Retail Point of Sale Systems
There a quite a few different types of retail point of sale systems available. Not only does the hardware components change but the software changes too.
Before buying any type of POS (point of sale) system you need to analyze exactly what you need and then analyze the things you would 'like to have' but aren't absolutely necessary.
First you need to determine how many stations you will need. Stations are typically where you will be handling the customer 'check out'. Some terminals are capable of communicating with the base unit via wireless connection but these are much less reliable than a hard wired station. Installation will be a little more time consuming and probably cost a little more money but the extra reliability of a hard wired system is worth it.
Since all POS systems run from a basic computer system, the first thing you should look at is the 'heart' of the system. As with any other computer system the processor speed is important as is the size of the internal hard drive. The faster the processor speed, the better and the larger the hard drive, the better. Also you should consider an external hard drive as a back up system as well as signing up for an online back up service too. Better to be safe than sorry.
At this point, there is a divergence between restaurant POS systems and retail POS systems. Most restaurant point of sale systems make use of a touch screen monitor and most retail POS systems use monitors without the touch screen capabilities. The size of the monitor is something that should be considered.
In a retail environment you will need fast credit card processing too. Do you want your employee to swipe the card or do your customers expect a terminal that they can swipe the card themselves. With credit card fraud ever increasing, we would suggest you use the type of terminal that allows the customer to swipe the card themselves.
Is all of you merchandise bar coded? If so then a bar code reader can speed the check out process and reduce errors too. Plus, it makes it more difficult for a dishonest employee to sell merchandise to friends and family at reduced prices by entering in the wrong amount.
You will probably want 'register poles" too. These are the poles that attach to the register that have a small screen on them so the customer can see the amount rung up. A little extra peace of mind for your customers. Plus it almost eliminates the customer returning saying they were charged the wrong amount for an item.
Next you will want to consider printers. Every station will need at least a credit card processing printer. These can be thermal, dot matrix or inkjet. The popularity of ink jet printers are increasing but in the long run the cost of the ink may not make this your best option. Thermal printers are nice as long as the paper doesn't get hot and turn black. The most popular type of printer today is the dot matrix printer. It also happens to be the cheapest. The next thing is that these days you can have a USB printer or a parallel printer. We suggest you opt for the USB printer. There is definitely a trend to making almost every external computer component operate via USB. Another big advantage is that most software immediately recognized a USB printer and there is no installation process needed.
We have saved the most important thing to consider for last. The most important part of all retail point of sale systems is the software used. There are lots and lots of companies making software these days. Not all of it is reliable and certainly not every program will fit your needs.
You need to make sure the software that you buy, or is bundled with your system is capable of performing all the tasks you need done. And while we are on the subject, you need to consider how the software can assist you in your 'backroom' tasks too. Do you want automatic inventory monitoring? Do you want the ability to 'mark down' prices automatically? The answer is almost always yes. How about using the system as a time card machine to keep track of employee hours? Does the system software interface with your existing accounting software? Does the software come with it's own accounting software? How good are the 'audit trail' reports? Profit and lose, general ledger, assets and liabilities? There are lots of things these systems can do and you should take your time in the beginning and be thorough in your needs analysis. How easy is it to configure and re-configure? Can you add specific tasks that are unique to your business? Can you do it yourself or will you have to pay the vendor to do it (expensive)?
As a last point and not entirely related to point of sale systems you should consider a system to allow video monitoring of your cash drawer stations. There are systems that allow real time monitoring and also save the videos online for viewing later. These can work well to put your mind at ease and assist you if you suspect things aren't being done correctly. Something to consider.
So retail point of sale systems should be designed with the specific needs of the user in mind. Off the shelf systems are great, IF they have everything you need now and expect to need in the future.
