General System Review Questions - Sample RFP

We would like to thank you for considering Retail Pro as your Inventory Control/Point-of-Sale Computer System. The following list of
questions will help you compare Retail Pro with other systems currently on the market. Feel free to call us and speak with any of our
retail consultants if you have any questions. Our phone number is 800-377-7776. Be sure to say "Show Me" with a live working copy!

Retail
User Interface and System Control (the look & feel of the program & how it operates): Pro _________ _________
1. Do they offer the ability to use your choice of a keyboard, mouse or touch screen in all parts of the program? YES

2. Do they allow you to look at customer information, vendor information, merchandise information,
point-of-sale information, purchasing information, etc., in a line-by-line format (List View), in addition
to a very detailed format (Form View)? YES

3. Do they offer a way to design the content and layout of any screen within the program so that it meets
your business needs, allowing you to add columns or fields to the screen for more functionality,
delete columns or fields for more simplicity, rearrange the placement of columns or fields as you desire, etc.?
(These are known as user-designable screens.) YES

4. Do they offer a way to easily change the names of the fields, headings, etc., on screens and reports
to better suit your business needs? (These are known as user-defined fields, headings, etc.) YES

5. Have they taken into consideration ergonomics in the design of the program? (Standardized YES
Controls / Standard Interface, familiarity in all areas of the system, easy to learn and use.)

6. When they move from one module to the next, is an easy-to-use "Find" option automatically available? YES

7. Do they allow you to define your own "Shortcut Key" options? YES

8. Do they have an extensive, easy-to-use, context-sensitive "Help" screen everywhere in the program? YES

9. Do they have a "Practice" mode for training purposes, which allows experimentation with any and all
features (using your own data for a familiar environment), but without affecting any real data? YES
 Retail
User Interface and System Control, cont.: Pro _________ _________
10. Do they offer a customizable browser for your home screen? (A screen that can display a page YES
designed specifically for the user that can show a store logo on the front screen and create a
series of links that can display a message from corporate headquarters, opening and closing
procedures, highlighted sales tips or promotions, or direct link to a company web site.)

11. Can it handle up to 10 pictures of an item for web or in-store and push pics & fields to website? YES

12. Do they offer an advanced tool that allows you to define the type of printer you want to use for
reports, tags, receipts, and purchase orders and do they allow you to choose the way you
want these various outputs to look when you print them? YES

13. If you delete an item, will the history remain for future reporting? YES

Inventory:
1. Can you delete an item, reuse the item row for another product & keep the history of the first item? YES

2. How many user-defined fields do they have & how long are they? UNLIMITED

3. How many description fields do they have and how long are they? 4 / 30 char

4. How many other fields (auxiliary fields) do they have and how long are they? 8 / 20 char

5. Do they have a dedicated Alternate Look-Up (ALU) field and, if so, how long is it? YES / 20 ch

6. In addition to an Alternate Look Up (ALU) field, how many other ways do they have to look up merchandise
(description, attribute, size, vendor, SKU#, etc.)? 24

7. Do they have user-defined "Quick Lookup" features including style, description, SKU#, UPC# and ALU#? YES

8. Is it easy look up by department, vendor, description, color, size, price, etc. (by scanning also)? YES

9. Do they have user-defined fields for recording miscellaneous information, such as a dedicated season code? YES

10. How many items can they list in inventory? INFINITE!

11. Do they have the ability to create 3 dimensional "style grids" for size, color and location? YES
 Retail
Inventory, cont: Pro _________ _________
12. How many sizes, colors, etc., can be included in their style grid or matrix? INFINITE!

13. Can they add new sizes, colors, prices, etc., to an existing style with ease (Including from YES
a sales order, purchase order or a receipt in one integrated software solution?)

