Arbitrary coherence is a marketing technique used by some retailers. What happens is when people are faced with a product line they don't know will often select an arbitrary price to determine its value. A typical example is in gifts who knows what the price is of a gift item?

Now imagine in the shop there are two similar items:

1) $15 item

2) $20 item

Now you add a third item

3) $50 item

Studies show that by having the $50 item on display, sales go up as people buy more $15 and $20 items because the cost seems reasonable compared to the $50. This is true even if no $50 item is sold.

Works well even if the product is not in the shop for example when doing special orders. Start with the $50, then quickly mention the cheaper ones. 

Check out the video below if you want to think more about it and its business use.

Recently on our company blog, I published an expanded guide on properly handling software license transfers when a business changes ownership. 

This initial article provided a high-level overview of why licenses don't automatically transfer to new owners - and how oversights can lead to issues. But many readers requested more details on smoothly navigating this process.

So in the new comprehensive version, I dig deeper into topics and added a FAQ with commonly asked questions: 

Whether you are selling your current business or acquiring a new one, I encourage you to read this updated guide. 

You can find the full article with all the details here:

Let me know if you have any other questions as doing this right from the start saves immense time and trouble later on.

What is often a revelation to our new clients is how much they can save time and money from our rostering system. Unlike many, it unifies rostering into a single platform, permitting you to see your shop’s retail performance as you have never seen it before. It allows you to ensure there are enough employees on-site. What it does is it comes with a forecasting tool that helps you to organise accurate schedules. This ensures you have skilled employees available and shows you when they need to be at work. As it is centralised, it is easy to see who is working at any given time.

One report that I recommend you study while creating a roster is the traffic analysis report by the hour of your shop, which you will find above.

You can find it here.

Put in dates from a previous period that you feel will give you typical results for the roster you are trying to create. Now, you will get a colour-coded analysis showing the activity in the shop divided into four groups with red for the busy period. This graphically shows you when you can expect to be busy.

Why wait? Give it a try now.

The reality of the current market for computer and POS equipment is that shortages are everywhere. We have inflation, and the Australian Dollar, over the past 12 months, is down to the US dollar. 

Bottom line, product availability is challenging, and prices look like they are going up. If you think of updating your computer system, now is a better time to buy than in six months.

Also, if you move now, you can claim a revised tax write-off, which opens up many options for businesses.

This allows businesses an immediate tax break, which can be quite cost-saving. It enables you to buy high-quality equipment that will benefit your bottom line for many years. 

You need to do it to move immediately. As even if the products are ordered and paid for but haven't arrived at your premises, you cannot claim the deduction.

For details on the EOFY sale, please click here.

Please, note I am not an accountant. The information in this article is not legal advice, nor is it intended to be used as a substitute for obtaining independent professional advice. That is what you pay them to do.

While anecdotally, they say that uncertainty around elections causes shoppers to curtail their spending. This is as, during times of uncertainty, we often hear that shoppers are deferring their spending. They are taking a wait-and-see approach. This is true for major items such as real estate and HiFi sets, but in the stuff like food, groceries, petrol, etc., they do not defer. Then once it is over, most of them are happy.,

There have been many studies that show this. I did a data-mining analysis going back to 1982 in Australia with a few of my clients' data and found little. Some minor effect on clothes sales caused by the high ticket items, but nothing else. If anyone wants to see my report, let me know.

The real problem of the elections is that from a business administration, it's a bother. People have to go and vote. This can take some time in some places.

One thing I did notice looking at the polling booths, the one where I usually vote is not open this year, and I have to go to another. So check here first your booth. Put in your desired location. You get a list like this

Then check your closest voting booth.

Many of my clients use financial advisors every year. So we have worked with a few financial planners on behalf of our clients. So the information they need is in your POS system for your shop.

Generally, the cost is between $1,500 and $3,500 a year; yet it can be more. For example, here. Look at the case study below and see the green arrow pointing to the first year fee.

