Physical store locations are great for a lot of reasons. You can interact with your customers face-to-face, have them browse the sales floor and see merchandise in person, answer questions and make recommendations.

According to Practical eCommerce, the eCommerce sector grew by 20 percent in the first quarter of 2013, topping out at an estimated $50 billion. Looking at the numbers, there’s no question that if you’re maintaining a physical location but don’t have a web store, you are missing out on sales—probably lots of them.

Once you decide that you’re ready to make the jump to cyberspace, you can maintain an “in-store” feel, by writing detailed descriptions for your products. Don’t rely on the descriptions that manufacturers supply, which may be too general and appear on dozens of sites. The more details you can give, the higher the likelihood that your customers will make the decision that’s best for them, reducing the chance of a return. High-resolution photos and multiple views are another good way to let your customers see as much as they want of the items.

pcAmerica’s new e-commerce interface, powered by NitroSell, is available in the latest version of Cash Register Express™.  The new solution gives you everything you need to establish a web store or enhance your current online operation.

Please contact your pcAmerica representative at 1-800-722-6374 for more information about how you can get started integrating e-commerce with your retail store.

pcAmerica recently announced a new integration with the LevelUp mobile payment and loyalty solution in its Restaurant Pro Express™ and Cash Register Express™ POS software.

“pcAmerica is all about giving our merchants the option to accept any payment type or loyalty program they need to build their businesses,” said David Gosman, CEO, pcAmerica. “Many of our customers were requesting the LevelUp integration because it makes transactions more seamless, so we were eager to make this happen. Merchants love how LevelUp helps them attract and retain consumers, and we’re open to doing whatever it takes to make the LevelUp experience even better for them.”

The new agreement gives more than 50,000 restaurants, liquor stores and convenience stores another way to accept mobile payments and market to their customers.

Once LevelUp is integrated into the POS, setting up and transacting with it is simple. Just like any other tender type, LevelUp transactions get logged alongside other credit card and cash transactions, making it easier to balance the register at closing.

LevelUp’s deep analytics from customer campaigns are also integrated into the merchant’s existing POS, making it easier to track customer purchase habits and loyalty over time.

As part of the integration, the pcAmerica POS software provides retailers with the option to supply LevelUp with detailed, interpretable SKU-level data, which opens the door for even more customized LevelUp campaigns in the future.

For more information about how you can start accepting LevelUp mobile payments at your business, please call 1-800-722-6374

In a June 18 article in Business Solutions Magazine, Jim Stewart of Advanced Data Systems talked with Editor Mike Monocello about how he converted his company to a recurring revenue model, which allowed him to bring it back from the edge and start turning a profit again.

pcAmerica became one of Stewart’s chosen partner vendors after he met David Gosman, the company’s CEO, and the two realized they shared similar visions for the future of the POS channel.

Stewart told BSM that “pcAmerica quickly became my retail software of choice.” He recognizes and appreciates the company’s dedication to innovation and its drive to enhance the software with new and improved functions and integrations.

pcAmerica’s helpful, 24/7 support staff will spend time on the phone with customers working though issues or log-in to the client’s computer so they can take a closer look at more challenging problems, said Stewart.

And even though ADS is a smaller VAR, Stewart appreciates pcAmerica’s hands-on approach. He has gone to the company several times with development ideas for smaller niches and instead of letting his ideas languish, the company’s developers and management team roll up their sleeves and work with Stewart to turn his ideas into “a money-making reality.”

For more information about how pcAmerica can put their team to work for you, please call 1-800-722-6374.

At first, mobile POS seemed like a good way to get lines to move faster. Since its humble beginnings as a line-busting technology, mobile POS has evolved into a broader solution that includes inventory tracking, price comparisons and of course, a place for customers to pay for their selections from right where they stand—no lines, no waiting, and no eye rolling when the person in front of you gets into an argument with the cashier over a price discrepancy.

