Best Retail Pos System For Mac
If a retail business were trapped on a desert island, what one integrated software and hardware service would they bring? That’s right: a retail POS system.
What is POS Software? Although the acronym “POS” can have many meanings (just consult the Urban Dictionary), in our context, POS stands for Point Of Sale. In essence, the point of sale is the location where a customer carries out a transaction. It is the checkout stand.
Hey, we’re assuming the island has plenty of shoppers on it. A POS system is not only an essential part of running any successful store in today’s world, but it’s almost the only system business owners need.
Best Retail Pos System No Monthly Fees
Here’s everything you need to know about what to expect from a POS, why your retail store needs one, and which are the best retail POS vendors in today’s competitive market, that you can trust to deliver the features you need at a price that works. Why do you need a Retail POS System for your store? A POS doesn’t just help you accept cards (although it definitely should do that). The ultimate goal of any POS is to help a store cut its costs while boosting its sales.
It should help you accept cash, credit, and cardless payments, plus keep your products stocked, and all of your employees well aware of the latest changes and tweaks to your store. The POS system is a combination of software, often cloud-based and offered by a vendor through a monthly subscription, and hardware.
If you find the right POS for your business, it will more than pay for itself. It’ll propel your business into another level of success. Best Retail POS Software Features Certain core POS competencies are essential for a retail POS software. A handful of additional features, however, are still quite useful and can take your store to the next level. Here’s a list of the software abilities that the average retailer will find the most useful. • Sales management — A POS should make for a speedy checkout process, with every transaction logged down to the cent.
• Inventory management — This keeps an itemized inventory that updates after each sale, and may send email or text notifications to managers when an item begins running low. • Employee management — The right feature will create schedules, allow employees to log in and out, and track employee performance. • Reporting and analytics — Data collection allows you to build and save reports. Once a manager has enough information, trends and patterns will become clear, allowing managers to make more informed opinions about everything from which items to promote to which employees sell the fastest. • Loyalty programs — This feature allows you to offer discounts to returning customers or to create a functioning gift card program. • Marketing integrations — Some POS software will collect email addresses, building a list that can be used for marketing promotions or events in the future. The best POS software services can run temporarily while offline, come with a useful support team, and have intuitive interfaces that users can understand without a huge learning curve.
Retail POS System Hardware Accessories The need for hardware options depends on the type of POS system your business needs. If you’re a smaller location, one or two iPad tablets and a portable card reading device may be all you need. If you’re a large operation or an entire franchise, you’ll likely need multiple dedicated monitors, routers, stand-alone card readers, and receipt printers.
Here’s a quick rundown of possible hardware to consider. • Tablet — An iPad or Android tablet may be almost all you need. • Monitor — But if you want an over-the-counter touchscreen display, pick out a larger monitor. • Card readers for iPad — You can plug a quarter-sized card reader into an iPad jack, and some POS software services bundle them into their service plans. • Receipt printer — Many iPad POS software options will send an email receipt, making this a less essential hardware item. • iPad stands and docks — If you’re not toting your iPad around, you’ll want a dock, typically one that swivels to allow customers to sign.
• Self-Service Kiosk — To let customer check themselves out, you’ll need a large stand, monitor, receipt printer, and a countertop card reader. It’s pricey, but may save you money in the long term. Routers are also recommended for larger operations; they’ll keep your internet connection secure and stable. Best Retail POS Systems for 2018 POS systems can be designed for a wide variety of industries, though the top two most well-served are retail. Here we examine the best retail POS brands, ranked by overall quality and listed alongside their top features that can make a difference to your store’s operations and profit. Our picks for the ten best retail POS systems available: • • • • • • • • • • Continue scrolling for more detailed reviews of each restaurant POS vendor, or click on the names above to jump directly to the vendor you’re interested in.
