Creating a Customized Demo Store with CounterPoint SQL

Transcription

CREATING A CUSTOMIZED DEMO STORE WITH COUNTERPOINT SQL Table of Contents
Customizing Your Demo
Getting started……………………………………………………………………………….…………….. 3
Downloading images ………………………………………………………………….……….………….5
Associate item images with item numbers ………………….…………………………………….…. 6
Resizing images ……………..………………………………………………………………………........ 7
Define and setting up items …………………………………………………………………………….10
Customizing touchscreen buttons ……………………..…………………………………….……… 15
Customer loyalty programs ………………………………………………………………..………….. 21
Customized filter ……………………………………………………………………………………..….. 25
Printing receipt instructions ………………………………………………………………………..…. 27
Adding an item note …………………………………………………………………………………….. 29
Custom demo checklist ………………………………………………………………………………... 32
GETTING STARTED
I have a demo scheduled for a pet shop next week. Where do I start?
Don’t panic! Pat yourself on the back for scheduling the appointment. You are now on your way to
closing a deal.
As with any product demonstration, there should be discussions with the prospect to find the key
points that they are interested in.
How are they tracking sales now?
Do they track inventory?
How many items do they have?
Do they maintain customer information? Is customer information collected during a sale?
Do they have sales, promotions or special pricing based on items, customers, etc.?
How are they processing their purchasing at this point? Do they work with vendors? How
do they replenish items when they are low on inventory?
How many stores do they have?
How many warehouses do they have? Do they ship inventory from all warehouses?
These are just a few questions that you can ask to probe a little more into what areas of the
application might interest your prospect during the demonstration.
Once you have a good grasp on the customer needs and specific business requirements you can
then proceed to customize the demo.
Now, that I understand my prospects business & POS requirements
how do I customize my demo to simulate their environment?
It is all about the Pre-work!!
It is very effective to pull images and pricing from your prospect’s website to simulate their
environment or a similar website if your customer does not have one.
It is also equally important and efficient to plan out your categories, sub categories, items and
images prior to the configuring in Counterpoint.
Open your prospects website, example: http://www.petcetera.ca/ to begin your planning.
The following examples are for a pet store but you can apply this logic to any vertical.
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List CATEGORIES you want to use from your prospect’s website.
Example CATEGORIES:
Pets
Pet Supplies
Pet Services
List out on paper the SUB-CATEGORIES you want to use from your prospect’s website.
Example SUB-CATEGORIES:
Birds, Fish & Reptiles
Food, Toys, Accessories, Litter
Grooming, Grooming packages
List corresponding ITEMS under your customer’s SUB-CATEGORIES you want to use from your
prospect’s website.
Example ITEMS:
Cockatiel, Siamese Fish, bearded Lizard
Fancy Feast, meow mix, Rubber chicken, litter & a scooper
Pet wash, pet nail trim, deluxe grooming package (includes pet wash item & pet nail trim
item >run-page)
List out the corresponding PRICING AND VENDOR’S SKU’S for each item you want to use from
your prospect’s website
Example PRICING:
Siamese fish=$2.99 /SKU 10033
Bearded lizard=$30
Fancy Feast (Alternate units)
-Can=.82
-case=$12.29
Deluxe grooming Package=$80.00 (Run Page)
Write down what additional BUTTONS/actions you want to display which would be meaningful to
the prospect (i.e., alternate units, run-page, gift cards).
Examples of Touchscreen BUTTONS:
BUTTON
BUTTON Action
Under $25
Discounts
Discount %
Misc. Discounts
Gift Cards
Daily Special (item note)
Website (vendor)
Item from look-up
Price Override
Price override %
Enter misc charge
Button Page
Run Page
External
Tip:
It is easiest to start with an existing database from the demo data in the partner portal and modify
as needed. You will find that most of the touchscreen buttons, paycodes and button actions are
already configured.
(See Custom Demo Checklist on page 32 for the Company & Database naming format)
You can find the demo data in mySARA > Marketing > Demo Data
HOW DO I DOWNLOAD THE IMAGES FROM MY PROSPECT’S WEBSITE?
Now, it is time to DOWNLOAD IMAGES from your customer’s website. Keep in mind, you can
also use images existing in the local C: CounterPoint > System > Images for your buttons.
C file = Local disk (C:)
Scan through your prospect’s website and find a picture of each item you wish to use from your
pre-work (categories, sub-categories, items, customers and buttons).
You can also find images at: http://images.google.com)
Tip: Square images are easier to work with. See pg. 7 for resizing your images.
Each type of image is saved differently:
Button Images
• C:>Counterpoint> Demotweet (name of demo) > images.
-Save file as item description
-Stores the images for your touchscreen buttons
