Point of Sale software is the only software I know of that is still produced in MS-DOS versions. And I really can’t understand why this is the case.
Last week I went shopping in several places and as usual I paid attention the POS systems used in the shops I visited. This time I focused on MS-DOS based systems, and the results shocked me. I found character-based software in 45% of the shops I visited. And most of these systems were running on relatively new hardware, meaning that the shop owner recently did invest in his POS system but decided to purchase MS-DOS software.
The reason for deciding to buy MS-DOS based software is of course based on the price, but it may be an expensive choice in the long term:
- MS-DOS software usually does not support touch screens, increasing the time needed for each transaction;
- The manufacturer of the software almost surely hasn’t invested much time on maintenance and upgrades in the past years, and probably won’t do so in the future. If your demands change you’ll have only one option: change your POS system completely, with all the usual data conversion problems;
- Many POS systems have LCD screens to save space at the counter. What most people don’t realize is that LCD screens can only display one single screen resolution sharply —typically 1024×768 pixels; the rest looks blurry. Windows based software adopts itself to every screen resolution, but MS-DOS based software usually runs only at 800×600 pixels. Blurry screens are uncomfortable to look at and may result in physical problems as headaches;
- Not all hardware manufacturers create MS-DOS drivers for their devices. By choosing MS-DOS software your hardware options are limited.
I know that every penny counts, but I would recommend investing a little bit more in POS software —the price difference is not that big— and save yourself a lot of headaches later on.