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Three Ways to Streamline
Shipping for the
Holiday
Rush
The
holiday selling period is paramount for many
small business owners, and shipping product
quickly, economically and accurately can mean
the difference between a successful and a ho-hum
fiscal year. For many companies, it's about
streamlining processes to better meet increased
demand from the seasonal rush.
"The
consequence of inefficient shipping can be a
disaster," says Stephen Antisdel, manager of
Precept Partners, LLC, a Buchanan, Mich.-based
web development and strategic
consulting firm. "When a company fails to
fulfill orders in a timely way, it's a customer
service and PR nightmare."
To
avoid those hassles, Antisdel recommends doing
research on shipping vendors far in advance of
the holiday rush as possible. "You won't get the
time and attention you need from the vendor reps
while everyone is in the heat of the battle," he
warns.
Consider
not only rates and discounts, but also compare
packaging requirements:
Will they pick up? If so, how often? Will they
leave a container on site for your staff to
fill, which saves space in your shipping area?
What is their service like from your customers'
perspective?
Continue
Reading: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/220330
Source:
Entrepreneur
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Go Mobile
with CounterPoint
SQL
2B
Mobile Inventory Management for CounterPoint
includes:
- Item Manager: Quick and
easy access to item information - even check
quantities at other locations! View items
details such as current stock quantity, price,
margin, SKU, description, department, category,
bin and last sale date. Item edit and real-time
lookup included.
- Physical Inventory: Scan
the barcode of inventory items to record actual
store quantities. Quickly transfer scanned
information from 2B-Inventory to Counterpoint to
calculate differences in orded and actual
inventory.
- Receiving / Transfer In:
Scan items (or manually enter item code for
items with no barcode) and enter quantities
received (including serialized inventory).
Multiple options for receiving inventory
include: auto-PO reconciliation, choose a PO or
choose a supplier.
- Transfers: Simplify the
task of issuing and requesting transfers in
multi-location environments. Simply chose a to
and from location and add items by scanning a
barcode, entering an item number manually, or
searching for an item. Create quick transfers
and transfer requests.
- Mobile Tickets / Orders:
Enter customer, items, and quantities. Use the
one click transfer to update your point of sale
database with the customer and ticket
information. Recall ticket or order from the
point of sale to complete the transaction. If
customer is selected, price rules will
automatically apply!
Purchase Requests:
create a purchase request based on the supplier
you chose or let 2B-Inventory create the
purchase request(s) based on the items primary
vendor. Chose your preference and begin scanning
items...2B-Inventory will do the
rest!
Sign
up today for one of our upcoming webinars listed
below and find out how 2B-Inventory can save you
time, increase accuracy and give you the
competitive edge!
All
times are US/Mountain
Product Date
Time Sign-up
2B
Mobile Inventory
10/26/11 11:00
AM-12:00
PM
Register
2B
Mobile
Inventory 10/27/11 11:00
AM - 12:00
PM Register
For
questions, or if you want to register by phone,
Contact Susie Carmen at
(800) 305-0461 Ext. 357 or
e-mail her at Susie.Carmen@armsys.com
Microsoft Certified Mobile
Solution AT&T
network
devCentral
certified solution
 |
Adding Customers
on the fly
CounterPoint SQL now
includes a simplified form for adding customer
records " on the fly." You can configure
CounterPoint SQL to display this simple form
whenever you add a customer record from a LookUp
or after entering a Customer # that is not on
file. The simplified Customer add-on-the-fly
form includes fewer fields than the standard
Customers form, which reduces the amount of
information that is requested and streamlines
the process of adding new customers on the
fly.
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Why
You Don't Want to Be the Low-Cost
Leader
 When you select a pricing
strategy--that is, decide how you wish to price
your products or services--what is your goal?
The first answer that comes to mind may be to
maximize profits, but that isn't a good enough
answer.
Think
about it this way: When your
company develops new products or invests in
a new marketing campaign, what's the goal? To
maximize profits. But that doesn't tell you what
types of products to develop or which customers
to target or what message to deliver.
Both
Ikea and Mercedes want to maximize profits--and
they use very different pricing strategies to do
so--but we don't think of Ikea and Mercedes in
terms of their pricing strategies. We think of
them in terms of their products and positioning.
Ikea is a fun, designer, starter furniture
store; Mercedes is a luxury automobile
manufacturer.
Both
companies set their pricing strategies to be
consistent with their overall goals and the
vision of who they are. Price follows their
corporate strategy--not the other way
around.
What
is your overall strategy? It's the general
description of how you compete in the market. It
is your sustainable competitive advantage. Your
strategy should be based on how your product or
service differs from your competition, from
product features or location to marketing or the
breadth or focus of your offering. It can be
many things, but it shouldn't be
price.
