Keeping Your Employees Motivated with POS Software

There is no question about it; by using a point of sale system for your store or boutique, you can enjoy increased efficiency, ease-of-use, and scores of valuable sales data that can definitely help you increase your profits. But, how can POS software help motivate your business's employees?

Well, as we all know, employees are the most important element to how well your business can run, as well as how it ends up appearing to others. After all, you could sell the most popular, in demand items in the world, and if your salespeople don't put out the right "vibe" for your customers, they just aren't going to return, no matter what. So, for this reason, is it is imperative to keep the attitudes and morale of your employees as high as you can, and, yes, point of sale systems can indeed help you in this task.

First off, there is the simple fact that by using a POS system you are allowing your employees more of that aforementioned "ease-of-use" that makes their jobs, quite simply, easier to do in the first place. Plus, they will be less prone to errors, because most point of sale systems ensure that mistakes are detected and rectified, often automatically. In addition to these simple factors, POS systems also serve to "motivate" your employees not to steal as well, as with POS software all items and sales are kept track of automatically, rendering thin the old excuse of "lost inventory".

But, it goes deeper than that. When it comes to keeping your sales staff motivated and working hard, there are two other main advantages brought about by using a POS system, the first of which are "staff management features". Simply put, this means that with POS employees can have all their sales tracked, and therefore have more motivation to sell more products, knowing that every time they make a sale, they will be the one's credited for having done so. This can also serve to cut down on inter-employee disputes as to who is doing more or less work; there is no ambiguity as far as who does what when the POS system keeps track of all of that for you! Also, since you will be able to keep track of who is doing what, reward programs can be implemented so that employees can receive positive feedback when they either outshine the others or make improvements in their own sales figures.

Another employee-motivating advantage to using an electronic point of sale system is associated with the customers themselves. After all, employees almost always feel more appreciated and responsible when they have established more of a connection with your company's customers. By keeping records of what different customers buy, employees can have a greater understanding of what interests the individual customers, and also have more of an idea of how to sell like-items to these customers, increasing sales and customer satisfaction to boot! Plus, when top-purchasing customers are kept track of by POS software, the employees can alert them whenever gift certificates or discounts might be available on potentially desired items.

Employees truly are the backbone of any successful business, and keeping them motivated is thus essential to keeping your business profitable. So, if you haven't already, let POS software help build a better relationship between you and your employees (and thus, of course, your customers) today!

Is Your POS System Up to Par?

If you are reading this, chances are that you know a thing or two about POS systems and how they work. In fact, there is also a good chance that you already have one installed in your retail establishment. However, are you sure that your system is doing everything it can for you and your business? Read on to find out more about what sorts of features every modern POS user should have at their fingertips.

One of the most important factors about using a POS system is that it helps to keep track of inventory; what is available, what needs to be reordered, etc.. However, any point of sale system "worth it's salt" should be able to keep track of inventory by different categories and departments as well, allowing the user not only to compare the popularity of different departments within their store, but also making it so that restocking can be prioritized appropriately. This way, if your company's funds are running lower than usual, you can decide to put more into stocking the categories of items that you know are the best sellers, waiting to restock other, less popular areas until your company's overall financial situation has improved.

Your POS system should also help you prepare for seasonal shifts in the purchasing tendencies of your customers. This means that the software that your POS system utilizes should be able to remember and analyze the sales data from the previous year, and warn you in advance that stocking up on certain items would be wise in order to keep up with the upcoming increase in demand from customers. This sort of feature can be a huge asset for any retail establishment or boutique that specializes in items pertaining to the perennial holidays, as well as retailers of plants and seeds, demands in which rise and fall yearly as the seasons change.

Speaking of inventory, your POS systems should also be able to automatically generate purchase orders for you when supplies get low. It should be programmable as far as "how low is low" for any given item, and then let you know when you should reorder them. This can save you and your business countless hours of doing inventory checks, and can really help avoid down time when you are waiting for stock to show up that should have been ordered previously.

Of course, once you have been made aware that some items do indeed need to be reordered, your POS system should be able to take care of that task for you as well. Most top-quality POS systems nowadays are equipped with the ability to electronically send a purchase order to your suppliers, once again saving you time on the phone reading items off to your suppliers.

