Founder and current CEO of Cybertill, Ian Tomlinson, said, “On today’s high streets charity shops actively compete with mainstream independent and multiple retailers for a share of the consumer’s wallet. With the current economic environment this is not without its challenges; from charity retailers operating on much tighter budgets than their peers and to the quality of many donations deteriorating as we, the public, hold on to clothes and other items for longer before donating them, as may households continue to feel the economic squeeze. With that in mind we’re delighted that Cybertill’s EPoS and gift aid software has helped Dove House Hospice improve the efficiency of its business and helped raise even more money.”

*Many charities now reclaim Gift Aid on donated goods in their charity shops. Gift Aid allows charities to reclaim the tax paid on donated goods by UK taxpayers (with donors’ consent), typically 25p in every pound. HMRC has set out strict guidelines on the procedures around Gift Aid and the reclaim process is administratively intensive. Cybertill has introduced Advanced Gift Aid software, which integrates with its retail point of sale system, and this automates Gift Aid processes for charities and in addition guarantees to eradicate all missed Gift Aid sales and increase the revenue a charity takes through Gift Aid.

Cybertill, founded in 2001, supplies multi-channel software, specifically electronic point of sale (EPoS), e-commerce and mail order software and systems to non-food retailers. Over the last financial year it has grown customer numbers as it signed over 120 new retail customers. The strong and eclectic customer base covers many different sizes and sectors of retail (from independent to high street chains, including fashion, footwear, cycle, charity, home ware and many more). Such strong growth in customer numbers and new business indicates that many different retailers are turning to cloud based retail software for the real benefits it brings, such as being able to seamlessly manage multiple sales channels in real time.

“Cybertill has performed strongly in all areas of the business,” commented founder and CEO Ian Tomlinson. “Being able to increase revenues and customer numbers in such a testing environment is testament to that. Profits also increased and we have invested a further £150,000 on future products and development, and created ten new full time jobs increasing the workforce to 58. What’s more the liquidity of the business increased by over £250,000, which will help to sustain and grow the business in the future. I believe our figures bear out the fact that cloud computing is now a mainstream technology within retail. In addition to that retailers understand the benefits that web based software delivers, such as reducing total cost of ownership, managing multiple sales channels in real time. Such widespread adoption of cloud technology within retail, underpins Cybertill’s strong performance and its position moving forwards.”

Cybertill’s cloud based multi-channel software was a world first, introduced in late 2001. Whilst there are more cloud based retail sofwtare systems available today, Cybertill has the largest market penetration by some way and is continually evolving its offering to help it stay ahead of its competition.

Ian Tomlinson, CEO of Cybertill, stated. “The awards ceremony were an incredible evening, made even better by winning. I am pleased the judges recognised the company’s groundbreaking SaaS retail solution and the benefits it brings retailers. This success is attributable to many factors including personnel, experience our unique product offering, and of course our customers. Customers, like St Barnabas Hospices, who have benefitted from using Cybertill act as a real vindication for Cybertill and our retail software.”

The nomination demonstrates the business benefits that Cybertill has brought St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House Hospices following the implementation of Cybertill’s cloud based Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) system. The main objective for the St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House Hospices was to begin claiming gift aid* in their charity shops, which helps them increase their revenue and profit, which can then be reinvested into the both hospices. One of the issues around re-claiming gift aid is it is a laborious task for charities, not only are the steps and administration labour intensive but it has to adhere to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) strict guidelines. This is the main obstacle that prevents many charity retailers from claiming or attempting to claim gift aid. The hospices have been amazed at the simplicity of these processes in Cybertill, because everything is automated. Thanks to Cybertill in the first year they claimed £100,000 net in Gift Aid and are targeting £120,000 in this next financial year. Already Gift Aid is generating about 18% of the retail operation’s net profit.

There have also been other benefits of deploying Cybertill, which St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House were unaware of. The initial brief was to reclaim gift aid and manage the shops more efficiently along with the stock. But they also operate a Christmas mail order business from their distribution centre and send out 30,000 of their Christmas card brochures every year. Cybertill can also manage mail order and ecommerce businesses and links store, ecommerce and mail order together seamlessly. So they now be manage the mail order operations in Cybertill including orders, stock levels, customers and in future use historical data from Cybertill to predict sales and future orders, helping increase card sales.

