20Mar

Shireburn’s Point of Sale Software used at more than 1000 locations around Malta and Gozo

Simplify your business

Shireburn Point of Sale is a leading point-of-sale software solution for both retail and catering environments, within small to medium-sized businesses as well as larger multi-national franchises. SPOS speeds up the sales process at the till with a fully configurable and easy-to-use display, whilst providing the structure and controls necessary for a robust inventory system. We can get you started in no time at all.
Get in touch with us to find out how.

Is Shireburn POS for you?

Over 1,000 retailers have entrusted us with the final and most crucial stage of their proceedings. But we’ll leave it up to you to decide.

Highly configurable software that can be customised according to my specific business needs
Increased speed at the till – with optimised user experience, support for layaways, optimal cash management and an intuitive user interface
Better inventory control for distributed or centralised operations
Time and attendance recording of staff working hours
Employee audit and control
Uninterrupted operations working both online and offline
Integration with other Shireburn Software solutions including Shireburn Financial Manager (SFM), Shireburn Indigo, and business intelligence platforms.

Speak with our team today to request more information and get a quote. Start benefiting today!

15Nov

Shireburn Software chosen for PAMA Shopping Village

Luke Zarb DemajoNews

Shireburn’s leading shopping mall management software solution, CA+, has been chosen to manage the PAMA Shopping Village, connecting all the retail and food & beverage outlets to the company’s Concessionaire Analyzer+ (CA) mall software.

By using CA+, PAMA management will be able to automatically collect detailed sales data from all point-of-sales into one single multi-user portal and provide insight through the Business Intelligence module that will enable them to optimise the performance of all the outlets in the mall. These will include sales data from the supermarket itself, their shop-in-shops, outdoor outlets as well as those within the new shopping mall, the majority of which work on a rent and/or revenue share based fee.

Mall Software CA+ BI Dashboards — CA+ Business Intelligence Dashboards

The CA+ mall software will also be used to provide business intelligence for both the PAVI and PAMA supermarkets including all the shop-in-shops resulting in the management of 90 outlets.

The large majority of retailers at the PAMA Shopping Village already use Shireburn’s Point of Sale solution and will automatically interface with CA+ and pass on sales data in real time. Retailers using other POS solutions have the capability to interface with CA+ through a number of different methods in order to pass on their data.

CA+ is designed to automate many of the processes that are required to manage large shopping malls, airports and franchises with multiple outlets, aiming to reduce manual intervention, eliminate the use of spreadsheets, and enable a more efficient method of operating while providing greater insight.

With built-in contract management, revenue share calculation and billing, management teams are able to assess sales and revenues far quicker than ever before, and issue billing to outlets accordingly. Sales data will be collected in real time, allowing in depth Business Intelligence (BI) analysis through an intuitive portal.

CA+ will improve the management of all processes and help to improve insight, enabling it to further boost the performance of the concessions within both PAVI and PAMA complexes.

The project covers two of the largest supermarkets on the island, and many of the top franchises and local stores available in both Malta and Gozo.

The CA+ solution has been a great success internationally, with separate editions for airports and shopping malls, both of which operate in very similar ways in terms of the retail and food and beverage outlets. Shireburn is the leading supplier of software in Malta to the retail sector.

PAMA Shopping Village celebrates its first anniversary this month, and this coincides with the opening of the new Shopping Mall. PAVI Shopping Complex also celebrates its 10^th anniversary this year.

About Shireburn Software

Shireburn Software is a software products company, specialising in the development of business software solutions and their support, both locally and overseas. Solutions include accounting, payroll and HR, inventory and retail, eCommerce and document management amongst others. Shireburn also specialise in airport and mall software. www.shireburn.com

11Apr

Improvements at the Point of Sale

Luke Zarb DemajoBlog, Product Blog

Today’s retail environment is more challenging than ever, with tighter competition, both locally as well as internationally through online shopping, alongside customer expectations that are greater than ever.

Retailers need to focus on enhancing customer experience to attract and retain customers and improving efficiencies, most of which culminate at the point-of-sale.

In our 30+ years helping retail business owners, small and large, as well as franchises, we’ve come to learn a thing or two about running a successful point-of-sale.

