Most of the retail florists we hear from already have some kind of POS/Shop Management System in place, but they're looking for a better product and fit.
Some of them have one of the established florist software from wire services. People have a lot of feelings about wire services and their role in the industry, but their software and support tends to be pretty good. When we hear from a shop that wants to get away from their wire service POS system it's usually because of the cost (high, often exorbitant when you factor in all the related and hidden fees) and/or part of a larger decision to leave the wire service and take back control of their business.
Others have really basic, stripped down systems that were designed for a very simple kind of general retail. They might be great for a vendor in a kiosk or craft show, but they simply aren’t the kind of real POS/shop management system a busy flower shop needs to run efficiently. When we hear from these shops that’s what they are looking for – features designed specifically for retail florists.
Still other shops use one of the other independent (meaning they do not come from a wire service) floral POS systems that are (or at least claim to be) built for retail florists. These sound great at first, but florists generally realize they were not what they were promised pretty quickly. In fact that happens so often that we compiled a list of things these shops said they wished they had asked about before making a decision.
We’re happy to hear from florists in all three groups. Having been around these shops have a better sense of what they need – the professionalism, features and support that come with the best of the wire service systems, combined with the savings and agility promised by the smaller independent floral-specific POS providers – and they recognize FloristWare as a perfect fit.