Most of us are familiar with point-of-sale (POS) systems—and interact with them almost every day—even if we are not aware of it.
A POS system is a set of technologies used by retailers, golf course operators, and restaurant owners for tasks such as accepting payments from customers.The POS system enables anyone, from business-savvy entrepreneurs to craftsmen who want to transform their enthusiasm into a career, to start a business and grow.
In this article, we will discuss all your POS issues and prepare you the knowledge you need to choose the right system for your business.
Use our free POS buyer guide to improve your search.Learn how to plan the growth of your store and choose a POS system that can support your business now and in the future.
The first concept to understand the POS system is that it consists of point-of-sale software (business platform) and point-of-sale hardware (cash register and related components that support transactions).
In general, a POS system is the software and hardware required by other businesses such as shops, restaurants, or golf courses to conduct business.From ordering and managing inventory to processing transactions to managing customers and employees, the point of sale is the central hub for keeping the business running.
POS software and hardware together provide companies with all the tools they need to accept popular payment methods and manage and understand the health of the company.You use POS to analyze and order your inventory, employees, customers, and sales.
POS is an abbreviation for point of sale, which refers to any place where a transaction can take place, whether it is a product or a service.
For retailers, this is usually the area around the cash register.If you are in a traditional restaurant and you pay the cashier instead of handing the money to the waitress, then the area next to the cashier is also considered a point of sale.The same principle applies to golf courses: anywhere a golfer buys new equipment or drinks is a point of sale.
The physical hardware that supports the point-of-sale system is located in the point-of-sale area—the system allows that area to become a point of sale.
If you have a mobile cloud-based POS, your entire store actually becomes a point of sale (but we will talk about it later).The cloud-based POS system is also located outside of your physical location because you can access the system from anywhere because it is not tied to an on-site server.
Traditionally, traditional POS systems are completely internally deployed, which means they use on-site servers and can only operate in specific areas of your store or restaurant.This is why typical traditional POS systems—desktop computers, cash registers, receipt printers, barcode scanners, and payment processors—are all located at the front desk and cannot be moved easily.
In the early 2000s, a major technological breakthrough occurred: Cloud, which transformed the POS system from requiring on-site servers to being hosted externally by POS software providers.With the advent of cloud-based storage and computing, POS technology has taken the next step: mobility.
Using cloud-based servers, business owners can start accessing their POS system by picking up any internet-connected device (be it a laptop, desktop, tablet, or smartphone) and logging into their business portal.
Although the physical location of an enterprise is still important, with cloud-based POS, management of that location can be done anywhere.This has changed the way retailers and restaurants operate in several key ways, such as:
Of course, you can try to use a simple cash register.You can even use pen and paper to track your inventory and financial status.However, you will leave a lot of room for simple human error-what if an employee does not read the price tag correctly or charges the customer excessively?How will you track inventory quantities in an efficient and updated way?If you run a restaurant, what if you need to change the menus of multiple locations at the last minute?
The point-of-sale system handles all of this for you by automating tasks or providing you with tools to simplify business management and complete it faster.In addition to making your life easier, modern POS systems also provide better services to your customers.Being able to conduct business, provide services to customers and process transactions from anywhere can reduce payment queues and speed up customer service.Once a customer experience unique to major retailers such as Apple, it is now available to everyone.
The mobile cloud-based POS system also brings a lot of new sales opportunities, such as opening pop-up stores or selling at trade shows and festivals.Without a POS system, you will waste a lot of time on setup and reconciliation before and after the event.
Regardless of the type of business, each point of sale should have the following key functions, which are worthy of your consideration.
Cashier software (or cashier application) is the part of POS software for cashiers.The cashier will make the transaction here, and the customer will pay for the purchase here.This is also where the cashier will perform other tasks related to the purchase, such as applying discounts or processing returns and refunds when needed.
This part of the point-of-sale software equation either runs as installed software on a desktop PC or can be accessed through any web browser in a more modern system.Business management software includes various advanced features that can help you better understand and operate your business, such as data collection and reporting.
In managing online stores, physical stores, order fulfillment, inventory, paperwork, customers and employees, becoming a retailer is more complicated than ever.The same is true for restaurant owners or golf course operators.In addition to paperwork and staff management, online ordering and evolving customer habits are very time consuming.Business management software is designed to help you.
The business management aspect of modern POS systems is best thought of as task control of your business.Therefore, you want POS to integrate with other applications and software used to run your business.Some of the more common integrations include email marketing and accounting.Through integration, you can run a more efficient and profitable business because data is shared between each program.
