Retail Observer

RETAILOBSERVER.COM MARCH 2024 52 A s product manager of AVB's proprietary SYNC point-of-sale system, every week I speak with BrandSource members who want to keep their legacy POS platforms. They usually cite three reasons: 1. Their old POS system works fine, so there's no reason to make a change. 2. Their old POS system is already paid for or dirt cheap. 3. They can't afford SYNC's monthly subscription fee. I would ask you to consider the question I posed in the headline: Does your POS system cost you money or make you money? While setting up dealers on SYNC, we often find ways that the system can help members make enough additional revenue or save enough time each month that SYNC will not only pay for itself, but frequently make them money, just by making the switch. How do we do it? Glad you asked. • By making sure that you are charging the correct prices for your services. A perfect example is an appliance dealer in Michigan, who shall go nameless, and was charging only $30 to deliver and install an over-the-range (OTR) microwave. I convinced the member to raise the fee to $90 (I wanted him to raise it to $130, but he refused to go above $90) – and he is now making an additional $60 on every OTR microwave he sells. I could share dozens of similar stories, but the point is, if we can simply help you make an additional $5 to $10 on every delivery, SYNC will pay for itself. • By helping you sell more extended warranties each month. I've had many, many dealers tell me that after switching over to SYNC, their extended warranty attachment rate went up between 25% and 50% every month. One dealer said his additional extended warranty sales alone cover the cost of his subscription to SYNC. • By saving you time each month. A furniture dealer once calculated that SYNC saves her 29 hours of paperwork every month. What could you do with an extra 29 hours a month? And if you're paying someone $15-$25 per hour to do that paperwork, how much would that put back in your pocket? • By submitting your sell-through claims for you. We started last year with Electrolux, and since then the average BrandSource dealer has received over $2,000 in sell-through allowances automatically through SYNC that might otherwise have slipped away. Some of our subscribers are getting back as much as $1,200 per month from Electrolux, all without lifting a finger. (We are still in the testing phase with Whirlpool, with more brands to follow this year.) • By helping you get paid faster and reducing your processing fees. Even though SYNC is not an accounting system, we have ways to help you identify outstanding invoices and expedite the payment process for your customers. Not only that, but by integrating with one of AVB's Gold Partner credit card processing companies, we have seen our members save as much as 30% each month on their credit card processing fees. (We just saw a smallish-sized dealer save over $800 per month by switching to SYNC.) The bottom line – it's not always about upfront costs, but rather the big-picture cost. A modern, properly installed connected point-of- sale system can not only make your life easier – it can also make you more money than you thought possible. Former AVB BrandSource dealer Rich Lindblom sold his 64-year- old family business, Advanced Maytag Home Appliance of Schaumburg, Ill., and now shares his four-plus decades of retail experience with current BrandSource members as product manager of AVB's SYNC point-of-sale system. You can reach Rich at rich.lindblom@avb.net. IS YOUR POS SYSTEM COSTING YOU MONEY OR MAKING IT? Five ways that SYNC can pay for itself Rich Lindblom POS System RO

• Cover