Kaysville, UT - 5/5/2006 - Ensign Systems is proud to announce the release of POS•IM Premier 8.0. The transformation is finally complete and our “extreme makeover” team is exhausted! Our old users won’t believe the changes we have made. The new screens look great and are much easier to navigate through. The best part of the new screens – they are SIZEABLE! This has been one of our most requested items and we were happy to oblige.

The Label Designer is also complete and working like a champ. Using this new feature you can design a label by dragging and dropping fields you want to use and placing them where you want them to print. No more command files!

8.0 is currently being sent out to everyone with a support contract. Those shipments are going out in waves, with a new group every week. If you are concerned about when you will receive it you can contact Ensign.

Kaysville, UT - 4/26/2006 - POS•IM Diamond 4.3 is nearing the end of its beta testing period. We are hearing a lot of positive responses from the beta testers about the reward program. As soon as the beta period ends we will begin to distribute 4.3 via e-mail. Please make sure Ensign has an up-to-date e-mail address by sending your 1) Store Name, 2) Your Name, 3) Store Address, and 4) Phone Number from the e-mail address you want us to use. Send the e-mail to admin@posim.com.

Stamford, CT – 4/28/2006 - We are proud to re-welcome a new member to our sales team. Ken Stewart, owner of Sensible Business Systems of Stamford, has rejoined the POS•IM sales and consultation team. He had previously worked with POS•IM many years ago, but left when he found a home in the apparel retail world. He has since returned and we are definitely glad to have him back! If you are located in the CT, upper NJ, lower NY region and would like to speak with Ken please contact us.

SKaysville, UT – 4/24/2006 - Have you had a chance to work with POS•IM’s technical support team? If so, you know they are an extremely helpful resource in helping you understand how to use POS•IM to its fullest potential. They are also a powerful crutch you can use if you ever experience technical difficulties.

Our tech support team is a pro at helping you via phone, but if that doesn’t work they have an easy solution. We have been helping our customers with a tool that allows us to view and control your computer from Ensign. This method of support is free if you have a support contract and makes it easy for us to give you the best help possible. You must choose to allow us to see the computer, and can see on your screen everything that is happening. It is a secure way to resolve your problems, and we will walk you through what is happening in case you run into the problem again in the future. Support can be reached at 801-546-1616 or support@posim.com.

Cupertino, CA – 3/1/2006 – Another POS•IM user has been added to the elite list of retail stores profiled on Apple.com. Due Maternity is an upscale clothing store who has been using POS•IM for years. They originally began with one store and have since expanded to four stores and a web store. If you would like to read about their unique experience you can click here.

Kaysville, UT – 3/5/2006 – Diamond 4.2 was officially released and sent out to all current support contract holders. This upgrade was sent in an email with a link to download to the POS•IM system. If you are a current support contract holder and did not receive this, please contact Ensign Systems. The Diamond 4.2 version includes Quickbooks interface, Automator functions, updated MYOB interface, and a new Journals preference screen.
 
Diamond 4.3 is entering beta testing and is on schedule for release in early May. Diamond 4.3 contains one of our most exciting additions for the Mac which is a Customer Loyalty / Reward Program. POS•IM will track points for customer’s purchases and notify you when they have reached a specified reward level. Diamond 4.3 will be available for support contract holders only. If you are unsure of your support status, or need to purchase a support plan please contact Pat at 800.409.7678.

Kaysville, UT – 3/15/2006 – Premier 8.0 is nearing the end of its beta testing timeline. This version is slightly behind the anticipated release schedule, but we guarantee it will be worth the wait. This will be a very exciting release with the screen makeover, similar to the Mac version. It also contains some of the most requested changes, a WYSIWYG label creator and USB Receipt Printer connections. We know everyone is excited for the USB Receipt Printer connection, which will free up your serial port and bring you to the cutting edge. The WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) label creator gives you the ability to create a label design by dragging and dropping fields or barcodes where you want them to print. This feature is creating a frenzy among those of you who have tried to create their own label definitions using code. Where as before it used to be a trial and error process, now what you see will be what you get! Did we also mention the bigger and sizable screens? Yes, in version 8.0 you will see a bigger screen that can be made even bigger if you want to. As always, 8.0 will be available to support contract holders only. Make sure your support contract is current by calling Pat at 800.409.7678.

