Floranext - Truly Great Florist Websites, Florist POS, Florist Ecommerce, and Floral Technology

Floranext Florist POS To Support Flower Shop Network

Floranext Admin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:05:27 +0000

Floranext is excited to announce a partnership with Flower Shop Network. We are happy to be able to offer another great tool to independent florists.

Floranext florist Point of Sale customers can now send and receive florist to florist orders through Flower Shop Network.

Floranext POS customers can access FSN’s thousands of member florists across the US and Canada.

FSN’s Florist to Florist Orders

No monthly fees.
Pay only when you send.
Receiving florist gets 80%, not 70% or 73% like wire services.
Receiving florist gets paid weekly for orders filled.
Send orders electronically at $3.99 per order.

How Floranext POS Works with FSN

Sending Orders - Send orders right in Floranext POS- no double entry, saving time and margin of error.

Receiving Orders – The Floranext florist POS automatically pulls FSN florist to florist orders. You get notified about an order by FSN by email and text message – you can then go to your Floranext POS orders list and either Accept or Reject the incoming order.

Floranext and Flower Shop Network – Try Free

Want to try out Floranext’s florist Point of Sale with FSN integration? Contact us for a free demo or free trial.

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Floranext makes great florist software. Florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, and florist technology. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

Five Florist Mother’s Day Marketing Ideas

Floranext Admin — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 22:44:25 +0000

Mother’s Day should be among the most profitable days for a flower shop. Some good preparation and targeted marketing can add 5 – 15% to your sales.

Marketing early and often is the way to go. Here are some ideas that have worked for our shops. Feel free to add your own ideas below as well!

Five Florist Mother’s Day Marketing Ideas

1. Restaurant Marketing

Partner with local restaurants to offer package deals of dinner and flowers.

Also give away a free arrangement every week for the restaurant in the month before Mother’s Day – make sure that it is prominently displayed with your shop name.

2. School Marketing

Create a special discount for students.

Put up posters and flyers promoting flower shop student specials for high schools and college campuses and at local coffee, ice cream and yogurt shops where students hang out. Make sure these are targeted at students specifically. If you have a website that allows special coupons, create a unique one for this group to make them feel special.

Partner with high schools where senior class or a club make a % of sales. Give them flyers with three easy flower choices and low-cost price points.

3. Email Marketing

Send weekly emails with big discounts to customers, far in advance of Mother’s Day.

“Save 15% on Mother’s Day roses when you order today.” Lots of limited time only offers to prompt an early action for flower buying.

If you’re not doing so already, have an email sign up sheet on your front counter.

4. Coupons in Every Arrangement

Starting 5+ weeks before Mother’s Day, add Mother’s Day coupons to every arrangement that leaves the shop.

5. Online Marketing

Get a Google Adwords campaign ready now for the two weeks before Mother’s Day. Google Ads are great for getting customers just as they are about to spend money.

If you’re new to Google Ads, call their toll free number – they will help you target ads at local buyers. Include a coupon or mention of a special in the ad.

Make sure when users click on your website that it answers all questions in less than 5 seconds – your location, phone number, guarantee policy, years in business – and products with discounted prices.

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A $250 Computer For Your Flower Shop?

Floranext Admin — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:33:17 +0000

Not too long ago buying a new florist computer meant spending $1,500 and a lot of time trying to compare specs. Enter the Google/Samsung Chromebook – a $250 laptop computer. Is it right for your flower shop? Is it powerful enough for what you need? Let’s find out.

What is the Google Chromebook?

The Chromebook is Google’s answer to a Microsoft or Apple PC. It’s a low-cost computer with applications that live on the web rather than on the PC. This $250 version is built with Samsung.

You may be used to downloading applications like Photoshop and Microsoft Word onto your computer.

With a Chromebook you would instead use Internet applications. For example, rather than paying for Microsoft Word you would use Google’s free Google Docs Word application.

Google Ad for Chromebook - Highlights Portability, Capability

Advantages/Disadvantages of Chromebook as a florist computer?

Cost(!) - The main advantage of a Chromebook for a retail florist is cost. It’s an ultra inexpensive computer that you can use to do all the things you did on a regular PC: editing documents, spreadsheets, accessing the internet, writing emails, etc.

Offline Documents – Moreover, Google offers Offline Docs – so you can edit documents, spreadsheets, etc. when you are not connected to the Internet. (Note you will have to activate this.)

USB Ports – You can connect your printer, mouse etc. easily.

No Downloads – If you are used to downloading and using programs like Photoshop on your florist PC , you will need to switch to online versions of these programs. Similarly, downloadable games are will not run on a Chromebook.

