You are considering the addition of a new point of sale (POS) system in your place of business. You have heard great things as to how useful these systems are and want to add one or upgrade an existing system to your list of needed improvements. They can be used for so many different tasks, and these include:
Tracking
A POS system is a wonderful tracking tool. It will help a salesperson find an item for a customer almost instantly. For businesses with multiple sites, it can even be used to track items at different stores and warehouses for customer convenience.
Record Keeping
It is the ultimate in keeping records of all transactions of the entire business. These records can be stored for years and can be quickly and easily accessed as needed. Find customer balances, previous pricing, and even budgets and capital improvement reports.
Inventory Management
A purchasing agent would find a POS system to be an invaluable tool. It would assist him in buying as it lets him know exactly what is on hand and what is moving the most quickly. A restaurant manager or food and beverage director can very quickly research what the most popular items on a menu are.
Security
Managers and supervisors will have their own personal and private codes to access information and make changes. This will prevent employees from voiding sales or making price changes without supervisory permission.
Timekeeping
Many POS systems allow employees to clock in on the terminals. It will then track hours worked, overtime, and breaks. It will alert management when there are omissions and other issues.
Scheduling
A POS system is a great tool for scheduling employees. Schedule templates for this are available. It can total the number of hours scheduled, deduct breaks, and subtract vacation pay.
Communication
This type of system allows maximum communications between departments and other areas. For example, a restaurant system allows a server to punch in an order and send it directly to the kitchen where the cooks receive and prepare the order. This saves both time and energy, and will allow the server to take on more customers as he does not have to leave the dining room to deliver his food order. Other types of businesses may even opt for cloud-based systems, making for an even less expensive and more accessible system.
Reporting
One of the very best features of a POS system is that it can supply instant reports. End-of-shift sales, missing checks, and number of items sold can be printed out at the end of each individual’s shift. This is a wonderful tool as errors can be corrected instantly instead of days later when the accounting office finally catches them.
Customer Information
You cannot possibly remember all the details of your most loyal customers. Keeping track of them on paper would take hours and could be difficult to locate at a moment’s notice. A POS system will help you track your customer purchases and other interactions, and also keep records of customer preferences or sizes, depending on the type of business. In some instances, photos of the customer can even be added, allowing for even more security when the customer frequents the venue.
As is clearly demonstrated, these systems can make life at your business so much easier and productive. Make a point to research what is available, ask for references, and peruse all of the reviews before making your final decision.