Q1.
I only have one
retail store. I'd
like to use a
computer and
software, but don't
know if Microsoft
Business Solutions
Retail Management
System is a good
fit. Also, can I use
my laptop PC?
A. Yes. Microsoft
Retail Management
can run on any
Windows-based
computer — laptop or
desktop — provided
it meets the minimum
requirements for
installation and
operation. Click
here to learn more
about minimum
requirements and
here to see a
listing of capable
hardware providers.
Microsoft Retail
Management Store
Operations can run
at just one store or
at multiple stores.
There is no
requirement to have
multiple retail
stores before
purchasing Microsoft
Retail Management
Store Operations.
The software,
however, is designed
to scale should your
retail operation
begin to grow into
multiple locations.
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Q2.
I am a growing
retailer with six
stores, 20 employees
and about $10
million in sales.
Can I use Microsoft
Retail Management in
more than one store?
A. Yes. Microsoft
Retail Management
offers an
application called
Headquarters that
allows retailers
with a small chain
of stores to
centralize control
of their Store
Operations databases
and reporting. For
instance, if you had
six stores and a
head office, you
would have six
licenses for Store
Operations (each
store with its own
database), and one
license for
Headquarters at the
head office.
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Q3.
I currently use a
cash register to
track my sales and
store cash. Does
Microsoft Retail
Management work with
my cash register or
do I need to replace
it?
A. Microsoft Retail
Management does not
run on traditional
cash registers.
Instead, this
easy-to-use software
application is
installed on a
Windows-based
computer with point
of sale peripherals
attached via the
available ports on
the computer. (It
does not run on
Apple computers.)
So you'll need to
replace your cash
register with
computers, which are
low in cost, easy to
use, and reliable.
When used with our
software, they allow
retailers to do much
more than they ever
could with a cash
register, manage
time-consuming tasks
efficiently, and
help increase
profits as a result.
Like an electronic
cash register,
Microsoft Retail
Management is used
by cashiers or sales
associates to ring
up orders and tender
sales, but it also
provides much more.
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Q4.
Other than the
software, what other
equipment will I
need to purchase?
A. At a very
minimum, you'll need
a computer with a
standard keyboard,
mouse and monitor.
(Remember, Microsoft
Retail Management
runs on a Microsoft
Windows platform.)
Most POS registers
using Microsoft
Retail Management
also have a standard
40-column receipt
printer, a scanner
to read barcodes, a
cash drawer to store
cash and various
tenders, and a pole
display to let the
customers view and
verify the item
prices and
transaction total.
Other hardware that
is available for use
with Microsoft
Retail Management
includes full-page
printers, scales,
magnetic stripe
readers (MSR),
magnetic ink
character
recognition readers
(MICR), signature
capture device, PIN
pads for accepting
debit cards, touch
screen monitors, and
dual display
monitors.
To determine what
hardware you will
need, check the
hardware
compatibility list,
which specifies
manufacturers and
models of each type
of device that is
known to work with
Microsoft Retail
Management's Store
Operations feature.
Most of these POS
devices require an
OPOS driver to
properly communicate
with the software
solution. Contact
the hardware
manufacturer to
inquire about the
availability of OPOS
drivers for a
specific type of
peripheral.
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Q5.
I have a personal
computer (PC) that
runs Microsoft
Office and my
accounting software.
Can I use this PC
and does Microsoft
Retail Management
work with my other
software?
A. Yes. Microsoft
Retail Management
integrates with
Microsoft Office,
and with various
accounting
applications at the
summary General
Ledger level,
including Microsoft
Business Solutions
accounting products
(Microsoft Dynamics
GP, Microsoft
Business Solutions
Small Business
Financials North
America Edition),
QuickBooks,
Peachtree, Blackbaud,
and MYOB.
For example, you
will have the
ability to export
working reports into
Microsoft Excel for
further data
analysis, or use
Microsoft Word to do
a mail merge of
customer information
stored in your new
Microsoft Retail
Management database
for
targeted-marketing
campaigns.
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Q6.
Can I buy and
install Microsoft
Retail Management
myself?
A. No. Microsoft
Retail Management is
not sold in retail
stores, but is
available from a
wide network of
Microsoft partners.
These experienced,
Microsoft-certified
partners are retail
and software experts
who evaluate your
business
requirements, sell
you the system,
install it, and
provide training and
support.
Microsoft partners
ensure you get the
system most suited
to your business,
and that you
maximize the return
on your technology
investment.
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Q7.
How long will it
take me to learn to
use Microsoft Retail
Management and to
teach my employees
to use it?
A. Based on reports
from customers and
Microsoft partners,
it generally takes
anywhere from 15 to
30 minutes to train
cashiers and
employees. If they
need to learn all
the features of the
POS, it could take a
day or two of
working with the
system to get a good
feel for it.
How quickly you and
your employees learn
Microsoft Retail
Management may also
depend on what kind
of POS system you
previously had been
using. For example,
if you were using a
manual cash register
and paper ledgers,
then it may take a
little longer. But
the Microsoft Retail
Management POS
screens are easy to
understand, and with
practice will become
second nature in no
time.
That is why
Microsoft certified
partners are
indispensable: They
can walk you through
the training, make
it easy to
understand and be
available for
follow-up questions.