Smaller Size – The Chromebook is small, screen in small. This could be an advantage if you want to take it home. Or a disadvantage if you like big workspaces for computers.

Conclusion – Good Buy – For a typical flower business who doesn’t download many programs and in a business context where the internet is typically available, a Chromebook is a good bet.

Where would I use a Chromebook in my flower shop?

Back Office – A Chromebook certainly is a good alternative for a back office computer.

Extra Computer – or as an extra computer to use for wedding consultations or for surge capacity for an extra florist POS at busy holiday times.

Front of the Flower Shop – You can definitely use the Chromebook in the front of the flower shop. Looks wise, some shops may want a bigger, fancier computer for the front of their shop. An alternative for the front of the shop is Dell’s All-In-One, which retails for $450.

Dell's All-in-One is an alternative to a Chromebook - Inexpensive, Front Counter Computers for Your Flower Shop.

Will a Chromebook have enough RAM and Hard Drive Space?

Don’t worry too much about the specs of your computer. If you have a 5+ old computer, any computer you buy will be 5 – 10x faster than the one you have been using, regardless of the specs.

If you’re worried about RAM – all you need is 2GB RAM. You *do not* need any significant amount of hard drive space.

How Can I Get a Chromebook?

Google mostly sells these online via retailers like Amazon, Best Buy and others. Here is some more info. Also, we spotted one at our local BestBuy shop, so they may be available at select retailers if you want to try it out in person.

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Opening a Flower Shop – What I Wish I Knew!

Floranext Admin — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 06:21:09 +0000

Opening a flower shop, like any new business, requires lots of hard work, love, and dedication. And some good information.

What do you wish you knew when you decided to open a flower shop? Here are some things we have learned. Let us know your tips also!

Florist Marketing

Online reputation is critical – Stay on top of Yelp, Google Places, and other review websites. Customers are turning to online outlets to express their praise / frustration – stay in control.
Low cost/No cost marketing – if often the best – community activity gets free marketing.
Email marketing – send out coupons and discounts at least every month. Make sure your florist website supports this.

Florist Wire Services

Avoid Wire Service Lock-In – Don’t get stuck with long-term commitments for florist POS and florist websites. Flexibility is key for any small business.
Wire Services Ads – your money is going to fund ads running against your business in your local area.
Statements – Review you statements with an accountant or bookkeeper to see if you’re actually making money.
Codified Products / Containers – Know your options. Sometimes the minimum purchase of these expensive containers far outweigh the earning potential. Many florists team up to split a box or you can choose to not buy the codified container and instead purchase something similar from your trusted vendor. In that case you can still fill wire-in orders that allow for a keepsake substitution without breaking the bank.

Florist Credit Card Processing

Big Costs – Credit card processing is an unexciting but critical part of your business. You can save hundreds of dollars a year by choosing the right merchant account. Compare processors.
Statements – Compare your statements to be sure you’re getting a good deal.
Contracts – Contracts can be okay, but avoid early termination fees and similar lock-ins.
Feel free to contact Floranext for input on credit card processing.

Florist Software

Floral POS pays for itself – Good floral software increases productivity and has built-in marketing – you will save on time, labor and get more orders.
Independent solutions – think independent for your floral software – you will get lower prices and more flexibility.
Florist websites – Make sure your website looks unique – it’s a critical part of your brand.

Flower Shop Operations

Delivery Confirmations - are practically expected by customers these days as a part of basic customer service.
Check your work – Have a checker on all designs that leave the store.
Handling complaints – create an action plan for your staff so everyone feels empowered to help that occasional sour customer with a smile and grace.

Holidays (Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day)

Record keeping – it’s essential to predict future years – keep notes on sales, prices, weather.
Planning – Make a game plan weeks before any holiday for staffing, buying, and marketing.
Be aware of your competition – See what the wire services and other florists in your area are offering and offer up something unique and/or comparable.

Flower Care

Keep buckets clean - change water and recut any flowers that haven’t sold within 3 days of arriving.

Florist Staffing

Do not over staff – use part timers for flexibility.
Staff smart - Experienced designers will require a higher wage than a General Shop worker. Schedule designers enough hours to fill orders and create some designs for the display case then let the general help take it from there.

Working with Vendors

Share information – don’t be afraid to ask other florists who they get their supplies from.
Check invoices – to be sure you are paying a reasonable price for your supplies and check each delivery to be sure you have received everything you paid for. Mistakes happen!
Know what you are paying – and what you need to charge with your mark-up . Be sure your staff knows this too!
Communication - with vendors is key. Let them know when you receive unsatisfactory product or when they deliver in a timely manner. These relationships will help you stand out against other shops.

