Black Hop Burns is…? Well, actually, it's a beer, hot chile sauce and vinyl record store…obviously. In Dulwich - London, England. It's owned and run by a couple of kiwis and it is booming. The London Evening Standard just rated it a one of the city's great shops. Not bad for a fledgling business that seems to defy any kind of convention. Really, if a management consultant had prognosticated on Jen & Glenn's business plan they might well have advised 'concentrate on one of the three legs of their business stool, or maybe drop the hot sauce because that's just…weird…what's your core business?' I know, I nodded off writing it too. Beware of management consultants. Go with your gut.

But this post is about point of sale systems. One of the things I notice in dealing with small business owners, specifically shop owners - it's that they are run off their feet with the sheer number of things they have to take care of. From stock management to marketing, sharing their wares and experience with customers to make them insanely happy and even cleaning the place every day. Then there's dealing with suppliers and doing the accounts. You can't just concentrate on the fun, sexy things. Growing takes time and massive amounts of energy. Note I didn't say massive amounts of money?

Most small stores rely on cash flow, rather than investment from 'angels' or venture capitalists. It's the life blood of your business. A healthy business has good cash flow that is the product of getting the parts of the business iceberg below the waterline right - product selection, pricing, promotion, staffing, merchandising sorted so that when the doors open every morning new customers and returning fans are presented with an experience they love and products that satisfy their needs and wants. They show their pleasure and gratitude by exchanging their hard-earned cash for your goods and services and you process the transaction through your till…

Wait…your till? Remember Arkwright, the corner shopkeeper who's till had a mind of its own?  Times have changed. Cash has given way to EFTPOS, debit cards and credit cards. The idea of a transaction has changed and with it how transactions are handled in store. One of the most important decisions you can make that will positively effect most other parts of your retail business is the choice of point of sale management systems you choose. Stock management and ordering, building your customer database and integrating with your accounts will all be made so much easier if you commit to a system early on. The best time to decide is when you are planning to open your store - but any time after that is fine too. 

You have plenty of things to do and the more streamlined your business is the more time you will have to spend attending to the needs of your customers. And let's be honest, if you are anything like the people I work with, the more time you will have to enjoy life outside of trading hours. 

The video about Hop, Burns & Black was produced by Vend, a New Zealand based point of sale system that is growing very quickly with  small and growing retailers around the world. I recommend you have a word to them. Their site has a number of case studies of retailers in a wide range of categories you might find useful.