Point of Sale Software for Retail Businesses

Well-functioning cash registers have long been the lifeblood of retail stores. After all, it’s difficult to operate a business efficiently without things working seamlessly at the point of sale. But cash registers are limited with regard to functionality. For some businesses, there’s a better option — a Point of Sale (POS) system. These systems can boost profitability by streamlining operations and giving the business owner granular-level control over things such as sales, inventory and customer management.

Let’s examine five key benefits of POS systems:

Price Control

Thanks to promotions and sales and other factors, prices often fluctuate dramatically. It’s not always easy to manually keep track of these variations. With a POS system, price changes are automated. A good POS system also allows deeper pricing control. Users can create pricing categories such as retail and wholesale and offer these categories to a select group of customers.

Customer Relations Management

Enhanced customer relations management is one of the key advantages of using a POS system. Retailers can track customer data, create profiles and take an immediate look at a customer’s prior purchase history. These customer relationships can be further cultivated through follow-up marketing interactions. Deeper knowledge about a customer means more finely tuned, personalized promotional targeting – which in turn means greater return on investment.

Inventory Control

Inventory control is an ongoing battle for every business, and a POS system gives retailers a better way to handle these functions. Having instantaneous inventory information available means less product loss, fewer items out of stock and a much more efficient approach to purchasing. Best of all, a retail POS system can radically reduce the amount of manpower needed to tend to inventory issues. This frees up resources for other areas of the business, leading to significant efficiency gains.

Personnel Tracking and Scheduling

Any business owner knows that scheduling problems can wreak havoc. An understaffed store can significantly detract from the customer’s experience. A POS system reduces the chance of a scheduling error. It also helps retailers maintain an optimal level of staffing by allowing them to adapt to the natural peaks and valleys of business. Enhanced personnel tracking and scheduling increases productivity and helps keep cost in line.

Maintaining Productivity when the Boss is Away

The owner of a small business usually can’t work, eat and sleep at the office. There has to be some down time. But for hands-on owners, any time away from the store is fraught with concern. A POS system helps alleviate that worry by allowing owners to automate processes and analyze in-store data.

Some businesses might be best served by a cash register. But for others, the efficiency and productivity gains offered by POS systems make them a wise investment.