Florist Community

Florist Advice – Lean on other florists for advice with free Facebook florist communities. Some are invite-only, so be in touch with other florists to find the most popular communities.

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Beautiful Origami Flowers

Floranext Admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 19:27:48 +0000

Origami (from ori which means “folding”, and Japanese deity which means “paper” is that the ancient Japanese art of paper folding, that started within the seventeenth century AD at the most recent and was popularized outside of Japan within the mid-1900s. it’s since then evolved into a contemporary form.

Here is a collection of great origami flower designs that embody the best of the art form.

Floranext makes great florist websites, floral POS, florist wedding/event proposal software, florist technology and great floral software. Let us know if you want a free demo or try our software for free here!

Florist Valentine’s Day Survival Guide

Jessica — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:05:20 +0000

Valentine’s Day is the busiest day of the year for any flower shop. So what can you do to make your life a little easier (and make more money!). Here are some tips from Floranext. Let us know your suggestions in the comments section below!

Two Weeks Before Valentine’s Day

Email marketing – Send out a $5 off coupon to customers. Make sure you pull all the email addresses from your florist POS system
Codified Arrangements – Make codified or flower specific orders before designer’s choice orders to ensure you can fill orders properly.

The Week of Valentine’s Day

Pre-Arranging – Hand tie greens for vase drop in, store in waxed boxes and spray with anti desiccant
Pricing - If possible have a lower price point with 30 or 40 cm roses for cash and cary
Single Roses – Have many single roses wrapped
Save Money! – Colored roses are always cheaper than red so do something to promote them
Promote! – Enclose an offer for March in every delivery (offer should be an inexpensive in-store pickup)
Delivery Manager – nominate one employee as the delivery manager
Prearrange delivery - route out deliveries you know already.

The Day Before/On

Buy lunch – to keep everyone in the shop.
Roses – when you pre-make roses in a vase before they go out, be sure to change water and also rinse the stems that have neen in water.

Florist Techology

Delivery routing – is standard with florist POS systems now. Many (like Floranext) use Google Maps for delivery. Try out yours to make sure you know how it works.
Delivery notification – head off those phone calls from customers by sending out delivery confirmation emails. Your floral POS should have this built in.

After Valentine’s Day

Appreciation – Give your staff a token of appreciation for their commitment to making Valentine’s Day a success – free flowers to bring home!

Buying a Computer For Your Flower Shop

admin — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 19:41:32 +0000

Buying a computer for your flower shop isn’t always an easy process, particularly if you´re not info fancy acronyms. Here is a simple guide to what you might consider when buying a computer for your flower shop.

The very first question you should ask yourself should not be “Windows or Apple,” or “Dual Core or Quad Core.” The very first question should be “What do I need this computer to do?”

In a flower shop, you need to take and manage florist POS orders, write docs, compose emails, use MS Office, use florist software, connect to the internet, go to florist websites, and do social networking. This is basically what you need from a floral computer. These tasks are, in general, not very demanding on the computer, so you don´t need to worry about buying the most expensive computer.

What shape and size for your florist computer?

All in One PC - Good for Front of Shop Because They Take Up Less Room Than Traditonal PCs

For the front of the shop, we like all-in-one computers and they retail for aroud $600 on Amazon. These combine the monitor and CPU into one unit. All the big PC makers like Dell, Lenovo, HP make versions of these. For your front office floral computer, think about affordable, compact – these computers fit the bill. Many also offer combined touch screen capability which can be helpful for some florist POS systems to more quickly take orders.

Laptops Offer Mobility - So You Can Take Them Home And Use Them In Your Office. Netbooks Are Very Small Laptops, Usually Very Inexpensive.

Laptops can be useful as well, particularly for the office computer. Some shops owners like to take this laptop home with them at the end of the day to do their basic floral accounting on their secondary florist computer.

iPads and Tablets Make Good Secondary or Tertiary Computers for Your Shop. You Can Use for Wedding Consultations to Easily Take Notes and Look At Images With Customers.

Tablets are great as secondary florist computers for taking wedding and event consultations because you can look at images and take notes easily.

iPads are still the best on the market in terms of ease of use, but Android tablets (with Google´s Android operating system) are fast catching up. These tablets can now be purchased for under $200.

What tech specs do I need for my florist computer?

Windows PCs are significantly cheaper than Macs, so if cost is a consideration, you may want to opt . With Windows PCs or laptops/netbooks, you should look for something that has at least 3GB of RAM (Random Access Memory) to run the Windows 7/8 OS, and a processor with a “clock rate” of greater than 2.5ghz.

