Direct sales at the winery — till, wine club and loyalty programme in one system

Direct sales are where a wine business earns its best margin and gets to know its customers: at the tasting, in the farm shop, at the wine fair, through the wine club. That takes more than a till — a stock that stays right across every channel, a customer list that knows who buys what, and tools that turn a passing customer into a regular. This page covers how the pieces fit together and what Vinosoft takes on.

The channels of direct sales

Tasting room and farm shop. The fixed point of sale with a till, card terminal and receipt printer. This is where it's decided whether the stock still matches in the evening.
Markets and events. The same till on a second iPad, with its own storage location and often without a good network.
Wine club and subscription. Shipments on fixed dates, invoiced with recurring invoices or orders.
Regular customers. Orders by phone or email that are recorded as invoices — and that a loyalty programme can reward.

Most businesses add their own webshop; how it sells from the same stock is covered in the overview Building a wine webshop in Switzerland.

One stock, one customer list

In Vinosoft, the till, invoices, wine club and webshop all use the same articles, prices and storage locations. A till sale books the stock out and becomes, in the background, an invoice with revenue and VAT postings; in the evening you close the till with a Z report.

What	How it runs in Vinosoft	What to know
Till in the tasting room and farm shop	iPad app, takes cash even without internet, SumUp or Worldline, Z report	one payment per sale, no buying on account at the till
Market and event	another iPad with its own storage location, turnover per device	coupons, loyalty points and refunds need a network
Wine club and subscription	recurring invoices or orders per member, club prices through the user group	invoices are created but not sent or charged automatically
Loyalty programme	customer cards with a barcode, points and levels, marketplace extension	points run on invoices and at the till, not in the webshop

The till for the tasting room and farm shop

The Vinosoft till runs on an iPad with the Star Micronics mPOP or a network receipt printer. It keeps articles and prices on the device, keeps taking cash without a connection and sends the sales on as soon as the network is back. You take cards and TWINT through SumUp or a Worldline terminal; any other terminal can be used by typing in the amount. The end of day counts the cash, shows differences and compares card takings with the Worldline terminal's settlement.

What the till can and can't do: A till for the tasting room and farm shop. The app itself is presented on the page The Vinosoft POS app.

Markets and events

For the wine fair or the open day, register a second iPad as its own till with its own storage location, such as "Market stall". That way you see afterwards what sold where, and the market van's stock stays separate from the cellar. Open the shift before you leave if there is no network at the stand. Vinosoft does not manage tickets, tasting sign-ups or seat bookings; you need a separate tool for those.

Wine club and wine subscription

A club lives on dates that are kept. For each member you create a recurring invoice or recurring order once, for example for March and September; Vinosoft creates the documents on the date with a QR-bill and the user group's club prices. You check and send them; there is no webshop sign-up and no automatic charging.

How to choose a model and organise the shipments: Running a wine club or wine subscription.

Loyalty programme and customer card

With the loyalty extension you hand out customer cards with a barcode, award points per franc or per bottle, and reward levels with vouchers or bonus points. Points are credited on paid invoices and redeemed as a discount at the till; the webshop does not earn points today.

How to plan a programme that pays off: A loyalty programme for wine businesses. More about the module: Loyalty programme.

What Vinosoft doesn't do

Vinosoft does not sell tickets or take tasting bookings. The till runs on the iPad only, takes one payment per sale and does not email receipts. Club fees are not collected automatically, and loyalty points can't be earned or redeemed in the webshop.