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.