If you manage a business that conducts sales, you’ve probably at least considered the advantages of a Point-of-Sale system (POS), or most likely you’re already using one.
Brick and mortar shops have traditionally used conventional POS systems to facilitate the checkout process, collect payment from the customer, and log/print relevant receipt data. However, a recent wave of electronic Point-of-Sale (ePOS) systems has set a new standard for sales process management, combining the convenience of eCommerce, mobile device compatibility, and a software-based approach that’s vastly superior to the analogical hardware-based POS systems of the past.
With that said, here are 12 straightforward reasons why every company should consider upgrading to an ePOS:
1. Accepting the Widest Range of Payment Methods
With card swiping dongles making it easy for offline customers to slide their card anywhere, and online payment processing that can accept almost any form of payment, an ePOS can equip your company to collect payments from as many customers as possible. Want to accept foreign currencies, direct bank transfers, funds from a payment processing account? All of those possibilities are within reach using a versatile system like Vend POS or Shopify’s POS – see the following websites for more information https://www.vendhq.com/uk and https://www.shopify.com/pos/retail
Of course, the ability to accept more payment methods will directly translate to more sales because you won’t be losing any customers on this front.
2. Ability to Distribute and Accept Store Gift Cards
An ePOS can also position you to offer and accept virtual and physical gift cards that can be customised to your liking. This will increase the likelihood of return business and referrals because people will be practically obligated to spend the funds with your store after they’ve loaded the money onto one of your gift cards. Of course, gift-giving and sharing are also great for spreading brand advocacy and awareness.
3. Compatibility with Digital Shopping Carts
The best EPOS system for your business has a robust shopping cart system that customers use to select and pay for items. For businesses that conduct both offline and online sales, an ePOS can centralise online shopping cart data into the same interface that’s used to manage offline sales. Advanced ePOS solutions like Vend are designed to seamlessly integrate with the leading digital shopping carts for a streamlined customer experience that facilitates a high rate of satisfaction and loyalty.
4. Better Inventory Management
Instead of splitting inventory management into an entirely separate department, an ePOS continually updates this data in real-time as each purchase is made. In fact, the system can even be set to issue an alert notification when items are running low and need to be restocked. In this way, the ePOS can raise your bottom line by preventing a reduction in sales caused by out of stock inventory.
5. Accurate Accounting and Analysis
With more detailed inventory and receipt tracking built into the system, an ePOS allows for the utmost accuracy and consistency in your company’s accounting practices. Likewise, this data can also be used to enhance sales analysis, to spot discrepancies and opportunities for improvement. Plus, accounting data from all stores and sites can be displayed within a single administrative interface for an all-inclusive representation of your brand’s finances as a whole.
6. Pursuing Projected Sales Targets
Comprehensive ePOS systems like Vend also make it possible to set specific sales targets and objectives for stores and employees. You can track individual employee performance to identify your strongest and weakest links on your team, while also assessing overall store results on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Thus, these systems provide powerful goal-oriented initiatives and valuable insights that can be used as primary points of focus during corporate meetings and conferences.
7. Connecting the Management of Multiple Stores
Instead of having to merge databases and add up the revenue and other stats of each individual location, companies can use an ePOS to bring all of this information together under a single umbrella. A centralised sales management approach is ideal for any business that currently has multiple locations or plans on expanding in the near future. Likewise, companies that operate online stores in conjunction with a single offline location can also benefit from this functionality.
8. Simplifying Business Management Data
Corporate analysis is difficult enough without all of the fancy charts, graphs, and terminology, each of which come with their own learning curves. A well-rounded ePOS can drastically simplify administrative analysis by displaying data in easy-to-understand formats that help managers draw definitive conclusions without an extensive amount of manual effort. In this regard, ePOS systems are valuable tools for enhancing productivity and proficiency of managerial staff.
9. Flexible Reporting Capabilities
Generating sales reports is necessary not only to get a better look at the company’s recent progress and current obstacles, but also to impress potential investors, associates, partners, and stockholders. A good ePOS offers reporting capabilities that can be rendered on an end-of-day, weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. Alternatively, you can choose a custom time range to measure specific changes in relation to certain trends or influential company events. For example, you could generate a report centred around the amount of net profit earned during the course of a specific holiday sale.
10. Easy for Customers and Employees to Use
Although a conventional cash register or old-school POS isn’t exactly rocket science, they’re nowhere near as convenient as the touchscreen-based ePOS systems of today. In fact, managers and owners can even access the administrative side of an ePOS from their smartphone remotely anywhere there’s an internet connection. Plus, there are offline modes that allow data to be synced immediately when the system reconnects to the internet, making it possible to continue business as normal even without an internet connection.
11. Implementing Customer Rewards Systems
It’s good to give customers a reason to continue doing business with you, and one of the best ways to do that is to provide rewards to repeat shoppers. An ePOS can give your customers the opportunity to input discount codes and rewards member login credentials in order to receive exclusive discounts, rebate, points, and other rewards that will give them a reason to remain loyal to your brand.
12. More Detailed Receipts
While a typical POS will usually print generic receipts that contain basic information like the time and date of the transaction along with an itemised list of the products purchased next to their price, an ePOS can go far beyond this to provide much more data on the receipts themselves and within the administrative reporting interface. Although this might seem like it’s just an additional perk, it can go a long way to give your customers the impression that they’re dealing with a more professional company.
Equipping Your Company with the Tools Needed to Compete
In closing, optimising the customer experience and giving your business the ability to interact with many kinds of customers and payment methods is an essential part of equipping the business for success in the long-term. Nowadays, every niche is becoming increasingly competitive, so it’s not just about satisfying customers anymore, it’s about outdoing the competition. Being that the best companies are already using ePOS systems to their benefit, one could argue that implementing an advanced ePOS is basically a requirement to avoid becoming obsolete.
