Like a lot of POS Software Companies, we built a bunch of reports that were good, but it was hard to tie all the reports together. The ProphetLine POS/Retail Management Company spent much time and money using some of the best retail minds to give retailers reports that make sense. Our primary consultant was Alan Fisher of My Retail Guru and he helped us tie all the reports together in a concise summary of easy to understand data to make positive decisions from, not just a list with hard to understand information. All of the Point of Sale information is aggregated into the comprehensive Retail Stock Ledger. ProphetLine then takes this information and builds quick view reports that allow you to identify problems in your inventory and the necessary actions needed to correct the problem. Click the Retail Stock Ledger link to get a better understanding of what goes on and why. You can drill as deep as you want into the Retail Stock Ledger or build Open To Buy Plans with confidence your numbers are correct. Now more than ever, the numbers you rely on have to be quick and accurate.

We run virtual machines to test our POS Software on different OS platforms. After some recent Windows updates on my Vista SP1 system, some of my Virtual Machines started giving an error upon starting stating ‘Virtual PC Could Not Open the Virtual Machine Network Services’.

I found several solutions online, but none worked in my case. What worked in my case was to do the following…

1. Open the Settings for the VM with the error
2. Select the ‘Networking’ entry
3. Change all the adapters (I only had 1) to ‘Not Connected’ (make note of the assigned entry)
4. Change the adapter(s) back to their original entries
5. Select OK to close the settings window
6. Start the VM

If this did not resolve the issue for you, try the following…

1) Reinstall Virtual PC – check to see if issue is resolved.

2) Disable/Remove and Enable/Add ‘Virtual Machine Network Services…

1. Right Click on ‘My Network Places’ in the Start Menu and select Properties or Open
2. Right Click on your network connection and select Properties
3. Uncheck the entry for ‘Virtual Machine Network Services’ and select OK
4. Right Click on your network connection and select Properties
5. check the entry for ‘Virtual Machine Network Services’ and select OK

Note if ‘Virtual Machine Network Services’ is no longer listed, you will need to ‘install’ it by Selecting Install – > Services -> Virtual Machine Network Services

Customers expect to see the companies they do business with have a web site. Maybe they don’t buy through it, but they look for products on your site and find out about you on other sites. It is the least expensive and quickest way to expand your business. ProphetLine Web’s unique capabilities make it perfect for ‘click-and-brick’ retailers and users of ProphetLine POS Software. ProphetLine integrates seamlessly with your web site and is controlled from the (POS) point of sale software. Adding items to display and sell on the web is as simple as checking a box within ProphetLine for Windows. The system will then transmit the images to the web site. Web orders are downloaded automatically into your ProphetLine POS Software for fulfillment. Customers are shared, so you always know who they are and what they are buying. Quite simply, this is the easiest and most comprehensive way to get your business on the web!

A well run web store probably will not instantly double your business, but can add an additional 10% to your sales in the first year. This figure represents a small portion of your overall sales and pouring in excessive dollars is senseless. Because you have a minimum investment with the ProphetLine Web Store, a smaller sales result can still mean big profits. Best of all, a web site markets your products 24/7 and can be leased inexpensively.

Tough times don’t last forever, but tough people do. If you’re going to be a tough retailer this year and survive the storm, you will need to return to basics and simplify your technology needs. Don’t limit the motivation and creativity of your employees with complicated and inefficient POS/Retail Management software that will not allow your business to grow. If the employee tasks become difficult and unmanageable because all the applications don’t work well together, the software implementation will fail. Empower employees with POS software technology that will make their work rewarding, easy to accomplish and watch your bottom line grow. An example of this would be, a good customer walks in and you go to the point of sale station and immediately have all that customer’s past purchases, preferences and buying habits in front of you. This will impress your customer and create a simplified one-on-one selling experience.

ProphetLine POS/Retail Management Software is a complete package that manages all crucial tasks seamlessly from front to back. The next time your employees complain the POS Software and store technology is too complicated, maybe they are right. We know that times are difficult, but with the right POS software you can manage your business more efficiently and weather the storm. We will even work with you on the pricing and payment methods.

With all the news about retailers going bankrupt and laying off employees, you need to present to your customers that you are strong and will be around for the long haul. No one wants to do business with a company that they perceive as weak, unstable or about to go out of business. Don’t let your company be perceived as a bad bet to do business with. Make sure you’re visible, demonstrate strength and let it be known that there will be a tomorrow for your customers. When your customers come into your store, be friendly and serious. They do not want to hear how great things are in your would, while their world is a struggle. To retain your customers and grow your customer base, make sure you view their needs as the top priority and work hard to show your value.