A recent story in Mobile Commerce Daily noted that upscale retailers are jumping on the mobile POS bandwagon after seeing Nordstrom’s success with it. The article noted that 61 percent of companies with 500 employees or more already have some form of mobile POS in place or have plans to install one over the course of the next year.

One of the benefits of a mobile POS system is the ability to remove the traditional sales areas and counters. Although taking out all of your customer service counters can cause confusion for your customers, removing a few of them may actually be a benefit. Mobile Commerce Daily revealed that high-end retailers that remove just three of their cash wraps and replace them with mobile POS could see their revenue rise by more than $20,000, thanks to the additional floor space to showcase merchandise.

This strategy has already paid off for sports retailer Moosejaw, which has increased the amount of floor space for its product lines and processes more than 70 percent of their in-store transactions via mobile POS.

The wait is over! pcAmerica will debut its new tablet-based versions of Cash Register Express™ and Restaurant Pro Express™ at the RSPA’s RetailNOW show, which will be held August 4-7 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

For the first time ever, the new software will be available for demo at pcAmerica’s booth, number 704. The new tablet-based solutions include all of the functionalities that users expect from a robust, traditional POS system combined with newly enhanced features designed specifically for the tablet, such as finger-signing capability–no stylus necessary–and on-screen signature capture.

The 2013 show is an exciting one for pcAmerica. In addition to unveiling the company’s new tablet solutions, company CEO David Gosman is running for a vendor’s seat on the board of the RSPA. The election will take place on August 5 at the RSPA Annual Membership Meeting and all RSPA members are encouraged to vote.

Please stop by booth 704 on the show floor to check out the new software and say hello to your favorite pcAmerica employees.

RetailNOW is the premier convention and expo for all professionals in the retail technology industry. Every year the industry gathers at the show to become educated on new business trends, emerging technologies and best business practices. The diverse exhibit hall boasts more than 150 booths featuring the latest products in the retail technology industry, making the show a “must attend” for all levels of retail technology professionals.

JCPenney has had a tough year. When the retailer eliminated coupons and several popular brands, it caused an uproar from loyal customers who began spending their money elsewhere.

Then things went from bad to worse with the store’s new mobile payment rollout. What was originally began as a well-intentioned customer service upgrade quickly went downhill. The store got rid of all its register/checkout areas, leaving only associates armed with mobile devices to ring sales.

However, customers had a problem identifying the casually dressed associates and were hesitant to hand over their payments to people roaming the sales floor. Many purchases were abandoned in the store after people could not find a way to pay. After falling sales figures and complaints from customers, the company outfitted its employees with red lanyards and grey sashes for those with mobile POS for checkout. Some of the chain’s busiest stores will give their associates rolling carts to fold and bag items.

It’s important to consider all of the variables when considering a mobile POS solution. Do you have a way to easily identify your staff? Is there a place for them to fold, wrap and bag the items?

For more information about how you can implement a mobile POS in your store, please contact pcAmerica at 1-800-722-6374

The sale of age-restricted items is risky, but if done properly, it can mean serious sales numbers. One-third of all beer purchased in the US—or 2 billion gallons a year—is sold at convenience stores. According to CNN Money, the most profitable restaurant in the US, Tao Las Vegas, made 75% of its income from alcohol in 2011.

That’s a lot of money—and a lot of risk. It’s easy to forget to check an ID, or to eyeball a customer and assume they are of legal age. The penalties for selling these items to underage teens are steep, so owners should protect themselves with Honeywell’s age verification solution, Easy DL™, which is included in pcAmerica’s Cash Register Express™ and Restaurant Pro Express™ software.

For any business looking to sell alcohol or tobacco, Federal regulations stipulate that employees need to check IDs and verify the customer is of legal age before completing their purchase. Doing this job manually is not only time-consuming, but has a large margin for error.

