How to Create Options For The Future - Grindless POS profile

How to Create Options For The Future - Grindless POS profile

How to Create Options For The Future - Grindless POS profile.

Grindless POS provide systems focused on the needs of game stores.

Key features

  • Staff management tools with checklists, prompts for tasks, with built in reporting tools.
  • Super customizable employee access and privilege controls
  • Loyalty Points including custom gift cards, 
  • Store credit. 
  • Customer memberships that can be set up to work with all stores or altered to make independent rules for each entity.
  • Table booking, time reports, party event packages and tools to monetize play space.
  • Open API so retailers build their own addons
  • Grindless TV media // controls all the TVs on your store and effectively changes your in-store marketing while you have a coffee.
  • Monitoring and automatic stock management tools
  • Stocktake systems that allow weekly stocktakes on particular products/lines 
  • Automatic reorder levels
  • Auto magic singles price updates
  • Detailed sales over time reports

Duncan Wood of Grindless POS and I have known each other for over a decade. Many years ago we discussed franchising Duncan’s previous venture, PLAYlive Nation, in Australia. At the time, PLAYlive was on a rapid expansion throughout North America. Guf was undertaking similar moves in Australia. We both saw the opportunities in the early days of eSports and were investing heavily in the area. While I got distracted working on a Magic singles marketplace, only to be beaten to launch by TCGplayer, Duncan saw the real opportunity for the day; focusing on building his internal software systems.

Grindless POS began its life as a proprietary point of sale software exclusively for the PLAYlive Nation stores. When Duncan exited PLAYlive in 2020 after completing the merger into a publicly traded company, he focused his full attention into his software and consulting company, Grindless. 

“The infrastructure of a business is your operations. When you are trying to sell your business, any investor interested is heavily reviewing 3 things; trade dress, operational control, and revenue. Our software helps on all 3 fronts and aids in providing a far more provocative sale opportunity. Even if you want to simply take a step back and become a part-time owner until the day you decide to be acquired.” Duncan elaborated.

It was the multi-store processes that intrigued me when Duncan and I discussed franchising. With almost 50 stores across the country, Grindless was built from the beginning with multiple locations in mind.

Grindless is very different software that focuses on multi operational tasks. Their aim is to cover all transactional aspects; everything you need for your business to automate it and control it. Vend, Square, Clover etc also provide this transactional software service but they are aimed at the mass, whereas Grindless is a POS specifically built on the notion of automation and control.  It still does transactional but it goes well beyond such a simple concept.

“When you start a business, people make the mistake that their energy is abundant. Owners quickly find their energy being drained rapidly - Grindless allows you to separate your operations so you have time to allow you to work on your business.” Duncan explained.

Because Grindless focuses on the automation of the business, it allows store owners to work on their business rather than in it.  Grindless’s goal is to empower store owners to create an independent business unit that functions with limited need for specialist staff and the individual proprietor to micro-manage. The end result is a business that is attractive to investors that want to add a new enterprise to their portfolio. You open your options to exit your investment, you are no longer limited to selling to someone who needs to give up their job to run a local games store.

Duncan says Grindless is committed to supporting Local Game Stores with software services and business development - consulting on financial management, human resources management etc. They don't just provide software, they supply guidance and problem solving.

It was refreshing to discuss store software systems with Duncan, rarely do you talk to anyone from the software industry that possesses real experience on a game shop floor. Grindless is committed to making your store better and to helping you build or exit your store by either becoming acquired or becoming a semi-absentee owner.

Thanks to the marvelous Tony Pearce from Gateway Games,for providing some insight into your experience of using Grindless instore!