How to Move Your Brick and Mortar Store Online

Every day we hear from several retail, brick and mortar stores looking to expand their reach beyond their physical storefront and sell their goods online. Shopify, coupled with Vend and Xero software, is the ideal solution for retailers looking to sell both online and offline, and easily keep track of it all.

Shopify gives you a beautiful looking online storefront, with a shopping cart allowing you to securely accept credit card orders online. Vend is a web-based POS (point of sale) and stock management system designed to work from anywhere on computers, phones and tablets. Finally, Xero is your bookkeeper. It automatically imports your sales from Shopify & Vend, connects to your bank to get all your bank transactions, plus handles your bills & expenses. This trio of software is all you need to run your store both online and offline.

Here are two video case studies that will show you how easy it can be for traditional retail stores to start selling online:

Taylor Stitch Case Study

Blue Chair Fruit Company Case Study

1. Sign up for Shopify - Free 30 day trial
   

   Shopify powers your online store. Shopify is a hosted ecommerce platform that makes it incredibly easy to create a beautiful online store.

2. Sign up for Vend - Free 60 day trial
   Vend is your web based POS (point of sale) and stock management system. Vend connects perfectly with Shopify and Xero. Vend works just like your current (or a traditional) POS, but because it's a cloud based program, it works on any computer, iPad, iPhone, and works anywhere in the world (great if you want to sell at trade shows, farmers markets, or craft sales).
3. Sign up for Xero - Free 30 day trial
   Xero is your bookkeeper. Xero automatically imports your sales from Shopify & Vend, connects to your bank to get all your bank transactions, plus handles your bills & expenses. Xero is one of the world's leading online bookkeeping solutions and it's incredibly easy to use.
4. Connect All Three Applications
   Once you have setup an account using Shopify, Vend and Xero, head over to the Shopify App Store. Get the Vend Shopify App, and then the Xero Shopify App. Once your setup these two apps, all three solutions should be talking to each other and selling both offline and online should be a snap.