Kaysville, UT – 3/2/2006 – The new electronic POS•IM Mac HTML manual is now available in PDF format. This will provide a solution for those who would like a printed manual. The PDF manual can be printed in book format by the printer of your choice. The PDF manual can be obtained by calling Ensign.

Kaysville, UT – 3/16-18/2006 – Ensign Systems held their annual VAR conference for POS•IM software. POS•IM representatives from across the nation came to Utah to learn about the latest and greatest enhancements. We discussed new features, new hardware, and both Mac and Windows Multi-Site in great detail. Your local VAR is now even better prepared to answer any questions you may have about POS•IM. Contact them today! If you unaware of who your local POS•IM rep is, you can contact Ensign for that information.

The trade shows Ensign attended over the first quarter of 2006 have been a great success! We appreciate all the VARs hard work, which made the shows the successful events that they were. We also appreciate everyone who visited the POS•IM booth. Below is a list of the shows we attended:
 
Jan 9-13 – Macworld, San Francisco, CA
Jan 21-23 – TNNA, San Diego, CA
Jan 28-31 – Outdoor Retailer, Salt Lake City, UT
Jan 30-Feb 2 – CHA, Las Vegas, NV
Feb 3-5 – Salt Lake Gift Show, Salt Lake City, UT
Feb 25-26 – Denver Merchandise Mart, Denver, CO

Cupertino, CA – 1/6/2006 - Another POS•IM user has been chosen to be featured on Apple.com’s retail page. Whitehall Lane Winery has been using POS•IM for several years and they are very enthusiastic about it. You can read the profile on apple.com here.

Kaysville, UT – 12/15/2005 - Diamond 4.2 was officially released and sent out to all current support contract holders. This upgrade was sent in an email with a link to download to the POS•IM system. If you are a current support contract holder and did not receive this, please contact Ensign Systems. The Diamond 4.2 version includes Quickbooks interface, Automator functions, updated MYOB interface, and a new Journals preference screen.

Kaysville, UT – 1/20/2006 - Premier 7.15 is in beta testing and an official release date will be announced soon. This will be a very exciting release with the screen makeover, similar to the Mac version. It also contains some of the most requested changes, a WYSIWYG label creator and USB Receipt Printer connections. We know everyone is excited for the USB Receipt Printer connection, which will free up your serial port and bring you to the cutting edge. The WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) label creator gives you the ability to create a label design by dragging and dropping fields or barcodes where you want them to print. This feature is creating a frenzy among those of you who have tried to create their own label definitions using code. Where as before it used to be a trial and error process, now what you see will be what you get! Did we also mention the bigger and sizable screens? Yes, in version 7.15 you will see a bigger screen that can be made even bigger if you want to. As always, 7.15 will be available to support contract holders only. Make sure your support contract is current by calling Pat at 801-546-1616.

Kaysville, UT – 1/2/2006 - The POSoIM Support page of our website has been updated with a new search method. The new search is much easier to use and allows you to focus on your platform. We have also updated our old tech tips and added many new ones. Click here or use the Support tab link to see it for yourself.

Kaysville, UT – 1/20/2006 - Ensign has had some employee changes over the last month. We are always sad to see employees go, but we are also excited to see them progress in their careers. Following is a list of recent employee changes:

Karissa - reception and office management
Candance – part time assistant to credit card processing
John – programmer for Mac
Stephen – tech support
Jake – no longer with Ensign Systems
Ryanne – no longer with Ensign Systems

Kaysville, UT – 12/15/2005 - The new Mac Diamond 4 electronic manual has been completed and is available in version 4.2. The electronic manual is much easier to navigate and is written with a “How to…” method, replacing the old reference manual. Several POS•IM users have reviewed the new manual and give it their compliments. They feel it is well written and easy to use. They love the fact that it can be accessed right from the POS•IM program, so they don’t have a big book collecting dust on the shelf.

