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?