Chicago (May 19, 2004) -- Microsoft Business Solutions has introduced a set of tools, including customization and implementation guides, to allow resellers of its Retail Management System to better serve small and midsized independent retailers.
At the Retail Systems 2004/VICS Collaborative Commerce Conference here, MBS unveiled the new Implementation Guide, which covers planning, installation of hardware and software, pre-deployment testing, customer training and operating tasks for the installation and support of Microsoft Retail Management System. MS/RMS, an automated point-of-sale system for customer tracking and inventory management that works with a wide range of off-the-shelf accounting (QuickBooks, Peachtree, and MYOB, among others) and mid-range accounting packages.
A new Customization Guide identifies areas within MS/RMS that can be customized and those that are available for integration with other Microsoft and third-party applications. New Web-based courses, which take about an hour to complete, can be used either as refresher material or to prepare for the MS/RMS certification exam. Retail Insights is a biweekly newsletter designed to help business partners stay up to date with MS/RMS developments.
According to research firm Access Markets International Partners, approximately one-fourth of the world's small businesses and one-sixth of all midsized businesses are retailers. However, nearly 60 percent of these retailers rely on manual methods such as paper ledgers or calculators to run their businesses, according to AMI-Partners.
-- WebCPA staff