Finally, one other essential element to any top-notch POS system is the ability to create "special orders" for customers. This is when a customer wants something that you either are out of or do not usually carry, or is individualized in some way, such as a custom t-shirt of coffee mug. After entering the customer's information into the system (a great way to get email and/of address information for future promotional use, by the way!), the POS system should then be able to remind you that you need to order the item when you order your next big shipment (or immediately, if demand is that great from the customer in question). Then, once the specially ordered item arrives, your POS system should remind you to let the customer know that their item has indeed arrived and is ready for purchase!

So, there you have it, a (somewhat) brief rundown of what all top-of-the-line point of sale systems should be able to do for you and your business. Is your POS system up to par?

A Brief History of POS Systems

There is no denying the benefits, to both business and customer alike, that point of sale systems provide. However, many of us take these benefits for granted, forgetting that there was once a time when all retail stores, from small to very large, had to depend solely on pencil and pad for all their business's transactions. So, without further ado, let's take a brief look at just how far POS has come, and how we got there as well.

The history of POS systems can be traced all the way back to the year 1870, when James Ritty, a highly successful saloon owner in Dayton, Ohio, realized that, regardless of the fact that he was successful, he was still losing a lot profit due to his thieving employees, who were pocketing the customer's money. Later, while on a boat trip to Europe, Ritty made a grand discovery; there he saw before him an automatic counter that kept track of the number of times that the ship's propeller spun around, and in that he saw the potential of creating a machine that would record all the transactions in his saloon, eliminating the possibility of his employees stealing from him ever again!

So, once back in the States, and excited about his new idea, Ritty immediately collaborated with his brother, and the result was the invention of what we now know to be the first cash register. Of course, at that time they wanted it to be called "Ritty's Incorruptible Cashier", but, alas, that name just didn't stick. Instead they ended up calling it, of course, a cash register, and would later open up a factory in Dayton where they could build them for other businesses to use. Over the years, what started out as a small manufacturing plant for cash registers ended up becoming the "National Manufacturing Company", where consecutive generations of owners would continue to improve on Ritty's original design, eventually incorporating the printing of receipts.

After a while there wasn't much left to improve on the design of what were then modern cash registers. Until the 1970's, that is, when computer-based cash registers were first introduced, making it so that rows of registers could all be linked together to a central hub, where information about all of them could be logged. Then, in the 1980's, cash registers started incorporating PC technology, which meant that the age of fully integrated POS systems was indeed on it's way. Also, around the same time, the first credit card machines started showing up, taking almost 20 years to finally eradicate the old method of using carbon copy paper to "scan" the card.

So, there you have it, a brief history of how our modern POS systems came into existence. Today's POS systems are highly efficient, lightening fast, computer based and more advanced than anything that has come before, but it's good to remember that it all started with a creative saloon owner who just wanted what all business owners want, to be able to sell their products and services easily and efficiently.

Barcode Scanners; A Closer Look

There is no doubt about it; the use of an electronic POS system can definitely help your business increase its efficiency and, in turn, sales. Of all the components that go into the creation of a full-fledged point of sale system, the barcode scanner is the most important and dynamic item. In fact, when it comes down to it, the barcode scanner is POS efficiency epitomized.

Nowadays, the barcode scanner is so ubiquitous that most of us take it for granted, and this is, of course, good for retailers; evidence that the days of having to keep pen-and-paper inventory are indeed a thing of the past. By using a barcode scanner, your cashiers will be able to simply scan an item being purchased, which will automatically register the item as being sold and, in turn, deduct said item from your available inventory counts. But, the advantages don't stop there; the scanner can also be used to check availability of a given item, and for restocking purposes as well, all within seconds and without having to slow down your POS activities with written receipts. Plus, at the end of each business day, you will know exactly what was sold and when the sale took place, making retrieving information about any sale a snap.

The most common type of barcode scanner on the market today is called a CCD-based scanner. The older and least expensive of the two main types of barcode scanners, a CCD scanner uses a camera to collect the barcode information and usually needs to be held very close to the barcode itself in order to read the product's information. The main disadvantage of this type of scanner is that it cannot retrieve barcode information if the sticker is on a rounded surface. So, if you sell a lot of items that don't have flat surfaces, you would be best to use one of the slightly more expensive laser-based barcode scanners for your store. Also, laser-based barcode scanners have the additional advantage of still being able to read barcode information while being held further away from the barcode itself.

