A working POS system is one of the most important tools needed by every retailer. This single technology can serve many purposes and yield an increased productivity.
You can track your inventory, provide insight about your business operations and process credit card payments. There are also other management features which you will see later in the article. The ability to complete the above tasks and many more with a device helps you run your business smooth and save costs as well.
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Owning a good POS system will enable you integrate multiple sections of your business into a single interface. This article is aimed at helping you discover unique ways by which the POS technology can help you manage your retail store effectively.
Online Management
With the technology advancements that has dominated the recent world, having both a physical and online presence is important for any business that wants be make sales and be in profit. Customers will always take a look at what you have in stock before coming to your store or they can easily place their order online.
To have an increased online presence and scale up your business, the POS technology offers online sales management and multichannel transaction platform benefits. They both work hand-in-hand; the online sales management gives you the flexibility to regulate e-commerce effectively whereas the multichannel transaction platform allows you to sell your products to customers everywhere, be it on social media, mobile application or in-store.
POS technology can function on various platforms and can be used to make a business thrive online. Managing every sales channel in your business is quite labor-intensive, the invention of POS has made things easier for business owners.
Inventory Management
Your online POS inventory system allows you to track your inventory in real time. This is good way to check theft and pilfering in your store. When you sync your business orders with in-store and online purchases, you can easily track your supply level. The POS technology gives a stock reporting that shows the price at which the products are selling and give a prediction on when they will be out of stock.
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The algorithm also put the lead time of the supplier into consideration. Stores have become more organized and streamlined to a particular niche but they have been able to generate more revenue. The ability of this technology to track inventory has helped business to save cost and avoid making mistakes while placing orders with a supplier.
Employee Management
Sales and supply chain management are not the only ways the POS technology helps to boost businesses. You can also use the POS system to manage employee productivity. Business owners who have stores in various locations utilize this system to track employee use. It is used to monitor sales, item scan per minute and voids. This technology helps you to prevent losses. Tracking employee productivity is an effective way of maintaining a financially secure and sound working environment.
For small businesses, being able to manage employee and monitor sales closely produces an effective manpower. The manufacturers have also equipped the system with in-built timeclocks, security management and employee sales information.
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Some of the devices allow the business owner to set permissions for different subordinates giving their role or individual ability. Being able to monitor and manage workers’ access to different sectors of the business ensures that operations are run securely and smoothly. This helps to curb mismanagement.
Third-Party Software Integrations
Owning a POS device that allows you to integrate other software can aid you in managing your customers easily. And you not necessarily have to introduce a new production process to accommodate any new program.
The new third-party software you adopt will enable you add functions like offering targeted promotions, recording customer information and maintaining loyalty programs. Some of the devices have in-built CRM features and others offer series of software that ensures the smooth running of your business. Third party POS is specially evident in Hotel POS Systems.
In an interview with Ben Adler, CEO of Rebicycle, the said that his company uses Lightspeed, an E-Commerce and POS software and third-party scheduling application called Booxi to customize bikes. He stated the software integrated effortlessly. This enables Adler to record customers’ orders without documenting it numerous times.
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When a client books an appointment on Booxi and comes to the store, their customer’s information is in the database, so they know the services they are coming for. All that is needed at this point is to create a work order on Lightspeed with the information already given by the client. With this, the company can easily make a quote.
Credit Card Processing
This is another vital feature to look out for while choosing a POS system. It is best to purchase a POS system that is compatible with multiple credit card processors. It should be able to give you the flexibility of switching processors and comparing rates if need be. This could come in handy when a processor develops issues; at least you can switch services.
Purchasing POS systems that offer processor compatibility is more cost effective than those that offer in-house processing services. If you operating the latter, you will have bigger problems when the processor has any faults. This is because you will have to replace both the processor and the POS system. If you have a POS system which can process credit cards, accepting customer payments will be an easy task.
Reporting Tools
These tools are important for merchants operating retail POS systems. Retailers should also be able to see their best-selling products and the ones that do not drive much sales. Keeping a track of product movements and hourly transactions will help you make informed decisions while purchasing products.
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You will get to know how well your promotions convert, your most efficient salespeople and top clients. This technology also helps you know your customer buying trends. You can identify the busy and slow buying seasons; with this, you can optimize your staffing levels. They feature specific timeframes which help you narrow down your search specifics.
Conclusion
Owning a retail store comes with its peculiar challenges but integrating some modern age technology can help you run your store with optimum efficiency. The POS technology is one of the trends to adopt because of its tremendous benefits.