Overall, managers
and store owners
will want to take
advantage of the
many rich features
that Microsoft
Retail Management
provides. Partners
say that a store can
be up and running in
a day.
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Q8.
Can I customize the
application?
A. Yes. Microsoft
Retail Management
has various
integration options
that allow
third-party
developers to
enhance the provided
features. It also
allows for totally
new, customized
features to meet
your unique needs.
Many third-party
applications exist
that extend the
Microsoft Retail
Management product
to fit specific
vertical markets.
Want to learn more?
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Q9.
What types of
reports are
available within the
application?
A. Microsoft Retail
Management offers
dynamic, robust,
customizable
reports, called
Active Reports that
give users insight
into their sales,
customers, taxes,
orders, and more.
Active Reports can
be filtered, grouped
and sorted by any
field in the report
window. Also,
columns can be
hidden or displayed
to let users see
only the data that
matters to them.
Reports can be
exported to Excel,
e-mail, HTML, XML,
and other formats,
too.
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Q10.
What types of
transactions can I
perform at the POS?
A. The POS
application supports
the following types
of transactions:
layaways, quotes,
work orders, back
orders,
returns/voids, and
regular sales.
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Q11.
Can I use my current
credit card
processing system
with Microsoft
Retail Management?
A. Potentially.
Microsoft Retail
Management System
offers integrated
credit card
processing directly
with Citi Merchant
Services, Wells
Fargo Merchant
Services, BA
Merchant Services
and Paymentech. The
system also offers
integration with
other third parties,
including PC Charge,
IC Verify, and more.
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Q12.
Can the system
automatically create
purchase orders?
A. Microsoft Retail
Management can
automatically create
purchase orders at a
user's request based
on reorder
information or sales
history. Users can
also build their own
POs for specific
departments,
categories,
suppliers, etc.
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Q13.
Is there a limit to
the number of items,
customers,
suppliers, etc. that
I can input?
A. Microsoft Retail
Management does not
enforce any limits
on the number of
items, customers,
etc. Provided there
is enough disk space
on the server,
Microsoft Retail
Management can
support an unlimited
number of data
entries. Want to
learn more? Click
here to get help.
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Q14.
How is the software
licensed?
A. Microsoft Retail
Management is
licensed by active
POS registers. The
back office
application,
Microsoft Retail
Management System's
Store Operations
Manager, is used to
enter items,
purchase orders,
etc., as well as run
reports and view
inventory.
Therefore, if a
client has five
computers in a
store, with only
three being used as
active POS
registers, only
three licenses are
required.
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Q15.
What type of
security is offered
in Microsoft Retail
Management?
A. Microsoft Retail
Management offers
extremely tight,
flexible security
within each product.
Users have the
ability to allow or
deny access to any
given menu option,
window, button or
field within the
applications. There
are as many as 31
different levels of
security and they
allow you to
completely customize
the security
settings of your
store. You have
complete control
over who has access
to each kind of
information.
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Q16.
How soon will
Microsoft Retail
Management pay for
itself, and what is
the ongoing value to
my business?
A. Many people who
incorporate
Microsoft Retail
Management into
their business
report a quick
return on their
initial investment.
To find out what
your return on
investment could be,
contact a Microsoft
partner.
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Q17.
What kind of
inventory tracking
does Microsoft
Retail Management
feature?
A. Among many other
powerful features,
Microsoft Retail
Management uses
automated inventory
tracking.
You can simplify
manual stock counts
with automated
inventory tracking
across one or
multiple locations,
using any stock or
sales method. You
can support most
compatible inventory
types, including
standard,
serialized, kit,
assembly, matrix,
lot matrix, voucher,
non-inventory, and
weighed.
You can also quickly
and accurately
calculate how much
inventory you need
to replenish, and
you can track
storage of offline
inventory, such as
non-sellable or
broken items.
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Q18.
Will my customers
notice anything
different at the
register?
A. Yes. Your
customers will be
impressed with the
level of detail that
you'll now be able
to provide them
through Microsoft
Retail Management.
They'll get
immediate access to
detailed product
information,
personalized
information about
their previous
purchases and
payments, and
account information.
With quick
information about
customers' buying
histories at your
fingertips, you'll
be able to generate
copies of old
receipts, and
suggest relevant
up-sells, sale items
and volume
discounts. Plus, by
providing all of
your employees with
standardized POS
tools that offer the
immediate access to
detailed product
information, you
give your customers
consistent and
personalized
information.
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Q19.
I want to beef up
our store's
marketing campaigns.
Can Microsoft Retail
Management System
help?
A. Yes. You can use
Microsoft Retail
Management to create
special promotions
such as "Buy one,
get one free!" or
"Buy two at the
regular price and
the next two at half
off!"
Also, schedule store
sales in advance for
entire departments,
categories, or
supplier catalogs
for a specified date
or time. At the
point of sale, you
can track each
discount given to
customers through
Reason Codes to gain
insight into which
sales and promotions
are most successful.
Use the data in the
Microsoft Retail
Management SQL
database to build a
mail merge in
Microsoft Word or
Microsoft Excel to
create customer
mailings and
advertisements.
Track your
customers' purchase
histories to learn
their buying habits
and to deliver
personalized service
that will keep them
coming back for
more.
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