Point of Sale Systems

Chances are that when you voted yesterday, you might have had your first experience with electronic voting. Touch-screen voting devices are replacing the old punch card system in many areas. The system wasn’t without its problems, but since many of the machines were being used for the first time, it doesn’t look like the problems were all that bad. There’s no question that the days of the paper ballot are numbered.

In retail, the hand-written receipt is also nearing extinction. One of the things that let the big boxes get big is the electronic point-of-sale system. I imagine that Sam Walton probably used a receipt pad and a cigar box and kept the inventory in his head in his original five and ten cent store in Bentonville, but those days are long gone.

 The good news is that the type of systems that used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars are available today to even the smallest business. Systems are available from big names like Microsoft and Intuit, and from smaller companies, many who specialize in software for particular industries.

If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, here are some suggestions from cnet.com.

Think beyond the cash register. While an off-the-shelf package may save you money up front, you really want a system that will help you run every aspect of your business including sales, inventory, payroll, and customer relationship management.

 Remote access may help. You don’t want everything tied to a single terminal.

 Make sure your system is flexible and expandable. Using your laptop as an additional check-out terminal can keep you from losing sales during busy periods.

 Decide on wireless handheld or a touch screen. There are a variety of data entry options. Your choice may vary depending on how you do business.

 Pay attention to support. When you have your entire business computerized, the computer had better work!

 Look for detailed reporting. What are your needs? Can a package system do what you need? Ask a lot of questions and don’t buy anything until you’re satisfied with the answers.

 The first point is probably the most important. If you’re going to spend the money and take the time to set up an electronic system, (and you will spend a lot of time getting it set up) you’re going to want it to do everything for you that it can. A system that records sales but doesn’t adjust your inventory isn’t going to save you much time. An ideal system will scan the item, enter the sale, record the customer information, and print a receipt.

Then it should update your inventory records, record serial number information for warranty, and let you know when it’s time to reorder the item. It should talk to your accounting software, making necessary changes automatically. If you pay commission, those records should also be updated by your system. Full payroll functionality is an added plus.

 Finally, your system should give you the information you need in reports that make sense for your business. For example, Microsoft has two point-of-sale packages, one cleverly called Microsoft Point of Sale and the other called Microsoft Retail Management System. Where Point of Sale offers a set of standard reports, Retail Management System allows you to design customized reports. MRMS has other features that you may find important.

 In addition to the two Microsoft packages, Intuit’s QuickBooks is also very popular. An advantage of either the Microsoft or QuickBooks packages is that they can be purchased from a local retailer who can provide the necessary set-up assistance and support. If you also need the hardware to build your system, Intuit has partnered with Dell for a complete package. Microsoft has a similar partnership with H-P. Local vendors usually offer packages of hardware and software which can be set up to suit your needs.

 So, what’s it going to cost? MS Point of Sale and QuickBooks alone have a street price in the $500.00 area for just the software. MS Retail Management System costs about $300.00-$400.00 more. The Microsoft/H-P software/hardware package starts at around $2,200. A Dell/QuickBooks bundle is slightly higher. A vendor here in St. Louis offers a complete hardware/software package with  Microsoft RMS, on-line training, completely loaded with Tacony and Baby Lock catalogs for about $5,000. Obviously, your price will vary depending on your needs.

One thing is certain, while some retailers may wish they’d gone with a better package, you seldom hear anyone say that they’re sorry they gave up the pad and the cigar box. 

Comments

[avnish saxena]

nice and impressive post.!
I love writing on the topics RMS Shopping Cart software; but integrating a web store with Microsoft RMS is altogether a different thing. Today we have few companies in US that provide RMS integrated Shopping Cart solution but what helps a company to stand out is - the quality of RMS cart it develops. When you have a prospect looking at your RMS cart solution and comparing it to half a dozen others, you need to stand out somehow. Features in a RMS integrated Cart may make headlines, but customers won't hang around if they don't get quality service and support. See one of the RMS cart solution provider company at http://www.lanservices.com/rms.htm.

[Rapid POS]

Something everyone should consider when purchasing a Point of Sale (POS) system is the database into which the data is stored. You don't want your data stored in a flat-file system (more prone to become corrupt) or a closed database. Make sure the POS uses MS SQL (or SSE), MySQL, or some other database to which you may easily connect. The reason you want this is because it allows you to develop your own screens so that you have custom capabilities to manage those things that are totally unique to your store.

For example, let's say that you POS has a loyalty point program, but you want to expire your loyalty points once per quarter. Two week prior to the expiration you want to send an e-mail to everyone who has points about to expire to encourage them to come into the store and use them. If you Point of Sale utilizes one of the databases I mentioned, any decent programmer can give you this in a snap. If you use something like Quickbooks (which does NOT have an open database) you could never do this until QB chooses to build this functionality into their system.

We do these kinds of customization for our clients all the time. Give us a ring if you want to learn more: www.rapidpos.com.

[Apparel Software]

Thanks for the info. The net is so cluttered with crap it's becoming difficult to find exactly what you're looking for nowadays.

[Ethan Mudgett]

POS or point-of-sale technology is very important for food and retail business like groceries because it keeps track of the transactions made. Such systems are used to ensure that everything sold has been recorded. That's why there are terminals which use cash registers and produce receipts.