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What are POS Systems?

POS stands for Point Of Sale.

This is a rather wide definition which includes merchandising aids, displays and the methods used to enable transactions.

Here, we will be talking about the hardware and software that runs your business from the operations at the front counter to your back office.

For a small craft store, their basic POS system would consist of a computer, cash register that may or may not come with a built-in cash drawer, receipt printer and a reliabe POS software. A service organization, like a lawn care company, doesn’t need a cash drawer or a receipt printer.

But they they may want to use a laser printer for their service invoices.

Again, you can easily customize a POS system for your particular needs.

The core of any Retail POS system is the computer running the POS software.

We do understand that there’s a temptation of using older computers or even the low cost computer models available at “superstores”.

But keep in mind, if you use this from the start, your business will be depending on this equipment, so a good quality computer is important. 

If you want to have high quality use a custom built POS system, branded parts you can rely on it for many years!

The same advice goes for all the other POS components.

A basic cash drawer can get the job done, but the heavy duty models really are built better and will last longer.

A CCD barcode scanner is more reliable than the old pencil type wands, but they’re still designed to work with flat, easy to read barcodes.

About laser scanners, they not only have a greater range, but they can also scan barcodes on wrap around bottles, bags or follow irregular shapes much better than the CCD models.

Like barcode scanners, the printer technology is also improving. The workhorse of the industry is used to be a dot-matrix printer, and they’re still fairly popular, but thermal printers are faster, quieter and reasonably priced.

Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS’s), or battery back-ups, are affordable and can keep you up and running during power glitches or short outages. Remember, your business will be depending on this equipment. If you plan to use it a lot, you may spend some extra bucks to get the heavy duty UPS models and units.

A retail POS system does not only give you control over your transactions, it also puts a wealth of info at your finger tips.

Imagine being able to compare year to date and month to date sales with just a few keystrokes. You’ll begin to reliaze that a database of your customers’ info can be a powerful tool to boost your sales.

Easily track inventory list, automatic creation of order lists and adjusting quantities based on demands are just a few of what a retail POS system can do for your business.

Al in all, a POS system helps you keep a constant eye on your bottom line.

For more information to help you choose the right retail point of sale system provider visit Retail-POS-Solutions and you will receive information on a system designed for your specific business and retail business needs.

The author of this article is a retail POS sytem professional who has been counseling businesses of all sizes from single locations to national chains for over 20 years.

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Retail POS System Overview

Since retail POS systems is a very important part of your business, choosing a POS dealer is a big decision – greater in many ways than the actual hardware and software choices. Price can be an issue, but in many cases you get what you pay for, so it is neccessary to do your research before picking a POS dealer. We have some info that will surely help you make sure if your retail POS dealer is capable of proving exactly what you need, as well as being dedicated in supporting your business.

Support

As discussed here, customer support is critical for the success of a POS installation. So, you have make sure you know exactly how your POS dealer provide you in terms of response times, replacements, and phone support. This is the single important aspect when planning to purchase POS systems.

POS Installtion

Quality POS systems installation can have lasting effects which will benefit your business for a a long period of time. Qualified installers will not take a standardized approach to installation: they analyze your needs, test your existing infrastructure, which also includes the power lines, and they make sure you get a system that exactly matches your needs. The first week or two of using a POS system will determine whether it work right or not, so a well-tested installation is important. You can ask how often the POS dealer will be on site during and after your launch – only after the system is running, or will they come back to check in and answer possible problems that may arise?

Experiencing POS

As with any major business purchase, potential vendors’ experience in the industry is also important. However with POS systems you can go at a greater extent: research the experience of the vendor has in providing systems to other companies same as with your business. internet cafe’s differ in needs with grocery stores, and a quick-service food chain varies considerably from a sit-down sushi restaurant. Good POS salespeople will definitely ask you about your business, what your business needs, then supply you with a solution that is appropriate for you.

