In talking to florists about Point-Of-Sale systems we've noticed that all too often they are not asking some of the most important questions, and that POS providers are not volunteering the answers. This creates a dangerous situation for the florist.

For example, when talking to florists who are researching POS systems we've noticed that they are not always given all of the information they need. For example, they are not told what will happen to all of their marketing data if and when they choose to leave and/or switch to another system. Sometimes they are not told about some of the wire service implications. Other times they are not told about the implications for credit card procesing.

When dealing with florists who are trying to switch over from their existing systems to FloristWare we see the aftermath. For example, we have had users that wanted to abandon systens that they didn't like and switch over to FloristWare. Unfortunately, their current system is one that has been designed so that the florist can't get their valuable marketing information (customer contact information, reminders, etc.) out of the system.

It hardly seems fair - the florist paid to use the system, and went to the trouble of collecting the information from their customers. Unfortunately the florist never considered this scenario before they bought the system so they never asked, and the vendor never disclosed their policy.

Some argue that it is a simple case of "Buyer Beware" - that a buyer can't get upset if they didn't ask the seller the right questions. The reality is that choosing a POS system is so complicated that a florist can't be expected to think of every single question.

With that in mind we have introduced a five-point fairness policy. The goal is to have POS vendors agree to voluntarily disclose their policies on five of the most important and commonly encountered issues relating to POS systems.

Shopping for a POS system is very difficult. First of all you have to research each system that interests you. You then have to evaluate and compare them to make sure you choose the one that is right for you. It is a daunting task!

To make things easier we have assembled a POS reserach worksheet. It contains a series of questions that you need to have answered in order to properly evaluate any POS system. It also shows you how to evaluate and understand the answers you may be given.

This worksheet is free for anyone to download. It will take a little time to complete but it will help you make sure you get the right system.

We are pleased to announce that FloristWare 1.9 is now available for download. This release features enhancements which make FloristWare better than ever.

The most important improvement in Version 1.9 is the addition of a new "mouse over" component to the built-in help system. It allows even the newest, most inexperienced and computer illiterate user to perform even complicated tasks with confidence. If you aren't sure about what clicking a certain button will do, simply hold the cursor over it and a window containing detailed instructions will pop up. You can also get detailed instructions when looking at reports - simply hold the cursor over a column header to get a detailed explanation of the information that is contained in that row. In all more than 8,000 of these help windows were added to the existing 100,000 word help system.

FloristWare Version 1.9 gives you more control over your printers and paper sources, allowing you to specify what jobs (reports, receipts, invoices, enclosure cards, etc.) print from which printer and which paper source (drawers or trays).

At the request of the accountants and bookkeepers of some of our users we made some enhancements to the Accounts Receivable tools as well. FloristWare now makes it easier to write off outstanding invoices and balances, and to erase small credit balances. The Payment Transactions Report has also been enhanced significantly.

Anyone who has been thinking about trying FloristWare or who has been experimenting with our previous demo version should really give FloristWare 1.9 a try. It is easier and better than ever!

FloristWare 1.9 is available for download right now.