Retail Pro Continued Training Courses

Advanced Retail Management Systems (ARMS) has some exciting news for you regarding continued training courses for Retail Pro. Far too often we find that retailers are using only a fraction of the many features in Retail Pro.

The main reason for this is a lack of understanding on the numerous features in Retail Pro and how they can be used to work for you. Many users of Retail Pro are satisfied with the core trainings offered by ARMS and perhaps a few more advanced report trainings. Retail Pro can do so much more for you.

Spending some extra time on more of the features in Retail Pro will help you to reduce costs and increase efficiency in many areas of your operation. There are also expanded features that can be installed to further your experience with Retail Pro.

You have the tools available in Retail Pro and we are here to help you use them. Listed in this brochure are a just a few of the areas that you may be interested in learning more about, Click Here to read about them.

Please keep in mind that our trainers are often booked several weeks in advance. Contact us today to schedule a training appointment, 303 738 1800 x 320 Rosie Grant, or email Rosie.grant@armsys.com.

A Message from Island Pacific on your Retail Pro Membership, Protecting Your Investment

Continual Product Improvements
We at Island Pacific, the developers of Retail Pro®, are committed to bringing you the best in retail management and point-of-sale software, both now and as you continue to grow. Our passion for perfection and our dedication to continuous product development challenge us to make ongoing improvements and feature enhancements to Retail Pro. In fact, well over half of our staff is involved in software development, ensuring that Retail Pro remains the system that sets the industry standard for specialized retailers like you. That means that you will never have to worry about outgrowing Retail Pro.

Empowered for Success
Our technical expertise and the support of our value-added network of Business Partners plus the investment protection of Retail Pro software make the Membership Plan a logical choice for your business. Sign up for the Retail Pro Membership plan today, and join the thousands of other member retailers worldwide who have chosen Retail Pro as their partner for success.

The Benefits of Membership
The Membership Plan is just another great example of how Retail Pro continues to work for you, long after your initial investment. Your Membership Plan provides the peace of mind in knowing you'll never need to buy another point-of-sale or store management program. Your Membership also ensures that as your business grows, you will continue to benefit from the development of new features and enhancements for Retail Pro.
When you participate in the Retail Pro Membership Plan, you receive these benefits:

• Free software enhancements and upgrades. Enhancements and upgrades keep your system updated as each new generation of Retail Pro software is developed.

• No-cost product e-Manual updates and special supplements. Get extra help with those new features!

• "Members only" web site. Product documentation and information from Island Pacific. Forum, online newsletter, retail news and event information...all in one place!

• Developer news briefings. Learn about planned product enhancements and much more!

Plan to Renew your Membership
After your first year of Membership, fees for subsequent years are based on your particular software configuration. A substantial discount is available for special multi-year memberships.

To renew your Retail Pro Membership please contact Stacey Ryan at 1 800 305 0461 x 321 or email Stacey.ryan@armsys.com.

Custom Programming

Are you looking to improve your bottom line? Are your labor costs whittling away at your profits with duplicated effort? Is your staff spending time on tasks that could be automated and completed in a fraction of the time? Advanced Retail Management Systems offers custom programming services that streamline your operations, reduce errors and improve that bottom line.

Most retail organizations utilize different applications for inventory management, accounting, web operations and shipping but each of these platforms work independently. Getting data from one system to another often requires duplicate data entry and is prone to errors. Integration between these systems can automate the link between these diverse systems and potentially save you tens of thousands of dollars per year in labor costs alone. With custom programming, you don't have to wait for a solution to come to you - an automated system tailored to your operations means you can start reducing your costs without having to wait. And the costs of automation can be recovered in just a short amount of time.

As an example, the Advanced Retail Management Systems development staff recently completed a project in which a client's website, EDI vendors, distribution center and inventory control were brought together into a single, integrated system. Not only were time consuming tasks eliminated through automation, but the client was able to realize strategic goals that help their company grow in ways not possible with off the shelf applications.

When you are ready to get rid of that thorn in your profit's side, give us a call. The Advanced Retail Management Systems development staff is ready to provide you with a free analysis and quote. You'll be surprised at how easy it is to make that difference.
 

Are you backing up your data? Do you check your backups to make sure that they are working? It is very easy to check on the status of your backup if you are using the Hard Drive backup system. You only need to use Windows Explorer to look at the files that are being backed up. It is a good idea to check the size of the backup folder and compare it to the size of the data that you are backing up.

VERIFYING SCHEDULED BACKUP

1.Double left click on "MY COMPUTER".
2.Double left click on "(M:)" drive (or whatever drive letter that is assigned to the backup Drive)
 

6. Document the "Size:" and "Contains:" quantities.
7. Double left click on "MY COMPUTER".
8. Double left click on the "(R:)" drive(assuming this is not Workstation 1, if it is workstation 1 click on the "(D:)" drive or whatever drive letter Retail Pro is installed to)
9. Look for the "V8" folder and single right click on it.
10.Single left click on "Properties."
11.Verify the file quantities you documented in step 6 are the same. Note- there may bea small discrepancy of a few files, this is not critical.

Tech Tips

Pro Tip: Warning: Use Caution When Editing
Editing of former receipts makes permanent changes to your sales history file and may affect inventory if done before polling has taken place. It is the user's responsibility to ensure he is not corrupting historical sales information or creating false information.

Pro Tip: Debit Cards Do Not Need to Be Settled
Unlike credit card and gift card transactions, debit card transactions do not need to be settled. However, debit card transactions are included in EFT batch reports for thorough EFT reporting.