Houston, TX – 10/5/2005 - Ensign will be holding a specialized Quilt and Fabric store training for POS•IM in conjunction with the International Quilt Market in Houston. The training will be held October 21, 2005 from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm. Call Ensign to register for the training. We will be discussing POS•IM features specific to the Quilt and Fabric markets.

Kaysville, UT – 10/4/2005 -Diamond 4.2 is now in beta testing and if all goes well should be officially released sometime this month. The Diamond 4.2 version includes Quickbooks interface, Automator functions, updated MYOB interface, and a new Journals preference screen. It will be available to support contract holders as soon as it is released.

Kaysville, UT – 10/4/2005 - Premier 7.15 should be in beta testing during the beginning of October and officially released towards the end of the month. This will be a very exciting release with the screen makeover, similar to the Mac version. It also contains some of the most requested changes, a WYSIWYG label creator and USB Receipt Printer connections. We know everyone will be excited for the USB Receipt Printer connection, which will free up your serial port and bring you to the cutting edge. The WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) label creator gives you the ability to create a label design by dragging and dropping fields or barcodes where you want them to print. This feature is creating a frenzy among those of you who have tried to create their own label definitions using code. Where as before it used to be a trial and error process, now what you see will be what you get! Did we also mention the bigger and sizable screens? Yes, in version 7.15 you will see a bigger screen that can be made even bigger if you want to. As always, 7.15 will be available to support contract holders only. Make sure your support contract is current by calling Pat at 801-546-1616.

Kaysville, UT – 9/26/2005 - Ensign has had some employee changes over the last month. We are always sad to see employees go, but we are also excited to see them progress in their careers. Following is a list of recent employee changes:

Susan – switched to part time reception and trade show management
Ryanne – hired for full time reception and office management
Preston – no longer with Ensign
Kevin – hired for Windows programming
Jake – moved from tech support management to Macintosh programming
Autumn – moved to tech support management
Kyle – hired as a tech writer

Kaysville, UT – 9/26/2005 - The new Mac Diamond 4 electronic manual has been completed and will be available in version 4.2. The electronic manual is much easier to navigate and is written with a “How to…” method, replacing the old reference manual. Several POS•IM users have reviewed the new manual and give it their compliments. They feel it is well written and easy to use. They love the fact that it can be accessed right from the POS•IM program, so they don’t have a big book collecting dust on the shelf.

WWDC 2004, San Francisco, - June 28, 2004 - Ensign Systems Inc. today announced the Diamond Version of POS·IM, designed to take full advantage of Mac OS X. POS·IM is a leading point of sale and inventory management software for the independently minded retailer. POS·IM has been installed in over 5,000 retail stores during the past 15 years and is well known for its colorful screens and management prowess.

“POS·IM has always given retailers the advantage of being easy to use with comprehensive management tools,” said Alan Thurgood, President of Ensign System Inc. “Now, with Mac OS X, POS·IM Diamond is faster and even more dynamic, providing retailers with the best possible solution for their Point of Sale and Inventory Management needs”.

“The ease of use, reliability and high performance of Mac OS X make it a perfect platform for small business retail stores,” said Ron Okamoto, Apple’s vice president of Worldwide Developer Relations. "With POS·IM, Ensign offers an intuitive point of sale and inventory management software for retailers that benefit from the industrial strength of Mac OS X.”

The Diamond Version of POS·IMoperates optimally on Mac OS X. Ensign has focused the POS·IM product mainly toward independent businesses and franchises. They feel the Macintosh system lends to POS·IM’s intuitive features, resulting in more success for retailers.

Multi-Tasking. The Diamond database server can run independently as a high speed module in the background while other software operations are being used on the same computer. This allows smaller retailers, with 2 to 4 computers, to have a high speed server without purchasing an additional computer to act as the server.

Stability. The POS system continues to operate at full speed even if other applications crash on the same computer or on the network. The store is never temporarily shut down.

Speed. Mac OS X has allowed POS·IM to improve operating time dramatically. Reports that used to take 3 minutes to run, now take less than 30 seconds.