In addition, within the world of laser-based scanners, a new type of barcode scanner has relatively recently come into existence; the omnidirectional laser-based barcode scanner. Much like its name suggests, an omnidirectional barcode scanner differs from regular laser-based ones in that it sends out laser beams in many different directions at once, allowing cashiers to scan groups of items in just seconds. This type of scanner is becoming more and more popular with retailers all the time, and might be the best option for you to consider if lightening-fast POS transaction times are crucial for your business.

Of course, another source of diversity when it comes to all of these scanners lies in the different ways that they can be employed and how they transmit the barcode information into your POS system. For example, some scanners come in the form of hand-held devices and others are integrated into the counter-top at the cashier's station. Both of these sorts of configurations hold differing advantages and disadvantages, so picking the right type for your business will once again depend on the size and type of items you sell. This also pertains to their method of data transmission as well, with some scanners using USB to send scanned information, and others employing wireless technology.

So, there you have it; an in-depth look at POS's most important agent of efficiency, the much overlooked but highly valuable barcode scanner. Above all, like we said before, this valuable modern tool is thankfully becoming more and more standard in almost all types and sizes of retail establishments, so if your retail business isn't using a barcode scanner yet, we suggest you call a POS provider today to look into your options.

Focus on Hardware, The "Nuts and Bolts" of Any POS System

When it comes to software solutions for point of sale systems, there are a whole host of options available out there, with more advanced POS software being developed every day. However, no POS system would be complete without a few basic pieces of hardware, which any POS provider worth its salt should be more than happy to provide you with. What are all of these pieces of hardware, you ask? Well, without further ado, let's examine the basic hardware "nuts and bolts" that go into making most any electronic POS system work.

First off, we have the cash drawer, which most all of us know is where the cash, receipts, checks and other important documents having to do with POS should be stored. With most modern electronic POS systems this drawer, instead of being opened by a manual keystroke on the cash register itself, is usually opened by the main computer via a USB connection once a sale is made. The main advantage to doing things this way is, of course, that all transactions will be recorded by the computer system, so that if the money doesn't balance out at the end of the day, you know who to blame.

Next we have ye olde credit card reader. This, as we all know, is an especially essential component for any business to have that wants to stay afloat in our increasingly cash-less society. When it comes to this piece of POS hardware, there a few different styles to choose from, the most common one being a simple, stand-alone unit. However, some POS providers have begun selling special computer keyboards for use with their systems that have credit card readers right on them, increasing efficiency as far as the use of space taken up by all the POS components is concerned.

Next we have the receipt printer. For a long time now, almost all businesses have been using some sort of device to print up receipts (as opposed to hand writing them, like the old days). This is primarily due to the fact that nothing can beat the authenticity that an undeniably official, computer generated receipt can give to both you and your customers. And, there is no limit to how much information your company's receipts can contain, which makes for many different possibilities and also ensures that you are creating as much of a "paper trail" as possible when it comes to all POS transactions.

Last, but certainly not least, we have the modern phenomena called the "bar-code scanner". Although it seems like only yesterday that this essential POS tool was only put to use in large grocery stores and other chain-establishments, nowadays more and more smaller retail shops and other often individually-owned businesses are taking advantage of this time-saving technology. Indeed, by using a scanner, your employees will be able to bypass the cumbersome and time-consuming task of manually typing which items customer are purchasing, and they can also use the scanner to look up any information a customer might want to know about an item as well. Also, once the item is scanned to be purchased, it will automatically be deducted from the list of available stock.

So; there you have it, a basic run-down of the different hardware components that all come together to create an electronic POS system. Of course, it is important to keep in mind that all of these components are available with various increasing levels of complexity and number of features. Figuring out which ones will be right for you is a task that the company that will be providing your POS system should help you with, and will depend on both the type of store or restaurant you are operating, and the level of POS software that you choose to run your whole system in the first place.

Marketing Your Small Business with POS Software

What with all the talk of how bad our economy is nowadays, effective, inexpensive marketing of your retail store's products is now more important than ever before. However, for a lot of small business owners, affordable, strategic marketing opportunities can often seem few and far in between, but by using an electronic POS system your little store can now enjoy many marketing opportunities that, up until relatively recently, have only been available for the big boys. Indeed, although the fundamental purpose of POS systems is to make your business organized, easy to operate and professional, there are many marketing elements that it can bring to your small business' arsenal as well.