Item Images
• C:>CouterPoint> Demotweet (name of demo) > ItemImages.
-Save file as the item number (see pg.7 for help with choosing item #’s)
-Ties the specific item you want to sell with the image
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Customer Images
• C:>Counterpoint> Demotweet (name of demo) > CustomerImages.
-Save file as the customer number
-Ties the specific image to the customer ( image of customer, image of a installing
a doggie door for the specific customer, etc.)
NOTE: You may need to save the image in two locations:
Tip:
It is often easiest to start with finding your images and then creating item data around them (if you
create items first, you may or may not be able to find decent images to associate with them).
HOW DO I ASSOCIATE AN ITEM IMAGE WITH ITEM NUMBER?
Since you are configuring from an existing database simply look through the existing items in your
demo data inventory. Choose those item numbers which match your new item type (i.e. inventory,
non-inventory, service etc.) This can save you time on the back-end.
EX: Inventory > Items > F9 (Item LOOKUP) and begin using the item numbers from the top.
Example of an Item & Item number
You will need to copy & paste the item number into the file name field as you save the item image
(jpg) so it can associate the picture with the correct item at time of sale.
When you go to ring up a sale using item # 1002798 the associated item image will display.
Use the specific item number associated with the image as you save this file under
CounterPoint > Demotweet (name of demo) > ItemImages.
HOW DO I RESIZE MY IMAGES IN COUNTERPOINT?
Once you are in Counterpoint the images you saved may not be the appropriate size for when you
are ringing up sales, displaying the customer and/or may not fit the actual button. In this case, you
will need to access Paintshop in Windows to resize your images in CounterPoint SQL.
Select Start > Programs > Accessories > Paint
EX:Click on file > Open > C: > Counterpoint > DEMOTWEET (name of your demo store) >
images > 1002798.jpg
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EX: Windows PaintShop.
On the tool bar click image > stretch/skew. Resize your image to fit the size of your buttons.
Adjust later, if needed.
EX: You can reduce the size of your image in Paint.
Now you are ready to configure your Touchscreen buttons, set-up your items and define prices per
item.
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HOW DO I DEFINE AND SET-UP MY ITEMS IN COUNTERPOINT?
You can add new items, or you can simply use the existing items in the database and change the
pricing, category and description to reflect the item you want to add. By using the existing
inventory item numbers, you can leverage existing quantities and other historical information
related to the existing item numbers.
Many fields on the INVENTORY / ITEMS screen will default to the values based on your template
item. Enter information for the Description, Price-1, Last cost, Category, Barcode, and Primary
vendor. Other fields are optional, but don’t play a significant role in demo data (in most cases).
Go to inventory>Items
Click on “ITEM LOOKUP” (F9) and choose the item number you previously assigned to the new
item image For example, if you are adding a fish aquarium choose the corresponding item number
with the image of the fish aquarium.
EX: 0618256512-U
Example of a item number and Item
Enter the NEW DESCRIPTION for your item (fish tank 2)
Example of “Description”, “Price-1”, “Category” and “Barcode”.
Enter the price in “PRICE 1” and “REGULAR price”
I would suggest inputting the #1 in the BARCODE field if the field is empty otherwise leave it as the
default barcode #.
Enter your “CATEGORY”- EX: Pet Supplies.
First, scroll down your category / sub-category list to be sure the category /sub-category names do
not already exist.
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Click on the magnify glass next to the “CATEGORY”
Select “ADD F2” to add your category name.
Add the category-EX: Pet Products
Hit “enter”
Lastly, add the “DESCRIPTION” for the item and click the SAVE button.
Enter your “SUB-CATEGORY”- EX: Aquariums.
Click on the magnify glass next to “SUB CATEGORY.”
Select “ADD F2” to add the sub-category name (EX: Aquariums)
Example: Adding the “Sub-Category.”
Add Your sub-category: EX: Aquariums
Hit “ENTER”
Add the “DESCRIPTION” for the item and click the “SAVE” button
Example of “Saving” your changes
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Tips and Shortcuts:
When possible, leverage existing item numbers in meaningful ways.
Change the vendor names to names that are meaningful to the prospect. For example,
vendor number ACM could be Acme Sports Accessories in a sporting goods store or it
could be Amber Clothing manufacturer in a clothing store. By leveraging the existing
vendor numbers, you don’t have to create all new vendors.
Check the grid information to make sure all colors/sizes will work with the item your
changing it to.