Spend more time working with your employees in learning more about the products you carry and how these products can fit the customer’s needs. Quit doing a sales speech and start listening to your customers and find a way to take care of their needs and meet or exceed their expectations. Do a sales analysis in your POS software and tailor your products more to your clientele and not what every other retailer is carrying. 2009 will get better with all of the stimulus being thrown at it, plus lower gas prices and mortgage rates will add another 500 billion to the economy. The reason we are in much of this mess is the constant barrage of gloom and doom which is dumped on us every day and creates such a negative attitude among consumers. Remember, all good things come to those that wait as long as they work like hell will they wait. From ProphetLine POS Software, we hope you find your niche in today’s marketplace and succeed in the 2009 economy.

We recently purchased a HP TX2500 Tablet PC (laptop) to use with our POS Software for demo’s, tradeshows, etc and prior to the laptop being 1 week old, the keyboard stopped working. The touch screen and the touch pad both worked, so we were able to ‘use’ the laptop and access the menus, but the keyboard function was not restored even after removing and re-installing the drivers.

To resolve the issue, do the following

1. Put the laptop in Tablet Mode by rotating the screen away from the keyboard
2. Reboot the computer
3. While the laptop is rebooting, turn the screen back around to ‘normal’ mode’

If a decision on purchasing POS Software hinges on your limited budget, but you know you have to upgrade your old pos software to maximize the efficiency of your retail business, maybe ProphetLine can help. Talk to us about your budget and we will try to tailor a program and payment plan that will work for you. Small retailers have a better option, because their purchase is usually made by current needs and not the quarterly stock valuation. This decision is dictated by the functionality of the software, responsiveness of the support staff, a personal relationship developed with the sales and project management staff and a fairly quick ROI.

ProphetLine POS Software/Retail Systems prides itself on a more one to one personal relationship that gives comfort to the retailer that someone really cares about their business. Your calls are usually answered in a short period of time and if not, you are put into the system for a quick return call. You have a choice, call and talk to someone you don’t know and have never talked to before, or call and talk to someone you have developed a relationship with. I think you’ll like the way you feel.

My Holiday wish for you is that 2009 gets much better that this piece of junk, called 2008. Being a retailer has never been more difficult, but there are certain things you can do to do minimize the damage. Cut your operating costs to only essentials and keep your inventory as low as possible on the non-basic items. Find out from your vendors the future availability of your fast selling inventory and try to keep a just in time inventory selection. If your POS Software can’t give you the information you need to make smart stocking decisions, get rid of it and buy new POS Software. We will even give you a trade-in on your old software and help you transfer your inventory and customers to your new ProphetLine POS Software system. A small retailer’s POS Software decision is dictated by the functionality of the software, responsiveness of the support staff and a personal relationship developed with the sales and project management staff.

ProphetLine POS Software/Retail Systems prides itself on a more one to one personal relationship that gives comfort to the retailer that someone really cares about their business. Your calls are usually answered in a short period of time and if not, you are put into the system for a quick return call. You have a choice, call and talk to someone you don’t know and have never talked to before, or call and talk to someone you have developed a relationship with. I think you’ll like the way you feel.

Whether it’s investing in new POS Software to make your business run more efficiently with less effort or reducing your overhead so you are a survivor and not road kill, you have to do what it takes to be around and relevant. This is not an easy time for small business people, but you have probably seen it before and you will probably see it again. You might have been in business in the 1970’s when the oil crisis, savings and loan disaster and 22% interest caused a 45% decline in the stock market or the late nineties when the dot com crash cause a 30% fall off and after 9/11 when we saw a 25% drop in the market value. The business people that went through this and adapted to the events usually came out stronger when the economy made the rebound that it always does. I will repeat, to be relevant, you need to be around.

Quit brooding and start doing the basic things that will keep you relevant. Do a once over on your store design, maintenance, layout of merchandise and employee training. All merchandise that has been in your store for any length of time needs to be put on sale for whatever you can get and that money reinvested in quick turning, high margin items that are totally different from what the big box retailers carry. If you have tried to be something to everyone, stop!! Do a departmental income statement in your POS Software and carry and enhance the high margin, quick turning inventory. Do a vendor performance check in your retail stock ledger and say adios to those that are bad money makers. Remember your slogan for next year, "To be relevant, you need to be around."

Brother, this isn’t brain surgery and you are not getting an inferior, stripped down, lesser priced product, you are getting award winning ProphetLine POS Software. Retailers, whose margins are under more pressure than ever, have experienced some tough cost cutting lately. While some closed their doors, others embraced new technology developments to turn their operations around. Not surprisingly, POS Software has become the focal point of the retail operation. This is where errors in retail transactions can be controlled, and it is where the customer’s last impression is made by checkout time, accuracy, and ease of transaction.

Also, today’s POS Software has become instrumental in gathering customer data to use in the four major marketing decisions that store managers must make: product, price, place, and promotion. These are the variables that can be worked with to attract and retain customers.