​That is $13,660 initially and an ongoing fee per year of $8,000. That is a lot of money on a personal $400,000 investment fund.

There are several reasons why the cost is so high. Part of the reason is that it takes almost as much effort to do a plan of $400,000 as it takes to do one of $4,000,000. The items, decisions and complexity are similar, and all that changes is the amounts. This is a typical problem in accounting.

But the other reason is the time taken by the financial planner to put together the plan. You go to them and say you need this. They then request a heap of information. You then hunt for the information, put it together, and they then examine this information. They interrogate you for clarification, then, as sure as day follows night, they ask for more information, so you have to hunt around for some more documentation, supply it, and only then can they start. Most of the time is spent collecting the information, not doing the actual work.

The result is that you pay much more than you should.

I will give you a personal example of how the price can spiral. I paid $1,500 for a financial plan, which I did not want, but I had to get one for taxation reasons. Then, after paying that, I received another bill of $500 to pay the accountant fees used in the plan. Then, after paying the accountant fees, I found that there were two entities involved, so the other had to be done too. Then it was announced that this was a yearly fee. So a one-time fee went from $1,500 to $4,000 yearly, which was stated as a very cheap fee. I felt that there had to be a better way.

I knew that I could save a lot by being organised and doing much of the job myself.

So I looked at a few online tools. I generally found them of limited use, more for amusement than helpful.

Then I found one I liked "projection lab."

It a professional online tool. You enter in the information. Since its only me, only I have access to the information. Then I could then experiment with it and so model my financial future. I know what I put in will not precisely match real life. But it's better than a vague concept in my head. Plus I can ask it questions and decide what I like about the consequences.

It had enough functions for me but I suppose as I learn more, I will use more. for now its fine.

Best of all, my accountant told me that it should be acceptable for the ATO for my purposes. Of course, if I had to go to a financial planner, I would be better organised as most of the information would be on hand for them.

It is free, so give it a go. At least if it does not work for you, you will have a better idea of what you need.

Let me know how it goes for you.

​​Why not add accessibility to your Google Map Listing?

Doing a net search, I found over a million Australians use wheelchairs. About 1.5 million Australians use prams and strollers. Many people have trouble walking (I could not get estimates, but that includes people with walking sticks, etc.).

) Have you ever wondered why there are so many more people with prams and wheelchairs in shopping centres?

) Do you wonder why?

) Do you see why it is important to them?

Ballpark there are at least 3 million Australians now that have accessibility problems, over 15% of shoppers.

Many people now check accessibility in Google business listings when searching for businesses like yours.

Okay, there is a simple fix: tell them that you have wheelchair access in Google. Go to your Google My Business listing and update these options in Attributes.

​

Save and when these people search for you, they will see that you have accessibility for them.

If you want to know more, watch this video here.

Easter and Anzac Day often muck up settlement dates for EFTPOS. Tyro has released its expected settlement dates for customers who settle into an external bank account.

If you are not using Tyro, they are running a good special to introduce new people to them, let me know if you are interested.

Your Retail Protective Key Performance Indicators are the main indicators used to help you see what people on the registers are entering your system. They give you a detailed breakdown for each operator on no sale, voids, counts, totals, refunds, negative items, and discounts. One figure I suggest you look at in particular is the voids. 

These indicators should be used as part of your loss prevention plan for your shop's internal theft, which is today's most significant form of theft.

Let us start a check.

Go to cash register reports. (see orange arrow)

Now select Staff and click on "Sales security indicators" (see blue arrow)

Select the required period. 

These indicators should be regularly checked.

PS I have noticed that years ago, people used to say if caught that they are sorry, now they tend to say the boss is so stupid .....

A while ago, I pointed out that if you were looking to upgrade your POS system shortly the time to buy was now. This was because computers and POS equipment were going up in price. Well, those that listened to me, I am sure, are happy now.