Colin Wakefield, who is Head of Retail at St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House, commented. “The benefits of Cybertill are multiple. It has changed how we approach our shops, they are not formulaic charity shops, in terms of selling all product departments, such as ladies wear, bric-a-brac, furniture and so forth. We consistently analyse what lines each shop sells. Some specialise in children’s wear, furniture, bric-a-brac and so forth. With Cybertill we can see what is selling where so we get the right product lines to the right stores thus optimising our sales, and catering for local demand. Cybertill has also enabled us to claim gift aid on donated goods which in turn helps us run and maintain both hospices. It has exceeded all our needs in terms of what we planned for the retail side of the charity. The additional advantages we have now are immeasurable, as far as I am concerned. It has proven so successful, and we have paid for the system within six months and not the twelve months originally estimated.”

Founder and current CEO of Cybertill, Ian Tomlinson, said, “On today’s high streets charity shops actively compete with mainstream independent and multiple retailers for a share of the consumer’s wallet. With the current economic environment this is not without its challenges; from charity retailers operating on much tighter budgets than their peers and to the quality of many donations deteriorating as we, the public, hold on to clothes and other items for longer before donating them, as may households continue to feel the economic squeeze. With that in mind we’re delighted that Cybertill has helped St Barnabas and Chestnut Tree House improve the efficiency of its business and helped raise even more money.”

* Gift Aid Explained:
When individuals (who pay UK tax) donate goods to a charity shop, that charity is able to claim back the tax that they have paid on the donation from the government, with the donors consent. This is called Gift Aid and it typically allows charities to claim an additional 25p in every £1 they earn when selling donated goods. The processes in reclaiming gift aid involve intensive administration, but Cybertill automates this process for charities.

This is the second year that Independent Retailer Month has taken place in the UK, it originated in the USA in 2009, but in 2011 it went global. This is the inaugural launch conference, specifically created to provide independent retailers with access to examples of best practice retailing and to gain insights from subject matter experts. “We’re delighted to welcome Cybertill as one of our launch conference sponsors,” commented Clare Rayner, “They work with a wide variety of Independent Retailers in the UK, helping retail business owners and managers to understand their business performance and to control their sales channels more effectively. I am looking forward to their keynote presentation at the launch Conference on 1st July; it will provide valuable insight for independent retailers in terms of the management and organisation of their businesses.”

“It seems that there has been a change in attitude of late by those in Government about protecting and improving local high streets. With Mary Portas’ completing her high street review, commissioned by the Government. It now seems both those in power and consumers realise the importance of their local high streets to their communities and economies. Without them the lifeblood of many areas drains away. Events like Independent Retailer Month help raise the profile of this important cause, but perhaps more importantly it can help change the culture in how we, as a nation, shop. This event not only drives retailers to their local high streets but also offers retailers resources and information on what they can do to help themselves, and has a real community spirit to it. Cybertill is proud to support such a focused event, as many independent retailers benefit from using our cloud based EPoS systems to manage their shops, and ecommerce system for their online stores,” explained Ian Tomlinson, founder and CEO of Cybertill.

By deploying Cybertill’s charity retail system, which combines an electronic point of sale (EPoS) system and Gift Aid solution, Cancer Research UK, over the next five years, aim to generate an additional £18 million in revenue through Gift Aid. The Gift Aid scheme allows charities to reclaim an extra 25% in tax on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. Because of the Gift Aid incentive both national and regional charities have embarked on deploying Gift Aid systems throughout their charity shops, as it has become a welcome source of additional revenue.

Cybertill is used by many charity retailers and now with Cancer Research UK deploying the Cybertill charity retail system, nearly one in three charity shops in the UK are signed up to Cybertill.

There are strict procedures to follow, which are overseen by HMRC, when reclaiming Gift Aid. The whole process of making the claim can be quite labour intensive, this is one of the reasons many charity retailers turn to automated systems like Cybertill’s Gift Aid system. Cybertill automates much of this process for charity shops, this in turn saves administrative time as well as helping generate substantial extra revenue.

Head of Retail Operations, Sue Azzopardi, said, “Cancer Research UK has some ambitious fundraising targets to meet in the coming years and our retail chain has a vital part to play in us reaching that goal. By installing the Cybertill system into our 555 stores across the UK, it will enable us to claim Gift Aid and manage our bought in goods and stock more effectively. This is a wonderful opportunity and I know that we can deliver some great results for Cancer Research UK by achieving the very best from the donated stock so generously given by our supporters.”