To delete an item, you may need to select inventory / Adjustments / Enter to adjust the
on-hand quantity to zero before you can remove the item from inventory.
To renumber items, go to Inventory / Utilities / Renumber. If you renumber items after
you have assigned item images be sure to rename your item images to match the new
item numbers
When entering items, use model stock grids and min max quantities to make purchasing
and restocking easier.
HOW DO I CUSTOMIZE TOUCHSCREEN BUTTONS?
Go to Set-up > Point of sale > Touch codes
Click on the Magnify Glass next to the field for “TOUCHSCREEN CODE.”
Choose “OK”-The name of the old demo store you are configuring (EX: Books: University
Bookstore) and touchscreen will be displayed.
Click on the “BUTTON EDITOR”
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Tip: To edit the overall size / shape / layout of your buttons, click on the general tab.
This is where your pre-work comes in handy!!
In the following example, I will set up 3 pages of buttons and only 1 button per page (highlighted
below). See the chart for additional buttons you may want to add to these pages.
Page Name
Categories
Pet supplies, sub-category
Food items
Buttons
Pets, Pet Supplies, Pet Grooming
Food, Toys, Accessories
Meow Mix, Fancy Feast
First, I will set up my PAGES before customizing the demo.
Open the button editor, click the buttons tab, and click on the NEW PAGE
Enter the name for the new page: CATEGORIES
Repeat these steps to add two additional pages:
o Pet Supplies Sub-Categories
o Food items
Tip: Be sure to check the DEFAULT box on the category page to make this the first page you see
when logging in to touchscreen ticket entry.
Now, I am ready to set up my buttons on each page.
Use the drop-down “page” menu to navigate between the pages and add buttons.
Let’s start with the CATEGORIES page by adding the Pet Supplies button
Click on the button you want to customize
Fill in the fields
o ACTION- “Button Page”- When this button is selected it’s action will be to take you
to another button page.
o IMAGE- Click the elipsys (…) to browse for the “pet supplies” jpg image
This image will display on the button.
o CAPTION- “Pet Supplies”
The words you want displayed on the button.
o HINT- When you hover over the button a hint can be displayed (ex: food, toys,
collars).
o FONT- Choose font size / color of caption
o BUTTON PAGE- “Pet Supplies Sub-Categories”
This will link the button to the next page of the buttons you want to be
displayed.
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Next, we will add the FOOD button to the Pet Supplies sub-category page.
Fill in the fields
(See previous example for explanation of fields)
o ACTION- “Button Page”
o IMAGE- Food jpg
o CAPTION- Food
o HINT- Can, bag, seed, etc.
o FONT- default
o BUTTON PAGE- Food items
Click on “Preview” to view your changes.
Finally, we will add the Fancy Feast button to the Food Items page.
Fill in the fields
(Note differences below)
o ACTION- “Item”
This button will sell an item
o IMAGE- Fanycfeast .jpg
o CAPTION- Fancy Feast
o HINT- Cat Food
o COLOR- White
o PAGE ACTION- None
o ITEM- # 0813336910-U
Use the magnifying glass to look up the item #
o DEFAULT QUANTITY- 1
This button sells “1” can of Fancy Feast. You can check the “Pause at
Quantity” box to prompt the clerk to enter quantity.
Click on “Preview: to view your changes.
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Before you exit SAVE your changes and updates!!!
MISCELLANEOUS:
How Can I add a Customer Loyalty Program?
You can add a paycode button for Customer Loyalty but a program needs to be assigned. (The
paycode button for customer loyalty should already be available in the demo data)
To determine if this is already set-up go to:
Set-up > customers > loyalty Programs
Click on magnify glass at top of screen & “Ok”
The field Loyalty should display a number 1 which means a loyalty program is assigned.
Click on the REDEMPTION RULES BUTTON to set up items to be included in this loyalty program.
Otherwise, the filter will default to “All” items.
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You can also select specific dates or day of week and even store under a specific loyalty program
within the Sales Tab.
Click the back arrow to return to the Loyalty Program screen. Click EARNING RULES to input
your price per dollar and description. The rule of thumb is to use points per dollar versus stocking
unit. This is where you will also tie in a description.
To validate you have a customer set up on the Customer Loyalty program you will need to follow
the navigation path below:
Customers > Customers > Input Customer Number (10) > Hit Enter > Click the Activity tab
Once you determine a customer was set-up under a loyalty program you will need to go back into
the Point-Of-Sale and complete a purchase.
Point-of-Sale > Tickets > Touchscreen > More buttons > Customer Functions > Enter
Customer
Select a customer: Mitch Lowery 10 and click “ok”
Use Mitch Lowery-10 to demonstrate a customer in the loyalty program redeeming Points.
