Properly managed, the modern point of sale (POS) system empowers just about anyone to create a convenient, accessible online store and sell. A good POS can help you manage inventory, improve employee morale and provide invaluable accounting help. With great power, however, comes great responsibility. Here are six of the most common retail POS mistakes that retailers and their IT service providers need to avoid.
1. Using Only Surface Level Features
The modern POS system gives you a highly intuitive interface that can fool you into thinking there is nothing deeper. Outside of the basic function of a POS, you may also be able to manage your inventory, produce email marketing campaigns, perform tracking, e-commerce, and give employee incentives. A few days of digging into your POS software will undoubtedly unearth some fantastic features.
2. Choosing Generically
Not all POS systems are the same. If you’re in the restaurant business, you need a different system from a retail company. Don’t judge a POS by its sparkle features. Look into the details so that you can determine the best bang for your buck. You should also choose the software that corresponds with the devices your employees will be using. A desktop POS will not work to its best ability if you are doing business on iPads.
3. Not Having a Backup
Even if you choose the perfect POS for your business, unexpected problems will invariably pop up. You should always have a backup plan that goes into effect should your POS go down. Cloud-based POS systems have the ability to transact offline, which is a great option if you find yourself on the road to selling. Another great option is to simply keep the same POS software on a different system. While the primary system is working, you can use the secondary system as a data recovery hub.
4. Overlooking Your Merchant Services Agreement
Most business owners do not set out to break their merchant services agreements. However, sometimes paperwork gets lost or forgotten. Your business may also change over time. When it does, you may be required to make a report in order to stay in compliance with your agreement. For instance, if you start selling different products, your agreement may be terminated. Your agreement may also face road bumps if you process more than your credit card limit or you have an inordinate amount of chargebacks.
5. Bad Training
You can have the best POS system in the world, but if your employees are not properly trained, you will not receive the benefits of the software. All employees should be familiar with surface-level functions like making a basic sale. You never know who’s going to call in sick.
6. Overlooking Customer Support
You will have questions about your software at some point. If your software does not have good customer support, then how will you get these questions answered? Although POS systems are incredibly easy to start using, once you get into the grit of the program, things may become more complex. If you plan on using your POS software like the long-term investment it should be, then you need an entire company behind you to help the business, not just a software package.
Learning the ins and outs of your retail IT, and your POS specifically, will spell the difference between your success and failure as a business. Follow the tips above to ensure that you get the most out of your POS. Be on a constant lookout for new strategies and techniques to employ — technology is moving at lightning speed and only accelerating into the future.
