2011 Review of Cougar Mountain Software — DENALI Retail/POS

Cougar Mountain Software — DENALI Retail/POS
800-388-3038
www.cougarmtn.com

From the August 2011 Review of Retail Point-of-Sale Systems

Best Fit: DENALI opens up the market sector considerably for Cougar Mountain Software. While still an excellent selection for small to midsized retail businesses, Denali is also powerful enough to appeal to larger, multi-location stores with more complex needs.

For the past 29 years, Cougar Mountain Software has been providing small to mid-sized businesses with a wide selection of financial solutions along with industry-specific options such as the POS module. This year, Cougar Mountain Software has undergone a complete company redesign including a new corporate logo, new website and new mindset. DENALI, Cougar Mountain Software’s modular system, offers flexibility that the older system could not.

DENALI products are much more flexible and powerful than its predecessor, opening up the market sector considerably for Cougar Mountain Software. While still an excellent selection for small to midsized retail businesses, DENALI is also powerful enough to appeal to larger, multi-location stores with more complex needs.

BASIC SYSTEM FUNCTION:

The DENALI interface screens are easily navigated, with all modules color-coded for easy recognition. A drop-down menu at the top allows users to access all installed modules from the file option, or just by clicking on the corresponding module icon. Users can choose to display options such as the Toolbar or the Status bar. The POS functionality is found in the Sales module and is where users would set up salespeople, departments, registers and customize sales entry screens. The POS option provides additional options.

The sales entry screen is wonderfully designed, with the option to choose transaction type, customer and proceed to enter or lookup product codes for entry, or items can be quickly scanned for retailers with high transaction volume. To the left of the screen user will find various options that pull out to the right when clicked on, such as with options, where users can enter any discounts on the items scanned, and history, where a detailed financial, sales or customer history can be quickly accessed during the transaction. Layaways and gift card processing options are also available. When the sale is complete, users can choose the type of tender to process the transaction.

DENALI’s Retail/POS option includes Inventory POS and Purchase Order modules, but all DENALI modules are available including GL, AR, AP, Bank Reconciliation, Multi-Location Inventory, Sales Order Entry and Specialty Shop. DENALI’s modular structure provides true scalability, allowing retailers to choose the modules they need today and add on when necessary. Managers can assign various user roles and options accordingly. All users must sign in and can set an optional password, and system access is set in the Controller modules and as a secondary Salesperson Security option, specific tasks can be authorized or denied.

The Sales Dashboard, provides managers with a quick summary of current sales figures as well as sales trends, along with sales by product and by customer. Lookup fields are found throughout, and multiple transactions can be entered from the sales entry screen. DENALI POS easily supports multiple store locations, and the Inventory module handles up to six separate pricing levels and types including List, Margin, Markup, Level List, Level Margin and Level Markup. The Multi-Location Inventory module makes it easy to track and manage inventory at all warehouses, and the optional Integrated e-Commerce module integrates directly with DENALI and other Cougar Mountain Software products, and tracks all online sales in real time.