Be practical. Timing at the point of sale is crucial, and any system you deploy, whether manual or electronic, should be able to be carried out within the least amount of steps, by staff that require minimal training to do so.
Training. Ensure new staff are provided with adequate training to be able to run the POS prior to attending to customers. Rushed clients don’t want to have to deal with new POS staff who are trying to manoeuvre their way around the system.
Information. In today’s knowledge based society, information is critical and you need it most at the point of sale. Customer information should be available at the click of a button including fancy stuff such as birthdays, anniversaries and other information that may be significant to your business for marketing purposes. In multi-store environments, it shouldn’t matter which store the customer goes to – all the information should be available at all stores.
Reporting. Ensure you are using a system that allows you to generate all the necessary reports required to run your business, such as end of day Z readings as well as sales statistics and more.
Inventory control. Mechanisms should be in place to ensure the POS terminals update your inventory with every sale or return. Provide the point of sale with real time inventory knowledge, so that your staff can answer to customer requests about real-time stock item availability, including those available in other shops, next orders, location of an item and more.
Loyalty. Deploy a loyalty system that is fast and easy to use, ideally integrated with your point-of-sale. It’s no use creating a loyalty system if you’re going to keep a customer waiting at the till for extra minutes in order to process their purchase. With one simple click or barcode scan, you should be able to identify the customer, view their history, record this purchase and provide the value added, whether in the form of a discount, free gift, or points accumulation amongst others.
eCommerce. Ensure your POS can be eCommerce integrated. Consider whether you already have or may want to extend to an online shop, so that you can ensure that whatever system you choose works for both, and stock inventories are maintained in real-time across all platforms.
Automation. Save time on those many little tasks that otherwise require manual input, like change calculations, foreign currency calculations, lay-aways of products for processing later, and more.
Software. Invest in a good point of sale solution. This is the backbone to your business as a retailer, and it should enable your staff to be efficient and flexible to customer requirements in order to maintain a positive customer shopping experience. You might need it to cater for refunds, returns, reservations, gift receipts and gift cards, and you may also require to work with different currencies and languages.
Support. If using a software solution, ensure the vendor has reputable support services. If your busiest days
are Saturdays and holidays like Boxing Day, you want to ensure that your vendor can be instantly reachable if something goes wrong. Most top vendors offer packages for support services, even after regular office hours. Failure to do this can be detrimental to your sales for that day.

At Shireburn we have over 30 years of experience in business software solutions, specialising in multi-channel solutions for retail, catering, distributors and more. The Shireburn POS is the leading solution deployed in Malta with clients who are single-traders, all the way to many of Malta’s largest retailers. You can count on Shireburn to guide you through a number of point-of-sale and inventory management options to suit your particular business requirements. Get in touch with us for a proposal and demonstration.

01Mar

Inventory Do’s and Don’ts

Luke Zarb DemajoBlog, Product Blog

Inventory management is the process through which you oversee the flow of products in and out of your organisation. Whether you’re in retail, distribution, wholesale or catering, inventory management is the backbone to your business, and if not managed properly, it can all too soon come crumbling down.

We’ve worked with countless local business owners and with more than 30 years’ experience, we’ve put together some basic inventory do’s and don’ts that can hopefully save you a lot of strife!

Do’s

Do establish lead times for each product to understand how long it takes to replenish your inventory once an order is placed.
Do monitor inventory levels. Having high levels of inventory adds to expenses and increases overhead costs. Limit seasonal inventory and cut back on inventory that does not sell as fast.
Do identify your best sellers, ensure stock is always available and determine a desirable reorder point. You never want these items to be out of stock! Focus on the items that matter most and keep in mind that generally 80% of demand will be generated by 20% of your items.
Do base your decisions on information, past trends and projections.
Do consider seasonality and month-end spikes.
Do set clear internal policies for adjustments and returns amongst other functions.
Do track your inventory in various locations from warehouse or stores to outlet. Use electronic data interchange (EDI) and bar code scanning to help with stock takes.
Do track work in progress materials. Track units as they move through different operational stages. Many businesses utilise some inventory to create other products so it is important for them to establish a system to track “work-in-progress” materials allowing them to adjust order amounts before inventory gets too low and slows production.
Do look into inventory management software that can help organise your business and make your life so much simpler. Make a list of your business requirements (E.g.: Reporting, redemption of gift vouchers, returns) and ensure that the system works for you. Support for tracking batches, serial numbers and expiry dates are all functions that are critical for certain sectors such as Food and Pharmaceuticals, so you definitely want to ensure your software solution will support these too.
Do invest in theft control. Without a good inventory system, it’s impossible to know if you’re being subject to theft by customers or employees until it’s too late.

