Sales is the lifeblood of any business, so making sure your company’s point of sale solution is satisfactory should be one of your highest priorities, especially in the retail sector. Whether you’re running a grocery store, a restaurant or an electronics store the POS system you use needs to be efficient, easy to use and faultless, otherwise every facet of your business could be thrown into complete disarray at the drop of a hat.
Of course if you already have an effective Point of sale system installed it could be tempting to leave it in place, even if more modern, advanced systems are available and within your price range. Porting inventory across to a new system can be incredibly tedious and intensive work, and there are often grave complications. It’s more than worth it in the long run though, with POS systems evolving on a yearly basis thanks to companies such as ‘Bepoz‘, who offer affordable, dependable and attractive POS systems on a variety of deals for an eclectic range of markets and circumstances.
What is Generally Included in a POS System?
All-in-one POS systems are very common in today’s retail environment as they offer all of the basic hardware, firmware and software required in a relatively simple ‘plug and play’ package. Basic packages will include a retail terminal, computer monitor, keyboard and mouse, a barcode scanner, cash drawer (or ’till), a credit/debit card reader and a receipt printer, all of which will be interconnected. Many modern packages will also include touch-screens, which have become more user friendly and intuitive over the past few years. Grocery stores especially have favoured touchscreen POS systems for a while now, with many of the larger chain supermarkets even implementing ‘self-service’ checkouts.
What POS System is Best Suited for my Business?
There will be a variety of options and packages available to you depending on the size of your operation and its specific needs. You don’t even need to swap out your entire system. Extra or new devices can easily be added to existing systems to improve their usability, speed and visual appeal and the software used can also be upgraded with relative ease.
So What Should I be Looking for in a POS System?
As your POS system will form the ‘core’ of your business (tracking sales, organising inventory, processing payments etc) it is imperative that it works effortlessly and is shipped with all necessary components.
Terminals and Peripherals – The variety of POS hardware available online is absolutely staggering, and there are hundreds of companies, each with their own bespoke hardware who will all tell you that their equipment is the best (would you expect them to do otherwise?). When you’re in the market for a POS system though you should ask yourself what you need and not what they are trying to sell you. If you don’t think a touch-screen system would benefit your business in any way, don’t feel pressured into it but if it’s part of a ‘full system’ option that includes barcode scanners, displays, PIN pads and the like, you might be able to make some decent savings.
Software – Many systems will ship with their own proprietary software that will have been specifically tailored to work with that system and so should (in theory) be fool proof. However, there are many popular POS software programs like ‘QuickBooks’ and ‘Aldelo’ that your employees might feel more comfortable using (especially if they’ve used the software before). A lot of the time, many of the features available in a POS system will be dependent on the software, not the hardware. So choosing which software you’ll use is just as important a decision as choosing the hardware that will be running it.
Service – Though for many businesses it might be an afterthought, a decent level of customer service should be one of the decisive factors you turn to when choosing a POS system. As your POS system is effectively the heart and brain of your sales department, any problems could prove disastrous if they are not taken care of with deft and swift precision. Make sure you take out a decent cover package and that the company you’re purchasing from offers 24/7 support and overnight delivery of potential replacement parts.
Mobile Technology – As technology move forward, POS system developers are there chasing its heels and the latest great shift in the field has recently been in mobile and wireless terminals. Wireless tools are held in a very high regard in the POS world. In fact, there are even some companies who have experimented with implementing smartphone and tablet compatibility into their systems (with encouraging results). Although these new technologies might cost a little more, you don’t want to be the business left trailing in the dust.
Research has shown that an aesthetically pleasing pos system with easy-to-use, well implemented software significantly increases business. The exact reasons for this are purely speculative, but its surely human nature to move with the new so if your business is still using ugly old cash registers from the last century you might want to consider moving with the times.
About the Author
Chris Allen is the CEO of Bepoz America and he helped in the creation of POS software for businesses and so recognises the need for them in modern industry.