POS or Point
of Sale systems are computerized systems which consist of both hardware and
software. Point Of Sale equipment consists
of barcode scanners, receipt printers, cash drawers and credit card terminals. POS
software consists of programs to optimize transactions and for inventory
tracking. You can buy POS System as a complete package or in separate
components.
The Benefits of POS System
With a
computerized POS system, you can see incredible profit margins because it makes
tracking inventory a lot easier. With POS Systems, retailers can easily find
out the status of stock and when to restock their inventory. You can easily
sort the inventory items by popularity. With a barcode scanner, you can easily
enter the inventory as it scans the product barcode and its quantity. Then it
sends the data to the terminal and updates the Point of Sale Systems. In invoicing, it improves the accuracy and
speed and helps in reducing theft. With this system, store operators can easily
identify theft and take proper actions.
Types of POS Systems
Some stores
are capable to select industry-specific software with which it can handle specific
area of your store. For example, if you have a car parts store. Then you may
select POS software with customized database which can search parts of given
model no. and make. You may usually get more features with general retail
software as compared to specialized one and you can use the features to include
or exclude in your POS system.
The Average Cost
Since 2010,
the price of point of sale system usually varies according to number of
features and quality. From $1200 to $2500, you may usually run the software
licenses. If you add another cash drawer to the scanners and receipt printer,
the cost may go around $900 per extra cash register. The owners of the retail store can prefer
going for extended warranty by paying $200 extra for each unit. They can use
POS terminal to process debit and credit card payments. POS terminals may
include Ethernet or modem plug, pin pad and receipt printer pad. The cost of
such terminals is around $200 to $800.
Timeframe to Install POS System
In a small
store, it may usually take over a week to set up a new Point of Sale system.
You have to enter inventory into the POS system. You should enter complete
inventory of all the products you have in your store. It may take a couple of
days to train staff about using POS System.
Transactions in POS System
With POS
systems, one can track and calculate order tickets, process payments through
debit and credit cards, complete cash exchanges and print receipts. In the
average sales report, you can get average sales, checkout amount and total
number of customers. You can also create reports of sales trends from POS
system, like sale of alcohol or desserts in a restaurant with time and the
performance reports of the sales by employee, shift or workstation. This data
can be used to analyze sales history and adjust the decisions related to
purchases.