14. In a "style grid", can they easily change the key values to reflect different data such as quantity, margin%,
mark up %, unit price, unit cost, etc. without having to go item by item after the grid is made? Important! YES

15. Can you have different costs and prices in the same style grid (example - XXL product that costs you more) ? YES

16. Can they use the Copy and Paste feature to easily add inventory items? YES

17. Can they easily add images to a style or item for item-verification purposes? YES

18. Can they display the following information for any item or style: quantity on hand, cost, retail price,
margins, and quantities on order, received and sold? YES

19. Can they handle layaways, special orders, sales orders, mail orders, and gift registries? YES

20. Do they track "committed inventory" for layaways, sales orders and transfer orders? YES

21. Can you scan in inventory to lookup an item by UPC, or barcode created in the inventory software? YES

22. Do they track returns to vendors with lots of room to explain reasons for return? YES

23. How many price levels can they have for each item in inventory? UNLIMITED

24. Do they have the ability to run and poll data over modems for very remote locations? YES

25. Can they print price tags directly from any area of inventory without going to another module or system? YES

26. Can they delete an obsolete item easily (with the right controls) and still have access to the sales history
related to that item for reports, including customer's purchasing history? YES

27. Can you do a close X-Z out of drawer anyday you wish? Eliminate tedious end-of-month closing & archiving? YES

28. Do they have a high-security transfer module with automatic exception reporting? YES
 Retail
Inventory, cont: Pro _________ _________
29. Can they handle multiple vendors, multiple UPC codes and Alt lookup
up to 7 UPC and up to 7 vendors (multi vendor - multi UPC) YES

30. When entering new merchandise into the system, does the system suggest the SKU or Item
number for you but also alow you to have your own number system if desired as well? YES

31. Can they display inventory items or grids of items for multiple store locations on one screen? YES

32. Do they have the ability to mark merchandise down with an automated tool with on-off dates? YES

33. Can they do planned pricing for scheduled sales and markdowns? Can they also mark up the
price on a predefined date automatically? YES

34. Do they include a season code to track the age of your inventory? YES

35. Do they provide a "discontinue" function/flag for old inventory to be marked as unavailable? YES

36. Do they have a comprehensive audit trail to track changes made to inventory quantities, price or cost? YES

37. Can they easily expand or reduce the size of the inventory fields, allowing the user to optimize what
appears on the screen at any given time? Such as item description and attributes. YES

38. Do they offer serial number tracking with return and re-use ability for serial numbers? YES

Purchase Orders and Receiving:

1. Do they have "user-designable" PO and receiving screens? YES

2. Can they display an image for each item in inventory to help ensure that the correct items are being ordered? YES

3. Can they use your own unique PO numbers (or PO titles)? YES

4. Can they add a new vendor or new item easily, without having to leave the PO? YES

5. When making a PO, is the system able to instantly transfer the vendor information, such as account #, to the
PO from vendor records? YES

6. When making a PO, can items be viewed and selected directly from the inventory screen? YES
 Retail
Purchase Orders and Receiving, cont: Pro _________ _________
7. Can you add new items into inventory from a Purchase Order without leaving the PO? YES

8. After starting the PO, can they change the terms or any other information in the heading,
without having to start all over again? YES

9. Can they print their POs in grid format, or are they limited to printing out their POs in lineal
format (line by line) only? YES-BOTH

10. Do they allow you to leave the PO module to perform another activity, without losing what you
were working on as well as tracking backorders automatically? YES

11. Can they easily receive a shipment that contains variations or subtractions from the original PO? YES

12. Can they properly manage partial shipment against a PO & scan in all areas of receiving? YES

13. Can the system automatically suggest a transfer instead of a PO to stock balance based on min/max levels? YES

14. Can they print price tags directly from the PO and Receiving Documents from one product? YES

15. Do they have MIN/MAX stock levels for core merchandise, which can automatically
create a proposed PO when the stock for any given item drops to a specific predefined level? YES