USB Interface. The plug and play of USB is fully integrated into Diamond. Peripherals like receipt printers, pole displays, cash drawers and product label printers are easy to integrate into the POS system. The operating system automatically sets the ports and identifies the drivers needed.

TCP/IP Protocol. Diamond profits considerably from the TCP/IP network protocol supported by Mac OS X. This allows remote site access to the POS·IM database to process sales or receive purchase orders.

Ensign Systems Inc., a privately owned company, released its first POS product in 1989. POS·IM was recently awarded a premier rating by Australian Macworld magazine over several other POS systems. Ensign markets its products through independent business people who specialize in consulting for retail businesses. Ensign’s products are sold in United States, Canada, Australia, and the Pacific Rim.

For more information on POS·IM contact Stacy Christensen at stacy@posim.com.

In a recent comparison of Point of Sale systems done by Australian Macworld, POS·IM was given the opportunity to compete head on with their competitors. Several Point of Sale systems were ranked based on multiple factors, with the most important being setup time and ease of use. How did POS·IM fare? We came out on top and received the highest ranking out of our competitors.

The article titled Test Drive says “ …virtually every facet of operating POS·IM can be tailored not only to the way you make sales, assign salespeople and conduct POS business, but to your reporting. It seems every kind of summary you could conceivably use is built in, each open to endless tweaking.”

Another important area was the ability POS·IM has to easily import existing data, even from a spread sheet into an existing system.

They also like the mechanics of POS·IM which makes it the most flexible. It did find it was very easy to set up and operate. There’s no need for proprietary software, you just install it onto the server and copy the correct operating files to each terminal.

Overall, POS·IM edges out in front of the competition when it comes to hitting the ground running and flexibility to your needs.

Alan Thurgood, CPA and President of Ensign Systems, Inc., was invited to teach at the Schoolhouse Series lecture at the International Quilt Show in Pittsburg, PA, May 19th. Alan revealed to Quilt Retailers the simple strategy to gain confidence and success in retail management. “Business success is a number’s game.” Attendees were shown how they can create a pattern for success using non-emotional numbers.

He suggested business owners take a day away from the business and go to your favorite quiet spot to plan budgets, goals and benchmarks to reach goals they desire. Then return back to the business and make sure they don’t color outside the lines.

One of the comments heard from an attendee was “This was the most practical and worthwhile class I have been to.”

POS·IM was represented at the International Quilt Show in Pittsburg, PA in May by Susan Besand, President of MicroSolve, fabric and quilt specialist for POS·IM and Stacy Christensen, Public Relations Director of Ensign Systems, Inc., publisher of POS·IM.

Susan and Stacy had a hard time keeping up with the retailers who wanted to learn more on how POS·IM can make them more successful. Susan and Stacy were glad to give the attendees more information including a demo on POS·IM showing how it can help and flyers to take with them. “We were excited to see the current users of POS·IM at the show and their enthusiasm for having it,” said Stacy. “We enjoyed hearing how if has worked for them to make them more successful.”

Kaysville, UT - 2/25/2005 - A quick update on POS·IM Diamond 4.0 for Mac... "The extreme makeover" is progressing very well and we are getting very excited to release the new version to the public. We took a working version of the release with us to MacWorld last month to show off and the response was unanimous – Diamond 4.0 was a BIG hit!

For those of you who are not aware what Diamond 4.0 is – it is the highly anticipated makeover of POS·IM for Mac. We will be introducing all new screens that follow the “aqua” look of Mac OS X, and a simplified application launcher. In Diamond 4.0 all POS·IM applications will be launched using one icon, and will include a navigator at the top of the screen allowing you to easily move between Sales screens and Inventory screens with one click.

We anticipate the final release for Diamond 4.0 will be in April. Please remember, upgrades are only available to support contract holders. If you need to renew your support contract please contact Pat at sales@posim.com.