“I am extremely pleased that Cybertill is working with Cancer Research UK,” commented Cybertill’s Chief Executive Ian Tomlinson. “Their research and tender process was extremely rigourous to ensure their expenditure optimised return on investment for the charity. And by using Cybertill’s Gift Aid system, that is integrated with the EPoS solution, they hope to deliver an additional £18m in revenue in the first five years of deployment. The project is particularly exciting in that 555 stores will be deployed in just three months. With our own experience of managing projects of this size with national retailers and other large national charity retailers we are looking forward to completing the project so Cancer Research UK can start to see the benefit of installing Cybertill’s charity retail system. What’s more as the Cybertill retail system is cloud-based this makes the project deployment so much easier, as does managing the system on an on going basis. This is because all upgrades, data back ups are managed for Cancer Research UK centrally by Cybertill. We hope that the Cybertill system will make a real difference to Cancer Research UK and assist them in the excellent work they do.”

Global manufacturer of PC-based touchscreen point-of-sale hardware, J2 Retail Systems, and one of the UK’s leading EPoS solutions providers, Cybertill, have revealed details of the partnership they have recently forged. 

Explains Moray Boyd, managing director of J2 Retail Systems: “Our Cybertill partnership is a good match.  We’re always adding to our product range, using emerging technologies to make for a better user experience of EPoS and achieve a lower cost of ownership.  Retail is particularly tough at present, and we believe we can help Cybertill clients run more efficient and more profitable businesses.”

Cybertill has one of the most diverse retail user bases of all the EPoS solution providers.  The company’s clients span some of the UK’s biggest charity retailers and both multiple and independent retailers in many specialist trades.  For Cybertill clients who are sophisticated fashion boutiques, till appearance and silent operation are important.  For garden centre or bike shop clients, system durability is paramount.

Observes Ian Tomlinson, chief executive of Cybertill: “Each of our clients makes different demands of EPoS.  The good thing is that J2 shares our broad presence in the retail sector, and its EPoS hardware is proven and well regarded.  With J2, we can be confident that wherever we install its units they’ll fit in well and be reliable and cost-effective.”

Continues Tomlinson: “There’s no doubt that J2 tills are good-looking and have a smaller footprint than many other units.  This is of real value to our independent retailer clients who need to maximise their space for merchandising and promoting the business, as it helps them de-clutter the point-of-sale area.”

Whilst Cybertill has its own hardware support partner, it is still important to the business that it supplies robust equipment.  “The fact that J2 hardware is well-engineered makes it cost-effective for our customers as well as suitable for the most rugged environments.”

Ease of use is a compelling reason for selecting EPoS, as Ian Tomlinson concludes. “Our clients look for something that gives them confidence.  They want to focus on serving their customers, rather than be distracted by using the till, and this is where J2 scores.”

Direct Golf UK

Direct Golf UK was founded by Class AA PGA Professional John Andrew in 1991 and has grown quickly over its 20-year trading history. John still has hands-on involvement with Direct Golf UK and managing director, Neil Bell, is also a PGA Professional, as are many of the management team. This helps the business retain its passion and focus for the sport and ensures that the business is entirely customer focused.

“Direct Golf UK needed a true multi-channel solution to help manage all sales channels”, Neil comments. “The appeal of Cybertill is that it is web based, so everything is real time. We have a 75,000 square foot distribution centre, 17 retail stores as well as the ecommerce site and mail order business. Cybertill will help all sales teams to access live stock levels across the estate meaning that no sales opportunity is missed and that customers always get the products they need,” he continues.“Another advantage of installing a web based system is that we can quickly deploy it across all stores and can keep the current EPoS hardware, which minimises in-store disruption.”

Ian Tomlinson, Chief Executive of Cybertill, adds: “Direct Golf UK is a multi-channel success story for retail. When many high street retailers appear to be struggling, Direct Golf UK has successfully grown their business across all sales channels. This has been achieved by offering a combination of world class customer service, expert professional advice, competitive pricing and large stock holdings. The company now employs over 45 PGA qualified Professionals across all channels to ensure customers receive the very best advice and product at the right price. I am pleased that they have chosen to work with Cybertill, as it is a proven golf and sports retail system. And as Cybertill is cloud-based, they will have access to real time sales and stock figures helping to further consolidate the service they offer throughout the business. Cybertill also has a robust CRM system built-in, where all customer records are also in real time; which will aid the continuity of service across all sales channels, helping Direct Golf UK to maintain its high standards”.