Pro Tip: Using SOs to Write Customer Quotes
You can easily write and submit quotes for goods or services to customers, without committing the items or service, by using registry SOs for this purpose. Design your SO form and print design files to include the information fields you need. When a customer accepts a quote, use the copy feature to quickly transfer the quoted sale to an active Customer Order SO. The "Quote SO" (registry SO) can then be deleted.

Pro Tip: Ordering New Items
At the Main station, you can easily add a new item to inventory as you list it on the SO.
1. Select CHOOSE/EDIT ITEMS.
2. Select NEW.
3. Enter required fields and other fields, as desired, to record the item.
4. Enter the Doc. Qty in the cell for the new item.
5. Select OK from the side menu to return to the SO, adding the new item to it.

Note: Where Did my Records Go???
When you sort by a column heading, only the records that have an entry in that column will be displayed.
This can make it appear that many of your records have disappeared, when in fact they are simply not being displayed. To display all fields again, sort by a column heading, such as Item #, that has an entry for all records.

Video Surveillance Systems protect you from theft!

Retailers are challenged by theft and store liability. Customer and employee theft as well as worker's compensation claims eat into a retailer's profits. RemoteManager.IP integrates Retail Pro® point-of-sale with video surveillance systems to provide an efficient and effective means of managing these challenges.
With RemoteManager.IP, you can:
· Monitor employee performance from the store or remotely
· View customer transactions
· Investigate security and liability issues
RemoteManager.IP allows you to store and retrieve information easily and is scalable. Retailers can view synced video and sales information on one screen. This helps retailers determine if items were rung up/scanned correctly. RemoteManager.IP also allows the retailer to store an unlimited number of transactions.
Call our sales department for more info on Remote Manager IP
800-305-0461 or e-mail marketing@armsys.com.

Visual Merchandising Part II

Add new life to your displays by knowing how people browse and shop

By Rich Kizer & Georganne Bender

Ready for Part II of your Visual Merchandising education? (If you missed Part I, see last month's issue).  Consider the following about store displays and more.

There are two ways to merchandise product placed on shelves - horizontally and vertically. A vertical presentation is almost always your best bet. For the sake of demonstration, let's say that you have a two and one - half foot section of gondola with four shelves, and you have four different products to display in this space. If you choose a horizontal presentation, placing just one product per shelf, then you severely limit the amount of items a customer is likely to see as she scans a shelf. If she only glances at the second shelf, she will only see that particular product.

Any time you display product vertically, you expose the customer to a greater variety of the assortment at any eye level. And since we are naturally inclined to read from left to right, Vertical Merchandising encourages purchases because customers will see your entire selection of merchandise wherever they look.

Click here to view full article.

The Retail Spotlight

"Business Savvy" - that's what Jason Stafford is all about. Jason is the proud owner of Babyland LLC in Savoy, IL. Jason found his passion for retail while in college. He began working as a student at "Best Buy" and was promoted 3 times in 3 months. Jason was soon sent to California with "Best Buy" to open and manage a new "Best Buy" store. It did not take long for Illinois to call him home. Jason and his college sweetheart, now his wife moved back to Illinois where Jason began working in a smaller retail establishment to learn that end of the industry.

Success followed and Jason found himself on the road to running his own retail establishment. He took on the task of opening a new store while becoming a father all within a one-month time frame. When it was time to open Babyland LLC, Jason's research brought him Retail Pro. He had already been considering it while he was managing another retail establishment, which has since purchased Retail Pro. When asked which features Jason likes the most about Retail Pro, Jason replied emphatically "ALL the features". He especially likes the ability to expand the users in the system. He also likes the way you navigate through Retail Pro. The Retail Pro screen is so easy to understand. Anyone working Retail Pro does not get lost in a maze and lose time. It's so easy to learn, work and use in a fast paced environment! "The practice module is great," says Jason, "and is totally invaluable." Jason will tell you Retail Pro is by far the best system on the market for retailers today! Jason is in the process of linking his retail location with his website click here using Retail Pro's ECI Merchandiser. The ECI Merchandiser Software adds a web store to your Retail Pro system. It provides complete integration with Retail Pro, allowing catalog management from a single source, customer integration across channels and automatic generation of Retail Pro Sales Orders when shoppers make purchases from the web store. This new venture will certainly bring added success for Jason and Babyland LLC.
 

Meet our Staff

Stacey Ryan - Inside Sales Consultant

Stacey Ryan has been with Advanced Retail Management Systems since 1998. Stacey enjoys working with her Retail Pro customers helping them with upgrades, system sales, tag orders, Memberships renewals and support contracts renewals. Although Stacey has a degree in psychology and also has a paralegal certificate, she has developed a rewarding career at Advanced Retail Management Systems as an Inside Sales representative.

Stacey is a proud new mother, with a little baby boy "Jack" now seven and a half months old. In her free time, Stacey enjoys indoor gardening, long drives in the mountains, hiking and reading. As you can see, Stacey has a very busy life, between her career and her responsibilities of being a new mother.
 

Referral Program

Receive $500 credit on account or 4 Client Service hours every time you refer a new customer that purchases Retail Pro.
Retail Pro has grown to be the premier Inventory Control / POS software for small to mid-tier retailers. Whether you know a single store or a 100 store chain, Retail Pro provides the technology for retailers to excel.
Call your sales person today at 800-305-0461 or click here to complete the form on our web site to refer another retailer and start earning valuable rewards!