One great example of this is the ability to turn a receipt into something more than just an electronically printed record of a sale. I'm sure that all of you who are reading this have probably taken note of how most all large grocery stores pack their receipts with coupons toward the future purchases of items. Well; with POS software you can also do this, essentially creating a free advertisement on every receipt in the form of a coupon that can easily serve to beckon your customers back into your store sooner than later (due to the fact that an effective coupon always has an expiration date!). Also, depending on the flexibility and complexity of your POS installation, some store owners can configure their systems to put different coupons on different receipts, based on what the customer has purchased in the first place.

Of course, the logical next step after using POS to issue targeted coupons to customers, is the ability to have more targeted promotional mail. Indeed, although you do need to somehow get a customer's address in order to send them anything in the mail (more on that later), once you have that and use your POS software to keep track of your customers' purchasing habits, you can make up multiple promotional fliers or cards, and send different ones to different customers depending on what you know they are interested in the first place. And, once again; depending on how advanced your POS installation is, you may be able to just have the different cards printed automatically!

In addition to this, most POS systems have the ability to remember different "two-for-one"-types of promotions, which can help simplify the application of these specials, especially for the employees. With POS, you can be sure not to forget when there is such an offer going on within your store, and also, perhaps more importantly, you can be sure not to mistakenly give a customer more than they deserve by accidentally giving them a promotional discount on either the wrong product or from an expired offer, allowing you to ultimately run more offers at once by simplifying the application of these offers at the point of sale.

Last, but certainly not least, is the use of what is called "loyalty marketing". This can come in many forms, from the aforementioned targeted coupons on customer's receipts, to the creation of return customer VIP cards and special offers (having your customers fill out an info sheet to join your VIP program is a great way to get that address mentioned earlier). And, obviously, POS software can make bringing about all the different types of loyalty marketing much more easy and efficient than it would be otherwise, primarily due to the fact that your customer database can be so much more organized and thorough in the various forms of customer information it can store and even automatically analyze, as well.

So, there you have it; beyond their ability to streamline the inner- and outer-goings-on of your small business, POS software can definitely help give you the upper-hand when it comes to many different methods of marketing, which is an indispensable resource for making sure your business can thrive and even expand, even in the toughest of economic climates.

Expand Your Small Business With POS Software!

If you own a small retail business or restaurant that you want to see expand, one of the most important things to focus on is keeping up with the competition. After all; if you are thinking of expanding the size and scope of your business, chances are that much of the other businesses that you are competing with have probably been around much longer, and have thus already invested in a top-of-the-line point of sale solution and inventory system. So, if you want to "hang with the big boys", as they say, you've got to make sure that you have all the same advantages as they do, thus ensuring a level playing field.

Luckily, when it comes to running a small business nowadays, the playing field has indeed been leveled. It was not too long ago that only the biggest and most established of restaurants and retail establishments could enjoy the advantages of electronic POS and inventory systems. However, as technology has improved and prices for these systems have dropped, smaller and smaller businesses are now fortunate enough to be able to take advantage of POS systems as well.

And what an important advantage it is! In order to really see what your small business can do, you need to have things like bar-code scanners, receipt printers and automatic inventory management, otherwise chances are that you will probably end up losing out to the companies that have these sort of tools at their disposal. And, after a short while, there is almost no escaping the fact that you will end up saving more money though the ease and efficiency that automating the inner-workings of you business will no doubt bring about. After all, if you own a business you probably know that the number one thing that any dedicated customer to your establishments wants is consistency, and consistency and efficiency is what POS systems are all about.

In fact, as POS software has evolved over the years, even the simplest POS system is becoming more and more useful to even the smallest of businesses. In this day of age, everyone needs to be able to accept credit and debit cards as a form of payment, so whatever level of POS system you choose, you know that you will be getting a card reader in the bargain. Besides giving your business the basic necessity of being able to take plastic payments from customers in our increasingly cashless society, you can then usually also enjoy the advantages of issuing employee ID badges, which can often be swiped on the same machine, making payroll a breeze and seriously cutting down on the amount of time you as an business owner need to spend on rudimentary tasks like adding up time sheets.

In addition, if your business is new, you are probably having to hire and train a lot of new employees, and (as we probably don't have to tell you!) that can take a lot of time. However, when using a POS system, you will find that most of them are highly intuitive in design, and thus can effectively cut down on the learning curve for new employees in any area of you small business.

So, there you have it; nowadays small to medium sized companies can have a slick, efficient POS system up and running quickly and affordably. And, regardless of whatever level and price-range you can afford for your new POS and inventory control system, the cost will easily be recouped as your business becomes more streamlined, efficient and ready to take that next big step toward expansion.