St Ann's Hospice Takes its Retail Operations to the Next Level With Maxa Solutions

Specialist Solution Provider to the Charity Retail Sector, Maxa Solutions, Adds Another Major Charity Organisation to its Growing List of Customers in This Sector.

ALTRINCHAM, England, December 13, 2010 - Specialist EPOS solution provider, Maxa Solutions, announces that
St Ann's Hospice's Charity shops have gone live with its CHARiot Point of
Sale (PoS) solution which incorporates a special Gift Aid Module. Like most
retail organisations, St Ann's has had to adapt to the changing consumer
trends and embrace the fast pace of commercial retailing with new operational
strategies. Furthermore, government cutbacks will inevitably begin to bite
and therefore all retailers will have to work much harder to win and keep
customers.

Founded nearly forty years ago, today St Ann's Hospice has become the
largest hospice in Greater Manchester. The Hospice helps those people who
have progressive and life-limiting illnesses, as well as supporting their
carers and families. They serve a population of around 1.2 million people
within Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Stockport and parts of Cheshire.

One of the many ways the charity raises money is through its retail
operation which they rely on to provide a regular and sustainable source of
income. St Ann's has 12 charity stores, 11 traditional shops and one
furniture shop.

The key reasons for implementing Maxa Solutions' CHARIOT EPOS solution
was driven by their need for keener business intelligence and sales analysis
enabling them to achieve better planning and reporting capabilities in real
time. Also it was imperative that they set up a mechanism to take advantage
of Gift Aid on Donated Goods (GAoDG) which allows charities to reclaim the
tax on sold donated goods as long as they can provide an audit trail, and
they have the permission of the donor.

The CHARiot solution includes EPOS terminals, barcode scanners, barcode
printers (www.maxatec-europe.com/products/barcode-label-printers/),
routers, cash drawers and CHARiot software with the fully integrated Gift Aid
Module, which was created specifically for the charity retail market. The
ongoing relationship provides day-to-day support for the stores as well as
future software development implementation.

Anthony Lord, general manager, St Ann's Hospice says: "We carried out
comprehensive research and due diligence to find the right IT solution and
the right IT provider that would suit our requirements. We looked at a number
of suppliers in this sector, but Maxa Solutions competitive pricing,
integrated Gift Aid module and impressive references from other charity
organisations made them the preferred choice."

Lord added:" We are very pleased with the implementation so far. It is
already providing valuable business analysis, more efficient central control
and administration to our operation. All this allows us to provide our
supporters with a consistent and attractive shopping experience. We
anticipate that our investment will pay for itself within a year."

Andrea Percival, managing director, Maxa Solutions said: "We are proud
that St Ann's represents another success for us. The charity sector has very
specific challenges and we have spent significant resources over the years in
developing tailored solutions that address the needs of charity retail
operations."

For more information visit:
www.maxasolutions.co.uk/news2010-12.html

About St Ann's Hospice

St Ann's Hospice is one of the largest adult hospices in the UK with 58
inpatient beds. They employ over 300 staff, serving a population of around
1.2 million people within Manchester, Salford, Trafford, Stockport and parts
of Cheshire. They also care for a number of patients outside this
geographical area. They are supported by over 700 volunteers. They prove care
free of charge. The NHS contributes just over 35% of their annual GBP9
million running costs with the remaining GBP6 million coming from public
donations.

About Maxa Solutions

Maxa Solutions is a trading name of the Maxa Technologies (Maxatec)
(www.maxatec-europe.com/) group of companies, providing uniquely
tailored solutions for specific sectors within the retail market. Maxa
Technologies (Maxatec) has more than 35 years experience in supplying IT
solutions to UK companies across retail, banking, healthcare, pharmaceutical,
utilities, transport, postal and communication sectors. Maxatec has strong
partnerships with a number of key suppliers of 'best of breed' solutions
including NCR, TPG and Cognitive. The company believes that 'one size does
not fit all' and hence strive to understand sector needs and develop
solutions to provide maximum benefits without compromises.

    For more information contact:
    Julia Vockrodt:
    Tel: +44(0)208-964-0260
    Email: Julia@vp-pr.com

For more information contact: Julia Vockrodt: Tel: +44(0)208-964-0260, Email: Julia at vp-pr.com