Switching systems is not as challenging as you think and could create efficiencies, maximise income, and reveal new opportunities for your charity retail operation. Kudos makes switching simple, saving your charity shop team time and potentially saving your charity money. We offer flexible contracts, straightforward invoicing, and options to reuse current hardware. You can also transfer donor data and use existing Gift Aid barcodes, to avoid any loss of gift aid income.
Key takeaways when switching charity retail system
It can be confusing to find the right charity retail system, and you may be asking yourself ‘why switch?’ but here are some questions to consider thinking about when reviewing your charity retail system:
- Is your charity getting the support it deserves?
Look for a UK-based support team that has a proven track-record in supporting charity shops. Check that your provider delivers a programme of software enhancements and upgrades, included in the annual software licence fee, as well as training, support and account management.
- Are you able to see the data you need to understand your charity shops?
A provider aligned with charity retail will know what data is important to you. Kudos’ business intelligence means your managers can see exactly what’s happening in your stores, in real-time, to make truly informed, data-driven decisions. Share best practices, identify problems before they start to have an impact, and use the sales and gift aid insights to support the shop team to achieve their goals.
- Does your charity EPoS provider have access to top retail partners?
Your supplier should be able to offer you flexible hardware and payment processing options. Kudos has great relationships with Partner Tech, Pennies, Elavon, Opayo, the Charity Shop Gift Card and Sage. With Kudos, you can access accurate & secure integrated card processing with your choice of bank & acquirer rates.
- Is your provider Cyber Essentials certified and ISO 27001:2022 compliant?
Double-check that your supplier adheres to all relevant British standards and laws including HMRC for Gift Aid, and GDPR. With ISO 27001:2022 and Cyber Essentials certification, and Azure cloud hosting, you can be sure that your data is in safe hands with Kudos.
- Does your charity retail system offer feature-rich software?
Does your existing solution manage all aspects of your charity retail operation? Kudos EPoS and apps create a seamless and hassle-free process for donations, furniture collections and delivery, new and pre-loved stock management, sales in store and online, and Retail Gift Aid by offering users a simple, volunteer-friendly EPoS system that reflects your charity’s priorities.
- Is your charity retail system fit for purpose?
Can your existing system grow or adapt with your charity? Whether you’re managing a single shop or a network of stores, our innovative retail technology and software solutions create an advantage in the competition for volunteers, donated goods and gift aid sign-ups. Boosting productivity, creating time efficiencies, and creating opportunities for your charity to grow.
- Is your charity missing the opportunity to generate extra income from Retail Gift Aid? Retail Gift Aid software maximises Retail Gift Aid by offering users an easy-to-use sign-up experience via the till and a mobile tablet and enabling every donation to be tagged with the donor ID, freeing up volunteers to provide great customer service. The gift aid claims process is also streamlined and made more efficient for managers – saving time and reducing errors.
- Does your EPoS provider offer seamless integrations with other charity software?Hybrid, cloud-first, software systems like Kudos are the future of charity retail operations, offering seamless integrations and APIs with other charity software so that managers can see the full picture of supporters and finance across the organisation.
Benefits of a Charity Retail System
Charity Retail Systems are designed to help charities maximise their income and impact through efficient retail management and processes. The best software solutions provides a comprehensive platform for charity shops to manage sales, donations, and Retail Gift Aid. With a focus on a volunteer-friendly EPoS system and a friendly support team, the software should simplify charity operations, reduce admin, and enable charities to concentrate on their mission and objectives. Charity retail systems manage the unique operational needs of non-profit shops, integrating traditional retail functions with non-profit-specific tools.
Generate more sales for charity shops and maximise Retail Gift Aid
A well-designed retail system can help charities increase Retail Gift Aid sign-ups, maximise sales and improve the quality of donated goods. Kudos EPoS and apps create a seamless and hassle-free process for donated goods, collections and deliveries, and new and pre-loved stock management. Helping your charity shops to sell more and improve your in-store experience for customers and donors.
Build better business intelligence for charity retailers
Modern EPOS systems provide real-time data analytics to help charity retailers make informed decisions. Kudos provides real-time sales data and sales reports, enabling charities to make informed decisions and optimise their operations – Kudos’ business intelligence software means you can see exactly what’s happening in your stores, to make truly informed, data-driven decisions. Share reports, identify problems before they start to have an impact, and use the sales and gift aid insights to support your shop teams in achieving their goals.
Improve charity retail operations with an innovative solution
Your system should be designed to help your charity shops manage their daily operations, including sales, donations, stock management, cashing up and banking. With automated processes and real-time data, charities can optimise their donated goods stock levels, reduce waste, and improve customer satisfaction. Systems like Kudos, also provide tools for staff management -managing volunteers, scheduling, training, and communication.
Key features to look for when switching charity retail system
When choosing a new provider look out for extra features that may be important to your charity, such as financial management, ecommerce links, analytics and reporting, furniture collections and deliveries software, and card processing options. Choose a provider that can customise and shape your charity software solution to meet your charity’s specific requirements.
Kudos EPOS can be tailored to whatever store type or market your charity chooses e.g. online, boutique, bridal, café, furniture, book, or superstore. And our family of charity retail apps can also help manage your warehouse, drivers and donation stations.
Simple sales processing
Advanced charity retail systems use intuitive touchscreen interfaces to reduce training time and minimise manual errors for a diverse volunteer workforce. Kudos tailors the touch screens to your charity, and to each store type, so your team only see the buttons they need – making it quicker and easier to train your instore team.
The simple PoS software gives volunteers the freedom to provide excellent customer service, as charity POS systems must be created to be user-friendly and straightforward, meaning fewer mistakes and shorter queues, resulting in happier customers.