You can buy any brand and these are mostly available at Best Buy or Walmart or on Amazon. You can easily get a laptop with these specifications for around $300 or a netbook/desktop for cheaper. Reminder – the Anti-Virus/ Malware packages and trials that come with these computers are worthless. Ignore these offerings as it will save you lots of money. You can simply download Microsoft Security Essentials and MalwareBytes – both are free. As much as possible, buy a computer that comes pre-loaded with MS-Office. Maintenance is essential also. Setting up the internet is easy as ISPs do that for you. However, if you’re not “techy,” will need to pay someone to check your floral computer, make backups, and optimize your system.

Good luck with your buying a computer for your flower shop! Let Floranext know if we can help with any floral software or computer questions!

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Florist Website Banners – Rotating Banners on Your Floranext Website

Floranext Admin — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 00:02:12 +0000

Floranext is excited to announce rotating banners for website customers and a selection of new banners! The new scrolling banners (available on our Advanced package and for all POS + Website customers) add dynamism to your florist website.

First here are some of our new banners:

See how they look on a Floranext florist website:

Floranext’s florist website builder allows store owners to change banners on their front page for different seasons and holidays. In addition, you can add banners for content pages like your weddings, events, testimonials, about us pages and any others you want to create.

Floranext also allows you to upload your own banners. Create custom banners and give your website a unique look and feel.

Here’s is a how-to guide showing how easy it is to upload scrolling banners to your florist website! Want to try Floranext’s florist website – click here to try free!

Want to try out a Floranext florist website – click here to try it free!

Instagram Lets Florists Take Beautiful Flower Photos

Floranext Admin — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 02:57:02 +0000

Instagram, the photo sharing web app now owned by Facebook, is making a move that is great for florists. Get ready for a new way to start sharing your flower shop’s beautiful creations.

Instagram can help drive more orders to your florist website and get you more wedding and event business.

What is Instagram? It’s an app for your iPhone or Android phone that allows you to share beautiful photos with friends or other followers. Until now, Instagram was only available on phones. The company now lets you showcase the photos you take on your phone on the web as well.

Instagram iPhone App - Great for Florists!

Instagram lets you combine beautiful photos

Instagram lets you adjust lighting to take better photos.

Instagram lets you use filters and effects to create beautiful photos

Like Facebook, Instagram lets you get social with your photos – enabling you to gather followers who get updated every time you post a photo. Instagram has filters that let you make your photos look amazing. Best of all, Instagram is integrated with Facebook so you can instantly upload photos to your Facebook page.

Some big brands like Nike are getting into the action with a dedicated page for shoe-lovers. Smaller brands are also using it to keep followers engaged.

Nike Instagram Page

Cooking Page on Instagram

So how to get started with Instagram? It’s easy!

1. Get an Instagram account – Go to the Instagram website and download an app for your iPhone or Android phone.

2. Link to Facebook – On the Instagram app, sign up with your business Facebook account to post images directly to your Facebook page.

3. Start taking pictures – Instagram makes it super-easy to start sharing your photos. Use filters to add the right shading and lighting to your images.

4. Showcase your flower images on your website – Put a link to your Instagram page on your website. It’s a great way to showcase wedding, event, and everyday photos to prospective customers.

Make sure your florist website enables you to add a link to your Instagram page! If you’re looking for an alternative provider that gives you more control to showcase your great flower designs, check out Floranext’s florist websites.

Free Wedding/Event Proposal Manager – New Floranext Software!

Floranext Admin — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 07:15:51 +0000

Over the past year we listened to customer requests for even better wedding/event tools. What we came up with is a wedding/event manager proposal – an easy tool to create beautiful, polished proposals in minutes. And it’s yours free – forever!

Floranext offers the best florist websites, floral point of sale, and floral software. Our new (free!) wedding/events tool is an easy way to compose beautiful wedding and event proposals. Add photos and then send out by email or print. Designing compelling proposals has never been easier.

Watch a video to find out more:

For a wedding proposal you can add information about the bride and groom, the wedding and reception date, and info about the flowers requested (bouquets, centerpieces, etc.), your service charges, terms and conditions. Add in prices and easily total them up with taxes. Then email to the bride or print out. Easy!

If you’re an existing Floranext website or point of sale customer, you can just go to your admin dashboard and click on Wedding/Events to get started.

If you’re to Floranext , use the proposal 100% free. Click here to get started!

Step 1 – Click the Wedding/Events Tab

Step 2 – Create a Wedding/Events Proposal

Step 3 – Email or Print the Finished Proposal

Already a Floranext customer – just log into your admin and start using the wedding/events proposal manager!

New to Floranext? What are you waiting for? Try our (free!) wedding/event proposal manager today. Get started now!