Nicole Bryan — May 24, 2018 — May 24, 2018
Free-Photos / Pixabay
As a business owner, you have a number of decisions to make to ensure the efficiency, profitability, and success of your business. Among the most important decisions to make is how you will ring up sales. You must make certain that you are able to do so in a manner that is efficient and secure while providing customers with the service they deserve. Along with processing transactions, you must also make certain that you are able to manage inventory and staff accurately and efficiently.
If you are currently using a traditional cash register, making the switch to a point-of-sale, or POS, system could help you to manage your business in a more streamlined manner while taking advantage of more opportunities for increasing your bottom line. POS systems are comprised of computer software and a hardware network that work together to record sales as they occur. Below are just a few reasons to consider making the switch to a POS system.
Identifying the Reason for Inventory Shrink
Have you noticed a sudden shrink in your business that you just cannot seem to locate? It’s a common problem for many retailers across all industries. With the implementation of a POS system, any and all sales are immediately recorded. This translates to more timely and accurate sales tracking. Additionally, POS systems make it possible for you to identify inventory levels. This can prove to be particularly beneficial in situations in which your actual stock does not correlate to what you have on the books. Thanks to the receiving and inventory module on POS systems, you gain the ability to pinpoint the cause of inventory shrink.
Making Markdown Management Easier
Many small to medium-sized businesses experience problems with price reduction. Identifying which products have been marked down and then accurately recording those discounts can be a headache for many retailers. Instead of spending all of your time dealing with cash register receipts, a POS system can help you to automate the markdown process so that you are able to track them in a more accurate manner.
Tracking Promotions More Successfully
Have you experienced problems with tracking promotions in the past? If so, you are not alone. Retailers know that promotions can be a great way to bring in customers, but tracking them can be difficult. Whether you opt to use special discounts, coupons, or some other type of promotion, managing and reconciling those promotions can be time-consuming. Pinpointing the impact of those promotions can be nearly impossible. With a POS system, you can eliminate the need to wrestle with manual cash register receipts, which really tell you next to nothing. The POS system can tell you how well your promotion worked.
Maintaining Control When Away
If it seems that your business seems to take on a personality of its own whenever you are away, you might be surprised to find that a POS system can help to improve the problems you experience with efficiency whenever you are not present. With a POS system, it is possible to automate a variety of functions. The reality is that you simply cannot be there all of the time, and when the boss away, some employees tend to play. A POS system allows you to maintain the same level of control even when you are not there.
Prices Remain Consistent Across Locations
Operating more than one location can present numerous opportunities as well as challenges. The last thing you want to have happen is for a customer to realize that one location is charging one price for an item, while the same item is priced differently at another location. When you operate more than one location, implementing a point-of-sale system can help you to ensure that pricing remains consistent across all locations. Furthermore, a POS system can assist you with automating inventory control and ensure that stock is kept in proper balance based on demand, which may fluctuate from one store to another. Thanks to automated inventory, you can also provide improved customer service. For instance, if a customer comes into one location and requests an item that is out of stock, you can use your POS system to determine if you have it in stock in another location.
Improved Customer Service
According to Forbes, meeting the millennial customer service challenge in the way that they want to be served today is vital. Specifically, it is important to meet the tech element, which means identifying the best ways in which to streamline the customer experience through technology. It must also be kept in mind that millennial customers have had technology, such as smartphones, available to them since they were very young. As a result, they are not inclined to put up with any processes that are time-consuming and clunky. POS systems help you to provide the streamlined service that your customers demand.
All-in-One System
Purchasing equipment can be a costly expense for any business. This can be particularly true if you purchase equipment on a per-item basis. Implementing a comprehensive POS system can give you access to a variety of tools within a single package. Most point-of-sale systems offer a variety of features that gives you the ability to do everything you need without the need to invest in separate systems.
More Efficient Use of Personnel
As a business owner, you must make sure that you are able to make the most efficient use of your personnel as possible. Yet, many business owners find that their staff is frequently bogged down with tasks that are inefficient and unproductive. Ultimately, this costs your business money. Among the most important advantages to a POS system is that it gives you the opportunity to ensure your personnel are devoted to tasks that will benefit your business, including improved customer service. With a comprehensive POS system, you gain the chance to allocate human resources to the most important areas of your business. Rather than spending hours on inventory every week, staff can instead focus on areas that will truly help your business to thrive.
Improved Employee Management
If it feels as though you are spending too much time tracking your employees and determining who is working when, a POS system can help you to manage your employees more effectively and in less time. This makes it possible to adjust employee hours so that you are able to increase efficiency and ensure that you are able to have the right amount of staff scheduled for when you need them the most.
Access Sales Reports at the Click of a Button
Sales reports can provide valuable insight into every aspect of your business, but those reports are only as good as the information on which they are based. Rather than spending a lot of time compiling sales reports, a POS system can keep track of all vital sales information and then give you access to that information with just the click of a button. For instance, you can compare the items left in your inventory to sales as they occur in real time, giving you the ability to know when you need to restock. You can even gain insight into which products are selling well and which products are not selling as well, so you know when you need to discard items and replace them with more popular products.
Making the switch to a point-of-sale system can provide you with the information you need in real time so that you are able to make more informed business decisions. With access to such information, you can not only save time, but also save money while implementing systems that will help make your business more profitable.
Business & Finance Articles on Business 2 Community
(66)
