What is a Point of Sale System?

Well.... A point of sale system basically is the combination of hardware and software that allows retailers to make transactions and simplify day to day company operations".

In order to fully understand a point of sale (POS) system you need to understand the key components

Software:

Onsite - this is the traditional POS model. It involves the purchase of one or more licences upfront for the software and this is installed on computers or even a client server.

Cloud-based - Also more common known as Software-as-a-Service (Saas) POS solutions. Basically you access the system and support via an Internet Connection. Most systems will track sales and sync when your back online (if there was an outage of some kind).

Hardware:

Whichever software solution you opt for, the hardware will still be the same.

Touchscreen - This is a standard monitor that supports touchscreen. These are fast to use and also support other functions such as employee clock-in, viewing sales reports and some retailers even prefer their employees to use tablets - especially iPads, rather than larger monitors.

Barcode scanner - This speeds up the checkout process. Scanning the barcodes pulls product information and adds it to the checkout totals. When scanned they can also integrate with stock management systems to adjust stock levels too.

Credit card reader - These are extremely important for retailers to take the payment 'there and then'. They are part of the fabric of modern store retailing.

Receipt printer - Receipts being sent via text and email are gaining popularity however there is still a place for a paper based till receipt. Employees can also print sales totals, hours and other information appertaining to the sales.

Cash drawer - It could be a thing of the past in years to come but at the moment it is still king of the store. Not only is it a place to store cash - in terms of coins and notes, but also cuts out credit card fees for the retailer.

Retso Studio can bring all these hardware and software elements together to create a streamlined point of sale system for your business. For further information please call 0115 9844 988 or email us at web@retso.net