A Point of Sale (POS) system is indispensable for any type of retail business. It is a combination of specialized hardware and computer hardware that allows staff members to enter customer purchases, manage inventory, take credit card payments, track expenses, generate reports, and much more. Whether you’re running a convenience store, restaurant, flower shop or specialty store, a POS system can help perform many different processes to maximize your efficiency.
Some of the chief benefits reported by businesses that use such systems include:
More accurate and more detailed information
Greater productivity
The ability to share reliable information with product suppliers and other partners
The ability to operate on a leaner stock
Choosing a Point of Sale System
Shopping around for a POS system for your business is no easy proposition. First, you must know your business very well and have a solid idea of how things run and what information will be most helpful to you. If that wasn’t enough of a challenge, comparing systems requires in depth knowledge of computers, networks, software features, and more. The market is flooded with POS systems of all complexity levels and price ranges. Knowing what to look for and where to start can be very difficult. Below are some guidelines to help you get started.
Identify Your POS Needs
Identifying your point of sale needs can be as easy as finding out what your competitors (or other businesses similar to yours) are using or as difficult as performing an in depth study of every transaction you process. It is a good idea to talk to your employees and your customers to get feedback on what kinds of features would help. For example, you could ask customers questions such as do you ever shop with us online? or would you be interested in a frequent shopper program? Also, keep in mind that even if there are software packages designed specifically for your type of business, they may vary wildly and you still need to research the features to determine what’ll work best for your business.
Establish a Budget
A great way to narrow down your options is to establish a budget for your POS system expenditure. When doing so, remember that you will need to invest in a server (unless the system will work with your existing one) retail software, accounting software, terminals (how many will you need?) Talking to other business owners is a good way to get an idea of the range of what’s out there in terms of price.
Research the Market
You may have initially taken a look at what’s available on the market in order to get an idea of what exists and in order to help you establish your budget. Now it is time to do more in depth research and narrow down your choices. Once you find a system or two that seem to be the right fit for your company, you should research the providers. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable company known for providing outstanding service. Also, ask for and call references.
Author Resource:
A Point of Sale (POS) system is indispensable for any type of retail business. As North America’s leading online payment processor for debit and credit card processing, we offer merchant accounts and mservices for VISA, MasterCard, American Express and INTERAC Direct Payment. http://www.moneris.com
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