The Ultimate Guide For Businesses Looking For POS Systems Solutions

Point-of-Sale (POS) systems are crucial to running a successful business today. With the help of a POS system, a business can accept and process various methods of payment securely and quickly. A total of almost 70% of businesses depend on POS systems to complete new sales at the checkout counter. Contemporary POS systems can do more than just handle payment transactions at the checkout counter. 

The following are just some of the aspects of your business that a point-of-sale system can help improve:

• Accounting
• Inventory
• Invoicing
• Reporting

This quick service POS system has so many features that it can be difficult to choose the right one. With the help of this guide, you will find out everything you need to know about modern POS systems available in the market.

What Is A POS System & Why Does Your Business Need One?

Traditionally, the point of sale is where your customer’s sales are made. Customarily, this would be a cash register situated at a certain location within the premises of the business. In the modern world today, POS systems are no longer in a permanent location within the confines of the business. There are cloud-based, mobile POS systems with integrated business functions.

The features of a POS system make it convenient for the business to accept payments from anywhere. Another important factor is that the POS system can accept multiple forms of payment. This is a huge advantage for a business because according to a recent study, credit card transactions have almost doubled in the last six to eight years. These developments in the mode of payments are not just limited to plastic either. 

Digital wallets such as Android Pay and Apple Pay were used to conduct business transactions of over $500 billion in the year 2020. It is expected that in the year 2023, businesses will make cashless transactions totaling 841 billion. This is a stark comparison from the year 2018 when non-cash transactions represented just 575 billion. According to a recent survey of the general public, every one in four individuals preferred to make payments using cashless payment methods. 

One of the most popular mobile wallet systems among the latest generation of consumers is a preference for store-branded wallets like Apple Pay. With the help of an efficient point-of-sale system, your business can accept payment in any form of payment that is the most popular amongst your consumers. Simply having the facility to pay in any mode of payment will make the entire experience for your consumer more convenient. This means that your business can achieve a higher level of customer satisfaction and this can translate into a more dependable clientele. 

Benefits Of POS Systems For Your Business

It is easy to understand that a productive POS system will help you coordinate your business much more easily without having to bear the burden of extra costs. Let’s look at some of the other advantages of choosing the right POS system for your business. 

POS Systems Help Your Business Achieve Credibility

You might be a new business owner but that does not mean that you have to work like a “mom-and-pop store”. Once you set up the POS system, your business is ready to accept all different forms of payment methods from your customers. Your customers will know that they are operating with a credible establishment because you can offer secure methods of payment, which your competitors may not. 

POS Systems Help Your Business Gain A Competitive Advantage

Technology changes rapidly in the modern world. Keeping up to date with the most contemporary methods of payment will help your business evolve much faster. Almost 85% of the credit cards in the United States are chip-enabled. The problem for these consumers is that only 63% of businesses can process chip-enabled credit cards. 

Modern-day POS systems give your business the capability to accept EMV chip cards. Your business can gain a competitive edge by providing your consumers with these secured methods of payment. 

POS Systems Help Your Business Monitor Consumer Trends & Track Sales

Contemporary POS systems offer much more value than just being a transaction portal. The right POS system can help you monitor consumer trends by providing reports based on product, employee, or any other demographic information your business decides to use to identify customers. In this way, the POS system will help you keep track of inventory and monitor employee performance at the same time. All of this information can be used by the management to improve business operations. 

Finding The Right POS System To Meet Business Needs

Entrepreneurs are often extremely eager to find a POS system that meets their needs after they learn about the advantages of a point-of-sale system. Before starting to look into the market for the different POS solutions, it is advisable to outline your most important business goals. The easiest way to do that is to try to answer the following questions about your business. 

• What is the current financial status of your business?
• What are the goals your business is struggling to achieve?
• Which employee positions and business functions can the POS system help simplify?
• Does the business retain redundant employees because of a lack of business structure?

The answers to these questions will help you determine which POS system will be the most profitable for your organization. Let’s dive a little deeper into each one of these questions.

What Is The Current Financial Status Of Your Business?

The current financial status of your business plays a consequential role to find the right POS system for your business. Are you opening a new business? If this is the case then you want something that has basic functionality, is easy to use, and helps you achieve higher productivity from your business. 

Are you trying to upgrade from an old cash register? Make sure that the new POS system can tally information with your cash register. The new POS system must have some improvements in comparison to your cash register. Each enhancement the POS system has will prove to be valuable over a longer period of time. 

Are you changing from one POS system to another? Try to identify what is not working with your present POS system or what could be better. Try to find a POS system that does not have these imperfections.

What Are The Goals Your Business Is Struggling To Achieve?