Make a purchase and pay with “Points” in your pay codes at the bottom of the screen.
Look at the “AMOUNT DUE” and it will show you if there is a balance customer still needs to settle.
You can pay the remaining balance with cash and then preview the receipt.
The receipt will only show points redeemed. Once the software is installed the partner can
customize the receipt to include points earned.
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Tip: You can turn off the redemption of loyalty points “message” per workstation. Set-up > Pointof-Sale > station >show point redemption message
HOW CAN I ADD A BUTTON & ACTION TO DISPLAY ALL ITEMS
UNDER $25 (CUSTOMIZE A FILTER)
Set-up > Point-of-Sale > Touchcodes
Click on the button you wish to name and configure
“ACTION” needs to reflect-“ITEM FROM LOOK-UP.”
To add a filter for all items under $25 you will follow the navigation path below:
Click on “Edit Filter” > Right Click the item number field > Choose Customize from the drop
down list > Click in the link- “Click here to add a Condition.”
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Click on the new condition that appeared to view a drop down list
Find “PRICE 1” in the list and select it.
Click on “EQUALS” in the sentence Price 1 equals and change to “BETWEEN.”
A second field will display and you will right click and choose “SIMPLIFY.”
Enter “1” for Price 1 and “25” for the to field
Click Options > Save to Database.
Save name as “Under $25”
HOW CAN I MAKE INSTRUCTIONS PRINT OUT ON THE RECEIPT?
Set-up > Point-of-Sale > Stores > Choose your store >Click Receipts tab
Enter your tag line in HEADER LINE 1 and FOOTER LINE 1
In the example below, I used:
For the Love of your Pet & Tuesdays are pet Adoption Days!!
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Hit “SAVE” and return to Point-of-Sale to make a purchase and view the receipt.
HOW CAN I ADD AN ITEM NOTE?
Set-up > Point of Sale > Control >Click on “Other” tab and look and confirm what is entered in
the Auto Display Notes field.
Inventory > Items > Pull up the specific item you wish to add a note.
Click on PAPER SCROLL ICON in top menu bar.
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Keep your “NOTE ID” as the default, in this case “Auto” and click “ENTER”.
Lastly, enter your note that will pop up when the item is purchased and click “SAVE.”
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CUSTOM DEMO CHECKLIST
Define your Market
Select your target market and choose a name for your company.
Industry/vertical market
Company Name
The store name is what will be displayed throughout CounterPoint. For example,
Kirby Gifts (DEMOGIFT), Camptown Sports (DEMOSPRT), East End Liquor
(DEMOBEER), etc. Store Names can be whatever you want them to be but
should reflect the appropriate industry in the name.
Database name
Historically, database names have been eight character names starting with
DEMO. For example, DEMOGIFT, DEMOSPRT, DEMOBEER, etc. The eight
character limitation is a carryover from the old CounterPoint V7 restrictions, but
it’s a good idea to continue using this convention for consistency.
Install the Current Version of CounterPoint
•
Install or update Counterpoint: Download or install the complete or update version of
CPSQL from the web:
www.synchronics.com/support/downloads_cpsql.htm.
Install the Service Pack: Download and install the current CounterPoint SQL service
pack: www.synchronics.com/support/software_cpsql.htm
Create the Demo Company
It’s usually easiest to start with an existing database and modify it as needed:
TIP: Always use an existing demo company that shares similar attributes with the company you are
creating. For example, if you are creating demo data for the pet industry, you might want to start
with the pet store (Tweety’s Pet Store) demo data (DEMOTWEET)
To start with an existing demo company:
Download the demo data from the Partner Portal and save the file to your local machine:
http://mysara.synchronics.com/pg.cfm?r=/6-8/demodata_v8.
Run the EXE file (e.g., DEMOZOO.EXE) from your local machine. When asked for the Demo
Database Name, enter a Database Name for the new company (e.g., DEMOPETS) and the
Company Name (e.g., Paws and Claws Pet Store).
•
Organizations respond more positively when you show them how you can address their
needs in terms of their own data. Use your Needs Analysis Review document to build an
outline for your customer demo.
•
Use the websites and eCommerce stores to understand their needs and capture item
images and information
– Download item images from the customer website or eCommerce store
– Copy and paste the long descriptions from the website for the item images you
have downloaded into a word document along with the prices and any other
pertinent information
– Note if an item has a special pricing scheme or is sold in alternate units
Enter or Update Items
-Add/Edit item categories: Select Setup / Inventory / Categories
-Add/Edit item sub-categories: Select Setup / --Inventory / Sub-Categories
-Add/Edit ecommerce categories: Select Setup / Ecommerce / Categories
Obtain Item Images

