1) Do I need a receipt printer?

No

2) Do I need a point of sale system or special software?

No

The purpose of our Cardplai software is to let you run it in the cash register.

I certainly was not impressed with this newspaper article [Link removed] on the rumour that News Limited metropolitan might become free.

I was thinking of commenting but the article was so bad, I just dropped it. I doubt any newsagents make only around $25 a week on newspapers. Newspapers are worth between 5 to 40% of a newsagent’s turnover. That is a lot more than $25.

Also although distribution revenue varies greatly in newsagencies. Many do not do it. Nor is distribution subsidised by the newspapers. It is subsidised by the newsagent. As newspapers become less important, many newsagents are rethinking on the distribution costs.

His conclusion is correct, newsagents have to change to survive. One newsagent looking though the profitabilty reports in posbrowser reported that of his 10 lines, only three were newsagency lines.

http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/2009/04/16/newsagents-label-nsw-lo…

Newsagents in NSW are getting much press on their campaign to oppose the sale of the State Government’s NSW Lotteries license. Clearly NSW newsagents are worried about what happened in Victoria, with Intralot.
I hope the NSW government have learned from the experience of Victoria. Here Intralot’s products are not proving popular. Victorian newsagents are upset about their loss of revenue and the Victorian government is facing a large shortfall on expected revenue.

http://mumbrella.com.au/could-news-ltd-take-its-newspapers-free-4581

I cannot believe that News Ltd would start giving its paying papers out free as long as they still have many paying customers for the newspapers but possibly they maybe planning to improved their free papers.

One user who recently came to us, decided to go over his magazine department to weed out those magazines that are not profitable. He asked me to help. So we decided to use one extremely powerful feature of posbrowser, its profitability section. It has become an interesting exercise.

We immediately identified that this newsagency had over the past year had sales data for 813 magazines. Immediately we saw that six magazines were so badly shoplifted the newsagency lost money on them. In those areas they are displayed, the newsagent is now thinking of putting in security cameras. About another 120 had either no recorded sales. Some the newsagency just returned them without displaying them or they were displayed but never sold. We also found many that had such bad data that we could not work with them. That left us 687 magazines to examine.

We then compared the profit to the average stockholdings using

Return on investment (ROI) = Profit/ (Average stockholding)

The graph is here.

<all graphs have been removed>

As you can see there is very little relation between how much stockholding of a magazine you have compared to the profit. If you look at the right side of the graph, you can see the problem. Many magazines with high stockholding are returning little and are just eating overdraft.

Of these 687 magazines, only 474 made the newsagency more than 10%. The newsagency was paying more on bank interest than in sales on the remaining 213 magazines. You can see the graph of the ROI% compared to number of magazines. Note all magazines with more than 49% ROI are listed here with 50% plus.

Since the newsagent believed a 25% return on investment (ROI) was required, we tested that too and found that only 296 magazines made more than 25% ROI.

He is now in the process of rearranging his magazine section.

In 2007, we went to our users with a campaign to get them to start sending sales data. Writing and calling people to get them to send sales data. We asked people to do it and that campaign proved successful. 

From almost nothing, soon I was told that we were sending almost all the high-quality data. The problem was as this campaign went on, XchangeIT found it impossible to provide the data to keep it up. We needed information on who was not sent. XchangeIT could only provide data on who was sending.

With XchangeIT new systems, this problem is fixed. Soon many newsagents that are not sending sales data correctly will find their fees increased. This fee increase is unnecessary, as most of our users in XchangeIT can send sales data free so saving themselves money.

As well as that, without sales data, the newsagency cannot share in the new ordering system (SBR) which appears to increase magazine sales by 1.5%.

What we are trying to do is get a list from XchangeIT of people that are not sending sales data correctly and fix them up before the new charges start to come in September.

If you are not sending sales data and using Xchangeit, we have an information sheet explaining how to set up sales history 

Because all Fairfax subscriptions are ongoing and do not have an
end date their is a great possibility that errors will occur. It is important to regularly audit your subscription information.

The best way to do that is check the quantity of papers delivered with the word "SUB" at the end of the code. These are the subscription papers.

This is true in both our window and DOS system.

Although we would rather have waited for some suppliers for more information, we decided it was better to send information sheets for handling the Easter holidays now. This give everyone plenty of notice.

Therefore we have written it up quoting what we do know as examples, so you can follow the logic and make changes as they appear.

Since there are often last-minute changes, I suggest that you do these changes at the last practical time.

MPA in the US wrote a pamphlet for retailers for magazines. Although written for the US, I think this study makes some good points for Australia too so worth reading. It is available now.I particularly liked the comment that people feel the queues at the cash register are shorter if magazines are present.