Facilities

Taking a trip to POS dealers’ facilities can be a great way to get familiarized with their operation. You’ll be able to visit their workshop and check out how they work. You may want to ask for an organizational chart or a simple tour of their help desk. When it comes to your support needs, proximity may or may not be important to you – if you’re planning to rely on telephone support and shipping components back for repair, it will not matter, but if you expect field technicians to come to you, distance from the vendor can be a hassle.

System Demonstrations

To make sure how the system operates, nothing works best than trying it for yourself. Some POS vendors do live demos, which gives you the added advantage of seeing how the hardware looks in your location. Others will invite you to try the system at their place, which gives you that quick tour at their facilities we’ve discussed earlier. Either way, an in-person demo is strongly recommended if you are not knowledgeable with a POS system.

References

Another well known way to investigate POS dealers for your business is by simply asking for references to other customers – youhave to make sure that you ask for references with the same business line as yours. As expected, you will be referred to the vendor’s most satisfied customers, but you will still be able to learn a bit from them. Below are some sample questions you may want ask the references:

• How did POS systems enhanced your business?

• What would you want to be done differently with your POS system?

• Any support or repairs you’ve made? How did the vendor respond?

• Do you know of any one else who uses this system? — By this you can get additional references you can call who may be more honest in their advices.

Never be afraid to ask for a reference that dislikes the dealer, as well. Every business has unsatisfied customers from time to time, and you could also learn from them.

Return policies

Most manufacturers have warranties that allows you to get repairs or replacements for any equipment malfunctions, but returning equipment is more difficult. Many POS dealers charge expensive restocking fees (0 and up) for returns on complete systems; while some vendors only allows you to exchange individual pieces of hardware for others, but some do not accept returns at all. Again, make sure you understood their policies before you sign a contract.

How can you find the right retail Point of Sale system provider for your business?

Here’s a convenient way to receive multiple quotes for retail Point of Sale (POS) systems available on the web at: Retail-POS-Solutions.com

The author of this article is a retail POS system expert with over 20 years experience serving the needs of thousands of businesses just like yours.

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Are you in the process of looking at a new computer system? Regardless of whether you are looking at a system for your office or retail business, there are a couple of things you must keep in mind when installing systems that will handle all your critical data and help you operate your business.

1. Network cabling. The majority of systems are PC-based, designed to run on MS Windows technology. This means that the workstations and peripherals most likely will communicate over standard Ethernet networking. Although wireless communications have been the talk of the town these days, it is still highly recommended to “hardwire” your computer stations. Some vendors include this service in their bid; others specify that cabling must be arranged with a third-party vendor.

In spite of who will work on the cabling, all must be properly plugged and tested before installing any equipment. Each peripheral will be needing a cable drop. A cable drop is the wiring between a computer and its Ethernet transceiver.

For POS systems, the retail business should be wired with CAT 5 or 6 network cabling that runs from every conceivable POS workstation, remote printer or KDS, office computer, hostess station, delivery order desks, cashier stations and network server to a “home run” area such as a central patch panel, preferably located in your telephone or electrical room or closet. Cabling routes need to ensure that cables are at least 24 inches from fluorescent fixtures, neon transformers and electrical motors, as these devices can cause communications interference.

2. Electrical. Installing a dedicated and isolated circuits for your equipmments such as your POS computers, network devices such as hubs and routers, and phone systems that can share. No other equipment should be on the same breaker switch. Preferably, your network, phone, and electrical service will be near one another. An isolated circuit means that the circuit has a ground separate from that of the main electrical service. This helps prevent spikes and surges that may damage motherboards and hard drives. Note, however, that you’ll still want to use surge protectors at each workstation.

3. Properly designed workspace. When designing workstation areas, be sure to leave some extra space to comfortably fit all needed equipments there. A flat roomy space for server stations should be large enough to hold a computer monitor, guest check printer, and possibly a credit card terminal if you plan to use separate credit card equipment. There should be enough space directly underneath the tabletop to hold the computer, surge protector, power strip and a battery backup (UPS).

If you plan to place your workstations on mill-manufactured top such as granite or woodwork, have your contractor pre-drill holes where to run cables or power cords beneath the surface. A 2-inch hole should give sufficient space for cords and cables on most POS systems.

