Starting your own Optical Store in Canada: Equipping for Success
As an optical store owner, one of your top priorities is to provide your customers with high-quality eye care services. This requires having the right equipment and technology to perform eye exams and diagnose eye conditions accurately. Let’s discuss the necessary equipment and technology for your optical store. We will also provide insights on where to lease or buy equipment and software to run your store efficiently.
Eye Exam Equipment
Eye exam equipment is essential for your optical store as it helps optometrists diagnose and treat eye conditions. The basic eye exam equipment includes a phoropter, which measures the refractive error of the eye, an autorefractor, which measures the eye’s refraction without the patient’s feedback, a tonometer, which measures intraocular pressure, and a retinal camera, which takes pictures of the retina.
Other essential eye exam equipment includes a slit lamp, which is used to examine the anterior and posterior segments of the eye, a visual field analyzer, which measures the range of vision, and a corneal topographer, which maps the curvature of the cornea. All of these pieces of equipment are critical to providing comprehensive eye exams to your patients. You will have a doctor’s eye exam room within your store and this equipment will be set up for the Optometrist there.
Leasing/Buying Eye Exam Equipment
Optical store owners can lease or purchase eye exam equipment from medical equipment suppliers or distributors. Leasing can be a good option for those who want to conserve their cash flow or have a limited budget. Leasing allows optical store owners to access high-quality equipment without making a large upfront investment. Additionally, leasing often includes maintenance and upgrades, which can save on repair costs.
Buying equipment outright can be a more significant investment upfront, but it can be beneficial for long-term use. Buying used equipment is also an option as it will save you on upfront cost but hidden repair/maintenance costs is always in danger with this option. Many medical equipment suppliers offer financing options to help optical store owners spread out the cost of purchasing equipment over several months or years. Innova Medical is a popular option for leasing or purchasing eye exam equipment in Ontario.
Optical Store Management Software
To run your store effectively, you will need point-of-sale (POS) software, inventory management software, and customer relationship management (CRM) software. There are a number of software specially designed to cater to the optical retail industry. Wink is a popular comprehensive software option. This integrated software combines all of the above-listed aspects and makes your life easier managing your store. There are additional features like the ability to text-message the patients, eye exam reminders and much more. You will be paying a monthly cost in using this software but it will be totally worth it. You will need a computer or laptop to run this software. You would want a computer will a large screen monitor at each station. Ideally, you want at least 2 of these stations and expand as you grow.
Debit & Credit Card Processing
You will need one or more debit/credit card terminals so you can charge customers’ cards. Most major banks supply this. In addition, several third-party solutions are popular including Square and Clover. Start with one terminal and expand as you need. Ask for a cellular backup option so your terminal may operate even when your internet is out.
Website & SEO
You would need a website for your store from day one. It could be as simple as your store’s contact information on one page but you ideally want a multi-page website which details your products and services. Online eye exam appointment booking is a very useful addition to your website. If you feel comfortable doing the website yourself, all you need is WordPress to accomplish it. Alternatively, you can hire a website designer on Upwork. It is important to have your website properly configures for Google, so it will show up in Google search results when people search for optical stores in your area. This is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Again, you can do it yourself or hire someone at Upwork or Fiverr to do it for you. Your website designer may also have basic SEO knowledge.
Accounting Software
You will likely need separate accounting software. QuickBooks is a common choice for small businesses as it is cost-effective and easy to learn/use. People use either the Desktop or the Online version of the software. QuickBooks allows you to process payroll for your employees yourself if you so choose. This is usually more cost-effective than outsourcing payroll to a third party.
This post is part of our Starting Your Own Optical Store in Canada: A Comprehensive Guide to Success series.
