In the last 10 years, dramatic advances in technology have improved Point of Sale software and changed the retail environment. Checkout is quicker and simpler. Rewards and referral programs allow you to engage customers in ways you never could before. Barcode scanners and powerful analytics have made inventory tracking more efficient than ever. These innovations, plus many others, create a more positive customer experience and ensure new and return business.
Point of Sale Goes Beyond the Cash Register
Does your Point-of-Sale (POS) software do more than simply process transactions and accept payments? It should. Your POS should be the lifeline for your entire operation. A robust, integrated POS can quickly process payments, track inventory, create financial reports, manage staff, and gather customer data. These bundled features do more than just save time, they save money and provide much needed sales analysis.
According to Entrepreneur magazine, your point of sale software must balance functionality and ease of use while contributing to the success and growth of your business. Here are three ways POS software will help your business grow:
1. Bundled Features
With the right POS, the front-end of your business can grow and tackle increased traffic at the cash register. The back-end of your POS collects sales and customer data. These bundled operations help streamline workflow, so you can analyze customer purchases to find trends and forecast business for the next week, month, or quarter. Understanding the needs and wants of your customer creates a better overall experience. This will allow you to target new customers in unexplored markets.
2. Inventory Management
Inventory management costs time and money—a major headache for all businesses. Having too much or not enough inventory in stock can result in lost profits. You should know what is on your shelves at any point in the day and what is needed for tomorrow. Item management is a powerful tool to grow you company and accuracy is a major component of your business analytics.
Another area of concern is product returns. Your POS should handle real-time purchases, as well as returns. This keeps your inventory current and easily tracks your product going in and out the door. The front-end customer experience is smooth, while the back-end is easily handled with the simple scan of a barcode.
Also, inventory management helps detect theft, a major source of inventory shrinkage, which makes it another line of defense against unnecessary losses.
3. Reporting
Do you know the highs and lows within your business cycle? Or your highest margin items? Daily, weekly, and monthly reports can describe trends in revenue. Your point of sale software should provide you with simple and fast reporting functions. Connecting horizontal business areas, like sales, marketing, and finance, in one place increases efficiency. Your integrated POS can eliminate the need to pull reports from different applications and instead, directly answer the questions about your business.
These reports help you identify any obstacles that are in your path toward growth, and also assist you in finding those nagging problems that affect daily operations. For an example, let’s look at product “freshness.” If inventory sits too long, it goes stale. With the right POS, you can find where inventory goes sour—turning an obstacle into opportunity.
Employees ultimately contribute to your bottom-line. Your point of sale software can tell you which employees are the most successful and others that need help. This is a great way to set sales goals and incentives for your team. Reports will empower them to fill the gaps in their sales knowledge, or strive to make more positive contacts to increase sales.
Making the Switch
Finding the right point of sale software can be a challenge, especially if you have a bloated legacy system preventing you from achieving your potential. For 30 years, we have seen what works and what doesn’t. That’s why we’ve created a complete, integrated POS system that is easy to use, simple to learn, and that has the necessary tools to improve all areas of your business. With this improvement comes increased bottom-line profits and business growth.