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Old 12-24-2003, 07:45 AM   #1 (permalink)
 
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Andy - I would like your honest opinion on what you feel is the best tanning salon software. If you are able I would like you to list your top three choices. Or ones to stay away from!

We are opening in Feb or March and I want to be sure I get something that not only user friendly but affordable also.

I am very interested in a finger print accessory - that will hold up!

Thank in advance for your insight - I really appreciate your input!

Happy Holiday's!!
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Old 12-24-2003, 09:20 AM   #2 (permalink)
 
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Now before I answer this, you do understand that I am an Authorized HELIOS Independent Consultant ... right ... so my answer regarding the top three choices would be:

Helios V11
Helios V10
Helios V9 ... only problem here, is that it is no longer available or as of Dec 31st supported.

and that very seriously is my HONEST OPINION. SunTouch, SalonTouch, SunLync, Salon Xpert, TanTrack, Breeze, etc all have their strengths and certainly their weaknesses, some more than others ... as does HELIOS.

HELIOS is, in my opinion, very easy and straight forward to use from a POS standpoint ... minimum keystrokes to ... bring up a client, sell a product, tan on a package or membership and end the sale. That is one of the big reason I choose to get involved with training and assisting salon owners on the product over 6 years ago.

HELIOS is a little more challenging to initially set up than some competitors, but that relates to the flexibility and control features that it provides and supports. By attending one of the semi-monthly FREE trainings offered by Helios in INDY on the 1st and 3rd Friday of each month, or one of my Regional Saturday Trainings for $99., or utilitizing either the Remote Setup at $199. and/or Remote Setup with Initial training at $399. (the cost of ANY of these approaches is less, I believe, than the up front cost of any competitive software) then you will be past the initial learning curve desirable to allow HELIOS to provide a truly meaningful Management and Control function for you in your business.

On the affordable front, HELIOS ... there is NO upfront license or purchase cost, 39.99 per month for Software Maintenance which provides ongoing program updates and upgrades and then you also are entitled to FREE Tech Support during normal Business Hours 8am to 8pm CT Monday thru Friday and 10am to 2pm CT on Saturday (effective Jan 5th,2004) ... excluding Holidays, as long as you keep the Software Maintenance Agreement in force. Compare that to the competition, in one case the upfront license fee you have to pay covers 8 years of Software Maintenance with HELIOS.

And before you ask ... NO LONG TERM committment (not even a year), cancel the Software Maintenance anytime after registration with 30 days notice ... do I recommend doing this HECK NO. Now, be aware, if you cancel and then you want a future upgrade or update to the software and you have cancelled your support... $399. re-enrollment fee and pay all the back months since you cancelled ... remember the 39.99 is for Software Maintenance, being program upgrades and updates, why should one user be able to cancel and sign up again then they wish to get an update when you have been paying for that service month by month ... FAIR right!

Finger Print accessory ... it was Helios that lead the way here, initially everyone else laughed at it but now most if not all have it. But of course what they have is the 1st generation thereof, NOW as of HELIOS V11, the new HELIOS Fingerprint device is a ONE to MANY technology ... MEANING in addition to verifying identity, it NOW IDENTIFIES the client, meaning after registration it will RETRIEVE the client for you based on the biometric assessment of your clients FingerPrint. The BEST just got BETTER!!!!

If you have any other specific questions, give me a call, I would be pleased to help as best I can.

When you request a Demo from Helios or when you decide to go ahead and sign up, I would appreciate you noting in the Referred by box on the Online Demo Request ... Andy Thompson ... and/or on the Software Maintenance Agreement form ... Promo code (at the bottom) 4154.

Make your decision soon and proceed on with getting your Software, Packages/Memberships and Product (FYI: I have most major product lines (AG, SB, CG, CT, EB, MT, ZG, SU, DS) all setup in HELIOS by BarCode ... my service can save you HOURS and the codes are all tested) so getting the computer going is not part of the last minute pressures of opening your salon at the beginning of the best part of the tanning season.

Are any of my Road Show Regional trainings convenient for you?



All the very best of the season to you and yours.


_________________

Andy Thompson
Authorized HELIOS Independent Consultant
877-777-6717
andy@myatso.com
ACT Help Desk[ This Message was edited by: Andy @ ATSO.ca on 2003-12-24 10:43 ]
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Old 12-24-2003, 12:48 PM   #3 (permalink)
 
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Andy

Thank you so much for your insight, I will not call you today as it is Christmas Eve but next week I would like to talk with you a bit more!! I have already requested a demo and it should be here any day, if we decide to purchase I will mention you and your code!! Is the $399 set up and initial training informative enough or do you feel we should try to attend one of your classes. We are about 5 hours away from the nearest training site.

You are very informative and I greatly appreciate all of your help!!

Have a wonderful Holiday!
~Victoria
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Old 12-24-2003, 12:56 PM   #4 (permalink)
 
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The Remote Setup and Initial Training at 399.00 will give you the same content as the 99.00 Regional Group Training ... WITH THE ADDED ADVANTAGE of being focused totally on YOUR NEEDS and REQUIREMENTS. The Group Training, deals in general terms touching on most if not all of the various abilities of Sales codes etc ... for example we will spend time talking about selling Packages of Minutes, Sessions and/or Points/Credits while only one or two of those would be of interest to you.

The $399. service also concludes with your Tanning Service codes complete and ready to go, and all of the major brands of products ready to go with a BarCode Scanner .... the $99. Group Training concludes with you having acquired to knowledge on how to begin to do that work.

Look forward to be of service if you deem it appropriate ... give me a call if you wish when you start to review the Demo ... I can make that a pleasant experience.

All the best of the season to you and yours ...

_________________

Andy Thompson
Authorized HELIOS Independent Consultant
877-777-6717
andy@myatso.com
ACT Help Desk[ This Message was edited by: Andy @ ATSO.ca on 2003-12-24 12:58 ]
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