Well we are living in a real-world, and these prices are still going up and with the shortages, we have now are unlikely to come down soon. You know with inflation, once the price goes up, it never comes down. Inflation defies the law of gravity, which says that what goes up must come down. 

Plus, as China showed a few days ago, COVID has not gone away. 37 million there in lockdown.

So we can expect that prices will continue to go up soon so we are hoping that the current hardware costs stay on hold for as long as possible!

So my advice is unchanged: if you are looking to upgrade your POS computer system soon, the time to buy is now.

These are five methods I have seen suppliers mislead you with pricelist.

Both big and small suppliers use these methods.

) Salesmen know that margin and mark-up are a source of confusion. I have seen even experienced retailers muck it up with many years of experience. That is why the salesman will use it. Here is a chart to help you convert from one to the other.

Understanding the two terms is essential to know if you're pricing your stock effectively.

Best solution: Always use margin, and you will not be confused. It will be one less thing to need to think about.

) Rate cards

Rather than quote a price, suppliers will present you with a rate card of their costs. They know that few will work through the items on the rate card. They then tell you how these rates are competitive. There are computer programs designed to shuffle costs to trick you to think that you are getting a good deal.

Best solution: Thank them for the rate card and request a quote of the cost. See what they say and try to get this figure in writing. In the worst case, you may have to work through the rate card.

) Average margins do not equal your margins.

Some suppliers will list an extended price list and tell you the average margin is this. Okay, but this may differ from your margin as you do not handle many of these items.

Best solution: Thank them for the price list and examine the items you handle. Your point of sale can give you the actual figure.

) Conditions change.

The retail world is now moving fast. Prices are going up, and sometimes they go down. What was a good deal yesterday may not be tomorrow.

Best solution: Because you have checked once does not mean you do not need to check again. You need to check it regularly.

) Extra responsibility

One of my clients started selling mushrooms. One day, they learnt that the mushroom industry has a big yearly sale in one month with a special price list and that they are expected to help out. If you think about it, it means that they are running on reduced margins one month a year. They sell a lot in that month, but they are working for the supplier in this product.

Best solution: Check what you are getting into first.

I hope this helps.

We are now seeing that the rising petrol costs are now causing higher delivery prices. 

Where it is going? A New Zealander tells me that the fuel price there can be $3.60, so we are doing well. In Queensland, we are now witnessing an added problem. The floods have mucked up the public transport system, so people have to drive more cars on the road, resulting in longer queues.

This increase in petrol costs is getting people to review their delivery charges. So we are getting many people ringing up to ask about changing their delivery fees in our software. It is not hard, but people use it so rarely that they have questions about how to do it.

Here are some points (tips) that may help:

) It is an excellent time to review their charges if you use couriers. Some have not updated their prices!

) If you do the delivery yourself, why not use the Google Map integration in your POS software to plan your route? It is free, so why not use it? What is helpful here is to see the effect of changing your delivery time on your trip.

) You can save some money by using a fuel check app. I like GasBuddy, I heard that petrolspy is good too. The NSW government has one too, but I know nothing about it at least it will not have ads.

You will find it handy to know the best prices when shopping for petrol in an area.

) Investigate Click and Collect. Many people are now using it for supermarket orders. For these people, it can be handy to collect your order at the same time.

The reality is that there are problems. Couriers are taking longer to save petrol. So use our POS software to send your customers' parcel delivery updates by email. Tell your customers where their parcel is and the expected delivery details. Most people appreciate it when you get them. You are providing them with a personal touch to your business. It keeps them in the loop, so they know what is happening. It also puts your name out to an engaged customer. Include a picture of your shop and logo with your details in the email. Also, set a link to your social media, e.g. Facebook page, and do some free marketing in the email.

In business never let an opportunity go to waste.

I'm sure you have seen a Google map like this one when looking for something.​

What it shows on the map are the nearby places for what you are searching for and the top three search choices. Looking at this map, I can see a business selling lotto that is not on this map. It costs them as many people use this to find the place they want to shop.

