FloristWare Case Studies: Established Shops

All About Flowers is a mid-sized retail florist offering a welcoming environment offering full service and a complete line of floral and giftware items for any event or occasion.

FloristWare was the first POS system used in the shop. The software has proven itself to be a valuable tool in managing staff costs, cash flow, and marketing.

FloristWare has simpliflied the the training process for new employees, because the system is so easy to use. It virtually “walks” the staff through the order taking process. An important benefit, this saves time and money in getting new staff up to speed. This is in stark contrast to most other systems where it can take as much as a week to train new users on the basics.

The “Budget Tool” in FloristWare has proven very popular when dealing with price conscious clients. It allows staff to enter the clients’ total budget (what they’re prepared to spend) and FloristWare automatically backs out any applicable service and/or delivery charges and sales taxes. This shows the sales person how much money is left to spend on product.

In terms of marketing, All About Flowers has successfully used the e-mail feature as a more cost effective alternative to postcard mailers. When they want to advertise a special on products that they need to sell quickly, they can easily create a list of customers and/or recipients that can be as broad or specific as necessary. Each person on that list is automatically sent a customized e-mail with just a few clicks of the mouse.

FloristWare has also simplified Accounts Receivable. This is typically the single biggest benefit for any shop thinking of switching from a paper based system to a more efficient electronic system. Instead of recording an order on paper, entering it into the cash register, writing an enclosure card and delivery slip, and then –usually at a much later time or date- entering the order into an accounting program, FloristWare does it all at once. You enter the order (which in itself is easier then ever before having instant access to all the customer and recipient information) and FloristWare automatically prints the work order, the delivery slip and the enclosure card. It also provides the options of printing an invoice at that moment (formatted for a window envelope) or faxing or e-mailing it directly to the client. This feature is a much more efficient and cost effective way of managing the order taking process and keeping Accounts Receivable up to date. That translates into better cash flow and lower staff costs.

A few months ago we got a call from a florist who was using a POS system from one of the major wire services. It was the top-of-the-line offering from that wire service, is considered by many to be the greatest floral POS system of all time and came with a starting price of $35,000.

However, this florist just didn't get it. They found the system very difficult to use. It was also more expensive than they thought, because in addition to the huge up-front investment there were significant ongoing costs. Some of the costs were hidden - this system forced her to process credit cards through the wire service at a rate that was much higher than she could have obtained elsewhere.

She decided enough was enough. She walked away from her enormous investment because she realized that there was no point throwing good money after bad, and that with FloristWare she could have a system that she liked for less than what she was paying in ongoing fees for a system she had already "bought".

How did it work out? We'll let her tell you:

Hi Mark,
Just wanted you to know how awesome I think FloristWare is...
We (all of us here at Fred's Flowers) have been on the XXXX computer system from XXXXXXX for the last hundred years. Well, not really but it seems like it! When I decided to get a new system and go "another route," I was met with a little hostility from employees, and I was personally scared of the change.

So Sincerely,
Barb Watson
Owner, Fred's Flowers

Periwinkle Flowers is a colorful upscale shop that focuses on fresh romantic designs with a young modern twist. They serve a variety of clients from the private and corporate sector of Toronto, providing all with a superior customer service experience and creative arrangements.

This relatively new shop has thrived in one of the most competitive areas of the city for retail florists - there is one on almost every block! The success of Periwinkle is due to the owners, who are somewhat unusual in that they take the business aspect of the shop every bit as seriously as they do the floral design. They are absolutely committed to not only the most attractive and interesting designs and freshest possible product, but also the best customer service and an aggressive, well thought-out marketing plan.

Once they realized that a POS system would be an important part of future growth they began their research into various systems. It wasn't pleasant. They experienced a lot of high pressure tactics like “one day only” price quotes and, at the same time, were given little real chance to see the product to which they were supposed to commit. With FloristWare they were able to test the system at their leisure and with no pressure. They liked what they saw and have now been using it since early 2006.

Periwinkle’s owners cite FloristWare’s client history – name, address, and order history – as being a valuable tool for increasing sales. For example, during a recent holiday a customer came in to place multiple orders for friends and family. By reviewing the customer’s recipient list and order history, the Periwinkle staff member was able to point out that the customer had forgotten to include someone they had given to in the past. FloristWare gave the store an additional sale and impressed the customer, who was saved from a potentially embarrassing situation. They wouldn't get that kind of service from a big-box retailer!

