POS Software and Its Vast Use in Modern Business

The pace at which  Point of Sale Software has been seen to evolve is quite significant. Have you been to an Apple Store lately? In case you have done so, you would have definitely observed that there are no more old and bulky cash registers that are now being maintained in the store. Even retailers who are dealing with mortar and brick have been witnessed to move towards leaner and more sophisticated systems that can be operated using their smart phones, tablets and other hand held devices. These are not complicated systems that would have cost several thousand of dollars.

However, it is not only the retail stores that are enthusiastic about the POS systems. E-commerce store owners who are selling in places like trade shows; farmer markets and craft fairs also require cheap and convenient POS solutions. Setting up a Point of Sale solution is not tough. Here are some of the basic concepts:

Defining a Point of Sale(POS)

This software is is used by brick and mortar retailers for conducting sales. It can be at times a computer, a cash register or an iPad where your cashier can enter your products tally their cost and then conduct a financial transaction. A majority of POS  also have the capability of communicating with inventory levels so that everything can be balanced. The are big brands and stores that have deployed costly  solutions and some of these had been custom built specially to meet their unique business needs. Even smaller retailers are making a transformation from use of traditional retail software systems and are walking towards cloud-based POS solutions so that they do not have to store data locally and can access them from anywhere.

How does a POS System can help a business?

POS systems or POS software are available wherever there is a transaction, especially in the case of a modern business. It is usually used as a terminal for checkouts by the customers.

Some systems are similar to an electronic cash register in their functionalities. They are deployed for making as well as recording a sale in businesses such as a café, a restaurant, supermarket or a retail store and also in places like casinos, stadiums and hotels.

However Point of Sale systems can be also installed as part of a more contemporary IT system and be then linked to functions like ordering, stock control, customer relationship management or CRM applications and other back office operations.

The restaurant business has been adopting PoS software quite fast as they offer a high degree of flexibility. Many high volume pubs and restaurants have been showing a high preference by using this.

For instance, waiting staffs in the restaurant use a POS system that is of the same size as a PDA and provides functionalities like registering orders and sending these orders to the kitchen in absolutely real time. Customers enjoy the benefit of viewing their transactions while paying for them at the table.