1. Are you struggling to create a website that authentically mirrors your store?
Would you like a website that runs in sync with your store? A place customers can go to see what you have curated for them, or place a book on hold before they visit.
The CirclePOS website is optimised to sell books and because it is integrated into the stock system your website stays in perfect sync with your shop. This cuts costs as you do not need to maintain separate systems, or pay external providers to host and maintain your site. Learn more about the features of the Integrated website.
2. Do you have customers that can't always visit your store in person?
With a website that truly reflects your store you can confidently reach out and ask customers to return, even if they can’t make it in person.
The CirclePOS website is packed with features designed specifically for bricks and mortar bookstores such as wishlists that enable you to respond to online enquiries for particular titles (just like you do at the counter) and loyalty that enables you to hand sell online like you do in store.
3. Would you like to work remotely?
A cloud application makes it easy to work from anywhere and on any device. Would you like to do the backorders away from the hustle and bustle of the store, or keep an eye on sales. Do you have talented staff who could work remotely on marketing to remote customers? Do you have customers eager to see if you have a particular book, or to check their order? Read more about how a cloud platform can cut costs and improve your shop here.
4. Are you a Mac person? Would you love to use your beautiful Mac in your beautiful store?
CirclePOS is multi platform software, and can be used on a Mac, Linux, or Windows PC. It features a multi-platform online/offline POS client to cover any offline situations.
The backoffice component of the system is web-based, making it compatible with tablets and smartphones. Read more on the benefits of a multi-platform cloud-based system.
5. Do you spend countless hours on data entry, or thousands on data feeds that are riddled with gaps and errors?
Good quality data is essential to your bookstore's website but updating thousands of titles with images and descriptions is an unrealistic task for a single independent store.
CirclePOS resolves this by enabling stores to share the work. If one store adds a missing title or image, the next store doesn't have to. With hundreds of stores contributing, on top of supplied data feeds, you benefit from the best and most comprehensive data available. Read about our community database.
6. Do you sometimes feel like an island in the suburbs, buffeted by the forces of big groups and online giants?
The shared data entry mentioned above is just the starting point. With CirclePOS, you not only maintain your independence but also gain a platform to work and share with like-minded stores worldwide.
Experience a wealth of resources available to the CirclePOS community, from KPIs to monthly sales comparisons. Identify titles that might not be in your stock but are selling well elsewhere. Effortlessly locate hard-to-find titles.
Be part of yourbookstore.io, the portal providing book buyers with a one-stop-shop to locate the book they want and the local store that has it. Meet some of the wonderful award winning CirclePOS stores.
7. Are you running on outdated and unsupported systems? Feeling overwhelmed by IT support bills?
A cloud-based system not only offers easy remote access but also handles many of the costly and complex aspects of computer management as part of the service.
We know you have better things to do than grapple with servers, networks, upgrades and backups. Cloud-based applications reduce IT costs, run on any platform, and are maintained and upgraded for you.
8. Do you belong to a Group or Franchise?
Group and franchise stores play a vital role in many small towns around the world. You are often the local bookshop. CirclePOS features for multi store operations include:
• Group Portal: Central site for reporting and managing group deals.
• Individual Store Systems: Each store has its own inventory and website, integrated with a central group portal.
• Group Categorization and Pricing: Centralized system for setting category and pricing defaults.
• Quick Setup for New Stores: Clone tool for fast store setup.
• Customer Roaming: Unified customer identity for loyalty, gift cards, and accounts across stores.
• Stock Transfer and Order Management: Tracked transfers and merged purchase orders for efficiency.
• Group Deals and Reporting: Centralized purchasing options and comprehensive group-wide reporting.
For more details, visit CirclePOS for Groups and Franchises.
Every month, we roll out upgrades, new features, and improvements to ensure you stay ahead. All of this is taken care of as part of the service leaving you to concentrate on selling books!
We also have a great resource of Articles relevant to bookstore owners, new and seasoned.