Why not check if you are on the list?

Now put in a few of your major products and see if you are listed?

If not, then it is costing you too.

What you need to do is

ADD YOUR BUSINESS TO GOOGLE MAPS!

It is free, so why not do it?

Here is the important point on google maps, *David can beat Goliath* as one of the main factors used by Google Maps is location. If you are closest, the odds are good; you will appear and appear first.

Here are some of my tips before your start.

) Give google what they ask, do not be a smartarse like trying to stuff into your name marketing keywords. If Google does not like you, they will put you on the bottom.

) Do not capitalise on your name! Use John Smith not JOHN SMITH

) Do not add trade names use your company name!

) Avoid special characters ^#%&*( unless they are part of your business name.

Now are some step-by-step instructions.

Let me know if you have a problem as I am happy to help; I have a Google Ads Search Certification.

Google Maps Is So Important For Your Business

Premium chocolates are a growing industry. Here is a summary report free from Jan 2022 from TechSci Research. They are claiming a growing market for the next few years of about 7.5%. This is plausible, as I have been saying for years. It's been growing at that rate for years, with no sign of slowing down.

So I was pleased that VANA started pushing premium chocolates into their retail shops. I have no idea how good the company they are pushing is, but it does have a 5-star rating online, and their entry-level order is reasonable. They look small which may be a plus as small producers will be something unique but a negative for marketing. Large brands may pay small margins but they do move product.

Since it is in the market space of our software, here are insights, I have seen from some of our clients that are marketing premium chocolates now.

Here is the first one. The biggest issue in this market is that premium chocolates are very seasonal, unlike the regular chocolate market. If you are not in it, you probably don't realise how seasonal-driven it is. The longest season is Christmas, which will give you about six weeks. Easter is also good, but that only gives you about two weeks. Easter can be a pain to plan for as it moves every year. That means most of the year it is a little more than breakeven. Though I will say that Valentine's Day was good but that is only one day.

To be successful here, you need to create some retail theatre. You'll want to change your window displays frequently and keep your range current.

It is not a "set up and forget" type of business, but then again, nothing is "set up and forget."

My first piece of advice would be to go around your local shopping area and check out what others are doing here.

One big plus of DTI format receipts is that I briefly discussed a few days ago is its ability to email receipts. This is part of its flexibility.

Email receipts have a phenomenal readership.

* Open rates are about 75%.

* People look at email receipts more, about 14.8 seconds, which is 185% higher than what they spend on an average email.

More figures are available here. I am sure if you look at them you will be impressed.

There are many other big pluses. About 70% of people will give you their email address to get a receipt. You have a great excuse to harvest email addresses.

If you are sending them out, it would be best to include: 

* Thank you note

It has to be brief. A one-liner, for example, say, "Thank you for your purchase and your support of local business," 

Social Media

Your address in Facebook for them to checkout with a note, "Check us out on Facebook." 

Promotional content

Consider adding about 30% extra for promotional content for your business. They have brought from you, why not see if they will buy more.

Follow up

What has proven successful is sending these people a follow-up a few days later with a thank you message with a promotion.

Try it.

It is all free; what is stopping you?

This is the best way of issuing receipts through your client's bank account using DTI. It is also cheaper as you do not have to print paper receipts.

This is what it looks like.

This receipt has your logo and the sales details of the transaction required by law.

It is now the most advanced receipt format (DTI) available to retailers!

One significant advantage is that, with DTI, your customers can see their receipt in their bank account. So a verified copy of the receipt is always available to them. This saves you time.

Some other advantages would be

* You do not have to print the receipt.

* Free SMS or email sending of receipts

Forgery and misuse.

It is much harder. For example, a person grabs a receipt from a rubbish bin and tried to claim it in your shop. They now need to show how come this receipt is not from their account. If they want to argue well you have a verified copy of the receipt from a bank-approved secured server stating who purchased it.  

Let us know if you want to try DTI, free?

