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What is Cybertill used for?
Cybertill is cloud-based retail management software built around a real-time EPoS (electronic point of sale) system, with stock control, reporting and multichannel sales running on the same platform. It comes in two main editions: CharityStore for charity shops and RetailStore for independent and growing retailers. The site also mentions visitor attractions as a customer group.
What each edition is for
| Edition | Main audience | Distinctive uses |
|---|---|---|
| CharityStore | Charity retailers | Claiming Gift Aid on donated goods and cash donations, submitting claims directly to HMRC, and a "Round Up" option that lets customers round up purchases as a donation |
| RetailStore | Independent and growing retailers | Central EPoS across one or many stores, consolidated sales/stock/customer data, multichannel selling (in-store, online, mobile POS, catalogue, phone orders), and out-of-the-box reporting |
Core functions across the platform
- Point of sale: works across sales channels and can consolidate sales, stock and customer information centrally, which matters if you run several shops and want one view rather than branch-by-branch reconciliation.
- Stock control: multi-branch stock management as standard, including automated replenishment based on real-time data and a live view of stock across the business.
- Reporting and business intelligence: a standard report suite plus access to a BI team for custom reports.
Choosing between them
The deciding question is whether your stock is largely donated and you need Gift Aid administration, or whether you are buying and reselling goods and need multichannel sales and replenishment. A charity running a mixed operation, or a retailer with several locations, should check how the two editions handle their specific workflow before committing.
As a next step, look at the case studies on Cybertill for a organisation similar in size and type to yours, since the practical fit usually shows up in how peers use the system rather than in the feature list.
How does Cybertill's Gift Aid feature help charity shops increase the value of donated goods?
Cybertill's CharityStore claims Gift Aid on donated goods and cash donations, which the company says can increase the resale value of donated goods by 25%. The system captures Gift Aid data at the point of sale and lets a charity submit claims directly to HMRC, so the uplift comes from reclaiming tax on sales of donated items rather than from anything that changes the goods themselves. The page also notes that capture through CharityStore is described as "extremely accurate," which matters because Gift Aid claims depend on correctly linking each sale to a valid donor declaration.
What this means in practice
- Donor declarations are the foundation. A shop can only claim on an item if the donor completed a Gift Aid declaration. The practical benefit of an EPoS-integrated feature is that staff capture this at donation or sale time instead of relying on paper records.
- Accuracy protects the claim. Overclaimed or mismatched records create repayment risk with HMRC; tight capture at the till reduces that exposure.
- Cash donations count too. The page covers both goods and cash, so collection boxes and counter donations can be brought into the same process.
- It scales across branches. For a multi-shop charity, centralised records make it easier to see where declarations are missing and where claiming is lagging.
A concrete scenario
A volunteer sorts a bag of donated clothing. If the donor signs a declaration, the items are tagged as Gift Aided; when they sell, the system records the sale against that declaration. At claim time, the charity exports the eligible sales and submits to HMRC, recovering the tax without re-keying figures from spreadsheets. The 25% figure reflects the basic-rate tax reclaimed on the sale price.
Decision criteria
Weigh this feature against how much of your stock is genuinely Gift Aided and whether your volunteers can reliably capture declarations at a busy counter. Shops with high donation volumes and simple processes see the most benefit; those with patchy declaration capture should fix that first, since the software can only claim on what has been properly recorded. If you also run standard retail operations, compare the RetailStore side of the range for stock control and reporting. For sector context on charity retail technology, see Charity Retail Association.
Which is the right Cybertill product for my organisation: CharityStore or RetailStore?
Choose CharityStore if your organisation is a charity shop or charity retail operation that sells donated goods, needs Gift Aid on donations, and wants EPoS, stock control and reporting in one cloud system. Choose RetailStore if you are a conventional independent or growing retailer selling bought-in stock across one or many stores and online channels.
How the two differ in practice
| Decision factor | CharityStore | RetailStore |
|---|---|---|
| Typical user | Charity retail chains and charity shops | Independent retailers and multi-store retail businesses |
| Core sales focus | Resale of donated goods plus cash donations | Bought-in merchandise across in-store, online, mobile POS, catalogue and phone orders |
| Gift Aid | Gift Aid capture and direct HMRC claim submission are presented as core features | Not presented as the focus |
| Stock control | Multi-branch stock control as standard | Multi-branch stock control, automated replenishment and a real-time view of stock across the business |
| Reporting | Charity-oriented reporting | Out-of-the-box retail reports plus access to a Business Intelligence team for custom reports |
| Scale signal | Positioned as the leading system for charities | Positioned for retailers with one store or hundreds |
Both products share the same underlying cloud EPoS and retail management foundation, including central consolidation of sales, stock and customer information.
A concrete test
Imagine a charity running six shops. Volunteers process donated stock, some donors opt into Gift Aid, and head office needs branch-level stock visibility. CharityStore matches that workflow because donation handling and Gift Aid claims are part of the product rather than an add-on.
Now imagine a fashion retailer with three shops and a website. Stock is bought from suppliers, replenishment is driven by sales data, and managers need daily sales reports. RetailStore fits because its emphasis is on multi-channel selling, replenishment and retail reporting.
Decision criteria
- Source of stock: donated goods point to CharityStore; purchased inventory points to RetailStore.
- Gift Aid: if claiming Gift Aid on donated goods and cash donations matters, CharityStore is the relevant product.
- Sales channels: if you sell online, by phone, via catalogue or mobile POS alongside shops, confirm RetailStore covers each channel you use.
- Reporting needs: if you expect custom reports, ask how the Business Intelligence team works with RetailStore customers.
- Growth path: if you run a mixed operation, such as a charity with a bought-in goods range, discuss with Cybertill which configuration suits both sides.
