Wirral Hospice St John’s invested in an EPoS system to enhance its collection of Gift Aid and introduce a new range of gift items to all of its shops.

The charity installed the CHARiot system in a phased roll out across all six of its shops, plus the gift shop at the hospice.

Developed specifically for the charity sector, CHARiot is a touch screen based system that can be custom-programmed to meet the individual needs of each charity’s retail operations. The software has enabled the hospice to introduce stock control, Gift Aid collection and automated management reports for the first time.

Key features

• Successful roll out of CHARiot to six of its shops plus the hospice shop

• Stock control, Gift Aid collection and automated management report functionalities

• The CHARiot system has allowed Wirral Hospice St John’s to introduce a range of gift items

• Can identify which products are selling well in which shops to increase sales

• Easy to use functionality with real-time support

• CHARiot has aided profitability across the charity shop businesses

The hospice decided to invest in changing to an EPoS system so it could introduce a new range of gift items to all of its shops. This required computerised stock control with an aim to increase the value of second hand donations by collecting Gift Aid.

Teresa Nightingale, Wirral Hospice St John’s head of fundraising commented: “Both of these changes have helped us to increase revenue from our shops and the system has allowed us to implement management systems that will maximise the profitability of our retail operation.

“For example, the management reports automatically generated by CHARiot help us to identify which items are selling well in which shops so that we can target donations more effectively and move stock between shops to increase sales.”

The decision to choose CHARiot was based on the functionality of the system, the breadth of support offered and the recommendations from other charities already using the system. Nisyst held an initial training session for the charity’s shop managers who have then trained volunteers.

Teresa adds: “Many of our volunteers are unfamiliar with technology so it was important for us to select an EPoS system that is simple to use as well as being intuitive with a high level of real-time technical support.

“The change has been integral to operational decision making, aiding profitability across our charity shop businesses.”