For over 30 years, since 1982 in fact, my companies have been software developers, mostly for Point of Sale systems but also in areas as diverse as accounting, advertising, marketing, web and e-commerce, robotics and logistics.

We are structured very differently from other Point of Sale suppliers and software developers, for a variety of reasons. Some of these result from changes in the POS market and emerging trends in the industry. Others come down to lifestyle choices.

The Point of Sale market has changed considerably in the last few years. Today there is a wide range range of Point of Sale software packages, and most of these are targeted at a particular niche which has some special requirement, normally related to their back office accounting requirements.

Examples of such niches include newsagency where magazine returns are important, pharmacy where legal requirements for dispensing prescription medication are important, hardware and ordering from central warehouses is core, grocery where chain promotions and specials across a wide range of merchandise is an essential to the business.

Since there are a limited number of possible customers in such niches, POS vendors try to provide a total package including POS, back office accounting, hardware, support and training to maximise the return from each client.

Because the range of services these vendors is so wide, it is very hard to be best of breed in each of these area, and their offerings have strengths and weaknesses. The POS software always tends to be one of the weak points, because good POS systems are very different in operation to back office systems. The differences between these niches however, is rarely in the point of sale processing and almost always in the back office accounting.

Instead of addressing one or more vertical markets with specalised requirements, we have carved our niche with SELLmatix Point of Sale as a "black box" point of sale system that is suitable for a wide range of general retail requirements, that can be easily integrated with other software where special back office accounting requirements exist.

Of course there are other general purpose Point of Sale software packages, including some offerings from small business accounting software vendors such as Quickbooks and MYOB. Unfortunately, the design of these packages shows their back office wholesale/warehouse heritage, and they look like a back office accounting system, and require that level of skill by sales clerks.

The reason so many clunky cash registers are still in use today, is because attempts to move back office accounting systems to the sales counter usually cause more problems than they solve. Requirements at the check-out are radically different to the back office in terms of speed of operation, security and cash control and operator skill. Very few sales clerks are capable of using a computer, and those that can require extensive training.

Our SELLmatix Point of Sale software is so simple, secure and fast to operate that any 15 year old high school drop-out that can use a cash register, can use it. Yet it provides a great deal of sophistication "under the hood" so that proper business controls can be easily implemented which you could only dream of using other systems.

Instead of trying to serve a vertical market niche of similar retailers, we have chosen a horizontal niche where our system is part of a package. This is the exact opposite of most POS vendors. They want to handle and control as many aspects of their installations as they possibly can, and to be fair, there have been good reasons for this in the past.

If the POS vendor makes money from selling receipt printers, the last thing they want is for a client to buy a slightly different device elsewhere, that causes problems on the site. After all, when something goes wrong, they are the ones that answer the phone.

Twenty years ago, most POS equipment was proprietory. Today, the vast majority is generic, and the brand and supplier from whom it is sourced is relatively unimportant. While overall profit margins on POS equipment are better than most items, it is becoming more competitive. To be a first rate POS equipment vendor requires a large amount of capital invested in equipment as well the same as if you distributed microwave ovens. We don't want to do that. We are software developers. Instead of us doing a mediochre job at selling POS hardware in a narrow market, we would rather leave that to others and market our software in a broader market.

Support has been the biggest problem faced by both POS vendors and retailers in the past. Part of the problem has been that many POS systems are "barely adequate" rather than "excellent" from a technical perspective, and need to be used in exactly the right way, otherwise problems arise.

For years, the typical POS client has worn their ignorance on their sleeve, like a virtue. "I am helpless, and you are the expert who we pay to fix our problems. I don't need to worry about common sense because you are there to help me."

These factors have meant that POS systems require a lot of support, and while support staff find it frustrating answering the same questions time and again, often to the same customers, support revenues have become a critical revenue stream for POS vendors on which they rely to cover operating expenses. Thus POS vendors tend to closely guard their technical information and try provide assistance to a local computer dealer for example, they risk losing not only the support revenue but facing competition when selling upgrades and components.

Now however, there is an increasingly sophisticated user base amongst retailers. An ever increasing number are no longer "Dummies". They are asking why they should pay an extra $100.00 for a receipt printer just because it came from the software supplier. And the sophisticated user, when they do need support, does not like being connected to some lackey support person that asks "is the power plugged in", "is the monitor connected", "check the printer cable connection", and so on. They know that they are not "dummies" and don't like tech support that is geared toward the needs of dummies.

that stupid. But the POS vendor has put the support lackey in a job because of the amount of time their senior staff have wasted answering stupid questions. So the intelligent retailer grinds their teeth as they sit on hold waiting ofr support, and the POS vendor, run off their feet answering the same questions time after time, wonders how they will meet their payroll.