A useful next step is to list your stock sources, channels and any Gift Aid requirement, then request a callback through Cybertill and ask for a demonstration of the product that matches that list.
How does Cybertill's multi-branch stock control handle automated reordering across multiple locations?
Cybertill's multi-branch stock control is described as a standard part of its cloud platform, with an inventory replenishment tool that automates re-ordering from real-time data and gives a live view of stock across the whole business. In practical terms, that means reorder rules run against current stock positions across branches rather than a periodic manual count, so a shop that is running low can be topped up from central stock or flagged for ordering without staff reconciling spreadsheets between sites.
What this suits, and what to check
The setup fits charities and independent retailers running several shops that want central visibility and consistent reordering, which is the audience Cybertill targets with CharityStore and RetailStore. A manager overseeing, say, five shops would use the real-time stock view to spot where a line is sitting unsold and where it is running out, then let replenishment rules move or reorder it.
The trade-off is that automated reordering is only as good as the rules behind it. Before committing, ask Cybertill directly about:
- How reorder points and minimum/maximum levels are set per branch or per product.
- Whether transfers between branches can be triggered automatically, not just supplier orders.
- How exceptions (seasonal lines, donated goods with irregular supply) are handled without constant manual override.
For charity shops specifically, donated stock arrives unpredictably, so confirm how replenishment copes when supply is not a fixed catalogue. A useful next step is to request a callback through Cybertill and ask for a walkthrough of the stock control module using your own branch and product structure as the example.
What reporting and business intelligence capabilities does Cybertill provide for retailers?
Cybertill provides real-time reporting as a built-in part of its RetailStore platform, plus access to a dedicated Business Intelligence team for custom reports. The company's framing is that accessible, live reporting lets retailers "make decisions on the fly," and the platform ships with a full suite of essential reports out-of-the-box so a new user can analyse sales, stock and customer data without building anything first.
What the page describes
- Out-of-the-box reporting: a standard set of reports available immediately after setup, aimed at day-to-day trading analysis.
- Real-time, consolidated data: sales, stock and customer information from all stores and channels is centralised, so reports reflect current trading rather than overnight batches.
- Custom reporting support: a dedicated Business Intelligence team helps retailers and their teams run bespoke reports when standard ones don't cover a question.
- Multi-branch stock visibility: real-time stock views across the whole business, which feeds replenishment decisions and automated re-ordering.
- Charity-specific reporting: a separate reporting strand for CharityStore users, alongside Gift Aid capture that lets charities submit claims directly with HMRC.
How this plays out in practice
A reasonable scenario is a growing independent retailer with several shops. A store manager checks same-day sales and stock positions to shift inventory between branches; the owner uses consolidated reports to compare branch performance; and when a question falls outside the standard set—say, margin by product category across channels—the BI team builds it. For a charity client, the reporting layer also underpins Gift Aid claims, where accuracy matters because claims go straight to HMRC.
Trade-offs to weigh
Out-of-the-box reports speed up adoption but tend to answer common questions, not niche ones; custom work depends on the BI team's availability rather than self-service tools, which suits teams without analysts but may frustrate data-literate users who want to build queries themselves. Real-time consolidation is valuable across multiple branches, yet it puts weight on consistent data entry at the till—reporting quality is only as good as what staff capture.
Next step
Ask for a demonstration of the standard report library using your own product and branch structure, and clarify how custom report requests are scoped and prioritised. If you run a charity shop, ask specifically how Gift Aid reporting and HMRC submission appear in the same dashboards. For context on the wider retail software market, Cybertill sits alongside general retail management vendors; comparing report flexibility is often the deciding factor.
How does Cybertill support omnichannel selling across in-store, online, mobile POS and other channels?
Cybertill supports omnichannel selling by running its EPoS as a cloud system that spans every sales channel a retailer uses. According to the site, RetailStore's cloud EPoS is built to work across in-store, online, mobile POS, catalogue and over-the-phone sales, and it consolidates sales, stock and customer information centrally. In practice, that means a sale made on a tablet at a pop-up, an order taken by phone, or a purchase through the website all draw on the same stock and customer records rather than separate systems.
How the pieces connect
- Point of Sale: One EPoS platform covers single-store and multi-store retailers, with central consolidation of sales, stock and customer data.
- Stock control: Multi-branch stock control comes as standard, with automated re-ordering based on real-time data and a real-time view of stock across the whole business. This is what makes selling across channels workable—staff can see what is available where before promising it to a customer.
- Reporting and business intelligence: Real-time reporting is included out of the box, and a dedicated BI team can build custom reports. For omnichannel, this matters for spotting which channels drive sales and where stock is tied up.
- Charity-specific features: CharityStore adds Gift Aid capture on donated goods and cash donations, with claims submitted directly to HMRC, plus a "Round Up" solution the site says has raised £5.5M for charity customers since 2021.
Choosing between the products
| Consideration | CharityStore | RetailStore |
|---|---|---|
| Primary audience | Charity shops | Independent and growing retailers |
| Distinctive features | Gift Aid on donations, Round Up | Core EPoS, stock control, reporting |
| Omnichannel scope | Same cloud EPoS foundation | Same cloud EPoS foundation |
The trade-off is focus versus breadth: CharityStore layers charity-specific compliance and fundraising tools onto the same cloud EPoS base, while RetailStore targets commercial retailers who need stock and reporting depth without the charity features. A charity running a small online shop and several high-street branches would likely lean toward CharityStore; a growing retailer with phone orders and a web store would lean toward RetailStore.
Next step: Before deciding, list every channel you sell through today and expect to add within two years, then ask Cybertill to demonstrate a single sale flowing from mobile POS through to central stock and reporting—seeing that end-to-end path is the clearest test of whether the omnichannel claim fits your operation. You can review the product range at Cybertill.
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