Bookselling is one field of retail that has specific, unique data that requires specialised software to handle.

The same titles can be completely different books e.g. "red queen" which is the title of many different books by many different authors. Additionally, the same title written by the same author can have many different versions including small paperback, trade paperback, hardcover, audio. And if that's already too confusing, then there are different editions, movie tie-ins, special editions, reprints etc. The classics are a nightmare e.g. Pride & Prejudice written hundreds of years ago with thousands of print editions. Each book has many specifications to capture at once and entering each book manually is unsustainable, hence the need for specialised bookselling software.

At The Book Connection, we have used 4 different software programs since March 2025 and have learned the upsides and downsides of each.

 

1. Ebility, Barcode, Bookscan (whatever they are calling themselves these days)

Our bookstore had been running on this for many years before the store came under new ownership. We stayed with them for another 4 months but had to change due to the impact on online sales, customer experience, and efficiency.

Pro's

• Integrates with Shopify or Woo Commerce
• Flat-rate subscription fee
• Has the basics needed for running a bookstore
• Can handle second-hand stock, including buy-backs from customers
• Good accounts record keeping for consignments and store credits

Con's

• Broken features. Many promised features were no longer operational. 
• Support team unable to fix issues in a timely manner
• Clunky. Crashed often.

 

2. Circlepos 

We decided to change to Circlepos in May 2025. Circlepos promised efficiency, a massive community database of book data, and all the bookselling features. While it delivered in all these areas, unfortunately, their resistance to change and inability to integrate was holding back online sales.

Pro's

• Almost every book we brought into store had all details pre-filled. High efficiency. 
• Special orders, quotes, ordering products from suppliers a breeze
• Easy to use design
• Support team quick to respond

Con's

• Doesn't integrate with Woo Commerce, Shopify, or any other platforms. Doesn't correctly sitemap meaning less visibility on google meaning minimal online visibility and sales.
• Tiered payments. The more you earn, the more you pay.
• Poor analytic tools, numbers, spreadsheets
• Bulk-size requests would cause timeout errors

 

3. TowerSystems

We attempted a switch to Towers in late January 2026 but ultimately had to roll-back as it could not handle second-hand items. Towers is a happy medium between Circle and Ebility. It is the best option if online sales are important to the store and if all products introduced to the store are new.

Pro's

• Willingness to change. Towers are constantly improving, adding new features and keeping up with the times
• Versatility. Towers covers a huge range of retail/service areas
• Integrates with everything. Woo, Shopify, Magenta etc. 
• Flat-rate subscription cost
• AI tools for analytics, product orders.

Con's

• Not very pretty or easy to operate for staff. Steeper learning curve. A few additional steps. 
• Not suitable for Secondhand bookstores. While it is possible, the process takes significantly longer, is easy to break, and would ultimately cost more in staffing than the books are worth.

 

4. Custom through Shopify (can be done through Woo and Magenta too)

The lack of online sales was killing us. We had to switch. In the first month of operating Shopify, online sales went from 4 per month to 78 per month and still growing. Custom Shopify is complicated and has its own challenges. It costs more upfront to set up but ultimately is more affordable and future-proof in the long-term.

Pro's

• Integrates with everything. Multiple sales channels. Lots of visibility. Online sales will take off.
• If you have an issue, they have a plugin to help
• Analytics are excellent. 
• Future-proof. Shopify is here to stay and has world-class programmers working on it daily. 
• Keyword search helps find books in store that are on theme even if the word isn't in the title e.g. outback, LGBT, Renaissance. 

Con's

• If you aren't tech-savvy, it can cost a lot to set up.
• Not designed for bookselling. Lots of added subscriptions to plugins to make it work.
• Requires tablet/ipad for sales terminal if you want a quick and positive customer experience in-store. That means new device, cash drawer, barcode scanner, receipt printer. 

 

As you can see from this list, each program has its strengths and weaknesses. There is no one-size approach that covers all bookselling needs unless you have the ability to go custom. There is room for improvement in each of these and new features/improvements are being made monthly.

If CirclePos ever does full-integration with Shopify or woo, i would move in an instant.

Likewise with Towers making an efficient secondhand input and more user friendly UI.

Ebility has good bones and can become a leader again if they repair their features, fix their bugs and perhaps give it a facelift.