Every business has its pressure points - this is especially true for new entrepreneurs. Business owners understand that they are having trouble trying to achieve certain financial goals. Despite the facts, the business owners remain optimistic to achieve these business goals against all odds. By installing a POS system, business owners can reorganize some of their business processes to achieve higher efficiency. 

In certain cases, business owners will be able to purchase customizable add-ons that can help the business provide more personalized service to their clients. With the help of these add-ons, the business can save time and deliver personalized service to its customers. The add-ons can help the business streamline operations for all of their employees making it easier to achieve business goals. 

Which Employee Positions & Business Functions Can The POS System Help Simplify?

New entrepreneurs are always anxious to see their thrive. This is why they are sometimes working as an accountant, manager, CEO, and HR manager all at the same time. According to Eva de Mol, overworking is the most common cause of burnout for new business owners. By installing an effective POS system, businesses can put a lot of trivial tasks on autopilot.  

The following are some simple examples of tasks that can be automated with the help of a POS system. 

• Accounts: POS solutions integrate smoothly with accounting software to help organize the business’s accounts with reports ready at any time.
• Employee Supervision: POS systems can help the business create employee schedules, payrolls, and employee absences. 
• Inventory Management: Managing inventory is always a labor-intensive task. The right POS system uses technology to manage inventory by tracking sales, returns, and restocking. 
• Competitive Analysis: A POS system can help a business develop insight into their business processes by delivering customized charts, graphs, and heat maps at the touch of a button. All this information can be valuable for the business owner to steer the organization’s operations in the right direction based on market conditions and business performance. 

Does The Business Retain Redundant Employees Due To Lack Of Business Structure?

All of these factors discussed above can help the business reduce the presence of unnecessary employees within the organization. This way the business can become more efficient and save money by not having to spend on the salaries of unnecessary employees. The POS system can achieve their job functions much more systematically, productively, and without having to bear extra costs for the business operations. 

Features To Look For In A POS System

Every organization needs to assess its requirements before looking for POS Solutions that meet its business needs. It will be easier to find a personalized POS system once you understand the demands from the POS system based on your specific business requirements. 

Finding The Best POS System For Your Business

Try to classify your business into a specific kind of business classification so that you can find POS systems to meet its requirements. For example, is it a small business with a single location or do you have multiple business locations with a few products? Try to categorize your business based on the number of business locations and products that your organization has to offer. 

The Best POS System Based On Business Type

The nature of your business will also have an important role to play in choosing the right POS system for your business. For example, a salon will have different requirements from a POS system in comparison to a coffee shop. Similarly, a brick-and-mortar shop will have different requirements in comparison to a mobile food truck. In both cases, choosing the right POS system to meet your specific business needs will boost overall business operations and increase customer satisfaction. 

A traditional setup will incorporate a full-service POS system and might be the best option to choose for a dry cleaner, quick-serve restaurant, retail store, or salon. Finding a POS system with a single terminal might be the best option in such cases. Larger organizations with numerous products and more customers should consider how many terminals will be sufficient to handle traffic at peak hours.  

Smaller organizations like a food truck or a pay-at-table restaurant can consider mobile POS solutions as their best option. These portable systems offer the business the flexibility to process payments at the point of sale without having to let customers wait in line. The business can achieve higher customer satisfaction by providing quick service. Higher customer satisfaction can translate into more sales for the business. 

Will You Be Able To Expand Your Business With The POS System?

Under perfect economical conditions, your business will grow and not remain flat for a long time. It is recommended to consider your business needs seven to 10 years down the line to find the right POS system. When scrutinizing these considerations take into account how fast you expect your business to grow. Ask yourself these questions to find the right POS system:

1. Is it easy to add new features to the POS system?
2. How much will upgrading cost?
3. What are the limitations of the initial POS system?
4. When will you ultimately need to upgrade to a new POS system?

Business owners always need to be on top of their game. How the POS system meets the business requirements will determine how competitive prices the business will be able to offer its clientele over time. 

Find A POS System That Offers A Trial Period or Demo Version

A majority of POS vendors offer solutions that incorporate a trial period or demo versions for their clientele. The business can explore the features of the POS system and the benefits that it can have on the overall business. The organization can also get an idea of how much personnel will be required to run smooth business operations. In most cases, a productive POS system will help you lower the number of employees you have in your organization instead of increasing it. 

It is suggested that businesses tabulate their business performance before beginning the trial period of the POS system or using the demo version. It will be easier to access the productivity of the POS system with this information easily on hand. In some cases, POS vendors will be able to provide you with better services if you disclose this information to them once the trial period is over.