For the cashier and bartender stations, the tabletop space should also be ample enough to perfectly fit a cash drawer and an order confirmation customer display. Most cash drawers have a footprint (space requirement) of 15- to 17-inch depth; 16- to 20-inch width; and 3.5- to 4-inch height. So better make sure you get the drawer specifications from your supplier in advance if you are building a custom countertop for your drawer to fit perfectly in.

4. Maintenance Plans. Many vendors may offer some type of service plan as part of your original purchase. The fact is, business grade systems are composed of hardware that are not built to last forever especially in retail establishments like a retail business. Printers will eventually break, fans will slowl fail, and hard drives will crash. How often depends on the environment that the retail POS system operates. Dirt, dust, heat and moisture are not friendly allies to office and restaurant POS equipment.

I’ve seen some systems that rarely experience problems while others deal with them constantly. The best thing an operator can do is to invest in good equipment and then protect that investment by maintaining it. Many retail business POS solutions provider will offer ongoing service plans that are basically extended warranties. The annual cost for these services usually ranges from 10% to 20% of the original purchase price.

A retail POS system represents a large investment. But if you set a time to make sure that the above steps are included in your checklist, then you are more apt to be rewarded a return on your investment by getting the most from your system in cost reduction, labor savings, and ensuring that you can account for all cash.

The Author is the Vice President of Customer Relations at Retail-POS-Solutions.com. With almost 25 years of retail business experience, Retail POS Solutions.com helps ensure that your technology is more efficient and your business more profitable.

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Your choice in a retail point of sale system is critical to the success, stability as well as the quality of your business. A central system where everything in your business revolves. You should have confidence in – and receive performance from – the system that’s responsible for all transactions, managing your inventory and every other action in your supply chain and tracking.

Let’s discuss some of the important questions you should be asking yourself when choosing a Retail System:

What Type Of Business You Own?

There are two categories of Point of Sale systems: The Restaruant/Hospitality and Retail. Restaurants are slightly of a different breed – what we are going to discuss is Retail POS Systems.

At the retail part, pricing on Point Of Sale Systems can range anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a couple of tens of thousands of dollars. There are POS systems customized for every type of business under the sun, from small Gift shops and Self-Service Kiosks to Convenient Stores and Bike Shops.

There’s a lot of custom features that are great BUT: the most important feature of your retail system is that it’s easy to use. What good can a custom feature if it’s too complicated or buried among so many other features that you can’t find it? Business owners are choosing a much simpler, stream-lined retail POS systems that focuses on the fundamentals and deliver them perfectly. This is why more and more entrepreneurs uses web based point of sale systems to meet their retail computer needs.

Choosing for the right POS computer & software

Still thinking whether to use Windows, Mac OS X or Linux? You’ll find great POS Systems that are equally powerful on any of these platforms, so that you may choose whichever you’re familiar with.

Years ago, POS systems were typically installed on business computers as software packages, much like MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint that come as packaged on Windows computers. Unfortunately, software based POS Systems have many problems and is exposed to vulnerabilities that several small and medium sized business have found worrisome.

How about software updates? What will I do if my computer breaks? How do I backup all my business files? What if the operating system needs patches or vulnerabilities have emerged in the operating system or software?

For business owners, afterall, you shouldn’t have to deal with these questions, why invest on POS systems that leads you to worse situations and even creates more problems for you? Web based retail systems are solving these problems for many small retailers.

Using Web-Based Retail Systems:

• It automatically add and update features and do software patches. You’ll never have to deal with software updates, downloads and changes. Someone else does this job for you.
• Because this POS solution is web based, you can access your inventory from any computer in the world with an internet connection. A computer that breaks becomes less of a problem.
• What are you going to do if your computer had a breakdown and it cannot be fixed? Using a web based POS can easily be recovered even if your actual computer crashes}.

Do You Have a Dedicated Retail IT Department?

Probably not! What small business can afford dedicating employees solely to fix their computers?