16. Can their MIN/MAX stock levels be automatically proposed for you based on sales history at each store? YES

17. Can they allow you to use a drop-ship PO in addition to a centrally distributed PO? YES

18. Can they create a dedicated PO for a special order, and can that PO be created at point of sale? YES

19. Can they use predefined allocation patterns to automatically distribute high turn items? YES

20. Do they provide you with a "voucher-receiving system" that provides a double-check for a written PO? YES

21. Do they allow you to write a multiple store, drop-ship PO on one document? YES

22. Do they centrally maintain and archive POs? YES

23. Do they allow you to purchase by the case and sell by the unit or "each"? YES
 Retail
Purchase Orders and Receiving, cont: Pro _________ _________
24. Can their system run reports to see what is on backorder and/or what has been filled? YES

Point of Sale:
1. Do they have a tool that allows you to add or delete specific fields, so you can set up the POS screen to
match your business needs? YES

2. Can they handle multiple sale associates on the same receipt? YES

3. Can they handle separate cashiers and sales associates on the same receipt? YES

4. Is the editing of receipt fields quick and convenient? (Defining quantity sold, tax rate, line-item discounts, etc.) YES

5. Do they offer "mix 'n match" quantity discounts? (Combining a predefined variety of items from different
styles for a quantity discount, for example, any 3 t-shirts for $25.00) YES

6. Can they quickly access customer information & history (without running a report) at point of sale? YES

7. Does their system allow you to easily add items to inventory at point of sale? YES

8. Do they offer a "Quick Lookup" (that you define) for easy searches, such as style, description, SKU#,
UPC# and other types of information? YES

9. Can they put a sales transaction on hold? If so, how many at one time? YES / UNLIMITED

10. Can their system design a tender screen that is right for your store? YES

11. Can they use multiple tenders on one sale, including several credit cards? YES

12. Do they have integrated credit-card and check-guarantee processing available? YES

13. Can the system suggest tendering by store credit if available? If this is available, are they able to
switch it on or off? YES / YES

14. Can they use a gift certificate as a defined tender? YES

15. Can they handle multiple tax levels and price levels at point of sale? YES
 Retail
Point of Sale, cont.: Pro _________ _________
16. Can they easily ship a purchase to another address, while also supporting any state or local sales tax
requirements? YES

17. Can they access inventory, layaways, special orders, sales orders and POs from the point of sale screen? YES

18. Can they easily generate a sales receipt to sell just part of a layaway and/or special order? YES

19. With the proper password, can receipts be reversed easily? YES

20. Can they have your logo and return barcode on the receipt ? YES

21. Can they predefine employee shifts and the employee use of the cash drawer? YES

22. Can they predefine discounts, such as employee discounts, preferred customer discounts YES
wholesale discount, & also track items with "SPIFs"?

23. Can they individually set different commission structures for their employees? YES

24. Can they automatically generate a security receipt for situations such as opening the cash drawer without
a receipt, turning on and off the computer while making an receipt or exiting the point of sale screen? YES

25. Can they use foreign currencies and apply exchange rates when handling multiple types of currencies? YES

26. Do they offer user-defined fields on the receipt screen, designed to record information such as the weather,
customer demographics, promotions and any other information that you think is pertinent to your business? YES

27. Do they offer a "free form" note field on the receipt screen that may be displayed or hidden
for additional information? YES

28. Can they display an image for each item being sold, ensuring that the scanner tag matches the item? YES

Customer Management:
1. Can they construct detailed customer history for sales records, in addition to designing memo fields for
further information? If so, can this information be viewed instantly at point of sale? YES / YES

2. Can they run a customer report or print mailing labels based on sales history or sales volume for any
time period for a particular customer? YES
 Retail
Customer Management, cont.: Pro _________ _________
3. Can they run a customer report or print mailing labels based on the date of last purchase, total
purchase volume or the purchase of any size, color, item, style, etc.? YES

4. Can they look at former receipts from the customer screen? YES

5. Can their customer ID cards be scanned at point of sale to automatically locate a customer's record,
enter their name and address in the sales receipt header, display their store credit, and display whether
they are allowed to purchase by check? YES

6. Can their customer ID cards automatically invoke defined discounts, which can be based on a
predetermined sales volume a customer purchased during any specific time frame? YES

7. Can they handle an unlimited amount of customers? YES

Reports:
1. Can their reports be user-designed for any time period and specified data? YES

