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.