Gather item images: Use Google’s Image Search
(http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi) to locate appropriate images for each
item in your database. Images should be stored in your company’s ItemImages directory
(e.g., C:\CounterPoint SQL\[COMPANY]\ItemImages). Change the name of each item
image to match the corresponding CounterPoint item number. For example, right-click on
an image and select Rename to rename prettydress.jpg to 12345.jpg (assuming the
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corresponding item number is #12345). CounterPoint SQL supports JPG and GIF image
types.

To assign multiple images to the same item, name the additional images with a carat
symbol followed by an identifier: 12345^red.jpg, 12345^blue.jpg, 12345^black.jpg, etc.
Identifies can be numbers, colors, patterns, or anything that makes sense for your data.
Multiple item images are particularly useful for gridded items, alternate units, or any item
for which you wish to display multiple views.
Include a Sound or Video Clip

Include a sound or video clip: For the additional ‘wow factor’ for demos, search the
Internet for an appropriate video clip or sound clip to use in this demo data. For example,
you might look for a sound clip of a particular song for music store, a video clip of a fashion
runway show for a clothing store, or a video of how to install a truck bed for a truck
accessory store.

Sound and video clips should be stored in your company’s ItemImages directory (e.g.,
C:\CounterPoint

SQL\[COMPANY]\ItemImages) and should be named. Sound and video clips should be
renamed to match the corresponding CounterPoint item number. CounterPoint SQL
supports WAV and MP3 files for sound clips and AVI and MPG files for video clips.
To convert a youtube.com video to AVI or MPG format, services such as www.vixy.net will
convert videos for free (not sure if the resulting AVI files are compatible with CounterPoint
or not).

Create a Touchscreen Layout

Create a touchscreen layout using Setup / Point of Sale / Touchscreen Codes.

Touchscreen icons should be located in the company’s Images directory (e.g.,
C:\CounterPoint SQL\[COMPANY]\Images).

Assign the touchscreen code to one or more workstations using Setup / Point of Sale /
Stations.

Enter and post a few tickets to test the touchscreen layout using Point of Sale / Tickets /
Touchscreen.
Conduct a Dry-Run
Make sure all the data that you will be demonstrating loads and displays properly well in advance
of the demo. This applies to online and onsite demos.
GOOD LUCK