Software that makes Retail Gift Aid processing easy
Choosing an HMRC-recognised system is critical for UK charities to streamline Retail Gift Aid claims and donation tracking. Ensure your software includes a range of features designed to support simple processing of Gift Aid donations, including automation of Retail Gift Aid claims processing.
Kudos software and apps are designed to help charities build strong relationships with their donors, providing a way to build better relationships with supporters. With real-time data and reporting, charities can track their donations and Gift Aid sign-ups, making it easier to identify trends and opportunities.
A well-integrated Gift Aid process can capture 100% of eligible revenue for charities. By maximising Gift Aid claims, charities can increase their income and impact, without relying on additional sales or donations. Gift Aid can provide charities with an additional 25% on donations without requiring more sales.
Robust and resilient cloud-first charity EPoS
Check that your PoS system offers cloud-first technology, which provides greater flexibility and accessibility for charities with multiple locations – The Kudos system features Azure cloud-first architecture for speed and resilience. The solution architecture enables all data to be stored securely in the Cloud. The reliability of the Kudos software and hardware means that customers rarely, if ever, report critical down time.
Centralised charity shop management from a remote location
The Kudos Web Head Office software provides flexibility and accessibility for charity retailers managing multiple locations. With real-time data and automated processing, charities can optimise their operations, reduce costs, and improve efficiency. By leveraging cloud-based technology, charities can stay ahead of the competition and achieve their goals.
Charity shop stock control for used and new goods
Your charity retail system should include a range of features designed to support charity shops, including inventory management. The system should allow for better stock control, ensuring optimal cash flow and stock availability for transactions for both in-store and online sales. This capability helps charity shops keep accurate stock records and respond quickly to customer demand. Integrating new goods management supports a seamless retail experience, boosting efficiency and revenue.
Streamlined supporter management
Using EPoS and apps as part of a charity’s retail engagement strategy can foster relationships with customers and encourage long-term loyalty, increased spend and donations and support for their fundraising events.
Kudos charity retailers, and their supporters, benefit from the free Charity Card mobile app – an innovative app that replaces plastic charity shop donor cards. Supporters can simply scan their digital donor card to donate their pre-loved items, print their donor number tag, or access their loyalty points on their app, which makes the customers journey quicker and simpler at the till.
EPoS system training and support for charity shops
Making sure that your new PoS provider is a good fit for your charity’s ethos and values is really important, alongside onboarding and training for staff and volunteers, which is essential when ensuring a smooth transition to a new charity retail system.
Superior support for your charity shops
Kudos’ knowledgeable team is always available to provide support and guidance, helping charities to get the most out of their system – our support and training team is based in-house, in the UK, and is available every day of the week. The friendly team has a great track record of going above and beyond to help, it’s one of the reasons charities move to Kudos (and stay). In fact, over 97% of support issues are resolved within service level agreement.
Free software enhancements and upgrades, with no hidden costs
Check that your provider delivers a programme of software enhancements and upgrades, included in the annual software licence fee. Kudos has never charged for an annual software upgrade and offers user forums, webinars, and supporting documentation to help customers take full advantage of the features within the software.
Partnerships that work hard for your charity shops
Kudos only works with the best in the business; Shopify, Partner Tech HaaS, Pennies micro-donations, Elavon, Opayo, and the Charity Shop Gift Card all choose to work with us. Plus, with Kudos, you can access integrated card processing with your choice of bank & acquirer rates.
Secure charity POS system
Check your charity retail providers security credentials. With an emphasis on security and compliance, the Kudos solution ensures that charities can operate with confidence and integrity; ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials certification ensures that the data held within Kudos is extremely secure. Plus, Kudos adheres to British standards and laws such as HMRC for Gift Aid, and GDPR.
Managing the switching process in your charity shops
Ongoing customer service and support are critical factors to consider when selecting a new charity retail system. The onboarding journey for Kudos is designed to be simple, supportive, and tailored to your charity’s requirements.
With Kudos’ expertise you can reuse hardware, transfer your donor data and use existing Gift Aid barcodes if required. Our flexible hardware options, including Hardware as a Service (HaaS), means that your charity has the option to invest in a solution that is fit for purpose, and future-proof. Our team of retail sales consultants can can talk you through the options and work out the best solution for your budget.
With Kudos your charity will have a dedicated project management team to guide you through the implementation process and make sure the project, and the solution, meets your charities needs, budget, and time-scales.
Data migration from the incumbent system to the new system should be handled carefully to ensure accuracy and continuity; with thousands of installations under our belts the Kudos team are expertly placed to manage this process.
A dedicated training team will be assigned to help you with the roll-out to stores, providing training and documentation to support your team every step of the way. Finally, our friendly support team will be to be on hand to help with any teething issues, which should be minimal but will occur, from time to time.
Conclusion
Remember, charities should review their retail systems regularly with a view to upgrading or changing their retail system to stay competitive, save money, and increase impact. A new retail solution should be designed to help charity shops manage their daily operations, including sales, donations, and stock management.
It is important that the new system provides features for managing employees, volunteers, scheduling, training, and communication. Real-time reports and data, automated processes, and cloud-based technology improves operational efficiency and reduces administrative burdens.
By switching provider, charities can optimise their costs and donated goods stock levels, reducing waste, and improving customer satisfaction.
Kudos is a robust, complete charity retail solution that has been designed to ensure your charity can be as productive and profitable as possible. Kudos makes switching simple, with options to reuse current hardware, transfer donor data and use existing Gift Aid barcodes.
Kudos’ knowledgeable support team are ready to assist charities throughout their journey and ongoing usage. Switching includes full training to make the transition as smooth as possible, as well as ongoing technical support for all staff and volunteers.
