Request for Proposal
Point of Sale Technology Consultant
Submission deadline: February 15, 2019

1.  Project Background

The City of Boston is home to over 40,000 small businesses. Current upheavals in the retail sector are producing significant financial uncertainty for neighborhood-based brick-and-mortar stores. This coupled with small business owners’ lack of fluency in trending technologies, heightened concern about property security in some areas, and a need for stronger financial management and literacy is necessitating a targeted set of small business solutions from the City of Boston and our partners. Better integration of business technologies is critical to the long-term viability of all of our Main Streets business districts.

Many minority and immigrant-owned small businesses in Boston’s lower-income neighborhoods operate as cash-only businesses. The reasons for not taking credit cards range from a lack of Internet access to the expense of using online-based systems for low-cost transactions to the hassle of dealing with fraudulent charges. sThese cash-only operators are also prime targets for violent robberies.

There are a number of downsides to owning a cash-only business. A Consumer Payment Study showed only 11% of respondents said they preferred to use cash, while 40% preferred credit cards, and 35% preferred debit cards. By failing to provide customers with the ability to pay using their credit or debit card, businesses make those customers feel inconvenienced and less inclined to spend more. After a certain price threshold, expecting customers to pay cash is simply bad business.

2. Proposal

The Boston Main Streets Foundation (BMSF) received a $100,000 grant from the Citizens Bank Foundation to enable cash-only small businesses to transition into new points of sale to accept credit and debit card transactions. BMSF is looking to hire a technology consultant with experience in Point of Sale (POS) systems to work directly with small businesses owners to:

Serve as Project Manager for the Boston Main Streets Small Business Technology Initiative
Ascertain what POS system would work best for them
Work with Main Streets businesses and POS providers to help coordinate and facilitate purchase and installation of POS system.
Coordinate and Facilitate the training on the POS system and its benefits so that small business owners can use it to their advantage both immediately and long-term
Provide or facilitate, as appropriate, additional training as needed to Boston Main Street executive directors and Boston Main Street Foundation staff
Support the marketing team as needed in their efforts to promote the program across the City of Boston to impact as many small business owners as possible

The chosen consultant will also be expected to submit a written report to the Boston Main Streets Foundation on each small business project after it’s been completed.

Experience working with small business owners, especially women, minorities, immigrants, and veterans. They must bring confidence and enthusiasm to their work so that our small business owners are comfortable and encouraged to participate in the program.

3.  Project Goals

Expectations of Impact:
-20 Main Streets Districts
-65 Businesses
-85 Business owners
-100% transformation from cash-only business to credit card accepted

The Project Manager is expected to recruit as many individual businesses to the project as possible.  Several Main Streets districts have identified prospective businesses to be the first to participate. The Project Manager will work closely with Main Street Directors to identify and cultivate business owners we have not already touched.

4. Budget

The Boston Main Street Foundation will be the fiscal agent for this program and offer technology funding to businesses across all 20 Boston Main Street districts.  We will use grant funding to contract a Project Manager who specializes in technology consulting and POS systems who can provide one-on-one trainings for each business in the qualifying districts.  The executive directors from the Main Street districts and the City of Boston’s Neighborhood Business Managers will work closely with the Project Manager to arrange the one-on-one trainings with the business owners.  The executive directors will also be trained on the PoS systems so that they can serve as a local point of contact.

Funds will also be used to purchase the appropriate Point of Sale systems for each individual business.  The Boston Main Streets Foundation has a budget of $75,000 for the purchase of POS systems, translations services, and marketing to small businesses.

5. Timeline and Reporting

January-March 2019

Hire Project Manager
Line up merchant vendors Point of Sale packages

Receive letter of intent from vendors

Coordinate with all executive directors and Neighborhood Business Managers the details of the program

Identifying appropriate businesses and recruit them to participate in the project
Marketing across the district
Brainstorming session/information session

April-June 2019

One-on-one meetings with the business owners project manager
Small business workshops from the bankers

July-December 2019

Phase in incremental technology to businesses
Education and trainings on usage data/metrics
Report back from businesses
Roll-out program to additional qualifying businesses city-wide

It is expected that the Project Manager will offer written reports to update the Board at each of the Boston Main Street Foundation board meetings during the duration of the project.  The board meets every two months and periodically with additional meetings as needed.

6.  Background

Boston Main Streets has been helping small business owners in the Greater Boston area since 1995. The public-private initiative has transformed and rejuvenated the city’s neighborhood commercial centers and has fostered sustaining business relationships within these communities. The various districts, from Allston to West Roxbury, have seen levels of continued success and cultivated substantial partnerships through the resources and support provided by Boston Main Streets.

Each district receives financial and technical aid, as well as rigorous training from the City of Boston Main Streets office and the National Trust Main Street Center. As a result, each Main Street organization hires a full-time Executive Director, raises matching funds, incorporates its business and implements its programs based on an annual work plan.

The organization provides the tools and funding needed for these businesses to successfully compete and thrive within their districts while creating a vibrant, cohesive atmosphere among other business owners. All 20 main streets districts boast diverse, motivated entrepreneurs and young vendors who have utilized this program to benefit their respective companies, stores, and shops. The evolution of these businesses through the assistance of Boston Main Streets also encourages visitors and people of other neighborhoods to shop and interact with its proprietors and clientele. This creates a vivacious and engaged population of people all collaborating with the common goals of growth, prosperity, and sustainability.

Learn more about Boston Main Street’s economic impact.

7. Submissions

Please send any questions and the submitted RFP to:

Joel Sklar, President
Boston Main Streets Foundation
136 Brookline Ave
Boston MA 02215
617-603-5453
joel@samuelsre.com