The Most Supportive Supplier Award aims to reward commercial organisations that are suppliers of goods or services to the sector, and who go the extra mile to meet the needs of their client charities. Cybertill has around 40 charity and hospice retailers using its solutions throughout the United Kingdom, ranging from large nationals to small regional hospice retailers.

Cybertill is the market leader in the charity sector in supplying EPoS, gift aid and retail solutions to the charity retail market. Cybertill was nominated by three of its charity customers for the award. Cybertill was nominated for many different reasons, but central to the themes were the support and the difference Cybertill’s solution makes to running and managing a charity retail operation. 

“Having had Cybertill deployed for just over twelve months (at Cancer Research UK) we have found them to be an exceptional supplier. Cybertill has a real difference in our capabilities to control our stock reconciliation process. We are now report on our business more effectively enabling a far more proactive approach to stock control. We have developed an excellent working relationship with Cybertill who have worked hard to understand our business needs and offer solutions to meet these,” commented Richard Taylor, a Trading Planning Manager at Cancer Research UK.

Marisa Coleman who is Retail Division Manager at Dove House Hospice, located in Hull, commented. “Cybertill is happy to work and support every member of the Dove House team, whether it is the trustees and management or volunteers.”

“I am extremely humbled and grateful to those charities that nominated Cybertill. And I look forward to continuing to work with and support them, and other charities, in the future. The charity retail sector is a good news story for the high street, as many retail sectors unfortunately seem to be struggling. The charity retail sector over recent years has embraced retail best practice, with more charities deploying EPoS and gift aid systems throughout their retail estates, and this has helped drive commercial growth. Cybertill is now established as the market leader in helping Charity retailers manage their estate and automate their gift aid claims,” commented Cybertill’s Chief Executive, Ian Tomlinson.

Alex Christopher, the founder and owner of Each To Their Own and the designer of his own eponymously self-titled label, comments: “With the continued success of the stores and the rapid growth of our own label, Alex Christopher, we really needed a more reliable process of tracking our stock levels, monitoring best sellers and stock look-ups from other stores to ensure we don’t miss any sales. With plans for a fourth and fifth store, it’s now imperative to have an in-depth and reliable stock system.”

Each To Their Own had been investigating EPoS systems for a while to help them manage their business and stock. “Cybertill was one of the more modern systems we looked at and offered a solution to every problem we have encountered when counting and locating our stock,” explains Alex. “We can now easily check levels and availability of any item and can even show the customer an image of the item to ensure we are ordering the correct colour.  We can also easily link the sales from our website to the EPoS system with very little fuss.  This means we no longer have to worry about continually manually checking stock levels.”

Ian Tomlinson, Chief Executive at Cybertill, states: “It is great to see retail success stories like ‘Each To Their Own’. They have created something unique that stands out from the crowd and I am sure this differentiation is key to their growth, along with the way they have embraced e-commerce, helping communicate and spread the brand beyond its Yorkshire roots. I am extremely pleased they have chosen to move forward with Cybertill, as this will be central to helping them manage their growth and their sales channels. What’s more, Cybertill is a proven fashion EPoS system that is cloud-based so they will have access to real time stock figures, essential in managing a multi-channel retail business.”

Tatty Devine’s success and growth in so many areas of its business meant that it needed to re-evaluate its incumbent business systems, as Rosie Wolfenden, co-founder and partner of Tatty Devine explains. “The nature of our business is quite complex because we manufacture, wholesale and retail our products so finding a system that could cope with the different areas was important. We are now treating the manufacturing separately from the wholesale and retail, so our accounts system can manage the manufacturing, and our EPoS can do the rest. Over the last year we have been managing the stock manually which has been a complete nightmare due to the number of products and all the different sales channels, but we are confident that the Cybertill solution will overcome these challenges.”

