Xsilva adds mobile receipt printing to LightSpeed Mobile

At its 10th Certification Camp in San Francisco, company announces LightSpeed Mobile users can now print receipts via LightSpeed Server to Star printers

March 31, 2011 – San Francisco, CA & Montreal, Canada - Xsilva Systems, makers of unified retail Point of Sale tools sold under the LightSpeed brand, today released LightSpeed Mobile 1.4, the latest version of the company’s award-winning mobile Point of Sale platform. With 1.4, users can now print receipts via LightSpeed Server to select local or networked Star Micronics printers.

The announcement of this added functionality was made today at the company’s 10th Certification Camp, in San Francisco, California.

LightSpeed Mobile is the mobile retail extension to the LightSpeed Point of Sale system for Mac that transforms the way retailers sell to their customers. Using the same mobile hardware employed by Apple in its highly acclaimed retail stores, LightSpeed Mobile offers retailers a true advantage over competitors with an affordable alternative to traditional retail systems and long, impersonal line-ups at the register. Retail sales staff can use LightSpeed Mobile running on an iPod touch or iPhone to connect to a LightSpeed database and process sales anywhere in the store.

The latest versions of the LightSpeed platform offer the most unified retail Point of Sale experience across the desktop and mobile environments with its unique hand-off feature. While credit-card transactions can be fully completed on the mobile device, cash, check and other transactions started anywhere in the store on a mobile device can be seamlessly transferred to a desktop for completion.

“On the heels of the features added in version 1.3, which included the market-first hand-off functionality, LightSpeed Mobile continues to lead the way in mobile point of sale with the addition of mobile receipt printing to version 1.4,” said Xsilva CEO, Dax Dasilva. “Any Star printer available to the LightSpeed Server can now print receipts wirelessly from LightSpeed Mobile devices. It’s just that easy.”

Version 1.4 of LightSpeed Mobile is available for download from iTunes starting today as a free upgrade to existing LightSpeed Mobile users. LightSpeed Mobile is available for download for $4.99 from the iTunes App Store and requires LightSpeed Server.

LightSpeed resellers from around the world, including the United States Canada, United Kingdom, the Middle East and Australia, are currently gathered at the W Hotel in San Francisco for the company’s 10th Certification Camp. With over 100 in attendance, participating authorized resellers are taking part in instructional sessions and interactive workshops, and sharing best practices and selling techniques to provide global retail customers with the best possible service.

Attendees will participate in sessions tailored to their experience level, with detailed explanations of LightSpeed’s many features, including purchasing, inventory control, accounting, networking, configuration, multi-store and online selling, as well as LightSpeed Mobile. Completion of the training and a post-camp exam will give resellers added certifications that will showcase their new levels of expertise.

Xsilva’s 10th Certification Camp runs from March 31 to April 2.

Charlestown Apple Store hosts first Business Networking event showcasing LightSpeed Point of Sale

SMB Consultants were delighted to be part of the Charlestown Apple Store's first Business Networking event last night, 30th March 2011.

The Charlestown Apple store is a beautiful store in the busy Charlestown Shopping Centre. This event was to showcase LightSpeed Point of Sale software. The event was run after the store had closed for the day and the many guests had a perfect atmosphere to experience this exciting Mac POS software.

Matt Steel, Head of Business for Apple Retail Australia, was the moderator for the event and led the discussion and demonstration on LightSpeed. 

There were many attendees who covered diverse businesses and industries including, retailing, wholesaling, florists, restaurants and travel. Not only was there interest in LightSpeed but also interest in other business productivity software solutions available from SMB Consultants.

Some of the main features of LightSpeed that were of particular interest to this group were:

- The efficient Quotation, Order, Invoice process including emailing directly from LightSpeed;

- The automated Ordering functionality with consolidated suppliers orders;

- Integrated Web Store and the customised Web Store templates.

This was a great event. The atmosphere was perfect, the team at Charlestown were most welcoming and the presentation was very well received.

This will now be the start of a continuous program of Business Events at Charlestown as they seek to meet the growing demand for business support for Apple software and hardware in the Hunter region.

LightSpeed POS showcased at Fashion Exposed Exhibition Sydney

Last week SMB Consultants took Xsilva LightSpeed Point of Sale to the 2011 Fashion Exposed Exhibition at Sydney's Convention Centre.  With over a thousand exhibitors set up the doors were opened, SMB had a steady follow of enquiries, these varied from "Do you sell Macs?" to "I've been using LightSpeed for 18 months but I don't think I'm making the most of it". 

There was a number of excited new business owners about to open their first Fashion Retail Store and looking for something that can help them grow their business.  They may not have their first store open yet, but they were already planning on extending their reach across Australia, the best way to achieve this is through LightSpeed's Integrated WebStore.  