FloristWare also makes it easy for them to put their marketing plans into action - they can quickly and easily generate lists of customers that meet certain criteria and then generate mailing labels or postcards. If they want to send e-mail they can either do so from within FloristWare or export their list of e-mail addresses for use with a service like Constant Contact. And since Periwinkle is located in an area with a large Jewish population they appreciate the fact that FloristWare makes it easy to tailor specialized marketing campaigns to their Jewish clientele. For example, it is easy to send one set of postcards or e-mail to of customers that are interested in Christmas, Easter, etc., and another that is targeted towards Jewish holidays. This a welcome courtesy that is well received by their customers.

Another plus has been the ability to streamline paperwork, whether through the ability to email/fax receipts and invoices, or eliminating the need to keep old orders on file for reference. E-mailing/faxing receipts/invoices is particularly helpful as it saves the time and money that would normally be associated with sending them by mail.

To become the preferred destination for the kind of upscale consumers that every florist wants in such a competitive location takes something special. We are grateful that FloristWare has been able to play a small part in giving Periwinkle a distinct advantage over other shops in the area.

Quince Flowers is a very successful upscale shop with a beautiful retail space in a trendy downtown location. They deal with A-list retail customers and corporate accounts.

The owner and employees were somewhat reluctant to make a move to a computer based system because, like many people in the flower business, they were more comfortable with flowers than computers. Fortunately they found FloristWare very easy to use and had a smooth transition from paper to software.

They love the way FloristWare handles accounts receivable. This is a very important part of their business as corporate customers charging to their accounts make up a large percentage of their sales.

In the past all orders were recorded on paper and then handed over to a bookkeeper who came once a week and generated and mailed the invoices. Now, the invoice is generated as soon as they order is placed and immediately (and automatically) sent to the customer by e-mail.

The advantages for Quince Flowers are huge. The customer gets a much better description of what they just ordered (every last item and charge is detailed) and they get it right away. This leads to faster payment. It also means less work for the bookkeeper - since they no longer have to enter all of the charges & payments on account into a separate accounting package or mail invoices the store was able to cut back on their services. The bookkeeper now comes twice a month instead of once a week. This alone more than covers the cost of the FloristWare POS system - all of the other benefits are a bonus!

As with any upscale store the ability to keep track of customers and their recipients and their spending patterns is also very important. These customers are prepared to pay higher prices but expect the best possible service in return. FloristWare helps the staff at Quince Flowers provide that. When taking an order each employee has complete access to a customers spending history, likes & dislikes, recipients list and more. This allows even the newest employee to service customers as well as an employee who has been dealing with them for years.

They also really like the very clear, easy-to-read and easy-to-understand reports, the "Daily Sales Report" in particular. Run at the close of each business each this report makes it very easy to "cash out" and catch any mistakes that may have been made during the day.

Awesome Blossoms is a medium size shop (1000 sq. ft.) with 2 full time 3 part time employees in a covered mall.

FloristWare was their first POS system, but they still found it very easy to use. In fact the owner of the shop sent us several e-mails over the course of her first few days with the software talking about just how easy it was.

She also embraced the marketing features very quickly. After just six weeks of using FloristWare she decided to try a quick little marketing campaign using the few customers she had been able to enter in such a short time. Here is how she described the result:

We tried the marketing features in Floristware for the first time just in time for Mother's Day. We created a mailing list of 300 names and mailed out a postcard 10 days before Mother's day. . We also did a follow up about 5 days with an email reminder. You could have knocked our socks off with the response! We had 48 orders - not responses - but 48 orders from the postcards. We are in the process of creating an agressive marketing campaign using Floristware and will let you know the results. The extra business I'm sure is more than paying for you program. Keep up the good work!

But FloristWare isn't just about generating more sales - it also helps you generate bigger sales. The people at Awesome Blossoms have found this to be true and use the "Spending History" feature to great advantage. This tool shows you what each customer spends on average at the start of each order so that you or your employees don't make the costly mistake of underselling them. If for example you have a customer who routinely spends (for example) $100 on each order you would never want to start an order by suggesting that you could do something for $50. However, this happens all too often at flower shops that are not using a POS system! FloristWare makes sure that this doesn't happen anymore.

The AdTracker feature is another marketing tool that has proven very helpful in increasing sales. This feature keeps track of which of your marketing efforts are generating the most business. For example, you simply tell FloristWare what you are doing to bring customers in to your store - things like Newspaper or Radio ads, Yellow Pages, Mobile Signs, etc. and FloristWare keeps track of which is most effective at bringing you new business. This allows you to concentrate your marketing budget on the things that are effective while reducing or eliminating your spending on the programs that don't work.