• Other vendors can use our POS as the front end to their back office accounting that suits a set of unique requirements
• horizontal. This means that vendors needing to bring a product to market in a These are profitable niches for POS vendors that justify special features, and within each niche there are relatively few competitors and prices are high. Yet for the POS vendors, the customisation to meet the requirements of their niche, restricts the usefulness of their product in other markets.

  In these niches, the key selling point of the POS vendor is the way in which the unique requirements of the niche are met by the product. Not the quality of the POS system overall. Many such systems are in fact quite "agricultural" but due to the constraints of their business retailers have to try and choose the best of a bad bunch.

  The area in which most of these packages fall down in in the sales processing. The back office accounting requirements are normally met quite well.

  There are also general purpose Point of Sale software packages, including some offerings from small business accounting software vendors such as Quickbooks and MYOB. Unfortunately, the design of these packages shows their back office wholesale/warehouse heritage, and they look like a back office accounting system, and require that level of skill by sales clerks.

  Every company supplying POS operates within a niche. Most supply a vertical market, and those markets are limited. There might be millions of retailer, but there are only thousands of Pharmacies. Because of the limited scope of their market these suppliers try to cover as many bases as possible withing that niche. Normally they will sell the hardware, develop the software, perform the installation, train the users, and provide phone and on-site support.

  This approach does not work very well for these POS vendors. Since they are trying to cover so many areas, they inevitably fall down in some. Support is the big killer for most of these vendors. For years, the typical POS client has worn their ignorance on their sleeve, like a virtue. "I am helpless, and you are the expert who we pay to fix our problems. I don't need to worry about common sense because you are there to help me." And this attitude has bled POS vendors dry through their costs of providing that level of support.

  Thirty years ago, when nobody knew anything about computers, this approach did work reasonably well for retailers. Nobody onsite knew anything, and if any problem occurred, there was one phone number to call. It might cost a lot, but peace of mind was worth it.

  Now however, there is an increasingly sophisticated user base amongst retailers. An ever increasing number are no longer "Dummies". They are asking why they should pay an extra $100.00 for a receipt printer just because it came from the software supplier. Yet for the POS vendor, that additional cost is needed to cover the salary of the staff that answer the same questions three or four times to the same customers.

  And the sophisticated user, when they do need support, resent being connected to some lackey support person that asks "is the power plugged in", "is the monitor connected", "check the printer cable connection", and so on. They know that they are not that stupid. But the POS vendor has put the support lackey in a job because of the amount of time their senior staff have wasted answering stupid questions. So the intelligent retailer grinds their teeth as they sit on hold waiting ofr support, and the POS vendor, run off their feet answering the same questions time after time, wonders how they will meet their payroll.

  It is interesting that computer dealers very little penetration in the Point of Sale market. They are always surprised when the see the profit margin on POS equipment, and the limited capability of Cash Registers and POS terminals. Many have tried to sell Point of Sale and been burned by support costs on systems that are too complex and require high user skills.

  Why we are Unique
  himatix.com is an OEM software developer. Since 1982, we have developed a range of commercial software applications for business, accounting, advertising, marketing, web and e-commerce, robotics and logistics.

  While our clients range from Fortune 100 companies to small family businesses, and our software is used in 17 countries, it is unlikely that you have ever heard of us because our software has been mostly marketed and supported by our OEM clients.

  We are a privately owned business, carry zero debt on our balance sheet, and have no intention of ever becoming a publicly listed company.

  Unlike previous Point of Sale systems we have developed, SELLmatix has been written to our own specification, not those of one particular client. It is designed to be extremely flexible and extensible, and fit a wide range of requirements.

  While SELLmatix is suitable for small operations and can be implemented at extremely low cost by an end user with reasonable technical resources at their disposal, we believe that the majority of sales will come through distributors and dealers that provide front line support to end users.

  himatix.com does sell hardware or provide front line support to end users, but does provide detailed technical information and second tier support.

  Attractive dealer and distributor margins and marketing arrangements are available in many areas, and we are prepared to make modifications, assist with language translations and customise the package where this is justified by volume.

  We are also prepared to look at bundling arrangements and versions distributed under client brand names where appropriate.

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