2. Do they have dashboard reporting dynamic report options available? YES

3. Can a report be designed by client, or business partner in Crystal Reports

and automated to auto-email schedule by day etc. YES

4. Can reports be set up to run automatically at night, ready for your review in the morning? YES

5. Can they print reports in grid format as well as lineal format and print them to the screen
as well as to the printer? YES

6. Do they allow you to preview a report on the screen to verify the format and content before you
print it to paper? YES

7. Do they include a "Report Wizard" and "Filter Wizard" to easily walk you through report set-up? YES

8. Can they import and export information to and from other systems including accounting systems,
mainframe back office systems and report writers? YES

9. Can they generate Cashier Performance reports and Sales Associate Performance reports? YES
 Retail
Reports, cont.: Pro _________ _________
10. Is their system ODBC compliant and capable of being accessed by specialized report writers, such as
Crystal Reports? YES

11. Are they able to customize the names of the field headings? YES

Multi-Store Functions:
1. Are they able to manage more than one inventory? YES

2. How many stores per region can they handle? UNLIMITED

3. Do they have sophisticated unattended communication polling between stores in (near) real-time? YES

4. Can they poll just changes, additions and deletions made to inventory quantities and customer
records, instead of polling the entire inventory and customer database every time? YES

5. Do they have the appropriate safeguards in place to prevent data from one or more stores being
polled twice, resulting in duplicate data? YES

6. Do they have sound procedures in place to insure that if a polling cycle is missed, the data is
properly polled and integrated the next time that store is able to poll? YES

7. Can several stores be polled or communicate simultaneously? YES

8. Can they poll and automatically update any part of the computer program from the Main office to the remote
store without having to mail disks or send a technician to the remote store? YES

9. Do the have the ability to poll using high speedInternet? YES

10. Do they have multi-store view available in grid format? YES

11. Do they allow different stores to have different price levels? YES

12. Can an employee in one store quickly look up the on-hand inventory in another store and sell that item? YES

13. Is customer information easily accessible by all stores including customer HISTORY? YES
 Retail
Multi-Store Functions, cont.: Pro _________ _________
14. If a customer has available store credit, can it be tracked and used in all stores? YES

15. Can a person do any function at any store with proper security level including item entry, make PO's etc? YES

16. Can they handle multiple tax criteria for each store location and for each item including state, local, VAT,
luxury and tax exempt, true international tax & features like foreign order costing, multi-vendor, multi-UPC? YES

17. Can merchandise be easily received at any store, with price tags easily printed for that shipment? YES

18. Do they have a sophisticated, high-security merchandise transfer module and true stock balancing? YES

19. Can they track inventory in transit between stores & AUTOMATED true stock balancing from the system? YES

20. Can they track freight charges on transfer slips? YES

21. Do they have the ability to customize the system settings (preferences) and security settings
at Company level, Store level, Workstation level and User Profile level? YES

22. Can they define a remote store's inventory and system settings from the Main office? YES

23. Can they set their MIN/MAX stock levels either by store or for all stores combined? YES

24. Can they "optimize" distribution from a central warehouse based on the MIN/MAX stock levels that were
predefined for the remote stores and even suggest transfers instead of PO's? YES

25. Do they offer company-wide gift registry features that can even tie in to web store for updated wish lists? YES

26. Do they offer a remote information station that allows you to manage your operation while at home or on
vacation, or to make buying decisions at market? YES

27. Do they offer a "Corporate Module " that allows consolidation of information from different regions,
countries or fiscally separate companies? YES
 Retail
E-Commerce: Pro _________ _________
1. Do they offer an E-Commerce solution and can you choose from any shopping cart or hosting company? YES / YES

2. Does their E-Commerce solution provide total integration between the brick-and-mortar location and the web
site in a single data base? YES

3. Are brick-and-mortar customers shared with the web store and are web store customers shared with the
brick-and-mortar location? YES

4. Is e-mail notification sent to customers, confirming their orders? YES

5. Do they allow you to define your own shipping rates based on weight, price or shipping method? YES

6. Do they offer an easy-to-use tool that allows you to attach an image and a long and short description to the
inventory item that you wish to post to your web store? YES