Honeywell’s Easy DL application prompts cashiers to scan the shopper’s government issued-ID license with the system’s barcode scanner, validating their age before proceeding with the transaction.

Implementing Easy DL not only protects your business, it also helps reduce transaction times, eliminates the margin of error and ensures regulatory compliance. Lines will move faster using automated age verification–it takes the average cashier 45 seconds to manually enter license data, compared to the two seconds it takes to scan it. The average person also makes an average of one error for every 20 words typed, a risk factor that’s eliminated when you scan IDs instead.

For more information about implementing Easy DL, please call your pcAmerica sales representative at 1-800-722-6374

There’s been a lot of talk about mobile payments, and we’ve been hearing the names of the heavy hitters often—Google, PayPal, Square and LevelUp. Last year, in the US, Smartphone users spent nearly $500 million on goods and services. It’s a considerable amount of money, so you may be surprised to learn that Starbucks’s own mobile payment app is stomping all over the competition.

A story on Gigaom.com highlights Starbucks’ success and notes that part of it has to do with the app’s simplicity. There’s no guesswork involved, for example—what mobile payment platforms are accepted or how difficult it would be to actually pay with a phone.  The Starbucks app is easy–anyone with the Starbucks mobile payment app can go into a store and use the app to pay for their choice of food, beverage or merchandise.

The coffee purveyor reports that that it processes more than three million mobile transactions per week. And although other mobile payment providers are expected to pull ahead in the next few years, right now coffee lovers are happy to present their phone when it comes time to check out.

In a recent post on Forbes.com, Henry Helgeson, CEO and co-founder of Merchant Warehouse, talked about why businesses should care about mobile payments, despite the idea being slow to catch on.

Helgeson notes that people are happy to pay with cash and credit cards because it’s comfortable and familiar, but mobile payments can help enhance their shopping experience, even if customers aren’t taking out their phone when it comes time to pay….yet.

So, even if people aren’t interested in mobile payments right now, why should you care? Helgeson lays out the reasons:

Mobile technology allows businesses to inform customers of loyalty program awards “early and often, with a personal touch.” Mobile payment apps with data-collecting abilities will help you give customers more of what they want, rather than generic, broad-based rewards.

Location-enabled services in mobile payment apps ensure that customers receive promotion information when it will be most effective: while they are in the store, contemplating potential purchases. In addition, customers looking for certain products could use mobile payment apps to help them locate the stores in the nearby vicinity that carry that item. This is a huge timesaver for customers, who will surely appreciate that they didn’t need to call around to different stores to find what they were looking for.

Helgeson is correct in his reasoning. Even if people prefer to stick with the payment methods they already know and love—there are many ways mobile payment technology can help improve your business.

Experts are warning about a very busy hurricane season this year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is predicting 7 to 11 hurricanes and of those, three to six are projected to be major storms.

Hurricane season typically begins June 1 and concludes at the end of November but we’ve already seen our share of tornadoes, talk of rare derecho wind and flash flooding in metro areas across the US. Given the extreme forecast, it’s time to look around and make sure you’re prepared if the forecasters turn out to be right.

The pcAmerica staff has a few questions that will get you started:

Does your staff know what to do? Personnel who are prepared ahead of time can help safeguard their companies in the event of a catastrophic event. Hurricane Sandy shut down businesses along the East Coast, cutting off email and phone communications, along with the power. Don’t count on being able to communicate with staff during the storm—prepare everyone ahead of time so they can continue to work as normally as possible, even if your office is shut down.

Is your data safe? Backup computer records regularly and store important data in an offsite location. Compile a list of personnel with high-level security clearance, access to bank accounts, passwords, databases and systems in case of emergency.

What about your physical office? Office equipment is expensive; so take care to protect it in the event of a blackout, flood or other weather event. If needed, have plans in place about how and where you would relocate pricey electronics. In case of flooding, take items off the floor and turn off all equipment. Before plugging it back in, check for water in the outlets.