Tatty Devine’s unique designs have won many fans across the globe as it has stockists from Japan to Australia to the United States. This popularity is reflected in its ever expanding list of stockist partners and the burgeoning sales through its website. “Cybertill’s real understanding of how retail works was particularly impressive. Equally impressive is the fact that Cybertill can integrate with Magento ecommerce websites, which is a real plus, as a vast amount of our stock is sold online,” concludes Wolfenden.

Founded in 2001 by designers Harriet Vine and Rosie Wolfenden, Tatty Devine opened its first premises on London’s Brick Lane and following its success in 2004 it opened a central London store. Harriet and Rosie still design every piece of Tatty Devine jewellery, most of which is made by hand in their workshops in London and Kent.

Ian Tomlinson, Chief Executive at Cybertill stated. “Tatty Devine is one of the jewellery success stories of the last decade. It highlights the best of British design and business innovation. I am pleased that they have chosen to work with Cybertill, as it is a proven jewellery and fashion accessory EPoS system, and it will help Tatty Devine manage the multiple facets of their business, not just the retail element. And as Cybertill is cloud based they will have access to real time sales figures, ideal when sitting down with stockists around the globe. Cybertill looks forward to working with and helping Tatty Devine’s continued growth as it goes from strength to strength.”

The 2011 retail summit focused on providing insights to IBM’s ‘Making retail smarter’ strategy along with many specialised sessions and seminars, specifically for many of Europe’s leading retail technology providers. “The conference has been incredibly useful and of course there has been much discussion on cloud computing in retail. Many are buying into the flexibility and scalability cloud gives retailers, that locally deployed EPoS systems just simply cannot. In addition to that cloud computing can reduce a retailer’s capital expenditure, vitally important in these challenging times,” concluded Tomlinson.

Independent retailers that join the STAG buying group (andnot only gain access to leading sports, outdoor and footwear brands, but they also receive business support and receive preferential rates from suppliers, now including Cybertill.

“There are many sports, outdoor and footwear retailers already using Cybertill. Not only is a great fit for these retailers, but it is different to most other EPoS systems in that it is web based, which brings with it many different advantages, including real time stock, so it eradicates the need for overnight polling. Critically it helps independents manage their business more efficiently and reduce stock holding. What’s more all members will receive preferential pricing on Cybertill systems.” commented Ricky Chandler, Managing Director of STAG Buying Group.

“STAG is an extremely shrewd buying group that has a proven track record in helping many different retailers manage their business more effectively. Not only does STAG open up a vast range of globally recognised sports and footwear brands to independent retailers, it ensures they have help managing all aspects of their business whilst getting members the best possible deal.  I believe there is an excellent symmetry between Cybertill and STAG and their members. The Cybertill EPoS system is used by many sports, outdoor and footwear retailers. Cybertill is unique in that it is a web-based EPoS system, this makes it easy for retailers to seamlessly link their store or stores and website.  Through this partnership I believe STAG members will have access to an EPoS system that is a perfect match for their industry’s needs.” said Ian Tomlinson, Cybertill’s Chief Executive.

The ExtraCare Charitable Trust

The organisation has experienced phenomenal growth throughout its retail estate and in the last five years shop numbers have doubled, with a further six shops due to open in 2011.

Alison Whittingham, Managing Director, ExtraCare Shop Ltd, said,. “With so many stores we (ExtraCare) were struggling to manage them as efficiently as we would have liked. Our incumbent point-of-sale system for the stores is electronic tills. These bring their own challenges as they don’t manage stock in-store and nor can they process and automate gift aid. By choosing Cybertill’s charity EPoS system, we will be able to facilitate gift aid across the estate. Not only will this boost revenue with in the stores but we will also have an EPoS system that can help manage our stock holding across the estate more efficiently,”

The ExtraCare Charitable Trust was founded in 1988 and currently operates 11 retirement villages and 18 housing schemes throughout the Midlands and the North. ExtraCare works with local authorities and other bodies to provide the level of care that the residents of the schemes and villages require which enables them to live independently and achieve an enjoyable quality of life.

“By deploying Cybertill we know we can generate a return on investment. Our predictions are based on a cautious uptake of gift aid, but we aim to deliver a return on investment within 30 months.”  Whittingham continued.