From the wide eyed entrepreneurs came the business owners who were already using LightSpeed and came to visit us to share their experience.  Some specifically sought us out with a list of questions in hand, and others were interested in some of the extended services SMB provides such as Web Store Customisation, LightSpeed Training and Local Support Packages.  Many of these customers had purchased their license online and were happy to find a consultant who can help them get the most out of LightSpeed. SMB Consultants provided advice to these customers along with demos of LightSpeed Mobile and the WordPress Web Store Templates.

Another frequent enquiry came from clients trying to manage a number of different systems and looking for a more streamlined process to manage their web store, point of sale and inventory.  Many of these customers had two or three different systems which had a lot of redundant data and required staff to manually input data multiple times.

Everybody loves their Apple products and another popular query came from customers that were using Macs at home for personal use, they loved their Mac and looked for the ability to use their Apple products on a daily basis in their businesses.  Over the three days SMB engaged with a number of people with a diverse range of business requirements. SMB Consultants look to have a busy week ahead following up with all of their new leads over the next week.

Xsilva Wins Next Gen Award

In addition to being the hottest-looking POS System you've ever seen, Xsilva can now add the moniker “award-winning” to its new Mac-based mobile point of sale solution's repertoire.

This week, Retail TouchPoints (RTP), the retail industry's go-to source for customer engagement strategies, recognized LightSpeed Mobile, Xsilva's fully integrated, Mac-based mobile Point of Sale solution, with the Next-Gen Retail Award in the Payments/Point of Sale category. The first annual Next-Gen Retail Awards recognized 10 companies that showcased innovative solutions at the National Retail Federation's 100th Annual Convention this January in New York.

"We are deeply honoured that LightSpeed Mobile is receiving accolades both from the retailers who have transformed their stores with this exciting new technology and from respected retail industry experts such as Retail TouchPoints," said Dax Dasilva, Xsilva CEO.

The RTP editorial team used four factors to evaluate solution providers that presented at the NRF:

• The Cutting Edge Factor - A new, innovative approach to everyday tasks and operations.
• The First-of-its-Kind Factor - A never-seen-before solution that shows great potential.
• The Game-Changing Factor - An approach that empowers retailers to streamline their efforts and potentially gain a competitive advantage.
• The "Must-See" Factor - Solutions that stopped attendees in their tracks on the show floor.

LightSpeed Mobile is the mobile retail extension to the next-generation LightSpeed Point of Sale system for Mac that has been astounding retailers and their customers. Using the same mobile hardware employed by Apple in its highly acclaimed retail stores, LightSpeed Mobile offers retailers a true advantage over competitors with an affordable alternative to traditional retail systems and long, impersonal line-ups at the register. Retail sales staff can use an iPod touch or iPhone and LightSpeed Mobile to connect to a LightSpeed database and process sales anywhere in the store.

On the retail floor, employees using an iPod touch or iPhone running the LightSpeed Mobile application scan or search the product(s); add, edit or set the customer; and then hand off the sale to a Mac desktop running the LightSpeed POS. This functionality allows a seamless workflow for those customers who want to pay by a method other than credit card, namely cash, check, or alternate payment method that requires a Mac-connected cash drawer or external terminal.

The user of the desktop POS will see a bubble appear on the left sidebar of the screen, an orange LightSpeed Mobile icon that can be clicked to complete the transaction. This feature spotlights the unified retail POS experience offered by LightSpeed across mobile and the desktop, in stark contrast to other mobile POS offerings that are grafted onto legacy PC-based systems.

Surveys and studies released in late 2010 and early 2011 indicate that retailers large and small are planning to mobilize their POS systems this year, with big-box retailers spending millions on custom development of mobile POS applications and SMBs seeking affordable, easy to use, off-the-shelf systems that enhance customer experience and optimize their sales processes. LightSpeed Mobile meets that market need. It is no surprise to see LightSpeed Mobile receive the Next-Gen Retail Award.

Fashion Exposed Exhibition - Demo of LightSpeed Mobile / LightSpeed Web Store + WordPress

SMB Consultants will be demonstrating LightSpeed Point of Sale at the upcoming at FASHION EXPOSED and the Bags & Accessories Fair Sydney 2011.
 

We are pleased to invite you to visit us on Stand 6236 at FASHION EXPOSED co-located with the Bags & Accessories Fair to be held 6 – 8 March 2011 at the Sydney Exhibition Centre.

This is a unique opportunity for Fashion Retailers to experience first hand some of the unique features such as size / colour matrix, barcode label designer and related products from Expert Certified LightSpeed Integrators, SMB Consultants.

We would like to invite you to visit our Stand 6236 and see:

• LightSpeed Point of Sale software:

Multi-store functionality; integrated WebStore e-commerce capability; LightSpeed WordPress Customised Templates and now available on iPhone and iPod as LightSpeed Mobile to give you the best customer experience ever.

