Moving from Square + Basil to CirclePOS
Chapter One: A Couple’s Dream Becomes Tooele’s New Bookstore
Darren Golliet gets emotional when he remembers the surprise proposal from his fiancé, Abigail Hall. However, it had nothing to do with wedding bells. Her question: “Shall we open a bookstore?”
It was a resounding “Yes!” from Darren, and the couple are now the proud owners of First Edition Books in Tooele, Utah (firsteditionbook.store), a bricks-and-mortar store selling new and used titles. Their focus is popular romance, fiction and manga, with smaller lines in non-fiction, self-help and true crime.
Prior to First Edition’s launch, there hadn’t been a bookstore in Tooele for over a decade. Local bibliophiles had to make a 45-minute drive to Salt Lake City, or shop in the single aisle reserved for books at the local Walmart. Despite this gap in the market, Darren and Abigail weren’t sure how the community would respond to an independent bookstore. They bravely took that leap of faith and so far, reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.
“We’re at the one-year mark, but there’s still people coming in saying they can’t believe we’re here,” says Darren. “Even people who mightn’t be big readers are really glad to see businesses out here diversifying what’s available.”
Choosing the right software for your new bookstore
Darren initially trialled the Square point-of-sale platform in combination with Basil Bookseller Software but found that the package was tailored to much larger operations, both in design and price. He’d just begun to explore alternatives when he received a timely email from the local booksellers association introducing CirclePOS.
From the get-go, Darren found CirclePOS’s comprehensive system a great fit for his business. He says the lower cost, accessible user interface, and inclusion of a website put CirclePOS well ahead of the competitors.
“Honestly, as soon as I’d used it for a few days, I emailed Basil and told them we were moving on. The checkout process with Circle — both for us and for the customer — is so much more streamlined. It’s been a breath of fresh air.”
Darren says CirclePOS aligns particularly well with the second-hand trade that makes up a significant percentage of First Edition’s business. Where Square operated a gift card system to credit customers supplying the store with used titles, CirclePOS enables First Edition to credit and debit customers smoothly and simply through a loyalty system. “We have regular customers who supply a lot of our used titles. The fact that we can click on their accounts and see everything on one page is a lifesaver.”
Having already expanded once since they first opened, the future looks bright for Darren and Abigail. As they continue to write new chapters of this entrepreneurial story, they’ll be aided by CirclePOS’s commitment to put local bookshops like theirs at the centre of the world.
Watch the video interview with Darren and CirclePOS’ founder Warwick Schaffer
Useful additional references
Inspired by Darren and Abigail’s story? If you’re thinking about opening a bookstore have a read of this article How to Open a Bookstore for some great pointers.
Meet more of the stores using CirclePOS, and see what makes them tick
If you would like to learn more about CirclePOS, email sales@circlesoft.net or book a demo