Retail businesses are presented with millions of point of sale (POS) apps to choose from. The best POS systems are those that offer businesses efficiency in their operations hence increasing profits. There are different POS systems designed for different industries. Retailers should do their due diligence to establish POS software designed for their industry. The ideal salesman point of sale software exhibit specific features.
10 Essential Features of the Right Point of Sale (POS) Software for Retail
1. Offers offline support
Most POS apps are designed to work online. However, good POS software should be able to work offline and to automatically sync data once a connection is restored.
2. Customer data analysis
In the bare minimum, a POS system should be able to capture and pool customer information. However, the best POS system should be able to analyze that data to offer retailers concrete information for decision making to boost profits. POS software should be able to build customer profiles, derive customer behavior among other functionalities.
3. Customer loyalty program
The POS software should enable retailers to create customer loyalty programs to reward customers.
4. Payment flexibility
It should accept various payment options including cash, cheques, gift cards, vouchers and others. The system should be dynamic to enable partial payments and direct account transfers by customers.
5. Reporting
The retail system should offer accurate reports on issues such as product types, staff performance and periodic transactions to enhance decision making. Preferably, the POS software should offer real-time reporting.
6. Customizable
While most salesman point of sale software attempt to offer as many functionalities as possible, there are instances when a retailer may have particular needs that are not met by the off-the-shelf one. Some software vendors offer API extension services to allow for POS software customizing.
7. App integration
This is a unique yet important feature that enables retailers to sync their data on sales, operations and other aspects of the business for easy management. It synchronizes data so that retailers don’t have to leave their data in a central platform for administrative purpose.
8. Inventory tracking
The software should double up as an inventory keeping and tracking software. One should be able to monitor critical store keeping information from individual customer transactions. From the POS records, the inventory manager should be able to easily make orders from suppliers.
9. Fast check out
The checkout process should be simple and fast. It should take the cashiers a short time to complete transactions and produce receipts and then proceed to the next customer. The check out procedure should be automatic with no need for manual intervention.
10. Automated purchasing option
The right POS software should be able to notify the inventory managers when products are running low and automatically connect with suppliers to make orders. This is an automated procurement procedure that is essential for retail businesses.
Salesman point of sale software enhances efficiency in retail operations. A good one should double up as not only a transaction tool but also to support other functions such as inventory keeping, store keeping, procurement tool and customer management.