An unexpected benefit for this shop was being able to pull up an old receipt or invoice in a matter of seconds. Before they installed FloristWare that would have meant a lot of time looking through dusty boxes but now it just takes a few clicks. Even more exciting is the ability to print a duplicate (formatted to go into a window envelope) or e-mail-or fax a duplicate directly to the customer with just one more click.

Summerland Flowers & Gifts is the longest running shop in a quaint town of just 11 000 people. Summerland Flowers & Gifts has grown into a full-service flower and gift shop and is known locally for it's funky atmosphere, dedication to clients, exceptional floral designs with quality products, and showcasing local artists.

Summerland Flowers won the local prestigious award for "Best Florist in the South Okanagan" and placed second in the category of "Best Place to Buy Gifts in the South Okanagan" by Okanagan LIfe Magazine in 2005.

Owner Dorothy Zunti describes her shop as " a progressive business committed to providing the best possible shopping experience with professional caring service, which has been greatly enhanced by incorporating FloristWare POS system into our business about a year and half ago.

Customers enjoy the loyalty points program - not having to carry "another" points card is a big plus and encourages customers to sign up for the program without hesitation. Having the loyalty points program in general increases repeat customers/sales because customers know they are building discounts toward future purchases.

Two of our favourite FloristWare features are:
1) having recorded orders lets us serve repeat customers more quickly and efficiently, and gives us the opportunity to get to know both existing and new customers in a more personal way, thereby developing stronger relationships and nurturing customer confidence.
2) The ability to run FloristWare on more than one computer allows us to input and process orders at a faster rate everyday - and especially during busy holiday times.

Both the business and the customers benefit from the extensive sender/recipient database. Looking for past orders in FloristWare is much easier than looking through stacks of paper invoices. We also appreciate the ability to email invoices/receipts to customers straight from the system - it really enhances the professionalism of our business.

The FloristWare team is always there to help us with whatever questions we have. The system upgrades have taken care of the issues we have expressed, and the team is always striving to improve the system to make it the best possible POS system out there. This dedication to the product creates confidence and reassurance for business owners using FloristWare.

Compared to the costs of other POS systems, FloristWare beats them all!"

Rich Ponzio of Ponzio's flowers is an informed and aggressive business person who really wanted to increase his sales and make his operation more efficient. He was well acquainted with computers and technology and knew that a Point-Of-Sale system would help him reach these goals. In early 2005 he began researching different systems. FloristWare was not yet in wide release at this time and he went with another very highly regarded POS system.

He bought the inexpensive version. This "lite" version would normally cost upwards of $12,000, but because Rich supplied his own hardware he was able to get it forjust under $10K. In addition to his initial investment there were also ongoing costs of $250 a month for as long as he used the system, and some specific types of technical support had to be paid for at $200 an hour.

He started using the system in July of 2005. Just eighteen months later he decided that the system was never going to do what he needed it to and decided he had to make a change. He restarted the research process and came across FloristWare. He decided to take advantage of the free Trial period and ran both systems side by side for about one month to see which one he liked better but after just a few days he had seen enough and decided to go with FloristWare.

By this point Rich had invested almost $15,000 in his original system but he was smart enough to see that there was no sense in throwing good money after bad, and the simple fact was that the total cost of running FloristWare was substantially less than the ongoing fees associated with the system that he had already "bought".

Rich is really enjoying the marketing tools in FloristWare. Like many florists he finds that customers are reluctant to provide the e-mail addresses he really wants (because he can use them in free e-mail marketing campaigns) but FloristWare gives him many tools to help him coax those addresses from the customer - things like e-mail delivery confirmations, receipts/invoices, reminders, the points program and more. All of these things put him in a position where the customer wants to provide their valuable marketing information.

He also no longer needs an internet connection at all times. His old system was hosted on a remote server in another city and he connected to it over the internet. If he could not connect to the internet he could not use the system. It also meant that he never really had possession of his customer information, sales history, etc. - it was all stored on the vendor's server. Neither of these things are an issue with FloristWare.