For more details, or to make a specific appointment to meet with us at FASHION EXPOSED and the Bags & Accessories Fair contact our office on 02 9191 9292 or visit our website at www.smbconsultants.com.au

To visit register online at www.fashionexposed.com or www.bagsaccessories.com.au and your access card will be posted prior to the event.

If you wish to bring your colleagues along simply copy the registration form as many times as required.

We look forward to welcoming you at our stand.

Lightspeed on Tour - Australia: Bondi Apple Store - Feb. 16, 2011

Xsilva's LightSpeed Point of Sale is coming soon to the Apple stores of NSW. SMB Consultants will be presenting a series of Back to Work events showcasing how LightSpeed can manage your business and improve your productivity. These hands on demonstrations will not only present this powerful business management tool but also some of the unique features such as LightSpeed Mobile POS and the integrated LightSpeed Web Store.

The first of 5 events planned across the Apple Stores of New South Wales will be at the Bondi Apple Store on Wednesday 16th February at 5.00pm. This will be followed by another event at Castle Towers Apple store on Wednesday 2nd March also at 5.00pm.  Confirmation of the remaining dates for Sydney City, Chatswood Chase and Charlestown will soon follow.

LightSpeed is the next generation Mac Point of Sale software that combines Mac innovation with powerful business logic to offer comprehensive and easy to use tools for retail stores.

LightSpeed's streamlined interface gives a clear overview of your single or multi-store operations, saving you time and giving you absolute control over your business.

With a back-office Browser that simplifies purchasing and inventory system management, a touchscreen-optimisd POS for fast front-counter sales, and a tightly integrated Web Store for selling online, LightSpeed is the complete retail or wholesale solution.

Turn your Mac into a cash register and much more with XSilva LightSpeed. From basic or automated check out to multistore operations, this software solution gives you the must-have features you need to help run your business.

If you are in the market for the best Mac based POS system, join the Apple business team and SMB Consultants to see a comprehensive hands on demonstration.

Xsilva launches LightSpeed 3.4 and LightSpeed Mobile 1.3 - Hand off Feature, Add/Edit Customers

Fresh from demonstrating the latest versions of the desktop and mobile components of its LightSpeed Point of Sale (POS) system at the National Retail Federation (NRF) and International Consumer Electronics Shows (CES), Xsilva Systems is excited to announce the launch of LightSpeed 3.4 and LightSpeed Mobile 1.3.

The latest release features a POS user interface that tightly integrates with LightSpeed Mobile, allowing transactions to be created and paid by credit card from a mobile unit, or instantly dispatched to a Mac sales station for processing alternate payment methods - a first for mobile POS.

"Mobile retail was the major theme at NRF this year, and Xsilva was at the epicenter of this retail revolution with our newest offering, LightSpeed Mobile," said Dax Dasilva, CEO and founder of Xsilva. "And while there were several companies offering integration of mobile apps with legacy enterprise systems, Xsilva was unique in its offering of a unified, affordable retail POS experience, with consistent, best-in-class user interfaces running on both the mobile and desktop POS.

"Retailers, integrators, media and analysts at both NRF and CES marveled at the unified retail POS experience offered by the platform, especially the 'hand-off' feature that enables retailers to start a transaction on a mobile POS and then complete it on the desktop," said Dasilva.

On the retail floor, employees using an iPod touch or iPhone running the LightSpeed Mobile application scan or search the product(s); add, edit or set the customer; and then hand off the sale to a Mac desktop running the LightSpeed POS. This functionality allows a seamless workflow for those customers who want to pay by a method other than credit card, namely cash, check, or alternate payment method that requires a Mac-connected cash drawer or external terminal.

The user of the desktop POS will see a bubble appear on the left sidebar of the screen, an orange LightSpeed Mobile icon that can be clicked to complete the transaction. This feature spotlights the unified retail POS experience offered by LightSpeed across mobile and the desktop, in stark contrast to other mobile POS offerings that are grafted onto legacy PC-based systems.

Also new in LightSpeed 3.4, enhanced multi-store inventory transfers, speed optimizations and other improvements.

LightSpeed Mobile 1.3, which requires LightSpeed 3.4, includes the highly requested feature of being able to add and edit customers on the handheld device.

Starting in January, international customers in five countries - the United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the Dominican Republic - join the United States and Canada in being able to purchase LightSpeed Mobile on iTunes.

Surveys and studies released in late 2010 and early 2011 indicate that retailers large and small are planning to mobilize their POS systems this year, with big-box retailers spending millions on custom development of mobile POS applications and SMBs seeking affordable, easy to use, off-the-shelf systems that enhance customer experience and optimize their sales processes. LightSpeed Mobile meets that market need.