In an increasingly competitive world retailers are faced with shrinking margins, greater competition for the same customers and customers wanting a greater level of service. Those retailers that want to survive and become successful must look for tools that help them succeed in such an environment.

Why Point of Sale?         

Point of sale systems provides retailers with many of the tools necessary for success.

Greater stock control Point of sale systems provides the retailer the ability to manage their stock with a much greater degree of accuracy. The benefits of this is a decrease in stock levels, decreased shrinkage, better stock ordering management, decreased time spent on stock takes, and so on. Greater customer management Point of sale systems provides the retailer the ability to manage their customers to a far greater degree. They are able to identify their best customers, look at customer trends, encourage customer loyalty through discounting, and use customer information to better target their marketing. Faster sales processing Point of sales systems are faster at processing sales because of the use of barcode scanners, having prices programmed in, multi payment functions make it easier to process different payment types, and automatic calculations give the final sales price immediately and includes tax information.

Higher level of security Point of sales systems provides greater security through password-protected access and teller identification, end of shift reports that identify any cash shortages, easy auditing of transactions, and the ability to spot possible fraudulent activity by staff. High level of reporting Point of sales systems provides detailed reports on many aspects of the retailers business. This enables the retailer to analyse their business in greater detail.     All these benefits provide the retailer with low operating costs and increased sales. These then flow on to greater profitability.

Why not Point of Sale?         

For all these benefits there are still many (a majority) retailers that don't have point of sale systems. Why?

Cost Point of sale systems cost a great deal more than a simple cash register. If you include both the hardware and software of a point of sale system even the cheapest system would cost five or six times more than a cash register. This is the greatest barrier for many retailers to overcome. This barrier is not just exclusive to the small single store operators either. Although medium and large retailers can afford to spend more on their point of sale systems they also have greater requirements. These requirements often mean modifying existing point of sale systems or creating a completely customised point of sales system. Both of these options are often very expensive and many retailers have to modify their business to suit the point of sale system to cut costs. Quickly outdated Once retailers have spent considerable amounts of money on their point of sale system they often find that the system becomes outdated within three to five years. For the retailers to then keep up with their competitors they have to reinvest more money into updating their systems at great cost.

Inability to grow with the business Many point of sales systems are "off the shelf' systems that provide standard features. These systems are entry-level systems that provide the basics. Successful retailers soon find that these systems are inadequate for the requirements of their growing business and therefore they have to again invest in point of sales systems that are more suited to their business. Restrictive ways of doing business The "off the shelf" point of sale options restricts business in the way they do business and process sales. If the retailers business is unusual or transacts business in non standard ways then they will have to modify the way they do business or spend more money on modifying "off the shelf' systems.

Why Fieldpine Point of Sale?         

Fieldpine has developed a unique point of sale system that lets us provide the perfect point of sale system that you require at a more realistic cost. Fieldpine provides all the usual benefits of a point of sale systems such as greater stock control, greater customer management, faster sales processing, higher levels of security, and a higher level of reporting. Fieldpine also acknowledges the limiting factors of many point of sales systems and has therefore developed a system to accommodate all retailers. How?

Flexible user interface Fieldpine uses a unique 'User Interface' (UI) design for all screens within the application. This unique design allows objects and elements to be added or deleted to suit the users requirements. Fieldpine POS uses standard hardware Fieldpine point of sale uses many of the standard hardware that is available off the shelf. This means that we don't restrict you to any particular hardware solutions and retailers can choose what they require to best suit their business. Easy modification Fieldpine has developed its point of sale system in such a way that it is easy to modify the software to the requirements of the retailer. For this reason we can offer the retailer a point of sale system that is better suited to the way they do business at an affordable rate. Fieldpine POS grows with the retailer The Fieldpine point of sale system has been designed so that it can grow with the customer. A retailer can buy a standard Fieldpine module off the shelf for the same price as other off the shelf point of sales systems. As they grow they can add other modules, modify modules or even customise the system to their requirements. This means the retailer doesn't have to worry about investing in a point of sale for the future but only one for the present. Fieldpine POS also allows for simple adding of extra lanes and/or sites without having to modify your server software. Fieldpine POS never dates Because of the way Fieldpine has developed our point of sale system it is easy for the software to keep up with trends and new initiatives. This means the retailer doesn't have to worry about their system becoming out dated and having to reinvest more money into their system.

Superior communication ability Fieldpine has developed a superior communications tool that links into the point of sale system and provides the retailer with a wide range of advantages. Transparent communications so the point of sale system can still be used while communicating to a head office. Moves files in 'packets' down a single connection. Able to control a remote PC. Head Office servers are able to process data live as it arrives from the stores. Able to run commands remotely. Can handle remote software upgrades. Processes periodic housekeeping functions. Can manage pricing from head office. Ability to analyse sales data and patterns from a head office.   Integrated EFTPOS The Fieldpine point of sale uses integrated eftpos where possible. This means retailers will have no key in errors and greater cash security and management. Affordable and timely customisation For retailers that require customised point of sales systems, Fieldpine gives them the ability to have a highly customised system at an affordable price. The Fieldpine point of sale system also allows development time for a customised point of sale solution to be greatly reduced due to not having to 'start from the beginning'.

What does all this mean?         

What it means is that Fieldpine has given retailers the ability to have a point of sale system that is perfect now and in the future at an affordable rate.

Fieldpine is used all over the world and in many different environments

Fieldpine point of sale is being used around the world and in many different environments such as supermarkets, vehicle testing stations, fuel stations, museums, general retail stores, mobile phone stores, and fast food outlets.

Support is just a 'click' away

Fieldpine provides support of the web. This means that support is just a 'click' away for most support questions. Fieldpine also provide more comprehensive support through our support contracts so that you don't have to worry. This includes phone support for up to 7 days a week. 

System Requirements         

Operating System
Microsoft WindowsTM ME, 98, 2000.
Microsoft Windows NT-Workstation 4.0TM
Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0TM

PC RAM Requirements
WindowsTM 98, ME 64mb RAM
Windows 2000TM 128mb RAM
Windows NT-Workstation 4.0TM 128mb RAM
Windows NT Server 4.0TM 256mb RAM

Minimum PC Specifications

Modem
At least 28k speed modem is needed to effectively run Fieldpine POS and to receive support and upgrades.

Recommended and Approved Hardware
Fieldpine publishes a detailed list of hardware and peripherals that we have tested and know work with our software. Please ask for a copy or you can find it on our web site: http://www.fieldpine.com/fpsite/hardwarelist.htm.