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POS System

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If you’re thinking of adding a delivery service to your retail store or restaurant, it’s important to remember that your POS may not be set up yet for such extras. This is easily remedied, however, with these simple tips on getting your POS delivery-ready. Keep reading to learn how to best prepare your system for the transition.

Decide on Your Rates

First and foremost, you’ll need to decide on what rates you’ll be charging for your services. Are you going to offer free or discounted delivery for orders above a certain dollar amount, or one flat-rate for all deliveries? Once you’ve decided what to charge customers for the service, you can program the new services to your POS system.

Rates can vary based on distance, and you’ll want to decide what your max delivery area is as well. You’ll likely have no shortage of out-of-area customers requesting delivery once you add the service, so it’s important to define the delivery area on your website.

Account for the Extra Labor

You’re likely going to incur extra labor costs with a delivery service. You’ll want to account for these extra costs when you set your delivery charge. You’ll also want to decide if you’re reimbursing your drivers for mileage or not (this is pretty standard with delivery services).

These extra costs, while adding a premium service to your business, can also increase your costs as well.

Most POS systems have easy-to-use tools from which you can set pricing and keep track of sales and services. The best POS software for android is vend HQ, with some of the best tools in the business.

Whether you’re a retail store adding delivery services to increase your brand awareness or a new restaurant looking to expand your reach, Vend has everything you need to get started.

While many POS systems only offer platform-specific software, Vend can be used on pretty much any pre-existing hardware there is. This makes it versatile and efficient, and the perfect option for both startups and established brands alike.

Use Your Data for Improved Function

Your POS system will come equipped with powerful analytics tools that you can use to observe the impact your delivery services have on your business.

From daily, weekly, and monthly sales reports to individualized item reports, POS systems can help you streamline every aspect of your business and your new services.

Don’t underestimate the power of data; it’s the best tool you have at your disposal for increasing your operations and identifying problem areas. Data also helps boost your marketing efforts, making them reach further and with improved accuracy.

You’ll be able to collect customer information, send promotions, and build a comprehensive database of your customers’ preferences and favorite items. You can even add gift cards and a loyalty program to certain POS systems.

Add Mobile Terminals

Mobile terminals will make it easier for your delivery customers to pay their bill and add tips during their delivery. POS software will work with most mobile devices unless they’re iPad-specific. Mobility makes for greater convenience and a better customer experience.

BOPIS

Buy online pick-up in-store is something that many major retailers have started offering in recent years. Rather than pay expensive shipping fees, some customers choose to combine the convenience of online payments with the ease of in-store shopping.

This option can easily be integrated into your POS system, but you may need to manually enter an option to pull items from stock to hold for a certain period of time.

Your customers will love a BOPIS system for the simple fact that they won’t have to shop around the store for what they need. Shopping from the comfort of their own home, they’ll feel more at ease and more likely to add extra items to their order(s).

Why POS Systems Are Essential

Besides simple payment processing, POS systems offer an effective lineup of business-changing tools; from inventory management and organization to employee management to marketing tools and customer databases.

As payment methods continue to grow and change, a good POS system becomes an essential component of any business.

The ability to accept multiple payment methods will help put you ahead of the competition and ensure that no matter what method your customer brings to your store, you can accept it.

Whether you’re running an eCommerce platform, brick and mortar store, or both, having a reliable POS will help improve your overall efficiency and make for better organization within your business.

Conclusion

Offering delivery is a huge step-up for most businesses, but you’ll want to be certain your POS system and your team are ready for the change. These tips will help you prepare your business, your POS system, and you for the coming changes to ensure no efficiency or data is lost in the process.

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The critical moment of transaction processing can either provide signal advantages or result in lost opportunities, and in many cases this depends on the hardware system a business owner has selected. Point of Sale (POS) systems permit sellers to manage customer purchases, returns, discounts, and other terms of sale. These devices and their related software can also keep taps on inventory, prices, taxes, individual transaction details, and, of course, payment.

A whole range of POS systems are now available, and a quick tour of the capabilities they offer will benefit business owners who are in the market for a system, as well as those who just want to know what the competition may be installing.

What to Look For in a POS System That Will Look Out for You

shopify-systemThe “ye olde” cash register of days gone by has long since been succeeded by a few new generations of devices, and with every capping wave of new technology, new capabilities have been added. Certain of these devices will report transaction details to accounting software, rendering the inputs into that system automatic. Business owners in the market for a POS system may want to know if this feature is available, and if so, does it connect with accounting software that the business owner uses or would be willing to adopt.

Another issue that arises in selecting a POS system is whether it supports inventory management, and if so, does it permit integration of online and brick-and-mortar retail operations? The Shopify POS system is one that is particularly well-suited to this purpose. According to eMarketer.com, only a small fraction of current retailers are effective at monitoring their business across their in store and online channels. A competitive advantage awaits those retailers who are the first to achieve this critical integration of sales, supply and inventory management. This is essentially low-hanging fruit, and it will be plucked by those early adaptors who are the most strategic in incorporating systems that permit such cross-channel integration.

Turnkey Solution or Cut-and-Paste

Many of these systems are sold as a turnkey solution, containing all the hardware and software required to process sales. The list can be long; data entry touchscreens, printers, scanners, a credit card reader, and associated software. POS systems can also be integrated with credit card hardware, but they are not strictly needed for credit card transactions, as numerous alternatives exist for that function. The people at possoftwareguide.com warn that confirming software and hardware compatibility before any purchase is a must.

According to Idealware.org, some of the well-known tax software firms offer POS solutions that, of course, integrate smoothly with accounting systems, but that also offer inventory management and other additional functions.

POS systems are usually sold on a per-license basis, with additional charges for hardware, and several levels of functionality based on the complexity of the client’s business. Some solutions have been developed specifically for individual retail stores, with correspondingly lower price points, while others are designed to serve multiple retail locations that provide a window into operations for all-seeing management to peer into.

Specialized Systems for Specialized Operations

Even if you are operating a museum, a theater, a non-profit organization, or some other slightly out-of-the-ordinary concern, there are POS systems that have been designed with your specific needs in mind. Organizations that are not purely commercial will often require software and hardware solutions customized to handle transactions that do not perfectly fit the commercial template. There are even solutions that are cloud-based, and others that utilize open sourcing for clients who have the software development talent required to take advantage of such systems.

Matching Their Solutions to Your Goals

Savvy business operators, in encountering the varied landscape of POS solution, will benefit by formulating the questions that are relevant to their specific business. What are your goals and expectations concerning the software and hardware that you intend to incorporate into your operations as the electronic backbone to your business? What degree of reporting do you wish to maintain? Will this extend all the way to your supply chain, or will it focus primarily on sales transactions, purchase orders and inventory? Are you pursuing cross-channel integration in the manner that many businesses today are focused on? Will the system you choose provide inputs to, and be compatible with, your accounting software? Are you willing to shift your accounting software to permit such integration? Are you ready to install new hardware, or are you seeking a system that will work with the hardware you now have?

Once you have the answers to these questions, and others that no doubt are specific to your operation, the selection of a POS system that suits your needs will become that much clearer.

And once you have found the system that’s right for your business, the advantages of having an advanced POS solution, in increased visibility of operations, real-time inventory and sales management, and in simply being liberated by clear and complete information to go out and interact more with customers, will become clear. The right technology really will set you free.