Kaysville, UT - 3/1/2005 - Ensign Systems, the creator of POS·IM, is proud to announce the release of POS·IM Premier 7.13 for Windows. Version 7.13 addresses several maintenance issues as well as a few powerhouse enhancements. Possibly the most exciting enhancement is the addition of Preferred Pricing. This allows you to assign preferred prices for specific items for each customer. Another major change was made to the On Hand report, which now gives you multiple sort options including inventory as of a historical date. This is an enhancement you will see added to more and more reports in upcoming releases.

Please keep in mind upgrades are only available to support contract holders. Version 7.13 is available by request only. If you are interested in receiving it send an e-mail to admin@posim.com to request your copy.

Kaysville, UT - 3/7/2005 - An exciting announcement for our Windows users - We have decided to extend the extreme makeover to our Windows version as well. POS·IM Premier 8.0 is well along the path to being released and will include a screen makeover as well as a bunch of very useful new features. We plan to streamline the ordering and receiving process, but at the same time expand the auto order feature. We also have one VERY big change that will be announced as we get closer to finishing the new release. Keep watching the announcement section for more information...

POS·IM Premier 8.0 is expected to be finished early in the summer of this year. It will be released in waves to support contract holders on a first come, first serve basis. Secure your position today by making sure you have a current support contract. Contact Pat at 800-409-7678 to verify your support contract is up to date.

Cresco, IA - 3/9/2005 - Following is a post from a long time POS·IM user in response to questions she has been receiving about what to look for a good POS system:

I have absolute confidence in POS·IM because it not only has Micro-Solve, which is the distributor that tends to fabric shops, but also the parent company Ensign Systems. They have been in business for more than 15 years. They have a whole team of professionals to service our needs and have worked with all types of retail environments. This kind of support gives depth to my support and answers to my questions that are solid.

I would never work with a company that cannot adopt a professional attitude, which I expect from this industry. This is because the day to day of our business is serious stuff that requires patient attention. If a tech support agent is flippant with responses, and I don't have the necessary computer skills to understand what I am missing, I can't tolerate a technician who responds with:

"Yea, that part doesn't work real well." I've complained about other parts - they warn me not to use them as they could affect inventory numbers.

If you are considering a POS, this is a serious issue. In my personal opinion, I would never work with a product that can't insure the numbers I am looking at have strong viability in legal reporting systems. Alan Thurgood, president of Ensign, is a CPA and is meticulous to detail and legalities of operating a business. Every nuance right down to the calculation of a micro-penny is considered in the big picture. When I was researching all of the companies, I had the privilege of working with one of the research and development people for Ensign. I came to understand the intricate details that were considered in POS·IM, things that some accountants might just round up or down. This is the kind of detail we need to have to remain viable in our industry. When we are talking about percentages that give us an income or thwart our abilities, we need to know these details and need to know that we can rely on the tool of the POS to assist us completely.

I have talked with many shop owners who have discovered glitches in their POS (as described in "might affect your inventory") much too late. One that I know of realized that substantial parts of her inventory were missing through calculations that the company admitted weren't working properly in their system. She paid dearly for this mistake in her taxes and in her time. She bit the bullet and switched to POS·IM. She has been thrilled with the accuracy and the support.

For the question of IF one can afford or not afford a POS system - it saves me the cost of one employee a year. Having the ability to export to QuickBooks or MYOB also saves me substantial man hours with my accountant. That our system has never crashed in seven years, and we have been able to utilize the data in a multitude of ways, and generate an incredible proliferation of reports even when we didn't fully understand the system is testimonial to the reliability of the product. When we started off, I purchased $2200 worth of used hardware and was able to run my system off of that hardware until I could justify replacing it. My equipment wasn't pretty, but the software was. With time, we have updated and improved our speed with faster computers. Yes, it can be done for less money than you think. Just be sure that when you make your investment that you invest in the right part of the POS... a good software COMPANY that is professional and responsive.

All the Best to you,

Jill
Pine Needles Quilt Shop

Kaysville, UT - 3/15/2005 - See the newest POS·IM ad in this month's Scrapbook Premier magazine. Also, look for the article titled "Is There A Better Way For Physicals?" by Alan Thurgood, the owner of Ensign Systems. see the full article here...