Don’ts

Don’t guess. You’re jeopardising customer satisfaction by guessing when you may next have an item in stock, or if it is available at another store.
Don’t just give the job to anyone. Hire the right people to manage your inventory – it may cost you if you don’t. You’ll have thousands of euros tied up in stock and you should hire professionals with experience to do the job. Ensure that your software vendor conducts training for your employees in order for you to get the most out of your inventory solution.
Don’t over stock for fear of being caught short. Base your decisions on information and reports on past trends as well as some decent projections. Storage is expensive and products that sit on shelves are subject to damage, depreciation and obsolescence, and you may end up having to reduce its selling price to sell it.
Don’t depend on spreadsheets. You’re asking for trouble if you do. Spreadsheets can be very easily accidentally deleted, and files can be subject to data loss or corruption especially as the volume of data increases. It’s also not the most ideal platform for multiple users to be working on the same document at the same time. Be smarter with your inventory.
Don’t slack on your back up plan. You’ve got all your inventory consolidated into a fancy software system, but what happens if there’s a fire or theft at your office? Your back up plan can range from saving critical data to a removable USB drive (which you take with you out of the office), to storing back ups in the cloud or on an additional offsite server.

At Shireburn we have over 30 years of experience in business software solutions, specialising in multi-channel solutions for retail, catering, distributors and more. You can count on Shireburn to guide you through a number of inventory management options to suit your particular business requirements. Get in touch with us for a proposal and demonstration.

05Jun

The Retail Advantage

Luke Zarb DemajoBlog, Product Blog

The year was 1900. Two salesmen set off looking for opportunities to sell shoes in the far reaches of the world. After a few weeks that they’d been gone, the first salesman sends a telegram back; “Situation is hopeless! Nobody wears shoes here”. The second salesman, however, wrote quite a different message – “Glorious opportunity! They don’t yet have any shoes here”.

Making the most out of market opportunities requires the right perception – a product of both knowledge and creativity. Knowledge, in an ever-changing world, is one of the most valued assets sought by businesses in any market. It allows for measured risks and informed decisions – two of the most important ingredients in a successful business.

Cracking the Maze Code

Data has changed the face of how businesses operate in any given market. Acquiring and using data is the holy-grail for businesses where competition for the customer’s attention is stronger than ever. Having operational data gives businesses the competitive advantage needed to learn and adapt to the changing needs of the market, iterate and succeed.

Business software can allow a wealth of data to be gathered and processed, providing businesses with the automation and opportunities to expand in a digitized world. Through different software and hardware components, the entire process can be automated and optimized saving the business money and increasing market accessibility.

Much like a team’s effectiveness can be measured by their ability to communicate with each other without bureaucracy, software and data should be able to communicate with each other flawlessly in a way that only systems built to work with each other can.

Many systems are localised for the Maltese market as an after-thought, leading to expansion restrictions, bugs and compatibility issues.

A Local Solution built for the Local Market

In the retail sector, Shireburn Software has made great strides in both the local and international markets when it comes to offering a modular, end-to-end solution. From single-location stores, through chains and franchises, shopping malls and airports with hundreds of stores, Shireburn caters for every commercial setup at the right price point with all of the required options to expand operations when needed.

Shireburn’s POS is the front-end component of the retail solution, providing a configurable Point-of-Sale solution with an easy-to-use interface optimised for touch screens and bar coded products. It offers all of the functions required to run and promote your business including a built-in punch clock for recording staff attendance, promotional and discount schemes. It is also internet-ready allowing you to check stock levels for an item across multiple stores in real-time.

Complementing the POS solution, Shireburn also offers a stock management solution that has been designed from the ground up to work seamlessly with the rest of the Shireburn Business Suite. With sales, purchasing, distribution and inventory modules available as required, it offers complete control over the entire process whilst remaining cost-effective and modular enough to grow with your business. Since it is designed for the Maltese market it is also fully compatible with local laws including tax, shipping and other reporting requirements and is supported by our local team.

As your business expands online, Shireburn’s eStore provides real-time connection to Shireburn’s Inventory Management system ensuring you never miss a sale whilst developing your customer’s trust in your business as a dependable and trust-worthy choice. This greatly reduces your workload allowing you to focus on running your business.

Tying it all together is Shireburn Business Intelligence that runs ad-hoc and pre-set reports and graphical dashboards on real-time data giving you the insight and information required to make decisions right when it matters most.

Shireburn’s retail solution offers a true 360 degree, multi-channel solution ensuring that the entire process is catered for without hindering the data process flow or profit whilst supporting you in boosting your business’s performance.

As first published in Money Magazine May 2015 issue 30. Click here to view e-mag.

11Dec

Holiday Season in Retail

Luke Zarb DemajoBlog, Product Blog

The holiday season is a time for family, good food and showing your appreciation to loved ones and friends with gifts and cheer.

Online retail is fast becoming an important and essential source of revenue, generating high sales figures year over year.

Our team looked at the figures to see what opportunities are available to businesses looking at making the investment and joining the eCommerce world.