VideoMate

VideoMate is loaded with features designed just for video rental stores. There's point of sale module that has barcode support, a backup feature, and searchable databases for inventory and customers. You can print receipts and reports, and you can export a mailing list of customers to a Microsoft Word Mail Merge. It supports networking, too.

We skipped VideoMate's manual and went straight to the setup module, which prompts you for basic information about your store. The setup module has a vast array of options for establishing your store's pricing structure. Entering data is easy, a boon for a program designed to manage large amounts of information. The customer database has a number of useful fields in addition to name and address. You can specify the customer's date of birth, store credit card numbers, indicate any late fees, and add additional family members and their dates of birth to the account. We were impressed with the versatility of the video database as well. You can enter the title of the movie, select its genre from the list provided, indicate its MPAA rating, and designate the format of the movie: video, DVD, or Blu-ray. VideoMate even gives you the option to distribute and receive gift cards as well as selling merchandise.

The trial version of the VideoMate is limited to 50 customers and video titles. We encountered no problems installing and uninstalling the program. This is well-designed software with many customizable features that will help video store owners run their businesses more efficiently.