Whether your business deals in high transaction volumes or only modest sales figures, its point-of-sale (POS) system can be critical in guaranteeing that every purchase commitment results in revenues. POS systems that are too tricky to set up or are difficult for customers to navigate can result in regrettably lost sales and a poor overall buying experience.
Knowing that investing in a modern POS system that addresses real customer needs is something you’ll want to integrate as soon as possible.
A Cluttered Market for POS Systems
In recent years, however, the market for POS systems has become cluttered due to the sheer diversity of business needs. Quite often, many available solutions will work adequately but fail to help a business live up to its true potential, particularly in the face of shifting consumer preferences and market environments.
Fortunately, finding an effective POS solution is straightforward once you know the features you need to look out for. Watch out for these features when you shop around for your next payment solutions:
-
Cloud-Based Functionality
Digital transformation has meant that even small businesses can often operate from virtually anywhere, with even small operations now having multiple sales channels, warehouses, and manufacturing locations to more cost-effectively meet various goals. In these cases, a cloud-based POS system will be vital for permitting seamless access to data wherever key decision-makers are located.
A fully cloud-based or hybrid setup should allow businesses to facilitate sales and transfer critical sales data from anywhere, leading to more efficient, well-integrated operations.
-
Mobile Accessibility
Apart from basic cloud access, modern POS systems should also be accessible and simple to use on smartphones, tablets, and laptops to allow decision-makers to view and act on sales data while they’re on the go.
Extra mobility will also allow employees to assist customers from anywhere in the store, reducing wait times and improving the overall shopping experience in brick-and-mortar retail. Food service establishments can also use this capability to facilitate payments at customers’ tables, permitting more secure and flexible digital transactions.
-
Integrated Payment Processing
A POS system that supports multiple payment methods like credit/debit cards, mobile payments, and digital wallets are a must-have for diverse payment markets like the Philippines. Smooth integration with payment processors ensures fast, secure transactions and reduces the need for costly third-party services that raise your transaction costs.
-
Inventory Management
An advanced POS system with cloud functionality should permit real-time inventory management features that track stock levels, automatically reordering products when they are low, and provide analysts with timely and detailed reports on inventory turnover.
This functionality can make your POS system a critical tool in avoiding stockouts and help do away with the need to order excessive safety stock for all your locations.
-
Sales Reporting and Analytics
As alluded to in the previous point, a good POS system should have good reporting functionality that aids analysts in creating good reports on the fly. Detailed, timely, and easy-to-digest sales reporting will make it simpler for you and other stakeholders to make calculated business decisions.
If your business is reliant on investment funding, this reporting functionality can be a make-or-break feature that determines whether or not investors understand the value of your business.
-
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Marketing Functions
While they are separate departments in most organizations, sales, marketing, and CRM are always intertwined in some way. A POS that integrates with your marketing and CRM systems can help your business’s customer-facing departments move as one entity, allowing it to develop a coherent customer journey at every potential touchpoint. With proper management, such systems can help build strong customer relationships, encouraging repeat business and reducing the cost to facilitate each sale.
-
Employee Management
For retail and commission-based businesses, POS systems should include tools for managing employee schedules, tracking hours worked, and monitoring sales performance. When integrated into your organization’s HR system, your POS can become a tool for improving accountability and efficiency within your sales force.
-
Scalability
Lastly, as your business grows, your POS system should have the bandwidth and performance to scale with it. Any POS solution you shortlist must include the ability to add new locations, products, and services without requiring a complete overhaul of your existing system. Fortunately, new generations of cloud-based POS systems make expansion as simple as switching up your subscription plan.
Prepare for the Digital Age with a Future-Ready POS
Whether you ultimately go with a bespoke POS system or one part of a larger enterprise resource planning (ERP) suite, these are the must-have features you need to have. With all these elements in place, you can be sure that your business will be fully capable of taking on the payment challenges brought on by today’s digitally transformed markets.