7. Do they give you a tool that will allow you to easily design your web store from scratch or provide data transfer
to and from Retail Pro for an existing web store? YES

8. Is inventory decreased in value upon order fulfillment? YES

9. Can their solution be set up to automatically poll sales orders from the web site to the
fulfillment center including gift registry Sales Orders to fill? YES

10. Can current product availability information be displayed on the web site automatically? YES

11. Can they define a web store price that is different than the price in any of the physical stores? YES

12. Can they easily include hyperlinks in your product descriptions for additional information, such as
"Meet the Artist" or "Read about the history of this hand-crafted item"? YES

13. Can quantity discounts be automatically calculated in the web store shopping cart? YES

14. Can taxes be calculated automatically in the web store shopping cart? YES

15. Can they update information on the web store, such as the home page greeting or the policy information,
frequently and easily without involving a professional programmer? YES
 Retail
E-Commerce, cont.: Pro _________ _________
16. Can they add, remove and rearrange the products in the web store frequently and easily without involving a
professional programmer? YES

17. Can they fulfill web orders off-line (without being connected to the Internet)? YES

18. Can they customize the message in order confirmation e-mails? YES

19. Can they provide you with a uniquely designed web store with seamless integration to your
brick-and-mortar store? YES
20. Are they able to integrate to NitroSell?
Retail
Mobile POS: Pro _________ _________
1. Does it work with Iphones, Ipods, Ipads - separate hand held device options? YES

2. Is the core software product PCI Compliant and offer point to point encryption (P2Pe) high security? YES

Distribution:
1. Do you have a fully integrated solution for the Inventory Control or do you need to move between 2 products? YES

2. Is the Distribution automated based on Min/Max Qty's that can create automatic transfers between stores? YES

3. Are transfers simple to scan and create between locations from within one software package? YES

4. Can you see all stores on one screen & easily scan or edit Qty's to transfers between locations? YES

5. Can the system track in-transit between locations & scan out slips and in-slips to transfer? YES

Notes of concern:
1. How many years have they been in business and how many users do they have? 30+/54,000+

2. Can they give you at least 10 good references in your specific industry that are of similar size, YES
# of locations, and dollar volume?

3. Can they show you their last 10 years of development features by year with documentation. YES
 6-6 PST
wkdays & 9-5
Sat 9-2 Sun
-PLUS 24/7
4. What are their support hours (Pacific Standard Time- Wkends- Holidays- Premiums) After hours $? rates

5. Do they have (same time zone) local support staff to handle your on-site needs? YES

6. Can you use a hand held device for physicals, PO's, selling, receiving, and spot checking? YES

7. Will their program work with a variety of point of sale equipment like cash drawers, printers, scanners, YES
& standard OPOS drivers?

8. What is the size of their programming staff for development of the product? Aprox 50
 Retail
Notes of concern, cont.: Pro _________ _________
9. Are they the original program designers OR do they tie to a 3rd party software that must be maintained YES
by a company other than the developer?

10. Is their software and company focused on point of sale, merchandise management and customer
relationship management for the specialty retail industry? YES

11. Do they have the ability to link to a number of different accounting package such as Mas90, Mas200,
Great Plains, Business Works, Quickbooks, etc. YES

Good luck with your research and do not hesitate to call if you have any questions about our program and its strengths.
Thank you again for reviewing Retail Pro for your business needs. Remember, telling is NOT showing. Make them SHOW you
it can be done!
QUESTIONS TO ASK OTHER POS VENDORS REGARDING SUPPORT

1.      Do they provide local support and training?

2.      How many employees do you have?
3.      How many certified technicians do you have?
4.      How many POS systems to you support?
5.      What is the total number of customers you are currently supporting?
6.      What are the hours and days that you are open for service and support? Weekends? Holidays?
7.      How is technical support provided? Phone? On-line Access? Pager?
8.      How is support billed?
9.      What is considered billable vs. non-billable?