Software for the Independently Minded Retailer! 22 Reasons why 4POS is the Best POS System for YOUR Liquor Store!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores I own a Liquor Store & for many years have been using a cash register. I am looking at options to have better control in my business. Please let me explain;

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 1 : Our products come in different sizes e.g.. I sell Castle Cans in Singles, 6-packs, Dozens & Cases & I do not know how to track it as one item with regards to stock & pricing. Dr. 4POS : 4POS has the ability to set up a item with "shrinks". Shrinks can be any combination of pack sizes eg. 1x6x12x24 (Beer) or 1x10 (Cigarettes) or 1x12 (Bottles of Spirits) etc. This means that you have 1 product, but multiple prices & barcodes per shrink, and the stock is kept for that 1 product only!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Shrinks Continued… These shrinks is then also used for determining Matrix Prices (Automatic Prices) per shrink! In other words, the system can automatically calculate the selling price from the cost! Furthermore, 4POS has 7 different price channels per shrink & per product! Ideal for setting up different prices per customer group eg. Shebeens or other smaller liquor stores or restaurants that may buy from you. Remember that the bigger YOUR purchases, the BIGGER the rebates!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 2 : We run specials on cases of Cold drinks & other products but my customers do not buy a case of 1 item – they mix the case up. Dr. 4POS : In 4POS we call this a "STOCK SET". You can set up which products are linked to a stock set & how many items make up the set. If the set is complete eg. there is 12 bottles in the set, the set-price will be charged.

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores In this example we see that we have a stock set called Quarts Brown Mix Case which consists of 12 bottles. The price charged will be the price of a case of Castle Quarts, but it may also consist of Hansa & Black Label Quarts. Eg :

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores I sold 3 Castle, 3 Hansa & 6 Black Label Quarts & the price is charged @ R106.00. Because I have set up this set to work ONLY if they have brought in a case of empties, the price of the empties is deducted & my empties-stock updated! The total price is now R95.00. (You may also set it up without the empties if you want) Brilliant!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 3 : Re-ordering is a nightmare as I constantly have to worry about cash-flow and what my expected sales is going to be over the next 2  weeks. Dr. 4POS : 4POS has a re-ordering wizard! You can set up the period which should be used to create a projection. 4POS will then calculate the average sales per day & multiply it with the number of days for which you wish to keep stock eg. 10 days. These days should coincide with the frequency in which you get a delivery. You can then let 4POS create the order based on the re-order level!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 4 : There is more than 1 flavour of certain products (Eg Brutal Fruit), & I do not have the time to maintain all the costs & selling prices. Dr. 4POS : Ah-Ha! In 4POS we link these items together in a Pricing Set! As soon as the major Pricing Set item price changes, ALL products linked in the Pricing Set, will change accordingly! Eg. if Brutal Fruit Kiwi changes (Major) all other flavors will automatically change!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 5 : When I meet with the reps, I do not have all the sales statistics w.r.t. the products available from them. Dr. 4POS : 4POS keeps full history of a product's movements (Sales & Purchases) which will give you on-the-spot info on YOUR sales w.r.t. this item & whether it is an item that you wish to stock & also what quantities you would like to keep.

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 6 : I also sell to customer & give them a special price, so when I am not in the shop – they can’t place their orders. Dr. 4POS : 4POS keeps 7 (SEVEN) different price structures per product! You can also link a pricing structure to a customer! In other words, you can specify that Customer A is using Price Structure #2 & Customer B uses Price Structure #3! So, when the customer comes to your store to purchase, simply select the customer from the list & ALL prices are set up automatically!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 7 : I sometimes can’t find on which piece of paper I wrote down a quote that I did for a customer – can I save this somewhere? Dr. 4POS : 4POS allows for quotes! Quotes can now be saved indefinitely & can then later be converted into a sale. Prices quoted will also stay fixed!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 8 : And all these functions – how do I keep track of all the glasses, items & prices that customers take & then again, record the products that they return. I sometimes lose out when I give them a better price when they return the goods as the price I charged them when they took it! Dr. 4POS : In 4POS, we call it consignment stock! Now, you can book out all the stock your customer requires "on Loan". Once returned, you simply call up the consignment, then enter the stock that was returned. 4POS will verify what was taken, what was returned & invoice the stock "Taken". It will even ensure that no stock that have not been taken,  is returned! In other words, if the customer took some stock from another store, they may NOT return it to yours! Nifty hey?

