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[ 06/01/2008 ] Retail Experience Fuels POS Success

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Jim and Renee O’Neill are dedicated to treating their clients the way they would like to have been treated when they ran their own convenience store, and it’s paying off. The O’Neills, owners of JPOS Software Company in Biddeford, ME, are in a unique position to understand the challenges of their clients, many of whom are convenience store owners themselves. “We were in the business for 18 years, and we understand the challenges store owners face,” says Jim O’Neill, president. Now, the POS system that O’Neill originally developed for his own store is in scores of retail operations throughout New England and even in several locations as far away as California.

The O’Neills specialize in providing retailers and restaurateurs with POS systems based on their software, called the Partner, which includes virtually every application retailers need, including POS, back office, checking account, payroll, invoicing, inventory, and many more. JPOS Software combines the Partner with POS-X all-in-one touch screen POS stations to create a complete POS system that works for just about any type of retailer. “Our customers are typically in one of three situations,” says Renee O’Neill. “They are looking to invest in their first ‘computerized’ system; they have an aging system and want — or need — to upgrade; or they’ve had a bad experience with their current vendor or reseller and are looking for a new relationship.”

What’s Your Hardware Vendor’s Response Time?

JPOS selected the POS-X POS systems primarily because of the service the vendor provides. “All hardware breaks occasionally,” explains Jim O’Neill. “The real issue is how quickly the vendor deals with problems when they occur. Small retailers, especially convenience stores and restaurants, can’t afford to keep extra hardware on hand in case something breaks, but they can’t operate without their cash registers, either. Our previous vendor couldn’t get replacement systems sent out in a reasonable amount of time. POS-X, however, makes an effort to respond as promptly as possible. For example, one of our clients, a small coffee shop in California, had a POS unit break, and POS-X sent a replacement overnight.” O’Neill prefers to install the fanless XPC600 all-in-one TouchPC. The lack of fans or venting means the system won’t fail due to buildup of grease, lint, or dirt, which makes it particularly good for use in restaurants.

Is Your POS Solution Out Of Date?

Jim O’Neill developed the Partner when he was a store owner, initially using his own store as a testing ground for the solution. Over the years, he’s added functionality to address the evolving retail market, including credit card processing, gift cards, high-speed Internet, and more. “Hardware, equipment, operating systems, and retailers’ needs all change over time,” O’Neill says. “Our clients are constantly being educated, which leads to their asking for more functions and features. For instance, we had a number of requests to integrate our software with QuickBooks, so we recently added that capability.” The update enables retailers to send all daily sales figures and inventory orders to QuickBooks with the click of one button, and the program automatically syncs JPOS data with new or existing QuickBooks accounts.

“If at all possible, when there’s enough demand, we try to accommodate retailers’ requests,” continues O’Neill. “All of our software is developed in-house, so we are readily able to make changes and improvements incorporating a customer’s feedback and suggestions. In fact, there have been instances where we have modified the software right on the spot after discussing an idea with a store owner.”

Several of the company’s retail and restaurant installation clients have hired the O’Neills to provide general retail consulting. These projects have, in turn, led to additional sales for JPOS Software. For example, Jim O’Neill noticed a restaurant client had an employee dedicated to answering the phone during the lunch rush, just to answer customers’ questions about the daily special and to record take-out food orders. This inspired O’Neill to develop a Web-based food ordering system, called WebOrder, for use by take-out food restaurants. The online orders are integrated directly into the restaurant POS system, eliminating the need to ring up the orders when the customer picks up the food. “Our goal is to help our clients stop having to do the menial work, so they can spend more time with their customers, on the tasks they are best at,” says O’Neill.