A Few Fundamental & Crucial Points To Consider When Choosing A POS System
The point of sale (POS) system is an essential system for any type or size of business. In addition to serving as a primary tool for retailers and organizations, today's point of sale systems may be successfully integrated with critical operational solutions such as inventory management, labor scheduling, as well as consumer marketing.
Here's How To Pick A Business Specific POS System
Before we get into how to pick a POS system, let's take a look at why you need one in the first place. A POS system does more than just handle transactions. It's the throbbing core of your store's operations, handling everything from inventory management and loss prevention to personnel administration and AR/AP monitoring.
POS systems are used by small businesses of all sorts and across industries:
- Grocery stores & markets
- Retail & consumer good stores
- Tobacco stores & smoke shops
- Liquor stores
- Hardware stores
- Lawn & garden centers
- Convenience stores
Simply put, various sorts of organizations have varied POS system requirements. Because of the importance of POS systems, choosing the best one for your company might be difficult.
Essential & Vital Tips To Help You Find The Best POS System In The Market
Here are some tips to help you craft the correct questions to ask POS suppliers as you narrow down your choices.
What type of POS hardware will you need?
Determining your POS hardware requirements, which include anything from touchscreen displays and cash drawers to receipt printers and pin pads, can assist you in knowing what to search for and acquiring pricing quotes from POS providers.
What functionalities does your existing POS system lack or perform poorly?
This will assist you in prioritizing your POS requirements and ensuring that current pain points are addressed with your new POS system.
What kind of POS software, applications, & connections would you require?
Your POS software is the operation's brain. Make a list of the precise features and app integrations that are required.
What is your business expansion strategy?
This is a critical one. You want a POS system that can expand with your company. You don't want to have to upgrade your POS system again because you've outgrown it.
What is your budget?
Every POS vendor you speak with will ask you this question, so be prepared. If you don't have a certain budget in mind, you may contact our experts for the perfect POS system and discover how much it will cost.
Select A POS System That Facilitates Checkout
Is your checkout procedure straightforward and easy for consumers, or are long queues and poor checkout speeds holding you back?
To provide the best possible consumer experience, you must maximize the checkout space. POS systems with a small footprint make life easier for your staff. This can even allow you to assist consumers from numerous registers.
The speed with which transactions are completed is also important. Employees must be able to swiftly scan items or utilize clever, intuitive product search or typed entries to decrease wait time. You can even employ mobile devices linked to your POS system to supplement your checkout capabilities.
Consider Your Inventory Management Requirements
One of the most significant advantages of POS systems is their ability to automatically subtract sold goods from inventory, making important metrics such as inventory on hand and item-by-item sales data significantly more precise.
However, if your company has a small, simple inventory – say, a few hundred SKUs with minimal diversity in size, style, or color; Purchasing a POS system with comprehensive inventory management features is a waste of money. Among the essential & vital questions to ask are:
- How many goods do you stock in each location?
- Do you consider each thing to be a one-of-a-kind item or a style?
- How do you order inventory from suppliers when the item comes in a variety of colors and sizes? Is it necessary to see item characteristics as a matrix?
- Is it necessary for other buyers/store workers to be able to fill in or check up on-hand information without having to visit the store floor or phone other stores?
- What product information do you want to be able to access from your desktop?
Decide What Additional Functions You Want Your POS To Provide
Even if your demands are now rather modest, this does not exclude them from expanding as you develop. Consider what extra features you would want your system to have in the future, such as:
- Time, attendance, or a time clock
- Sales reporting by associates, store, department, time of day, and so on;
- Customer marketing, which allows you to collect a customer's purchase history and other data for future marketing purposes, as well as customer loyalty programs;
- Transfer systems, which allow employees to transfer items between locations, and on-hand lookup, which allows each store to view what inventory other stores have on hand at a glance.
- Gift cards, monitoring the sale and redemption of gift cards
Determine The Types Of POS Accessories You Will Need
The cashier's touchscreen isn't the only piece of POS system hardware. Consider if the investment in dual display panels, showing consumers what they purchased to increase accuracy, or displaying adverts to promote essential goods is worthwhile.
When comparing thermal printers versus ribbon printers, keep in mind that thermal printers utilize heat to print receipts, so while they are more expensive at first, shops may save money on the ink cartridges required by ribbon printers in the long run.
Determine Which POS Security Features Your Business Need
From the fundamentals (lockable cash drawers, cash drops, and password-protected access) to constructing firewalls around the POS system's network to safeguard against malware assaults, security must be a vital component of every POS system.
Retailers who take payment cards must guarantee that their POS systems adhere to the most recent Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards - PCI DSS. Retailers who process a significant number of payment card transactions should consider utilizing encryption, which secures client data during transactions by producing a cryptographic key that limits access to anybody who does not have the necessary decrypting key.
Don't Overlook The Importance Of POS Reporting In Guiding Your Business.
We understand that reporting is not a "sexy" feature. It is, nonetheless, vital. Sales statistics, inventory and catalog reporting, and customer history tracking are just a few of the essential data elements offered in most POS systems to assist you in making informed business decisions. When selecting a POS system, reporting should not be disregarded.
So Are You Ready To Pick A POS System For Your Company?
It might be difficult to find a POS system that matches your company's present demands while also giving the capabilities for future expansion. When comparing alternative options, keep both short-term and long-term requirements in mind. For instance - Local database vs. cloud: which software is best for your company? What information is required to select a credit card processor? Contact our experts today for more information.