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 9 : And of course – my biggest nightmare – my empties! Is there a solution? Dr. 4POS : Of course! 4POS keeps track of the content separate from the container. This means that when you purchase your stock, you enter the content & then the containers & crates. Exactly as the invoice from SAB lays it out! Deposits are also kept separate for stock taking & even gives you the value of your empties at any given time!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 10 : Stock control is obviously required, but is it easy to enter the Invoices from my suppliers or do I need a bookkeeper? Dr. 4POS : Yes, 4POS links all products to the suppliers & this means that when you enter your purchases, you simply select the items from the list. Remember that your ordering will also be easier if you let 4POS place the order & you can just check the quantities ordered!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 11 : With all these Power Failures, what happens if my main Computer (Server) Breaks? Dr. 4POS : Firstly, it is strongly advised that you install a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply or Battery-backup) for your system. Also, please ensure that the  UPS that you purchase is Generator Compliant as a lot of the cheaper UPS‘s is not. Our 4POS system runs independent from a server. In other words, each PC has it's own Database & can therefore do sales even if the server is off or the network is down! This is one of the pre-requisites of any good POS system!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 12 : Can I see what my cashiers are selling in real-time (While they are doing it?) Dr. 4POS : Yes, 4POS has the ability to emulate the POS machine & you can even do a void from the office, when required!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 13 : Can I see which items are giving me the best return in terms of profit? Dr. 4POS : Yes, 4POS prints a Product Performance Report that you can sort by Selling Quantities, profit percentages, etc. So your best seller can be compared to your best Profit item.

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 14 : I know I am pushing it, but, we only pay for a 45-hour week. How do I know when to give my staff a break? Dr. 4POS : Use the 4POS Hourly Report to show you what times are most hectic & even the number of cashiers you need for the period.

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 15 : And maybe some commission on sales? Dr. 4POS : Commission on 4POS is calculated before VAT & can easily be set up to record sales per cashier. Now you can have an incentive or even just see who is actually doing some work!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 16 : If I go away for a week or so, can I see which deliveries have come in & if the prices have been entered correctly? Dr. 4POS : Yes! 4POS keeps a copy of all deliveries made & also prints a report of all price-changes made in the last week or month!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 17 : At the same time – all my customers should pay within 30 days. Can I monitor this as I have commitments to my suppliers. Dr. 4POS : Debtors reports in 4POS makes it easy for you to recover that bad debt! Set up interest calculations & credit limits to stop your debtors-book to run away from you!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 18 : I have been told that on all POS systems & Cash Registers, the biggest fraud is done through VOIDS & discounts? Dr. 4POS : Yes, and worst of all is that the biggest crooks are the managers! 4POS now gives you the power back to view all transactions for which VOIDS have been done & for YOU to determine if this is OK or not! Keeping an eye (Or stopping it) on discounts given - another big way of theft, is now simpler & faster!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 19 : Does the system also print Barcode labels and shelf-talkers? Dr. 4POS : Yes, 4POS handles many different types of printers & also barcode layouts. You can also design your own layout.

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores This all sounds great, but once we have installed 4POS, how do we proceed & get going? Question 20 : Do I have to create my items in store one-by-one? Dr. 4POS : Now comes the good stuff! 4POS has a Liquor Store Database of over 5,000 products already set up with suppliers, shrinks, pricing matrix etc. Once you  have installed the 4POS system, enable our unique "Learning Mode" & just start selling! As you scan a product, it will bring up the pre-set description of the item & only prompt you for the price! As said, this is while you're selling to your customer & allows you to be live from the 1st minute!

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 21 : And if I need more than 1 POS machine? Dr. 4POS : No problem, 4POS supports multi-terminals and have sites that run 16 terminals or more.

Dr.4POS – Liquor Stores Question 22 : The big question - License fees? Dr. 4POS : No, we don't charge license fees & all our updates are freely available on www.4pos.co.za

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4POS Contact Us Contact us now to discuss how we can increase your POS Business. Telephone (Jhb) : +27 (11) 475-8731 National : 0860-108-108 International on Skype : support@4pos.za Web : www.4pos.co.za eMail : info@4pos.co.za