Arms Review

My recommendation to anyone considering jewery software to run their business is to strongly consider the ARMS program. It's not just about the software. Training and philosophy are an integral part of the Arms software approach.

Pros

The Arms software was developed to reflect principles of productivity, specifically for jewelry stores. It was based on years of instore experience by the developers. That is why we originally bought Arms many years ago. We realized that we needed to have good data on the productivity of specific products as well as specific departments. Additionally, we needed to do a better job tracking the purchases of our customers. With the addtion of a POS a few years ago we are now capturing information every day about our customer's buying habits. We that information to send out mailings and make marketing intelligent decisions.

Cons

First it should be noted that, no matter what a software firm might tell you, no software is perfect. It is simply too complex to be perfect. The Arms software covers a lot of bases and like any complex product it is always being improved. Years ago I decided that the most productive relationship with a complex software company was one of being a "partner". So when I identified issues that needed improvement, I would carefully outline the needed changes and forward them to Arms. Over time the changes would be implimented.

In the near future, I am looking forward to being able to export stock entry data into Quickbooks-this will be a great change and is a direct result of such a relationshiip.

The other thing about a completx system is it can take a while to learn. That will always be the case for any good software. Thanks goodness for Arms' great customer service.

Effective Retail Management Package

Generally very satisfactory

Pros

This package is very adaptable and modular, from inventory management to warehouse dispatching to point of sale modules. Impressive in the ability to customize each module ensuring that the solution is easily adaptable to the organization. Authentication login and assignment of privilege accesses ensures that the solution remains secured.

Cons

Can be a bit user unfriendly at first to the not so computer savy and will require training.
Cost is based on server and user licenses which can be inhibiting for smaller companies.
Support is excellent, but there is a cost attached and must be budgeted for.

Arms

Love the technical support. Extremely helpful and knowledgeable! Very patient!

Pros

Very detailed and numerous reports to analyze my business. The Repair Tracker is fantastic to gather and store information about the customer and their repairs.

Cons

Tricky to make corrections. Only about 2 1/2 years into the software and it is still a bit overwhelming with all of the things it can do. Still learning!

ARMS SS

we have reduces aged stock by 80% and our stock takes are very easy to complete and the results amazing. We use all reports for analysis, incentive bonus's and trend tracking. We have eliminated non performing suppliers and have improved out product lines using SS.

Pros

excellent reporting and ability to save to excel or pdf

Cons

There are reports/changes We have been waiting for but were held up do to the pos re-write

ARMS is worth every $!!!

From the first time we decided to go with ARMS it has been great. We had CSR come out to New Mexico for the week to help us learn the program. Even after the time they left the customer service team has been just one phone call away to help with all of our needs with questions.

Pros

The data base and how you can make it work for you. Easy to track customers info and the P.O.S. end is very easy to use.

Cons

Not much I can say about this area. We have used the program for over a year and still can not find things I would say to change.

Used ARMS for POS and CRM at previous job

Pros

Once you familiarized yourself with the ins and outs of the software there were a lot of different features that were beneficial

Cons

I have used other POS and CRM tools in the past that the UI was a little more friendly. You have to play around sometimes to figure some things out.

Good POS tooling but there are already better in the market

Pros

We use Retail Pro for some time in our sales points that we have in Guadalajara, we decided to implement it because we saw that it has very long customers and that gave us the confidence to work hand in hand with them.

Cons

Over time we discovered that there were other tools with which we had better results, this does not mean that Retail Pro is bad, but for our sales objectives and products was not working at 100 percent

Changes will make it better

Pros

The software is really easy to use and implement. No doubt customer support is always there to help as well, a reliable software with EMV compatible.

Cons

The system needs updates, and needs to fix the bugs, it works really slow these days. Other than that all good.

One of the smartest business decisions I ever made was to start with ARMS in 1994. I was floundering as highly educated Gemologist-Jeweler. I had started in the industry when I was 13. What I realized though was that I was Gemology and Jewelry smart, but not business smart. ARMS changed all this through excellent software and a proven management philosophy developed by a successful jeweler. There is a reason it's called Advanced Retail Management Systems. What I really liked was the fact that everything is under one roof, software, support, and management. Last year I hired a 30 year veteran of the jewelry industry, and after his first month he had nothing but high praise for the ARMS software. As a result of using ARMS and it's management philosophy, I am able to retire in my 50's if I wish. I currently spend about 8 weeks per year out of my store. If you are looking for the cheapest system, there is plenty of off the shelf software packages out there. If you want the best overall set up then ARMS is your hands down choice.

Exactly what we needed

Pros

I am so glad we took this direction to getting Retail Pro. It is exactly what our business needed.

Putting in ARMS was the best decision I have ever made!

Since putting in the ARMS system in early 2010 our business has grown every year. The system has given us the ability to pin point fast selling bread and butter item and made us aware of the importance to always keep these items instock. It also allows us to keep an eye on our slower selling items so we can be more proactive about turning this stock over before it starts costing us money. We now go to trade shows fully prepared with an action plan to buy what we need and not just buying what we like. It also gave us much better control over our suppliers when it comes to see reps. All in all, money well spent.

Pros

*Powerful reporting allows us to fine tune our business
*Simple easy to use screens
*The Customer system allows us to stay intouch with our VIP's to keep them comming back
*Great support, freindly team.

Cons

none to date.

Having a full time business consultant as a partner

I can 't image running a jewelry business without it!

Pros

ARMS jewelry management systems are considered to be "computer software", but calling them that couldn't be further from the truth. We had a jewelry management software in place for 8 years before we purchased the ARMS System, so I do know what software does. The ARMS difference is in the radically different approach to its use, education and support. It is more like hiring a management consultant than