Talking to one of my clients, we discussed how people get burned by giving credit to a terrible risk. So it brought up whether there is any way of getting someone's credit score to determine risk.

A credit score is what credit bureaus calculate based on your credit history information. This gives them a feel of how likely the people are to be reasonable risks. One problem is that these scores frequently change over time.

One general rule often stated by credit officers that is misleading is that, on average, women have higher credit scores than men. That is true, but the difference is minimal. In practice, there is no difference.

Without a paid account with a credit bureau, I have no idea how to get this score. As a person who had such an account, I doubt you would find it helpful if you did have it. It's a lot of trouble to use, the number of bad debts is fortunately small, and the costs are more than the value unless you are big. Plus, there are three major credit bureaus in Australia. I have no idea which one is the best, but I know that all the big four banks in Australia tend to check credit reports from all of them. So to do it properly, you need three accounts.

Yet, here is a tip, I can tell you how to get your score for free.

If you go to Equifax, you can download a copy of your credit history once per year for free.

Many people choose to pay for a regular report or alert service but if you want regular reports on your credit score for free, I recommend these people.

* GetCreditScore which uses Equifax data.

* CreditSavvy uses experian data.

* CreditSimple uses illion data.

You will need your Medicare card and a car license or passport to open an account.

The best thing to do is to try all three and see which one works best for you. Some of these will email you regularly with your score if you request it.

See how you go.

It is a bustling day. People are busy, so they change from one cash draw to another. While this is great for keeping clients moving quickly in the queue, it can make it hard to track errors if they occur, as many people could have done it. One client told me that he got rid of two casuals. Something was always wrong with the till, but he could not figure out which one was responsible, so he got rid of both. Then he raised his hand in frustration at what he had done. The other issue is that people care less if they know that tracking is off. After spending my life in retail, having people with cash and limited tracking is asking for problems.

If you must have several people on one till then, I suggest you use frequent X-Offs. This also proves that you are actively monitoring. It is best to be prepared by having your extra cash draw ready to go. Now, if you will have extra cash draws, why not consider using the facility in our point of sale software which allows one computer to run multiple cash draws. Using this at no extra cost, you can give everyone their own cash draw. 

If something goes wrong, at least you know who is responsible.

It is easy to determine your peak hours. It is useful for rostering. But we can do better than that.

The problem is that different departments have different manning problems. Plus their peaks are all different and these peaks often change depending on the time of the year. So what will do here is get their peaks for the relevant period you need.

It takes 10 seconds to get.

Go to cash register reports> Sales - Register> Dissection Sales by Hour

Now put in an appropriate period last year for the period you are trying to get an estimate now. Out will come a report with your shop's sales by analysis of the department sales by time.

It will be worth it to know if you would like to take more control over your employee scheduling 

When I talk to people in a large organisation, they almost immediately discuss their customer. For example, they might tell you is that our customer is " a woman with a few kids, who works and..." Then everything they do is directed at that ideal person. They do this as this works.

This person, called a "buyer persona," is a fictional person. Yet determining this is the first step of a marketing plan that can yield significant returns.

Now, who is your customer?

Most people have to think about it. When many of my smaller customers study their customer, it turns out that they are wrong.

It is easy to get this customer demographic.

Let us start simple. Take a sheet of paper and mark it like this.

Then mark people at the counter after each transaction with the approximate category. If you are not sure, pick the most likely. The overall scheme does not matter that much if a few errors occur.

You will have your answer in a few days, although I recommend using a week.

If, for example, you want to take it further, women with kids and males' unemployed, retired, level of income, etc., are commonly measured.

Once you have your customer, give this fictional person an appropriate name that describes them. For example say, Karen, who works in her early 30s with a couple of kids.

Whenever you think of making changes to your shop, buy stock, etc. Pause, chew and consider what your Karen will think of that. How will she react? Targeting her will help you get more business as she represents most of your business.

Try it.

For the little work required you can make your marketing more effective.