A Deloitte Global case study found that by the end of 2023, 90% of adults will have a smartphone that uses an average of 65 times a day.With the boom of the Internet and the explosive adoption of smartphones by consumers, many new POS functions and features have emerged to help independent retailers provide an interconnected omni-channel shopping experience.
To make life easier for business owners, mobile POS system providers began to process payment internally, officially removing complex (and potentially risky) third-party payment processors from the equation.
The advantages of enterprises are twofold.First, they can work with a company to help them manage their business and finances.Second, pricing is usually more direct and transparent than third parties.You can enjoy one transaction rate for all payment methods, and no activation fee or monthly fee is required.
Some POS system providers also provide integration of loyalty programs based on mobile applications.83% of consumers said they are more likely to buy products from companies with loyalty programs-59% of them prefer products based on mobile apps.strangeness?Not really.
The use case for implementing a loyalty program is simple: show your customers that you value their business, make them feel appreciated and keep coming back.You can reward their repeat customers with percentage discounts and other promotions that are not available to the general public.This is all about retaining customers, which is five times lower than the cost of attracting new customers.
When you make your customers feel that their business is appreciated and consistently recommend products and services that meet their needs, you increase the likelihood that they will discuss your business with their friends.
Modern point-of-sale systems can help you manage your employees by easily tracking working hours (and through reports and sales performance, if applicable).This helps you reward the best employees and guide those who need help most.It can also simplify tedious tasks such as payroll and scheduling.
Your POS should allow you to set custom permissions for managers and employees.With this, you can control who can access your POS back-end and who can only access the front-end.
You should also be able to schedule employee shifts, track their working hours, and generate reports detailing their on-the-job performance (e.g. viewing the number of transactions they processed, the average number of items per transaction, and the average transaction value).
Support itself is not a feature of the POS system, but good 24/7 support is a very important aspect for POS system providers.
Even if your POS is intuitive and easy to use, you will definitely encounter problems at some point.When you do this, you will need 24/7 support to help you resolve the issue quickly.
The POS system support team can usually be contacted via phone, email, and live chat.In addition to on-demand support, also consider whether the POS provider has supporting documentation, such as webinars, video tutorials, and support communities and forums where you can chat with other retailers who use the system.
In addition to the key POS functions that benefit a variety of businesses, there is also point-of-sale software designed for retailers that can solve your unique challenges.
The omnichannel shopping experience starts with having an easy-to-browse transactional online store that enables customers to research products.The result is the same convenient in-store experience.
Therefore, more and more retailers are adapting to customer behavior by choosing a mobile POS system that allows them to operate physical stores and e-commerce stores from the same platform.
This enables retailers to check whether they have products in their inventory, verify their inventory levels in multiple store locations, create special orders on the spot and provide in-store pickup or direct shipping.
With the development of consumer technology and changes in consumer behavior, mobile POS systems are increasingly focusing on developing their omni-channel sales capabilities and blur the boundaries between online and in-store retail.
Using CRM in your POS makes it easier to provide personalized services-so no matter who is on the shift that day, customers can feel better and sell more.Your POS CRM database allows you to create a personal profile for each customer.In these configuration files, you can track:
The CRM database also allows retailers to set timed promotions (when the promotion is only valid within a given time frame, the promoted item will be restored to its original price).
Inventory is one of the most difficult balancing behaviors a retailer faces, but it is also the most important thing because it directly affects your cash flow and income.This can mean from basically tracking your inventory levels to setting up reorder triggers, so you will never be short of valuable inventory items.
POS systems usually have powerful inventory management functions that simplify the way retailers buy, sort, and sell inventory.
With real-time inventory tracking, retailers can trust that their online and physical store inventory levels are accurate.
One of the biggest advantages of mobile POS is that it can support your business from one store to multiple stores.
With a POS system built specifically for multi-store management, you can integrate inventory, customer and employee management at all locations, and manage your entire business from one place.The benefits of multi-store management include:
In addition to inventory tracking, reporting is one of the biggest reasons to buy point-of-sale systems.Mobile POS should provide various preset reports to give you insight into the hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly performance of the store.These reports give you an in-depth understanding of all aspects of your business and help you make informed decisions to improve efficiency and profitability.
Once you are satisfied with the built-in reports that come with your POS system, you can start looking at the advanced analytics integration-your POS software provider may even have its own advanced analytics system, so you know it is built to process your data .With all these data and reports, you can start optimizing your store.
This can mean from identifying the best and worst performing salespeople to understanding the most popular payment methods (credit cards, debit cards, checks, mobile phones, etc.) so you can create the best experience for shoppers.
Post time: Jan-04-2022