When something bad happens with your system, how long can you endure your business shut down its operation? How long will it take you to lay down your problems via telephone conversations or e-mail? How long will it take for an IT professional to arrive to fix your POS System?

That’s one one great feature of a web based POS system – the IT experts can log into your system and fix the problem for you. This alleviates many of the support problems inherent of typical desktop software based point of sale systems.

POS Packages or By Parts?

If you’re going to implement POS systems to your newly established retail business for the first time, you can buy a package that that has every parts and components you’ll need to be able to start immediately… from your computer to your barcode scanners and printers. You can realize great discounts for buying an all-inclusive bundle and for most entrepreneurs, this is the best idea.

Other businesses may have existing hardware they’d like to use with their new system. Or, they may be cost conscious companies that are would want to achieve affordability through the purchase of renewed hardware and use of existing hardware.

So What’s The Right Choice to Make?

While companies seeking POS Systems are typically looking for customized hardware and traditional software bundles, small and medium sized businesses “in the know” would prefer a web based POS solutions for their flexibility, affordability and overall ability to deliver complete and accurate results.

Want to have a qualified retail specialist discuss your needs?

More details can be found at Retail-POS-Solutions.com

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A Restaurant Point of Sale (or Point of Service) could be any POS terminal, hardware and software combined like an electronic cash register, used to process a transaction. A restaurant has many factors which makes the whole business function effectively. A POS terminal is used to secure customer payment as well as accelerate the sales transaction. Point of Sale means the transaction point, any location within a retail establishment where transaction occurs.

For a restaurant, there are lots of moving parts that’s involved for it’s performance. Having a restaurant POS system for managing staff attendance and performance, the inventory system, accounting and customers’ transaction information, helps any retail business owner improve business performance. How? A restaurant POS software has powerful features that can ensure the safety of your profit, and better employee and customer management.

Satisfying Customers To Increase Profit

Customer satisfaction is an important factor for any restaurants, bars, casinos, hotels and convenient stores, meeting your customers’ expectations can increase customer return, wich will definitely increase your profit. Repeat customers are your most profitable as they are more likely to recommend your business to others! So your job, as the owner, is to make sure your employees are giving orders accurately, providing assistance to customers and make an overall good performance all the time. With the use of a restaurant POS software, the ones with touch screen technology, decreases ordering time by 50% and increases ordering accuracy.

Because the goal of increasing profit, many retail point of sale vendors have developed systems that when combined can produce excellent results like the POS systems that enables you to integrate your accounting software such as QuickBooks and Peachtree. With a POS software like these, you can rest assured that all your financial data will always be up-to-date, accurate and can even print sales report on any POS terminal just with the touch of a button!

Improving inventory management is really difficult. Manual handling and updating of your inventory can be a lot of hassle, it’s both time consuming and costly. Install a proper POS software that can help accelerate inventory management, you will see and increase in efficiency with its advance management features, you can enter any information with the items as well, such as purchase date or date of expiry, you will never have to back to manual again.

Proper ordering system. Placing an order should have the right timing, order too late  and you will run out of an item, while ordering too soon risks an item going bad. Installing automated inventory management enables you to increase the efficiency of your products orders, set a special alert to notify you and your staff when you’re about to run out of products and the ones that needs immediate re-ordering, as well as set notification when expiration dates are nearing. So if your restaurant still doesn’t have a inventory management installed as part of your POS system the time is NOW to do so.

Good Restaurant POS Solutions Fights Leakage

Decrease shrinkage up to 10% by having a good restaurant POS solution to back you up. Since all data is digitally recorded, you can easily view reports, see every sales transaction made by your employees, and check if it’s accurate. By this, you are assured when it comes to the safety of your profit and can easily investigate profit loss.

The information I gave you is just the beginning of what a restaurant POS systems is and the advantages of having a POS software installed. Get advice and do your research online before making your final decision on any POS system since it making the WRONG decision can cost you in the long run. When in doubt, you may go online and request for a free POS system quote before buying any POS terminal from your local supplier.

For more information or to have a local POS professional serving the restaurant industry in your area help you go to POS-For-Restaurants.com

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