These days, small vendors and organizations are eager to implement User Friendly POS in their business. This is because of the benefits that it has to offer. POS service is availed by several small retail entrepreneurs because of the facilities that it offers to run any kind of business. Also, the owner is able to run his business smoothly from any location and not necessarily within the confinements of his organization premises. When it comes to investing in a POS solution, care should be taken to consider certain things. This will help avoid wasting precious money on wrong products.
Steps involved to select and buy a POS software
· Determine specific needs of the business: Small, retail and hospitality businesses, bars and restaurants and other industries do make use of POS solutions. There are readily available varieties of POS software systems in the market. But it will be useful to know the type of solution that will suit the kind of business and buy accordingly. The POS software personalizing menu and makes price adjustments will suit restaurant business and is likely to be different from that of other retail businesses. Hence, knowing the business needs will help to choose the best one.
· Software & hardware requirements: Majority of the POS systems do not need much hardware. They are also found compatible with iPads, tablets and desktops. Certain solutions however, do demand use of specific software, which you need to be aware of, which includes the type of hardware needed, number of units necessary and software brand that are found compatible to allow smooth and proper business operation.
· Budget allocation: The fact is that one particular size is not likely to fit all needs. POS software pricing structure depends upon business size, complexity and type. Different specifications are desired by different business establishments like number of customers, stores, products, etc. It is based upon these requirements that the POS software needs to be installed. There is monthly rental on cloud-based POS. it will be also important to calculate monthly turnover, business size and the feasible amount to afford on the POS solution.
· Research: There is a genuine need to undertake adequate research on the different POS solutions available in the market to ensure that the hard earned money is properly invested and to get good returns. It will be wise to check out reviews of the solutions and shortlist those that are fit for the business, cost effective, highly reliable and efficient. One narrowed down, then select one that best fits the business needs.
· Arrange of software demo: The next step after narrowing down the list and researching is to contact the providers and ask them to show a demo to see how each of them functions and which ones meet the business specifications. Some software are found to not work as had desired or claimed by its creators. Hence, it will be a wise choice to see the software in real time functioning to understand better its pros and cons. There is a need to check its user interface, functionality and clock speed and test it thoroughly prior to finalizing its purchase. Also, the software needs to be user friendly and the concerned staff should find it easy to operate it with minimum training requirements. Its response time and speed is equally vital in real-life scenario. Moreover, transition to the new solution from the existing one is to be smooth and devoid of hurdles.
· Installation process: The last, but also the most vital step. Once the above checks have been performed and the software is found satisfactory to meet business requirements, it is high time to ensure proper and correct installation in the business environment. Setup process is likely to be depend upon chosen POS and the business size and type. The installation process might be overlooked by the POS vendor or provide step-by-step guidance. In case of doubt during such activity, the vendor should be easily reachable and have a well educated, highly trained, reliable and skilled IT support team to provide proper guidance through the installation process and to make it run smoothly.