It is a shame the Australian MPA did not produce an Australian version. Not that I have heard much from the Australian MPA in months.

I was asked today by a DOS client to send them some sheets on magazine returns information sheets.

I am sure that others would find it useful too. So I put them on our website for downloading.

Although it is very much a work in progress the current information on the new Fairfax subscription system is now available.

As always there is no change or restrictions for anyone to download this document.

POSBrowser users are automatically upgraded.

DOS users require version 3G2 or better for the Fairfax changes.

The latest officesmart catalogue file is available for download here.

For this and other supplier files please visit here

I had this morning, a discussion on this catalogue file with a client. It is for anyone that has an officesmart account. There is no charge from anyone, for your use of this file.

It will save you much time which is why we spend so much time and energy on them. So enjoy.

Here is a recap of the recent retail Conference for the Marketing of Magazines and Books that just finished in Miami. Although the emphasis is on the US market, I found many point of relevance to us too. I particularly liked the Mythbusters section.

We had a few people ask today about the new XchangeIT pricing. We have been in frequent contact with XchangeIT particularly on the new fees they are introducing.

The current proposed pricing

The new prices (EXT GST) are
1) $400 if you are fully compliant
2) $600 POS DOS users
3) $850 if you cannot send sales data

As a guess, I would say to the newsagency industry this represents about a 35% increase in fees. XchangeIT argue that it is fair as they have not had an increase for many years.

Our arguments back is few in newsagencies and IT had any increase either in that period. Considering their monopoly position surely financial justification is needed. Also these fees are hitting hardest, the smaller ones who can afford it the least. Lastly that surely if one accepts that sales data has worth, newsagents are paying more both in data and money.

Clearly based on the current proposed pricing our arguments had some affect. POS DOS users by all rights should be charged $850. We asked that they should be treated as if they were fully compliant as they are compliant (we have a certificate to say so) and they tend to be small so cannot afford these increases. XchangeIT have met us better than halfway. POS DOS receives a special discount of $250 discount. No other system that does not send sales data got that. So I am pleased about that.

What many clients might want to consider now if you have more than one shop is using our multishop system. Using it many shops can be run though one XchangeIT account. Also your magazine management will be better.

We are having a meeting with the XchangeIT tomorrow as we are is confused about some details. We need more answers. Then give us a few days to digest what they say before we will explain the situation. So we should have some answers by Monday.

We were was looking for some publicity photographs to advertise our software in some shops. While doing a search on the net, we found this site with photographs of newsagencies almost all who are our clients.

See what you think of these shops.

{link has been removed}

I blogged before how unfair it was by the ACCC not to allow newsagents to collective bargain with their suppliers. The monopoly is long gone and newsagents are disadvantaged in not being able to collectively bargain when faced by such big competitors.

Well today newsagents got some good news. The Queensland Newsagents Federation has won the right for state newsagency association in NSW and the ACT, and the Victorian Association for Newsagents to engage in collective negotiations on behalf of members, with certain major publishers and distributors of newspapers and magazines. That was a good job by the Queensland Newsagents Federation.

This decision is well overdue.

The first issue, I hope they look at is the delivery fees. They are ridiculously too low.

I have read that in the US now in many places, law notices are no longer in newspapers but on the web.

This is now spreading to Australia. You can read an article about it. Although this article talks of the Age, many Australian newspapers do law notices.

Getting Brown Trout to get their current catalogue file correct can be so frustrating. Although our file formats are now standard in the industry for many years and Brown Trout have produced them often, every time for them it is something new. So they always starts we are sorry but … and eventually we do the job.

Still now it is done. For those that need the new version of BrownTrout Publishers catalogue now it is on our site

For this and other supplier files please visit here

[Link removed]

In these economic times, I wonder if these new industrial relations reforms are suitable. Effectively it is to many businesses, a huge pay rise that many will struggle to pay it. I know a newsagent that told me he intends to reduce the shop hours to save costs. I know another that has reduced some staff hours to save costs.

Here is an interesting interview on what the Queensland Newsagents Federation thinks about it.

You should have received a letter from ACP explaining the new magazine distribution method.

The immediate concern by everyone now seems to be will it involve me in extra work as we have to stock receive (invoice) the same magazine many times? These concern we have already put to ACP during the tests. What we expect is that it will involve some extra stock receiving as it creates an automatic reorder amount if they forecast that you are likely to run out of stock. If it does get too much, you can drop out of the program if you want. But we are asking everyone to give it a chance, because it may lead to a better magazine supply.