Ian Tomlinson, Chief Executive at Cybertill stated. “Cybertill has a proven charity EPoS solution that includes automating the process of reclaiming gift aid. There are many retailers in the charity sector, already benefiting from using Cybertill. Part of the appeal of the Cybertill system is that it is cloud based, so the EPoS and gift aid system is hosted on the web. This means charities and hospices do not have to host EPoS software on their own servers in-house nor is there the need to purchase additional server hardware. Not only is this more secure for charities but it is a real cost saving too. Cybertill looks forward to working with The ExtraCare Charitable Trust to help them optimise their retail operations and raise more funds to help the charity continue its good work.”

Graham and Green needed an integrated multi-channel retail system to help manage its burgeoning online and mail order business and an increased product range from an expanding number of suppliers. The business had outgrown its systems and it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage stock movements, let alone sales and suppliers. Darek Szuminski, IT Manager, Graham and Green, said, “We needed a retail system that would help to increase efficiency in stock and sales management and order fulfilment. And in turn which could integrate EPoS, ecommerce, mail order and CRM functionality, whilst being able to grow with the business.”

As the Cybertill retail system links all of Graham and Green’s sales channels, it has been able to move its mail order process in house, enabling the company to take full control of its business.  This has led to reduction in stock holding, and the stock ordering process has become more efficient.  Each sales channel now has visibility of all stock across the business, which has helped to drive sales. Szuminski continued, “In Cybertill you can pick stock from other locations or arrange for clients to collect from the warehouse. Having the visibility to see what is in and out of stock across all stores has allowed our central warehouse to improve customer service and sales as a result. Also we have been able to reduce our warehousing costs as the stock holding is much more efficient.”

The CRM (customer relationship management) tool in the Cybertill retail system has enabled all the sales channels to have one central record for each customer.
“Before we implemented Cybertill, head office, each store and our warehouse may have all had completely different records for each client. This resulted in a lack of continuity in the service they received. Now with Cybertill all notes, calls, orders a customer places with us is on their central record. Whenever anyone speaks to a customer, from a store or head office (where the ecommerce and mail order teams are located) we already know their whole history. So we can track problematic orders and resolve issues with greater speed and efficiency,” said Szuminski.

Merchandising has also benefited from the Cybertill multi-channel retail system.  With three sales channels ordering and managing stock used to be problematic. But now the business is able to use the tracking tools in Cybertill to order stock “just in time” making their supply lines leaner whilst order fulfilment time is reduced. “The forecasting tools in Cybertill are a huge assistance to the business, especially at peak periods. They allow us to forecast stock requirements so as a business we carry the right levels of the right products at the right time,” Szuminski commented.

As Graham and Green take on temporary staff over peak periods, the systems needed to be easy to use, and the Cybertill solution perfectly fitted this brief, “Cybertill’s EPoS system is easy to navigate and very intuitive and so the sales process is straight forward. Whenever we have a new starter in-store it is easy to train them and get them going on Cybertill,” Szuminski said. “I have used cash registers in the past and they are more difficult to use than Cybertill’s EPoS system, especially if you are doing refunds, end of days and other operations – with Cybertill a few clicks and you are done.”

Graham and Green credit Cybertill with being able to manage the business more effectively, and being able to grow with the business, as Szuminski commented, “Cybertill shows you which channel is actually performing the best and what its sales are so you can actually invest money into the right areas of the business.
Cybertill proved to be really easy to implement in a short time with no extra cost. As it’s a managed service we were not limited to any EPoS hardware. It gives the same user experience through web browser from anywhere in the world. And it helped reduce our company IT costs as there is no hassle with security, system administration and back ups. It is all provided for us.”

Managing multi-channel retail

Today’s retailers face the challenge of operating a number of sales channels –stores, online and mail order. To achieve efficiencies and deliver customer service, it’s critical to have a universal retail system that manages all channels as one coherent business.

The integrated solution

When retailers use a single customer and product database to link their channels, their EPoS system, ecommerce and mail order solutions share all information, ensuring seamless operations and continuity of service. An integrated system also makes it easy to foster loyalty and maintain customer relationships, regardless of channel.  There are cost savings to be gained, too, from reduced stockholding as it’s no longer necessary to segregate web, mail order and store stock.

Real-time data access

In a fast-moving market, retailers need access to live trading data, at any time and from anywhere, whether it be via an EPoS system in-store or via a smart phone on the move or at a PC in head office.  This is the only way to judge true business performance and to respond as needed.  Transmitting sales and stock data overnight by polling from stores to head office has become an outdated process, and one that puts the modern retailer at a disadvantage.

