December 7, 2020 A Guide to POS Systems

It’s important to be familiar with POS systems and how they work. Here is a detailed guide.

A Point Of Sale (POS) system can be termed as a software and hardware system that allows you to check out your customer’s purchases and receive payment from them in different modes of payment such as cash, mobile payments, and credit cards.

POS systems are able to scan barcodes, print receipts, and even store cash. The POS software tracks your inventory, measures your sales, and even transfers money to your business bank account.

Running a retail store requires that you have managerial, marketing, and administrative skills. You have to ensure that there is always enough inventory and properly track all the sales made on a daily basis.

A good POS system will ensure that your store’s operations run smoothly. It is the central system of operation where everything from inventory to sales to customer management fuse together.

It’s important for every business owner interested in improving their operations to be familiar with POS systems and how they work. Here is a detailed guide to POS systems:

The Hardware Components Of A POS System

Here are some of the hardware components you expect to find in a complete POS system:

1. The Monitor Or Tablet

It serves to display the product database and also facilitates other functions such as viewing sales reports and clocking-in an employee. Tablets have come in handy to replace the bulky monitors that were traditionally being used.

2. Barcode Scanner

It serves to automate the checkout process. Once a barcode is scanned, it draws out all the information about a product. This includes the product’s name and the price. Barcodes are integrated with the inventory management system and they adjust the stock levels as products are being sold off the counter.

3. Card Reader

Card readers allow customers to use their credit cards to make payments for the products they purchase. These credit card readers must be Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) compliant, failure to which you may face losses owing to fraud liability.

4. Receipt Printer

Once everything is paid for at the counter, the receipt printer generates a report of all the products purchased and the total amount paid for them. The receipt printer prints a receipt which is handed over to the customer. Today, there are text and email receipts that are sent directly to the customer’s email or phone number.

5. Cash Drawer

People still pay using cash at retail stores. This cash needs to be stored securely hence the use of the cash drawer.

The Software Components Of A POS System

Here are some of the software components of a POS system:

1. Sales Reporting

This component serves to record and analyze your store’s sales data and generate a sales report which you can then use to make business decisions for growth.

2. Inventory Management

This component monitors your stock levels and helps you know when to reorder and restock items that are running short.

3. Employee Management

This component tracks the performance of your employees. It helps you know how many hours they worked and all the transactions they did.

4. Customer Management

This component helps to log all the purchases made and even keep contact with customers through the available marketing tools

Conclusion

In a nutshell, a POS system should provide you with detailed sales reports, track and manage your inventory levels, keep track of your customer’s purchase history, and make operations for your store much easier to run.

Looking for a reliable POS system for your store? Check out SoftTouch POS.

Subscribe to Industry Today