How POS Can Help a Small Business?
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Customers |
Point of Sale |
Stock (Inventory) Control |

9/3/2019
How POS Can Help a Small Business?
A Point of Sale
(POS) system, also known as a Point of Purchase (POP) system, can be an
invaluable tool for a small business. At its basic level, a POS system
helps a small business manage the check-out process when interacting
with a customer at the point of sale- but its benefits go far and
beyond a simple transaction at the cashier! It can enhance your
relationship with your customer and add invaluable benefits to the
management of your business.
Seamless Purchase Process
The
most obvious benefit of a well-functioning POS system is a seamless
transaction process for the customer and merchant. The ability to scan barcodes,
generate detailed invoices and receipts at the point of purchase, makes
a POS system a great step forward from the simple cash register. Your
customers have efficient clarity on price and have all the documentation
for their purchase easily to hand. You, the merchant, have an accurate
record of the correct system price (gone are the outdated and incorrect
price labels!), an accurate record of the stock item purchased as well
as the payment method and cash received. It takes away the headache of
the end-of-day cash up and gives you a live system with which to monitor
your day’s progress at the till. Another advantage of POS systems is
the ability to manage price. Not only from an accuracy point of view-
but a POS system opens up the opportunity to run discount programs
easily, as well as allowing you to run customer loyalty programs should
you so wish.
Inventory Management/Stock Control
But that
is simply the tip of the iceberg of a good POS system. Most good POS
systems come with some sort of stock control functionality (also called inventory management).
This allows a real-time adjustment to stock levels as purchases are
made and stock leaves the floor. Advanced POS systems can handle a
multitude of stock-keeping units (SKU’s) while others have more limited
SKU management. However, the management of stock-on-hand is a key
feature of POS systems that assists in better control of your business
inventory levels, and better service to your customers with regards to
stock level visibility. A good POS system that feeds into inventory
management can provide important SKU information. The profitability of
your lines becomes much easier to assess with up-to-date POS data; and
it becomes far easier to assess pricing levels and the corresponding
rate of sale, in order to identify optimum prices levels. Purchase and
price patterns available in a good POS system assist greatly in
identifying the best time to order stock, as well as the optimum level
of stock to hold on each particular SKU.
Know Your Customer/CRM
Knowing
your customer is a powerful tool for any business, and a POS system is a
key point at which to get to know your customer better. POS systems
often allow you to update and access customer record files at the
purchase point, allowing you to identify your most important customers
and also identify, and therefore target, your customers’ unique buying
habits and needs there and then. CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
systems often link directly into your POS system, allowing you to use
POS information in your business planning as well as allowing your staff
to assist your customers in a personalised and professional manner.
Unique Employee Profiles
A
good POS system will also allow you to manage which employees have
access to what sort of information and tasks. You may wish for only a
manager to have the ability to reverse a sale, or for only your
supervisor to be able to run a particular report and have access to
certain information- and a POS system allows you that flexibility.
Customised user profiles allow you to design the tasks and information
access that certain levels of staff have, giving you even greater
control of your business.
Mobile POS
A POS system also
opens up a world of selling opportunities. With the introduction of
mobile devices- the point of purchase can be wherever your customer is!
Conventionally customers find what they want to purchase and then take
it to the cashier to pay. In the mobile world, this is changing fast.
Staff no longer need to wait for a customer to come to them- with a POS
system and a mobile scanner the cashier can go to them and assist with
the sale decision. What’s more, a good POS system will have extra
information (such as stock availability and lead time, and even customer
information) available to your staff that can act as powerful tools to
facilitate the sales process.
Gone are the days where a POS
system was simply a cash register upgrade. Today’s POS systems act as
invaluable conduits between you, your customer and powerful back-end
business management.
Omni Accounts ERP software offers POS (Point of Sale) functionality, which suits small businesses but can be easily scaled to incorporate more functionality as your business grows.
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