FloristWare News

We'd like to wish all of our Canadian users a happy Canada Day!

Today is also the date that some significant changes to the way various sales taxes (PST, GST and HST) come into effect. Some of you will only have make changes to your FloristWare settings while others will have to update your software. It will depend on the province where you are located and whether or not you ever relay orders to other florists outside your province.

We would like to have gotten this information to you sooner but there have been two main causes for delay:

1. It Has Been A Moving Target!

We have been waiting for final word on how the revised taxes should be applied when taking orders and then relaying them to florists in other provinces. This is a surprisingly complicated subject and - according to our research - there is still some debate about the official interpretation. So, for the time being, we are going with the draft rules and will revise instructions/procedures again if/when anything changes.

2. The Changes Could Not Be Made In Advance

Even the clear cut changes could not be applied in advance of the actual July 1 date or it would have caused problems with your June calculations.

All Canadian users will be getting detailed instructions on changing their settings later this morning. For many of you this will be all that you are required to do.

Some of you will require a software update. How will you know? Just answer this question:

Do you ever take an order from a customer (enter it into FloristWare and charge them) and then send it to another florist (directly or using a wire service)? If not you are done - you don't have to worry about anything else. You are finished adjusting your settings.

If you do ever take orders and send them to other florists we are going to need to update you. The florists most severely affected are those in Alberta and Manitoba so we will be dealing with them first. We'll then continue on with the rest.

So - if you do relay orders to florists outside your province please send an e-mail to support@floristware.com today.

We are very pleased to announce that Kieren MacMillan has joined FloristWare as senior developer. Kieren is already working on the next major upgrade to the system (the version after v4 which is being deployed now) which should be available to users in late 2010.

Kieren is a very talented developer. His skills and experience will make FloristWare a better system for our users and help us get those improvements implemented and deployed faster than ever.

FloristWare version 4 has been a long time coming. There are lots of new features that the beta testers love but they aren't even able to see the biggest changes.

v4 includes the most significant changes to the FloristWare data model in the history of the system and paves the way for several years of rapid development. Once the migration to v4 is complete our users can look forward to rapid quarterly releases of new versions - each of which will offer exciting improvements to the "front end" of the software.

FloristWare v4 is currently being used in a small percentage of shops - maybe 30 - as we continue to monitor it's stability. Widespread deployment will begin in July. As always the update will be free to all users.

We wanted to thank Ken Royer for his excellent article in the May 2010 issue of Florists' Review.

The article suggests that florists look at wire service relationships in a different light. It is full of great advice and we are grateful to Ken for sharing his insight.

There are some key ideas in the article that tie in to the FloristWare philosophy:

If you have a small volume of outgoing orders, search for a way to send them without joining a wire service.

FloristWare has always included a feature for keeping track of sending and receiving shops and paying/billing without using a wire service.

Report all incoming phone orders. It is a fact that a meaningful percentage of incoming wire orders is not reported by florists, and some order-gatherers phone in their orders to take advantage of that.

We have definitely seen this to be true so FloristWare includes features that make it very easy for florists to report - and get paid for - phone orders.

The key to success is to build your local business.

We have always believed this to be true. While many of our competitors have concentrated primarily on interfacing their POS system with the wire services our efforts have been dedicated to building features that will help you build a loyal following of retail customers.

Another one or our most popular articles (of interest to all florists whether they use FloristWare or not) has been updated and is now available in revised form. It is a guide to designing successful fund-raising programs that will increase your sales and help you give back to the community. We hope you find it useful.

One or our most popular articles (of interest to all florists whether they use FloristWare or not) has been updated and is now available in revised form. It is a guide to designing a successful points based loyalty/incentive program. We hope you find it useful.

FloristWare is pleased to announce that Just Beginnings Flowers is the latest program to help its students and the industry by providing comprehensive training in the skills florists really need today.

Just Beginnings Flowers (JBF) is not your typical florist. It is a social enterprise that combines a floral business with a floral training school. The floral business’s profits are used to assist students with multiple barriers who, without this support, would not have access to training programs. The operations of the store and school are closely linked, as both students and graduates are involved in the design and production of floral products.

JBF is using a special educational version of the FloristWare point-of-sale system that is available, free of charge, to schools and colleges offering floral design and florist training programs.

“It is so helpful to be able to use FloristWare in both the school and the store. Now our trainees can get real hands-on experience with a POS that teaches them about the business side of managing a floral shop - including marketing, managing employees, financial reporting and much more,” explains Chris Mould of JBF.

“FloristWare is committed to helping not just students but employers by helping to ensure florists entering the workforce have the essential skills success in this business now demands. By working with a POS system during their training, they learn that a career in this industry involves more than just design skills and a love of flowers and are better employees” says Susan Page, FloristWare’s Vice-President of Sales and Service.

A variety of schools - from small floral design schools to community colleges - are already using FloristWare in the classroom and, in some cases, their associated training stores. If you are with a school or college and are interested in learning more please contact Susan Page at 1-888-531-3012 x708.

Merchant Warehouse - our preferred merchant services provider - was recently named the Electronic Transactions Association’s (ETA) First Annual ISO of the Year. This is a great honor for them - it means they are very good at providing credit card clearing services.

If you are not yet using FloristWare to process your credit cards you need to consider it - it will make processing sales faster, easier and less risky. Of course a very important part of the FloristWare philosophy is that you can choose whatever merchant service provider gives you the best value but you should give Merchant Warehouse a try. They are currently offering FloristWare users a free analysis of existing statements (so that they can commit to potential savings in writing) and free set-up. Please contact Chris Shirley at 800.941.6557 x2370.

This may be of interest to Canadian shops looking at purchasing new computer equipment:

http://www.reuters.com/article/usDollarRpt/idUSN2742477320090127

The interesting part is this:

"Ottawa also promises to introduce a 100 percent capital cost allowance rate for computer-related business purchases for a two-year period ending in February 2011."

We are pleased to announce the latest version of the fastest-growing independent POS system for florists is now available as a free upgrade to all FloristWare users.

FloristWare Version 3.0 includes many exciting features and enhancements, including:

• unprecedented integration with e-commerce websites
• new interfaces with some of the most exciting, progressive & affordable wire services
• superior e-mail marketing, list management and CANSPAM compliance tools
• powerful control of "Cost of Goods Sold" (COGS) reporting
• a new scheduling tool that allows you to create, view and print staff schedules

A more complete list of new features can be found in our Version History section.

"Our goal is to provide the best and most flexible POS system to florists. This means giving our users as many options as possible regarding order relay, website integration, credit card processing, etc., so they can choose whatever is best for them" explains Mark Anderson, founder of FloristWare.

"Unfortunately for florists the traditional service providers have chosen to limit options and increase prices - even as shops fail at a record rate. The good news is that a whole new crop of exciting vendors has sprung up, offering more innovative and affordable products and services. We're working with these companies to put florists back in control of their businesses and provide better services at better prices."

Florists interested in learning more about the FloristWare POS system are encouraged to download the new free demo/trial version from our downloads section.

About FloristWare

FloristWare is a powerful, easy-to-use and affordable order-taking and point-of-sale system for anyone in the business of selling flowers. It saves money by streamlining and simplifying many of the time-consuming and repetitive tasks involved in running a flower shop. It also increases sales and builds customer loyalty by allowing florists to provide a higher level of customer service.

First released in July of 2005, FloristWare has been positively received by both florists and industry experts who have cited it’s power, ease of use and affordability. It allows a new user to start using the system with no training, and pays for itself through time/money saved and increased sales. It is the fastest growing independent POS system for florists.

If you would like more information please call Susan Page at 1-888-531-3012 x702.