7 Must-Have Features In Your POS System

Posted by medusasmith on November 29th, 2020

The days when retail stores used cash registers and then painstakingly transferred its data onto books is long gone. Such retail business management methods were not only time consuming but also prone to a lot of errors. 

Today, there are new and improved digital retail billing software solutions. They allow retail owners and managers to effortlessly handle multiple business operations from a single, centralized software application. POS systems have made such a huge impact in the retail industry that It is almost inconceivable to think of a modern day business that does not use them. 

There are many types of POS solutions available in the market. Each of them have a unique set of pros and cons that must be evaluated before purchase. POS solutions are a long-term investment, so when you buy one it is important to ensure that it has 7 vital features. Let’s take a look at what they are.

Benefits of using a POS system

POS systems are increasingly becoming popular for the wide range of benefits they have to offer. In fact, highly sought after retail stores use innovative POS solutions to stay ahead of the market competition. 

Regardless of what retail stores do, be it selling textiles, grocery, IT products or any other, all of them benefit from implementing a POS software. On the other hand, businesses that don’t use these software applications run into a myriad of problems that hampers productivity and ROI. Benefits of using a POS system include:

• Reduction in expenses

• Increase in savings

• Enhanced customer satisfaction

• Increase in customer footfalls

• Productive employees

• Decreases billing time

• Strategic and informed decision making

• Optimization

• Higher ROI and more

In order to achieve all the benefits of using a POS system, you must choose a suitable POS system. There are a myriad of options available, here are the top 3.

Types of POS systems

Depending on the size of your retail store and its operations, there are 3 major types of point of sale software solutions to choose from.

Mobile POS

The most portable POS solution is the mobile POS software. It can be installed and used on mobile electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets. In terms of connectivity, the devices can further pair up with barcode scanners and bluetooth printers. Mobile POS solutions usually come with a debit/credit card reader. These features make it easy for retail staff to bill customers anywhere in the store.

These software systems are capable of managing inventory, generating and viewing reports, optimizing operations, monitoring sales and more. They are space-saving and are the most apt solution for small to medium scale businesses.

Terminal POS

Terminal POS solutions are a conjuncture of software and hardware. They are easy-to-use and syncs all transactions with the POS software. The terminal device can effortlessly integrate with wireless printers, and the software can integrate with electronic cash drawers and barcode scanners. 

This solution has comprehensive features to manage inventory, perform CRM tasks, create loyalty programs, generate reports and more. Unlike Mobile POS solutions, terminal POS take up space but makes up for it with powerful functions.

Online POS

Alternate to mobile and terminal POS solutions, you can also use POS features without having to invest in additional hardware. Online POS systems are cloud-based software services that can be used on any PC or Mac. By accessing the software online, you save a lot of software and hardware maintenance costs. This solution is best suited for businesses that are just starting up and are flexible.

Top 7 features your POS system must have

No matter what type of POS you buy, the software system should equip you with the tools to perform a set of vital operations. Only then will you be able to make full use of having a POS software. Here are the top 7 features your POS system must have.

Inventory management

POS systems must provide visibility into the inventory at all times. It must be capable of displaying what is available in the inventory and what is not. This feature helps keep a track of what’s coming into your store and what’s going out. Furthermore, it helps you restock your inventory on time, arrange items on shelves, regulate the amount of stocks and more.

Employee management

One of the core assets of your retail store is your employees. It is tiresome to constantly supervise your staff, let alone laborious and time-consuming. With the employee management feature, the POS can automatically track employee productivity hours, sales performance, contributions and more. With this information, you can reward outstanding employees and promote healthy competition in the workplace.

Customer relationship management

As numerous customers walk in and out of your store everyday, it helps to collect and manage their information. This feature enables you to quickly take down essential customer details such as where they’re from, their email ID and other contact details. With this data, you can easily announce promotions, new arrivals and more to a wide range of customers at the click of a button. 

Notifications

It is easy to get sidetracked in pursuing everyday operations and forgetting about vital tasks. You don’t have to worry about missing out on due dates or important actions with notifications. You can set up customer reminders and alert configurations to tell you when your inventory is low, when your expenses are exceeding your budget, when there is a drop in customer satisfaction and more.

Monitoring and reporting

It is crucial to collect the data you process everyday, analyze it and extrapolate it into insightful information. POS software can efficiently take care of this task. This feature enables it to gather key information like everyday sales data, restocking data and customer data and present them in the form of statistical data. Based on the insights, you can optimize your operations for better ROI.

Barcode scanner compatible

POS systems that are compatible with barcode scanners significantly increase the operational speeds of retail stores. By simply scanning barcode tags with a barcode reader, you can instantly retrieve vital information and instantly sync it up with the POS software. This is most useful in tracking inventory and in enabling customers to swiftly checkout from the store.

Cloud-enabled

Buying storage hardware to hold your data is expensive. Maintaining such hardware incurs additional expenses. Instead, with a cloud-based POS solution, you can easily store information on a cloud server for a much lesser cost. Moreover, the cloud provides exceptional security features and provides cutting-edge disaster recovery options compared to traditional on-premise storage.

Conclusion

POS systems help you take your business to the next level, provided you invest in the right system with the right features. By ensuring that your POS has these 7 features, you can be sure of scaling up fast and turning over a higher profit. Get the most feature-loaded, reliable and secure retail billing software called SmartPOS from SmartPoint. Contact them today.