EPoS on demand

Cybertill is a ‘cloud computing-based’ EPoS system, offering multi-channel point-of-sale technology on demand.  Managed from the Cybertill data centre and accessed via a secure internet link, it obviates the need for inhouse servers and IT staff.  In essence, it enables retailers to concentrate on retail, secure in the knowledge that they have a flexible, scalable and cost-effective system in the background, protecting and driving their business.

Ingenico, the world’s leading provider of payment solutions in partnership with Cybertill, the UK’s leading EPoS and e-commerce provider, have today launched WebPOS – a revolutionary point of sale solution for single store independent retailers, which could spell the end of the cash register.

Transforming the way retailers do business
WebPOS combines Ingenico’s best of breed point of sale hardware, the iWP200 series, with Cybertill’s Retail Store One, a cloud-based EPoS software, specifically designed for independent retailers.  WebPOS is an all in one integrated solution that not only improves payment processing, but also manages stock, tracks customer preferences, generates reports on fast moving products and slow sellers, and will even help to reduce theft.

By automating many of the processes that retailers currently carry out manually, the solution provides small retailers with significant time and cost savings, whilst increasing the efficiency of their business operations. The solution will go to pilot in a number of independent retailers in April and rolled out nationally thereafter.

Craig Doyle, Managing Director, Northern Europe, Ingenico, commented: “We are very pleased to partner with Cybertill, allowing us to offer such a cost effective, high performance EPoS solution to the smaller retail market. Knowledge is power, especially in business, and WebPOS will provide small retailers with the business insights of a supermarket, helping them to manage and grow their business more efficiently.

“At Ingenico, we pride ourselves on leading the market with innovative, cutting-edge solutions that go beyond payment. The WebPOS solution will enable retailers to enrich their customers shopping experience and help increase repeat footfall.”

Ian Tomlinson, CEO, of Cybertill, commented: “This transformation in point of sale technology means that independent store owners no longer have to face the complexity of managing an EPoS system, whilst trying to focus on the day job of running their business. By providing access to Cybertill from any location with an internet connection, our customers no longer need to invest in additional systems, such as back office hardware, resulting in significant cost savings.”

A more intelligent all-in-one solution
Ingenico’s sleek, web-based point of sale terminal, the iWP200, boasts a compact footprint and all-in-one solution, including a built in receipt printer.  It incorporates a large, colour touch screen and an optional second screen designed to increase interaction with customers by, for example, informing customers of up to the minute promotions. The terminal uses broadband to process card payments, leading to much faster payment processing. This connection is also used to connect to Cybertill’s Retail Store One which  features quick entry keys (called hotshots) helping to speed up Point of Sale transactions, whilst linking seamlessly to other areas of the system such as stock and purchase order processing.

Retailers are able to successfully and economically manage the back office, stock levels, purchase orders, sales and CRM using one full market solution. WebPOS is a cloud-based system, but with Ingenico’s payment processing element sitting on Ingenico’s Axis platform, ensuring it is a fully PCI-DSS managed solution for retailers. In the event where the internet connectivity with the ‘cloud’ fails, the solution will still be able to process payment transactions offline or revert to the GPRS network.

Business benefits of WebPOS:
WebPOS offers a number of clear business benefits for independent retailers:

• Fully integrated terminal with the POS, leading to faster processing of payments;
• Captures customer details, allowing retailers to track all customer purchases and to communicate with their customer base;
• Manages and records all stock levels, and records goods in and deliveries;
• Generates reports on retail performance, allowing retailers to see which are the best and worst selling lines and more effectively monitor peak trading periods;
• Manages and generates purchase orders so that retailers don’t run out of best selling lines;
• Provides retailers with real-time access to data, allowing them to carry out administration and management tasks  whilst using the internet from any location;
• Allows retailers to focus on managing their business by hosting the software, resulting in the automation of all data back ups and upgrades.

Only 15% of retailers anticipate a better Christmas in 2010 than 2009

UK Retailers are feeling pessimistic in the traditionally peak Christmas trading period, with only 15% of retailers anticipating that they will have a better Christmas in 2010 compared to 2009 according to research by Cybertill, a supplier of cloud based retail software to independent and high street retailers.