Rich also likes the fundraising feature. Like all florists he is constantly asked for donations and the fundraising feature allows him to turn this to his advantage. For example, let's say someone from the little local league comes in and asks for a donation. You can explain that instead of giving them something you will help them raise money by setting up a special fundraising program for them. Every time someone comes in and explains that they are taking part in the (for example) little league program, you will set aside a certain portion of each sale (you get to determine the percentage). Then, every once and a while, you run a special report to see how much business the program has generated and how much is owed. This allows you to turn the other group/organization into your sales force - if they want the program to be successful they have to get out and promote it! The best part? FloristWare completely automates the process and even allows you to run multiple programs at the same time.

Tylertown Florist is a full-service florist which has been serving the Southwest Mississippi area since 1962. About three months after becoming a FloristWare user Ricky Mapes, the owner, sent us this email:

"Just wanted to thank you for all that FloristWare has done for us. We’ve used other POS software and it just could not do what we wanted….FloristWare does it all!!!!

We and our customers love the ability to send invoices by e-mail (not to mention that it saves us money!) and the delivery confirmation! We have received so many “thank you’s” from our customers. It has also helped to increase sales by being able to see our customers order history.

We also love the fact that my staff find it easy to use (that was not an option with the other software - it was so difficult), and that I can even enter orders from home.

And the ease of sending an order through Floral Source! Not having to enter the order twice - that is fantastic.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE IN THIS BUSINESS. It’s truly wonderful!"

Ricky touches on a few very important points:

The first is that his customers appreciate (and even thank him for) the higher level of customer service that FloristWare allows him to provide. Improving customer service is essential for the survival of any flower shop. As you know only too well, grocery stores, big-box retailers and online order-gatherers are all trying to steal your customers. You can't compete with them on price, but you can compete with them on service. FloristWare allows you to provide a level of customer service that no grocery store - and very few florists for that matter - can match.

Secondly, Ricky is using a “remote access” feature that we wish more florists would use. He can sit at home - or anywhere he can get an internet connection for that matter - and connect to FloristWare just as if he was in his store. He can generate reports, take orders, follow each order through preparation and delivery, etc. This is a very powerful tool for any florist and, if you have more than one shop, you will wonder how you ever lived without it!

Ricky is also taking full advantage of the FloralSource interface. When he takes an order from a retail customers that he needs to wire out he just clicks one button and it's gone! It's easier than ever and he gets a great rebate from FloralSource.

Blooming Fields is a small florist in the suburb of a large city. There are two part-time employees in addition to owner Tanya Bishop.

Despite being a small shop, Tanya has been very smart and aggressive about building her business. For example, she has hired one of the best sales trainers in the industry to come to her shop and work with her staff. This move paid off - she increased both her average sale value and the level of customer service that she provides. She also knew that she needed a first rate POS system. She chose FloristWare.

The benefits for Tanya, as owner, are clear:

"I can make notes for each customer entered into the system, and they are shown each and every time that customer's name is pulled up. For example, one of our customers wishes all enclosure cards be signed with the same saying. I know that even a new, part-time employee will get it right thanks to FloristWare. This allows me to rest easy when away from the store.

Tanya also likes the wide variety of different reports that FloristWare can generate. Given that she is trying to increase her average sale value the "Staff Performance" report is of special interest. It shows (among other things) the average sale value for each employee and how it compares to the rest of the staff. This allows Tanya to monitor (and possibly reward) those who are doing the best in addition to helping her with staffing - obviously she wants the employees that sell the best to be working when the store is busiest! And, when she first started using FloristWare, she loved not having to manually write delivery slips!

"Another favourite feature is 'HotSpots'. It allows me to enter the places (like funeral homes and hospitals) we deliver to most frequently. Now when an order comes in for one of those places all the delivery information is filled in at the click of a button. It saves a lot of time and money and helps reduce mistakes." This feature is a favorite of many FloristWare users.

Like many florists, Tanya already had a perfectly good computer in her store. Despite that, the other POS vendors that she talked to were going to force her to buy a second, almost identical, computer from them just to run their software - at an inflated price. The real insult was that their hardware was not as good as what she already had - despite the fact they were charging much more!

"Prior to finding FloristWare, I was looking into a wire service POS system but did not want to be tied down with monthly payments for a new computer when we had already just bought a new one... all I needed was a program."

Her last comment touches on a very important part of the FloristWare philosophy. We continue to develop excellent POS software and feel good about charging a very reasonable fee for the benefits that it provides. We - like every other POS vendor out there - do not build or add value to computer hardware, so there is no reason that we try and sell hardware to - or force it on - our users at an inflated price just to increase revenue.