POS software is a technical tool used by brick and mortar stores to conduct sales. It is a modern version of the ubiquitous cash register.
The main aim of a cash register is to process sales. By the end of the day, it can indicate what has been sold and the revenue you have garnered. This data is then transferred manually to stock lists and accounts.
A POS (Point of Sale) system is much more advanced. It is set up with software, which can link to other networks. Thus, they can store extensive data about clients and stocks- electronically and instantly. Another benefit of the POS system in comparison to the cash register is that it permits attachment of a scanner to facilitate billing. Also, the sales get accurately recorded in business accounting software once POS software is fully integrated.
There are several reasons for a business to make use of a POS instead of a conventional cash register. Following are some of the advantages:
Improvement in Efficiency
This is a major advantage experienced by the employee of the shop as she takes care of the billing of goods sold and has direct contact with customers.
The fact is a POS system can enhance the confidence of users in a variety of ways. For example, they would not have to spend time in memorizing prices of products or do manual inputting of data like they would do in case of a cash register.
This will help them be courteous to customers, which may help your company build up a base of loyal customers who love to interact with a friendly sales staff.
Reducing Error Rate
Also, another major benefit is that while errors made using cash registers are a cause of much headache, errors in POS systems can be corrected with a few clicks.
The error rate for both systems is also very different. Statistics point out that manual inputting of data via cash register can cause one mistake per 300 characters typed, in case of POS system, the error rate is one per 15000 to 36 trillion characters of barcodes scanned.
This helps boost the confidence of staff as well as save the company money in case staff have made mistakes and undercharged customers.
Also, while it takes around 6 seconds to input an item’s data in a cash register, scanning of data using barcodes via Point of Salessoftwaretakes only 0.3 seconds.
This speeding up of the process of the transactionnot only makes life easy for staff butalso ensures a more efficient, faster turnover, thus boosting the productivity of company in the long run.
Easy Management of Stock
Conventional approaches to management of stock needstore owners to physically review on a regular basis their current level of stock. Thus, it can be a time consuming and painstaking task, particularly for big businesses.
But, modern POS systems help in the scanning of all stock upon delivery and enter the details in a digital database. Managers can hence review their overall stock levels in an instant and make accurate decisions of purchasing.
Accurate Reporting Of Data
The POS systems also provide managers access to several customizable reports. Such reports can feature crucial information like daily intakes and out-goings as well as an overall picture of the success of their business. Reports can also help in studying seasonal trends in sales and variations in demand.
In sum, investing in a POS system is one crucial business decision that can boost the fortunes of your business. Though initial costs may be higher than a cash register, yet the benefits to you can snowball in the long run.
