Working the Register

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The major chains have always had some advantages over mom-and-pop shops, and some of those have come in the form of technology that improves customer service.

But there are certain tools that can help small businesses compete. For example, Attitude Positive Inc. in Westwood sells a software package called AccuPos that allows computers to replace cash registers. The program helps small food-service retailers move customers through lines more quickly. It also generates accounting reports, and even takes lunch orders over the Internet.

The company’s target market includes bakeries, restaurants, convenience stores, pizzerias and delis.

“About 70 percent of locations are still manual, meaning they hand-write tickets or use a cash register that you could buy at Staples,” said Zion Shina, chief executive officer of Attitude Positive. “Our systems are all PC-based with touch screens and big buttons. The design is very much like a cash register.”

With traditional cash registers, the store owner has no record of what’s sold. The receipts often state only a money figure and a general category such as “Grocery.”

The old system doesn’t serve the buyer either. “Customer satisfaction is very low because you get a receipt and it’s just a bunch of numbers. You have no idea what you got charged for,” Shina explained.

AccuPos monitors every item for inventory control and integrates credit or debit card approval into the transaction. It can keep track of tips and can even show what time of day certain items are most popular. Eventually, all this point-of-sale data can transfer digitally into popular small-business accounting programs such as QuickBooks or Peachtree.

“The data and fiscal management the POS systems provide are becoming an integral part of the successful running of any food service and retail operation,” said Robert Ancill, managing partner at Next Idea, a restaurant consulting firm in Los Angeles. “Such technology is typically a budgeted component of most operations and startups.”

Ancill notes that AccuPos faces stiff competition, but most POS software firms focus on chain stores. Microsoft Corp., for example, makes POS software used by large supermarkets and restaurant chains.

AccuPos has carved out a niche by servicing small clients and by concentrating on the front-end software, leaving accounting and management functions to established software lines such as QuickBooks. The information that comes into the store via AccuPos can be transferred and easily analyzed. As a result, AccuPos has more flexibility and lower cost than the bigger, all-in-one software solutions.

“When we show customers how the data moves into QuickBooks, we get a ‘wow,’ ” said Shina.

A lot of AccuPos’ sales come through direct referrals from QuickBooks and Peachtree. The company also puts advertising in trade magazines and attends major food-service trade shows.

As for cost, a store owner should budget $600 to $1,300 for AccuPos software and about $2,000 per cash register for new hardware. However, most buyers don’t need the hardware, Shina said, because they can use what they have.

“When they hear they can do this for less than $1,000, it makes a big difference. You can’t expect a pizza shop to spend $10,000 on systems. It helps them compete with the big guys,” Shina said.

“It has helped me a lot. I have all the reports and my accountant really likes it,” said Elan Elissha, a partner at California Fresh Bread & Pizza in Westwood, which adopted AccuPos technology two years ago.

In addition to the accounting function, AccuPos helps customers get out of the store faster because a well-designed touch screen with large buttons for each menu item requires fewer keystrokes than a conventional cash register. Although scanning is the fastest way to process purchases, a lot of items at a deli or convenience store simply don’t scan, so a PC with a customized touch screen and software offers the next-best method for processing transactions.


Lunch online

The latest innovation in the AccuPos program is online restaurant ordering.

“Customers can skip making the phone call, being on hold and explaining what they want. Instead, their computer prompts them about their favorite items and they simply reorder lunch from yesterday,” Shina said. “And it’s not going in as a fax. It’s an order printed in the kitchen, just as if a cashier wrote it up. That results in more customer satisfaction and more sales.”

Online carryout isn’t a major concern for restaurateurs now, but “there is no question that it will grow dramatically in the future,” Ancill said. “As the market becomes more sophisticated, this will be a prerequisite for all POS companies.”

AccuPos already has the next round of innovation in the works as the retail industry upgrades to self-serve kiosks. The concept of customer scanning has already been pioneered by Home Depot and Ralphs, but has yet to reach independent retailers. Once it does, they will also be able to save on labor costs.

AccuPos programmers are currently writing code for the kiosk program, which Shina expects to debut before the end of 2008.


Attitude Positive Inc.

Founded: 1997

Core Business: Software that allows PCs to replace cash registers in the food service industry

Employees in 2007: 15

Employees in 2006: 12

Goal: To increase sales of software to

bakeries, convenience stores and small

restaurants

Driving Force: Competition from large restaurant chains and supermarkets means small stores must adopt similar technology to remain viable

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