Once you understand your current and future needs, it’s a matter of comparison shopping until you find the system that offers the best combination of functionality and price. It’s a savvy move to pick a system that you can grow on for years to come. You’ll also want to consider future needs. The simplest approach is to take stock of the challenges you face and the business needs you’d like your POS system to satisfy. So, how does a business owner go about identifying the best POS system for small business? There are many POS vendors, with each offering an overlapping feature set. Selecting the best POS system for your small business can be a difficult choice. What is the best POS system for a small business? Customer marketing-Most POS software includes some basic marketing functionality like a CRM component, while also integrating with more powerful marketing tools.

Selling online-Today’s modern POS software often includes or integrates with an eCommerce platform, allowing you to sell online, while also syncing inventory and other data with your POS.

Reporting and analytics-These tools allow you to monitor sales data, uncover trends, track profitability and much more.

Inventory management-Whether it involves adding new stock, updating inventory levels or looking at your inventory turnover rate, inventory management is a major component of POS software.

Register-The register component is customer-facing and it’s where your staff actually rings up transactions for customers.

While there are many different vendors, most POS software does include some common functions.

POS software is the actual software application that runs on your tablet or computer. Barcode scanner-If you use barcodes in your retail shop, this scanner can read your codes, allowing you to ring up customers faster and more accurately.Kitchen display-Similar to a kitchen printer, this digital monitor allows you to display orders for your kitchen staff.These use ink and paper that can handle the high heat and humidity of kitchen environments. Kitchen printer-These allow you to send orders right to the kitchen where the staff can print them out for reference while making orders.Cash drawer-This is a part of your POS cash register set up, allowing you to store cash, receipts and other important documents during shifts.Card terminal-This piece of hardware allows you to accept electronic payments like credit and debit cards, as well as mobile payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay.However, some will also run from desktop computers.

Most modern POS systems run on iPads or Android tablets. It’s where you and your staff will interact with your POS day-to-day.

Tablet or computer-This is the device where your POS software is installed.

However, there will be some commonalities regardless of your industry. There will be some differences in the types of hardware your business needs depending on whether you run a retail or a hospitality business. POS hardware is a blanket term for the physical components of your POS system. Let’s break it down into the two main components of a POS system, POS hardware and POS software. The simplest way to understand a POS system is to think of it as a more modern cash register that can do so much more than just ring up customers. A point of sale (POS) system is a suite of software and hardware that gives businesses the ability to sell products and services, manage inventory, track sales performance, build customer relationships and much more.

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