What You Need To Know Before You Buy A P.O.S. (Point of Sale System)

17 Jul What You Need To Know Before You Buy A P.O.S. (Point of Sale System)

Point of Sale Systems

What should a point of sale system do for you?  Well the answer is simple.  It should do anything you want it to.  The real question is what can you afford for it to do.  Point of sale systems can be as simple and basic or as complex as you can imagine.  What you are paying for isn’t a screen, key board, and hardware.  What you pay for is system capability and support.

When looking at POS systems you should do some internal evaluation first.  A great tool is this retail-pos-system-needs-analysis questionaire from RetailSystems.com.  This will help you decide what you need such as on account sales capability, scanner, inventory, multiple sales tax types etc.  Once you use the questionnaire you then need to think budget. With a list of features you need and a list of features you don’t and a budget in hand it is know time to go shopping.

• The main thing you pay for in a P.O.S. system is the reporting capability.  Look at your list of items you need and things you are trying to capture.While shopping be sure to request copies of the reports. See what information is going to look like.  How easy is it to understand.  Is it giving you the information you need?
• What is their training like?  Will they train you and staff how to use it?  Are their videos for you to watch after?
• What is the support program like? Is the support plan affordable?  What does it include? Will their support be available when you are operating? If you are a restaurant open until 11 p.m. and the support line closes at 6 p.m. what happens when your P.O.S. system goes down in the middle of dinner service?
• Are there service providers familiar with your system in your area?  Is there a tech team capable of fixing problems for you that can get to you within a reasonable period of time?