Get your POS on point!
30 September 2015
Posted by Equus Partners
Integrating new business software is difficult enough without considering the anxiety and FOMO you will experience from just googling “POS Apps”. Sometimes putting yourself at the mercy of a search engine is exactly what you need to render yourself paralyzed with indecision. Which Point of Sale (POS) application is right for your retail business? How many subscriptions should you buy? Do you actually have to buy all of this hardware? Can I set up my register with a CSV import? -Wait. What?
Anyone who has tried it, knows that choosing a POS system can be overwhelming enough to warrant tears and a 3 hour tea break. Those who are particularly adverse to decision making, will pick at random. Some will ask a friend or neighbour, and some will simply go for the most popular software on the market (I call this the “I’ll have what she’s having” method).
Almost every POS system out there will take an order and open your cash drawer now, so finding a POS system with the right features for your business can feel like it requires some soul searching. It can be tempting to buy the biggest baddest POS on the market, but since you haven’t got money to throw away, we’re going to help you find a POS system that will help you.
The best POS system for you will:
1. Only track data you need
In the age of big data it’s tempting to hoard data. If you’re a cafe, recording every customer’s shoe size, hair colour and pet’s name, then this probably means you’re wasting time and money.
2. Play well with others
Your POS software should be cutting down the work hours for you by reporting to your other accounting, management and scheduling systems. Recording orders and printing a huge receipt at the end of the day no longer cuts it. You can do better.
3. Be subtly extraordinary
With the data that is being collected, your POS system should be able to report and track trends in your sales and inventory, allowing you to make better decisions for the future.
Knowing what you need from your POS system is the key to unlocking this challenge! Having a systems analyst translate your needs can help with this. And then after all of this? Find the small features that you need, subscribe, plug in your hardware and gogogo!