Point-of-sale systems

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TPMS Cadillac XT5 – 2022

Madison Gehring By

Every day, there seems to be some new, innovative technology marketed to tire dealers. With these advancements, it can be hard for dealers to focus on the tools they already have and keep them updated.

“It can be easy for dealers to maintain ‘business as usual’ and not take advantage of newer, modern technologies and features that are being introduced by point-of-sale system providers,” says Ashley Hopkins, director of enterprise operations, ASA Automotive Systems Inc.

Hopkins says a dealer’s point-of-sale system should make tasks “simpler and faster” and dealers need to “find a system that helps solve their core business challenges.”

David Andreoli, president of Andreoli Software, agrees that it is easy for dealers to “choose point-of-sale systems that do not benefit their dealership’s main problems.

“We have seen some dealers choose a new system to handle a process they perform five times a week more effectively, but does a poor job of handling a process the dealer (encounters) 100 times a week,” he says.

Texting communication is a feature that has been popping up on enhanced tire dealership point-of-sale systems.

Jay Adams, president of MaddenCo, says it is important for dealers to understand best practices when it comes to texting customers.

“A user should understand texting limitations and have a feel for when a phone call or in-person meeting is required, so that there is no misunderstanding between the parties,” he explains.

John Fischer, vice president of sales and marketing at Kerridge Commercial Systems, says a good way to build trust with customers is to not have the first communication be a quote on what a service or product will cost.

Representatives from point-of-sale system providers agree that systems also will have to keep integrating and connecting with other software and tools to maximize their effectiveness. They also have more to say about effective point-of-sale system usage — including texting — and more.

MTD: What do dealers need to know about modern retail point-of-sale systems and how can they utilize system features more efficiently?

Andreoli (Andreoli): When investigating a new system, it is important for a dealer to focus on the processes that occupy most of their day and their biggest challenges. A new system should make these tasks faster and easier, while solving the biggest challenges faced by the business owner.

Analyzing a system by a list of features can be overwhelming and can lead a dealer to make a poor choice. Do not buy with a feature checklist.

Find a system that makes sense to you. Find a system that is going to make the bulk of your day more efficient. Find a system that helps solve your core business challenges.

Hopkins (ASA): Point-of-sale products that have been available to the industry for many years should still be evolving year to year with the latest version updates. With current updates come new features that typically can be configured to fit a dealer’s workflow process.

It can be easy for a dealer to maintain business as usual and not take advantage of newer, modern technologies and features that are being introduced by point-of-sale providers. An annual account review with the provider can help maximize the value of the system in place and educate the dealer about new features that have been added and how to use them efficiently.

Fischer (Kerridge): Modern retail pointof-sale systems should have an option to run as a true cloud-based native application. This means that the software can run within an internet browser without requiring any software to be loaded on the client workstation, tablet or smart phone.

Most modern point-of-sale software provides a feature to connect to all tire