Using the appropriate point-of-sale (POS) system for your business, restaurant, or pop-up is crucial right now more than ever to keep checkout lines moving and guarantee quick and secure transactions for your consumers.
Also, customers must be able to pay however they choose, wherever they are, using your POS system. Continue reading to find out what a POS system is and how to choose the best one.
POS (point-of-sale) systems: what are they?
An area where clients pay you in return for your goods and services is referred to as a POS. You will require a payment device that is connected to a pos system to complete the transaction in a physical retail location or while on the go at an event, pop-up, or farmer’s market.
The hardware required to scan a product barcode, a QR code, or manually enter the product price is frequently included in point-of-sale systems. They also include the software needed to compute taxes and safely handle payments.
PoS System Types
Depending on the kind (physical or online) and scale of the company, POS systems range in complexity from straightforward processors to sophisticated cloud systems (small, medium and large enterprises). They are often divided into 3 categories:
- Portable POS
A mobile device, such as a smartphone, tablet, or other mobile device, serves as the terminal for a mobile point of sale system (mPOS), to which a credit card reader can be connected. It is quite portable and lets you connect other accessories like receipt printers and barcode scanners.
In addition to handling payments, mPOS systems may also manage inventory, run loyalty programmes, track sales, provide reports, and do a lot more.
Small enterprises, solopreneurs, pop-up stores, and quick-service restaurants are the ideal candidates for these systems.
- POS terminal
An add-on peripheral system that includes cash drawers, credit card readers, receipt printers, and barcode scanners is known as a terminal point of sale (POS).
These systems are equipped with a wide range of features, such as customer loyalty programmes, reporting and analytics, email receipts for payments, and inventory management.
They work best in retail establishments with designated cash covers for cash.
- Cloud POS
A cloud POS is a web-based or online point-of-sale system that may be utilised with your current hardware, including a computer, tablet, and printer.
These systems offer complete POS terminal functionalities. The only distinction is that a cloud POS system is deployed in data centres that are maintained by the POS vendor rather than on a server that is managed by you.
Due to their observable advantages in terms of price, ease of use, adaptability, and function, they are appropriate for all kinds of organisations, particularly startups.
A scalable and integrated POS software system will allow you to sell wherever your clients are and give them the option to pay however you choose.
