Most businesses ring up customers at a checkout center online or at a counter; think grocery stores or shopping at Amazon. A 2022 study by the National Retail Federation found 94% of retailers use the point of sale (POS) system. But the POS system isn’t ideal for six-percent of other businesses that rely on counter sales. Those businesses have a warehouse to retail model, like a lumber yard or an auto parts store, where customers order something too large for a cart and the product has to be delivered after they pay for it from the warehouse. Those businesses need bespoke software. Red Maple’s Counter Sales offers specialized operations for complex orders and can save businesses a significant amount of money. Red Maple is the only software company that offers a solution in this space.
“If a company’s primary method of sales is not retail but they still have retail as part of their business, then Counter Sales allows you to quickly and easily set up a retail business without having overhead and expense of implementing the full retail module,” says Patrick Hodo, CIO of Red Maple. “Businesses that use Counter Sales will experience significant savings over using traditional point of sale systems.”
Counter Sales is ideal for B2B counter sales and smaller retail operations. It can work well for parts counters or outlet stores and any other businesses, distributors and manufacturers that do not follow a customer/cart scenario.
What are counter sales?
One of the key components of the warehouse to retail model is counter sales. Counter sales are made by employees who are stationed, typically, at counters in the warehouse. These employees are responsible for helping customers find the products they are looking for, answering questions, and processing payments.
There are many benefits to using counter sales in a warehouse to retail business:
- Counter sales can help to improve customer service. When customers have questions or need help finding a product, they can simply ask a counter sales employee. This can help to create a positive shopping experience and encourage customers to return to the business.
- Counter sales can help increase sales. Counter sales employees can upsell customers on additional products or services. They can also suggest products that the customer may not have known about. This can help to increase the average order value and boost sales.
- Counter sales can help to improve inventory management. Counter sales employees can keep track of inventory levels and identify products that are running low. This information can be used to order more products in a timely manner, which can help to prevent stockouts.
“Counter sales is a growing trend. With the full power of enterprise resource planning at a sale’s person’s fingertips, merchants get a power tool while also providing customers immediate payment options”, says Hodo. It is ideal for a company with very few terminals that is not using Microsoft Retail.
Red Maple’s Counter Sales Benefits
While most retailers use the Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance & Operations retail module to support retail transactions, Counter Sales allows other businesses to use the standard financial operations sales order screen. They can still use pin pads to check out the customer and provide the goods. Counter Sales costs less to implement because it’s designed for a simpler retail scenario rather than a full-fledged retail module.
Hodo says another huge benefit is that the sales order module allows businesses to have a complex configuration and still sell products that are configurable and complex. Even better, Red Maple’s Counter Sales is the same process as taking an order over the phone or at the counter. This means there’s less training and complexity to implementing the module.
Here are other benefits:
- A quick checkout process – Customers will appreciate how quickly Counter Sales processes their orders. With Counter Sales, your team can scan barcodes whether your customer is buying one or 100 items. It’s fast and automated.
- Save money – Businesses that use Counter Sales will receive a lower “card present” rate and streamline their service because they don’t have to license retail users to process sales. The lower rate and fewer licenses can save money.
- Customer convenience – Counter Sales can adjust to your customer’s needs, such as accepting a variety of payment types for any order, like cash and credit cards.
- Track sales to customers – Counter Sales allows you to track a new sale and assign it to a specific customer. That way you can track past orders and generate reports and trends. For example, a company can operate a card-present transaction without the full implementation of a retail Point of Sale system. The company can instead utilize the ERP sales order system to enter and price the sales of items while a card-present pin pad can enable a customer to pay as they normally would with a credit card or e-check in a “typical” POS system. This can save the company money without negatively affecting the customer’s experience.
- Easy to implement and get going – The Counter Sales module is easy to implement. Companies can use the same sales order process they use for phone orders. They can also add a pin pad so Red Maple’s software can facilitate payment for credit card transactions, which has lower processing fees as a card present transaction.
Red Maple’s Counter Sales is used by businesses around the world. This makes it easy for their team to make the transition easy for you to use. Red Maple can also work with any processor you are already using, saving time and money from switching to another system. Also, with Red Maple’s customer payment portal, you can also implement click-to-pay and curbside delivery for your customers. Red Maple’s Counter Sales can help you save time and money, improve customer service, increase sales, and build relationships with customers.
FAQs
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What is Red Maple’s Counter Sales software and why would I use it?
If your business sells items off the floor and from a warehouse, then you should consider Counter Sales for convenience, flexibility and savings. Counter Sales allows you to ring up regular retail orders from items in a basket and items from the warehouse with the same software, without retraining your employees on how to use it because the process is exactly the same. Even better, the software costs far less than using a traditional point of sale system.
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Can my warehouse to retail business save money by using Red Maple’s Counter Sales?
Red Maple’s Counter Sales offers specialized operations for complex orders and can save businesses a significant amount of money because they are not paying for the usual POS system. Red Maple is the only software company that offers a warehouse-to-retail solution.
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What is a counter sale?
A counter sale is a rare, but growing trend. Most businesses (94%) use a point of sale (POS) system that lets customers check out with the swipe of a card in person or online. But that’s not always possible if you sell items from a warehouse. For specialized operations and complex orders, Red Maple’s Counter Sales is a time and cost savings solution.
