Before purchasing point of sale software, it is very important to look whether there are any additional modules needed.
Some POS software comes as a application with the basic functionality, and a set of add-on packages to implement features such as loyalty programs, inventory control, credit card payments, etc. Other software comes as an all-in-one package, without ever having to worry about purchasing additional modules. What software is better?
Customer Pole Devices (CPD’s) have long been considered merely bells and whistles at the Point of Sale (POS). They were seen as nice to have if extra money allowed, but were often the first item to be eliminated from the POS station when the budget limits were reached. Their main function was to display to customers information that was being displayed elsewhere and the redundancy was what made them seem to be superfluous. Note that they do not always stand on a pole, but sometimes can be incorporated in the EPOS terminal.
Today a new point of sale application for the Mac has been announced. Checkout, currently in public beta, brings the beauty of the Apple Macintosh platform to the point of sale.
Aesthetics are very important nowadays, and in some branches the design of the POS systems is just as important as the design of the rest of the store. Though Apple hardware is more expensive than other terminals, it offers design, robustness and ease of use that cannot easily be met by Windows based terminals.
Symbol Technologies launches a new in-counter mini-slot scanner for increased productivity in high-traffic retail environments. The LS7808 incorporates omni-directional, hands-free scanning for fast and accurate read rates, with minimal cashier effort. Designed for the most demanding retail environments, the LS7808 provides intuitive, productivity-enhancing functionality that allows novice and advanced users alike to move customers quickly through checkout and to increase customer satisfaction rates at the retail point-of-sale. Symbol’s advanced software algorithms allow customers using the LS7808 scanner to quickly and accurately scan one-dimensional bar codes, including those that are damaged, small or poorly printed, to help improve operational efficiencies.
A feature many people forget when shopping for point of sale software is the loans function. This function is mostly used for more expensive items, which the customer is allowed to take home for some days to try out. Or in fashion, when your customers are shopping for their busy husbands, and want to try these trousers at home.
The loans function allows you to register each loan and have a up-to date inventory of each item that a customer has at home. When the customer returns the item, you can either invoice it when the customer liked the item or put it back in stock when it was not what they were looking for.
A very simple feature, which might make your life a lot easier.