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Extra Features and Video Online FloristsReview.com R E A D O N L I N E 57 Much like the comments made by Huckabee about inefficiencies that often require twice as much work, Alex Frost, founder and CEO of QuickFlora, located in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., points out, "Many florists use separate systems for events and point-of-sale (POS), which leads to double work and a huge disconnect. We created eVenta Event & Wedding Manager for our POS users who wished to have full integration with the POS modules—production, recipes, budgets, delivery and accounting." He continues, " We also integrate purchase-order management for large multilocation retailers, so the controller has companywide transparency for all weddings and events. The ability to create a quick proposal that customers can sign online and make a deposit is also key." For clients considering a new POS system, QuickFlora offers its own option. "We started our POS (QuickFlora) about 12 years ago, when our users were looking to upgrade to a cloud-based system that was not tied to a specific server at one location or to a wire service. e 'cloud' was a new concept a dozen years ago, and cloud-based systems were largely still unknown. ey have since become the standard in all other industries, and people realize the benefits of not being tied to a single server, or worse, the server going down and taking down all terminals with it." Frost asserts, "Most systems were far too complex for the average user, and we found users preferred using a mouse and touchscreen best when entering many orders each day. ese days, POS must have the ability to use tablets and smartphones (mobile apps); being tied to just a PC is too restrictive to operate on a daily basis, especially in multilocation stores." As is the case with many newly launched software programs, it was the lack of available options that saw a family flower shop create a platform to fill an important need for their business. William O'Shea, co-founder and CEO of Floranext, located in New York, explains, "Growing up, I worked in our family flower shop and wished we had affordable tools to run our business and help us build an online brand. Years later, having worked at tech companies like Skype, in its early days, I saw an opportunity to provide things that we couldn't get from our wire-service software: easy-to-use tools and unique, customizable websites at reasonable prices. We built the first version for our family business, then started doing similar things for other flower shops, and that's how Floranext was born." Image courtesy of QuickFlora Image courtesy of Floranext San Antonio Flower Co. SIMPLIFIED PROCESSES AND STREAMLINED SALES EVENT MANAGEMENT AND EFFICIENT MODULES

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