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Boca software firm to double employment [Sun Sentinel :: ]
[February 28, 2014]

Boca software firm to double employment [Sun Sentinel :: ]


(South Florida Sun Sentinel (FL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) March 01--TouchSuite, a Boca Raton company that sells computer-sales systems to salons and other retailers, will remain in the city and plans to create 50 jobs, doubling its employment in two years.



The company had considered moving to either Montreal or Frisco, Texas, where it was offered incentive packages, chief executive and founder Sam Zietz said Friday.

Instead, TouchSuite was approved in October for $250,000 in state and local incentives based on job creation as well as $50,000 in training grants.


Gov. Rick Scott, who was in Boca Raton on Friday to make the jobs announcement, said that TouchSuite is an example of an expanding company creating jobs in Florida and that Boca Raton, in particular, "has been doing very well." Zietz said he preferred to stay in South Florida, where his wife grew up, but was concerned about hiring developers. The company still needs software developers, which it has recruited mostly from places such as Seattle and Dallas, he said. TouchSuite said it pays developers between $75,000 and $125,000 annually.

Zietz has found local employees for sales and other positions, such as Jaime Rouse, 36, who was hired by TouchSuite for a technical support position after losing her job with a Boca Raton financial company. Rouse, a single mother, said she was grateful to be employed and off unemployment benefits.

Zietz said TouchSuite increased its annual revenues to just under $20 million from $13 million in 2012 and expects to double 2013 revenues again as it rolls out its latest system. The new cloud-based system will allow a salon or other retailer to process payments as well as manage the books, track inventory and even do marketing.

Jerry and Julie Sattler, owners of Two Tomatoes pizza restaurant in Boynton Beach, bought TouchSuite's basic system a few weeks ago, switching from hand-written tickets.

"So far, we like it. It's making life very easy for us," Jerry Sattler said.

Sattler said he thought the price was good and he likes access to local service. The TouchSuite point-of-sale system costs $3,295 to purchase or can be leased for $99.95 to $129.95 a month, based on credit, said Farshad Tafazzoli, chief of products for TouchSuite.

The system also tracks customers' visits. So when a customer hasn't visited for awhile, the system can send a reminder e-mail or text -- with a discount offer to win them back, he said.

[email protected] or 561-243-6650 ___ (c)2014 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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