk [email protected]

CONTACT+ 44 (0) 345 257 0829 (twitter) @lccsltd

ADDRESSCo. Fermanagh, N.Ireland Nottinghamshire, England