Cybertill polled its 600 retail customers, in sectors including charity, fashion, bicycles, sports, discount, footwear, department stores, off licenses and many more, and 41% said they expect sales to be down, while 37% expected roughly the same levels of trading. Only one in four said they felt confident about 2011. Reasons for this lack of confidence included government spending cuts, and poor consumer confidence following bad news from Eurozone countries.

Regarding the 2011 2.5% VAT rise, retailers are split, with 50% of retailers planning to pass the VAT rise onto customers.  37% said that they will absorb the cost, while 13% remain undecided.

Government spending cuts were also blamed, with 25% of retailers surveyed saying that they had been affected by the cuts and 33% of these affected seeing a reduction of 10%+ in takings.  However, 58% of retailers surveyed said that they have not been affected by the cuts.

Ian Tomlinson, Executive Chairman of Cybertill, said, “The high street is facing testing times at the moment, due to the uncertain economic climate. But this survey highlights there are positives; some businesses are growing in spite of the economy.  They are doing this in a number of ways but central to growth is excellent customer service. It may sound obvious, but too often service levels in store are not seen as a priority, and in these tougher times it is excellent service that can convert ‘passing trade’ into loyal custom. Moreover retailers, of all sizes, that have the right infrastructure and software systems in place can reduce their costs and overheads, by streamlining their operations, such as carrying the right stock levels at the right times, and in turn gaining a competitive advantage over other retailers.”

INTERSPORT General Manager, Barry Mellis

Cybertill, the UK’s leading EPoS (electronic point of sale) system provider, has become a preferred partner of INTERSPORT UK, part of the world’s leading sports and outdoor buying group. This alliance results in Cybertill’s EPoS system being recommended to buying group members along with other INTERSPORT partners. Sports retailers’ who are members of the INTERSPORT buying group are offered support and advice on every aspect of their business, everything from training to ecommerce stores to marketing services and now to EPoS systems.

“Cybertill is an unique EPoS solution which is well proven in the sports and outdoor retail sector and with our own members. Cybertill helps sports retailers manage their business more efficiently and reduces stockholding. It is this added advantage of business control and ease of use that we want to offer to our members. At INTERSPORT, we have also utilised our buying power so we can offer our members special pricing for the Cybertill EPoS system,” commented INTERSPORT general manager, Barry Mellis.

“INTERSPORT is a globally recognised sports retail brand that Cybertill is proud to be working with. They are also recognised on the high street as offering a personal and specialised service to their customers. The Cybertill EPoS system is unique in that it is delivered over a broadband connection, this gives retailers added advantages over traditional EPoS systems, for example all a retailer’s stock and sales are seen in real time, doing away with overnight polling. Cybertill is used in many sports and outdoor retailers in the UK, and we believe Cybertill is a natural fit for the INTERSPORT members.” said Ian Tomlinson, Cybertill’s Executive Chairman.

Opening night of Jada Styles, Jada Pollock far left next to Didier Drogba

Jada Styles, one of Kings Road’s premier fashion boutiques, owned by football star Didier Drogba and celeb stylist Jada Pollock, has installed fashion EPoS system Cybertill to help them manage their business.

Jada Styles merges image consultancy, personal styling, boutique couture and online shopping to offer Kings Road one of its most eye catching and illustrious stores. Jada Styles was founded by Chelsea star Didier Drogba and stylist Jada Pollock in 2010. It is a member’s only shopping store that encourages clients to dare to be different, by offering a service that is tailored towards to them as well as carrying unique brands and designs. It carries ranges from designers such as Matha Lucca, Takeshy Kurosawa and True Religion Jeans. “We wanted to manage our stock levels more effectively. Cybertill not only allows us to do that but it offers so many other benefits too, such as access to real time sales data and managing client details,” commented Jada Pollock.

“Cybertill has many fashion retailers as clients and understands the complex issues they can face in stock control. With the change of government and economic uncertainty many retailers, even high end boutiques like Jada Styles, have a real need to run streamlined operations, by effectively managing elements such as stockholding, which has a positive impact on cash flow. Cybertill’s EPoS system will provide the necessary real time sales and stock data to enable businesses, like Jada Styles, to make decisions based on the here and now, that will have long lasting positive benefits for their business,” stated Ian Tomlinson, Cybertill’s Executive Chairman.