New MS Point of Sale Software

RMS

antonio

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news), the world's largest software maker, said on Wednesday it would launch new software for small retail stores that allows owners to replace cash registers and automate sales and inventory management.

Microsoft Point of Sale, which will be offered from June, is part of Microsoft's push to sell more software to small- and mid-sized businesses...

It's called Microsoft Point of Sale - new product

I just watched their demos, and I *really* like the interface. I'm hoping that MS will update the RMS interface to be as clean.

It should be noted that MS intends this product to augment the RMS offering rather than replace it. There is now a comparison chart between POS and RMS. The way that MS has worded things, it appears that an update to RMS could be seen soon - for instance they mention "Gift Cards" specifically as being handled directly in RMS - but we all know if done in RMS, it's done as a "voucher" - hmmm

"Bill Grohman" wrote:

POS :P

antonio

Gary,

Were they web demos? Or the roadshow?

If, web, links would be great?

Thanks, Matt

wow, looks quite different. So what does this say about committment to RMS.... I mean isn't Point of Sale the same as running one stand-alone RMS client but w/o HQ?

It looks like the New MS POS is really meant to attack the cash register stores. It will be lacking in many areas that most retailers are going to want from an actual Point of Sale software. i.e. Manage inventory and customer information across multiple stores Design custom sales and inventory reports Integrate sales information with Microsoft Business Solutions-Great Plains, Peachtree, MYOB, Blackbaud, and other accounting programs Track work orders, quotes, back orders, and layaways Manage customer accounts receivables Connect point-of-sale software with e-commerce software through third-party add-ons Manage multiple item dimensions, including color, size and style Manage gift cards, assembly, weighed, and gasoline item types Automatically break down cases into single units Assign field-level security to employees Improve cashier accountability by tracking tasks performed All of the above will not be included in the New MS POS. But will still be available with MS Retail Management System.

Rob

"Gary" wrote in message news: snipped-for-privacy@microsoft.com...

Microsoft Point of Sale provides an easy-to-use application to track sales, inventory and customer information. Designed to replace a cash register, Microsoft Point Of Sale saves time and money, automating stores at an affordable price. Microsoft Point of Sale works with the Microsoft Office System and QuickBooks Accounting Software to streamline store operations. Retailers can use Microsoft Point of Sale out-of-the-box with existing PCs and peripherals, or purchase complete hardware/software bundles from leading technology providers.With Microsoft Point of Sale, you can effectively manage inventory and reduce manual and double-entry processes, as well as integrate all your critical information from credit and debit card transactions to accounting software. Taken from a MS announcement.

Rob

The demo resemble to NAVISION and to RMS .. when a demo is available ?

antonio

RMS + SBA

antonio

I must say, after seeing this demo, I am very impressed! I can only hope that they will release an updated version of RMS with the same UI (I'm sure this is the v2.0 that we're all waiting for)

I ask to ms partner about this demo.. he think that this is RMS 2.0 and will available for next year..

stiamo a guardà un pò

antonio

This is not version 2.0 of RMS, this is a completely new product designed for the single store merchant looking for a VERY SIMPLE POS system. Something that is going to them the ability to integrate with QB(and QB only), reporting, customer tracking(no AR) and integrated CC processing. This product is not meant for any type of retailer that needs: Multi Store, AR account, Matrix(size, color and style), Integration into GP or other accounting software, assembly, weighed, track work orders, quotes, back orders, and layaways, design custom reports, web integration, cashier accountability tracking, detailed field level security and automatically break down cases into single units. RMS has not been nor will be pushed to the side by this product. These two products fill two entirely different needs. This is the time when a consultant is going to be more in demand, to help the clients out there determine what solution is best for there company.

Robert Armstrong Retail Management Systems Ltd

I understand the difference between these two products. What I'm saying is that I would like to see the next version of RMS have the same user interface. The UI in RMS v1.2 looks horrible compared to what we see in this POS demo. This UI is much more intuitive and user friendly, not to mention more touchscreen friendly.

I wouldn't mind seeing that interface in next version RMS. I was impressed by the demo.

I was a little concerned about this myself...I asked a few questions online talking to one of the MS people, and he thinks that there should be a release of RMS in the 3rd quarter of 05. I also found a comparable between RMS, and the new Point of Sale, if you would like to see it click on the link below. Take care, and if anyone hears anything new, please let us know.

i went through the flash demo too and although it is a nice interface, i didn't think it was radically different than RMS store operation's POS interface. don't get me wrong there were differences, but it was still obvious that they didn't start from scratch, you can still see a lot of QuickSell POS in this.

i guess to me personally the differences in interfaces isn't that important, we have gotten used to the RMS POS interface and think it is user-friendly enough. where we haven't liked something, we've been able to modify it to our liking... but what i would really like to see in a new version of RMS or this new POS system is more changes in functionality - i wish they would focus on making it more feature-rich, while still being customizable by the user at the POS level. for example, how about adding more types of scenario hooks for triggering COM add-ins?

my two cents :)

kevin