Source:
Entrepreneur
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Purchase Equipment and
Software Now with
2011 Tax
Benefits!
You
can purchase additional equipment and software
now for your Point of Sale system to help you
run your business while taking advantage of
Section 179 tax benefits.
What
is Section 179?
Tax
benefits, including the Section 179 provisions
that aided businesses in 2008, 2009, and 2010
were extended into 2011. Under Internal Revenue
Code Section 179, businesses are allowed to
expense up to $500,000 on most equipment and
software placed in services during the 2011 tax
year. If your business entity is a sole
proprietorship, S Corp or LLC, this depreciation
deduction is filed on your personal return, form
4562. Contact your tax advisor for further
details.
 How is this year
different?
In
2011, if your deduction creates an operating
loss, you may be able to carry back the loss
for two prior years to generate a
REFUND. This is a BIG change from Section 179
depreciation in prior years when you could only
offset the deduction against current year's
income and carry forward any loss. Up to
$500,000 depreciation deduction may be taken for
equipment placed in service in 2011
compared to $250,000 in 2010.
Example
of Purchasing $10,000 of Equipment
If
you purchase additional equipment
and software during
the tax year 2011, you can write off the entire
amount of the purchase as long as you have not
already exceeded the $500,000 limit of total
equipment. Assuming your business is in the 35%
tax bracket, you will generate $3,500.00 in tax
savings ($10,000 x 35%). In other words, your
investment will be $6,500.00.
Leasing
is Available with Affordable Monthly Payments
Leasing
is a great way to acquire the equipment
and software you
need today to run your business without tying up
capitol and you can still take advantage of
Section 179 for the tax write off. A typical
monthly lease payment for equipment
and software that
costs $10,000 based
on 60 months, 2 payments up front, would be
$225.40. Considering your potential tax savings
the first year (not including interest
deduction) of $3,500.00, compared to your first
year of lease payments of $2,704.80,
you will have a positive cash flow of $795.00
after 12 payments.
Contact
Us Today
To
learn more, contact our Inside Sales Team today
at (800) 305-0461 and ask for
Stacey, Andrea, or Rob or E-mail us at
insidesales@armsys.com
Please
consult your tax advisor to be certain how
Section 179 will apply to your
business.
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Every Good Retailer Can
Become Better With
RMSA
For over ten years
Advanced Retail Management Systems has been
partnering with RMSA to provide its customers
with a merchandising solution for planning,
buying, inventory strategies, markdowns, and
open-to-buy. RMSA has provided independent
retailers with sales forecasting and inventory
planning solutions for over half a century. RMSA
combines a comprehensive technology platform
with a dedicated team of experienced retail
professionals that help retailers consistently
achieve profits above industry norms.
Retailers today must
generate more sales revenue and be able to sell
inventory more quickly than ever before.
On a monthly basis, the data you are already
gathering from Retail Pro or Counterpoint SQL is
uploaded to RMSA electronically. This
information updates and trends your merchandise
plan by classification and store and is quickly
returned to you. Each client is assigned a
personal consultant who will review the plan
with you and your team and make strategic
suggestions.
There is no equipment to
buy, no long term commitments to sign, and it
costs nothing to find out if the RMSA solution
could benefit your retail operation.
To
receive a no cost Financial Performance Review,
which will help you determine your store's true
upside profit potential, contact Ritchie
Sayner today at armsys@rmsa.com.
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Advanced Retail Management
Systems
Referral
Rewards
$100 for You and
$100 for the Retailer You
Refer!
 Here's how it
works:
1.
Let
us know the name and contact information for
another retail company that is looking for a POS
system and receive a $100 Visa Gift card that
can be used anywhere Visa debit cards are
accepted.
2. Once the referred retailer
participates in a 1 hour web presentation for
CounterPoint, Retail Pro or Microsoft RMS they
will also receive a $100 Visa Gift
Card.
Contact us today with your
referral. Call Susie Carmen
at (800) 305-0461 Ext 357 or e-mail her
at susie.carmen@armsys.com. Visit our website
to register your referral at www.armsys.com
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Follow Advanced
Retail Management Systems
on
Facebook
 Keep up with latest
happenings in Retail and your particular
POS\Inventory Control software by becoming a fan
of Advanced Retail Management Systems (ARMS) on
Facebook! Video
Clips from the ARMS staff with Tech Tips and
other helpful information coming soon!
By being a fan of ARMS, you will receive
information about your software including
special "web only" tips & tricks that won't
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learn about new release and features, training
opportunities, and links to interesting
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