How to choose best POS solution

How to Choose a POS Solution
for Your Business
When choosing a POS Solution for your business it s important to
consider its usability, compatibility and reporting capabilities This
tips will guide you selecting best POS software applications
1/19/2018
i-Verve INC
Marketing By: - i-verve.com
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Replacing your payment processing terminal and cash register with
Point of Sale Solutions is one of the excellent ways to take your business
to the next level. Some of the purchases can have a dramatic effect on
your hospitality or retail business as a POS system.
Choosing the best implemented POS software solution can provide you a
new level of control over your functions, boost productivity, increase
profits and assist you to fine-tune your business model. Apart from an
increase in productivity over your cash register, custom POS applications
give details and reports which can help you to take more informed
business decisions.
As per the recent survey of National Retail Federation, U.S. retailers lose
$224 billion because of excess inventory and $45 billion due to lack of
inventory stock. Many shopkeepers had to face this because of inventory
mismanagement; this is where POS can be helpful for them.
If you’re a retailer, you need to keep a constant watch on your inventory
stock. Point of sale systems will help in managing stock by keeping
numbers and data up-to-date with every single transaction. And with the
use of a wireless portable scanner, in combination with a POS solution,
can definitely decrease your footsteps, thereby saving hours in the
procedure.
On the other hand, the ready to buy POS software can give several
headaches and cause you to spend more money and valuable time on
supporting a technology which distracts you from running and
developing your business.
This article will help you to learn how to make a proper POS purchase
decision. If you know what questions to ask, it will assist to save yourself
from making the mistakes of a first-time buyer.
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Do proper research- Invest time in evaluating POS Solution
Companies
Finding the best pos application takes efforts and times. It is a vital
decision that will affect how your business works. Make sure you do a
proper background research in finding your prospective POS solution
providing companies.
When selecting a POS solution, experienced buyers will tell you that it is
important to purchase from a good company. Investing the time to
evaluate companies to ensure that they are customer-oriented and are
dedicated to great services for the whole lifetime of your business is a
smart move which saves you from headaches now and in future also.
Ask the below questions to Evaluate POS companies:
How long have you been in business?
Application development takes time. So the newer the company, the
greater the chances of application bugs. If the company is more
established and older, you can assume that they have gone through the
pains of growth of new applications and have come out with a successful
solution.
What is your growth rate?
You need a company which is actively growing. Today the software
industry is highly competitive. Companies need to keep growing and
enhance their product offer to stay ahead in this competitive era. Not
having proper development indicates that the company may not be using
advanced technology as much as they should and ultimately be left
behind. Go with the pioneering companies that are leading the way.
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How many customers do you have?
The number of customers is a sign of how successful the company is. If
the company only has a few customers, it’s either a) a new company, no
doubt which you should avoid, or b) the company has a poor service or
bad product leading in high turnover of customer and handful new
customers.
How do you sell your products?
The company has more control over process and support; if they are
selling directly which means you get reliable rates and services. In case,
if they are using a reseller medium – be prepared for inconsistent service
and high rates. Selling through a middleman confines the company’s
capacity to control service and rate.
Invest the time in evaluating levels of service
When you buy point of sale systems, you are entering into a long-term
relationship with a seller. Let’s face it, there’s no such thing as a foolproof
application. Understanding that you will be in constant touch with
your selected POS Company for application updates, training, support,
hardware and consulting could be an essential consideration in your
decision making procedure. The level of company’s support can be the
difference between a good and bad customer experience. Give
appropriate time to inquire about support service levels. If the company
you are talking is not offering you with proper support measures, they
may not support seriously.
Ask the below questions to evaluate the service levels:
Do you provide 7 X 24 X 365 support?
You require support which works on your time. Why adjust for anything
less? Look for a company which you know will be there for you when you
require help and support.
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How do you identify issues?
With cloud-based pos systems, support issues can be identified instantly
allowing the support team to start solving your issues instantly. While
on-site, you have to wait for someone to come down to your location to
first evaluate the issue and then take actions to fix it.
What is your average support wait time?
How long will the support phone ring before it’s picked? Waiting more
than 30 seconds is terrible! Usually, if a company takes long in picking
the calls, shows that they don’t have concerns for their consumers.
What is your 1 st call answer level?
Companies may say that they answered their support phone in less than
30 seconds, but how long does it take to talk directly with actual support
one. Support lines can be picked by an automated system that put you in
a queue of call waiting or they send you directly to voicemail. This can be
very irritating and time-consuming when you want to talk to an ‘actual’
person. By asking this question, you can discover how often you will
speak to an ‘actual’ person when you call the first time. The higher the
percentage, the greater the possibility of talking with someone sooner.
What is your system performance uptime?
Your point of sale pos systems needs to operate 99.9% of the time. A
98% uptime assurance may sound good at first but this actually means
that the application can be down for around 30 minutes a day or 14
hours a month and they’ve still met their requirement!
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Choose for a POS system that’s designed specifically for your
business type
Every business is unique. As such, you require an application that suits
your particular requirements. Though many POS companies claim their
application works for every type of business (i.e. restaurant, retail, fast
food to fine dining), as an entrepreneur, you are totally aware that you
can’t be all things to all people. Why adjust for something basic when you
can get an application that was built with you in mind? Understand what
business problem you require to address with your POS in advance, and
then look for POS that is suited to your requirements. In the long run,
you will be much happier.
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Ask for Demo if you are buying pre-build POS Appliation
Before you buy a car, you’d test drive. Asking for a demo from a
salesperson is the best way to see how the application works and if it’s a
likely fit for your business. Be careful of a salesperson that just starts
introducing their product without first taking the time to understand
your business requirements. Utilize the salesperson as a resource. The
best salespersons are those who solve the queries you may have and
assist you to find the best solution – even if it’s not their product.
Ask Salesperson for Quotes if you are going for custom built
POS Application
By now, you should have a good understanding of what your
requirements are and you can start asking for quotes. Remember that
getting quotes from companies that you are interested in, will add
another element to the decision making procedure.
Several POS companies will provide everything in their quotations while
others will leave things out to make their cost seem more pleasant –
ensure you are comparing quotes to quotes. It’s also essential to ask
about the charges that may arise at the time of life of your POS, such as
upgrades, maintenance, and support. You should also ask the sales
representative to provide you a quote on all training, installation,
support, upgrades, and maintenance.
Ask below questions to the salesperson:
Is application support included for the full term?
We can’t deny the fact about how essential the support is. The majority
of providers will give free support for the initial year of the contract,
leaving you with costly on-require support for the rest of your contract.
Make sure to clear up the support service when you are evaluating
companies.
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Is there internal cost which should be considered?
With several traditional POS systems, a back office computer needs to
run your complete POS action. It is your duty to maintain this computer.
The maintaining and running cost of this computer needs to be included
when you are considering buying a traditional POS system. Conversely, a
cloud pos system would cover this added cost.
How often do you offer updates?
You need the best software available. You can take advantage of a
company who keeps updating and enhancing their product.
Do you charge for updates?
There are several companies who charge for updates. As a customer, you
deserve the most updated and bug-free version of the application. Find a
company which includes upgrades for the full term of your contract.
Talk to References
Asking the salespeople to provide references will provide you the
opportunity to speak with someone who has experience of using the
product first-hand. Making the call to references and asking them right
questions will assist you to choose right solution and avoid any issues.
Apart from asking for references from businesses which are similar to
your own business, ask for references from businesses which have
successfully addressed problems that are similar to your own issues. By
having a word with related references, you can know if the POS Company
keeps their sales promise.
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Ask References below questions:
Why did you purchase this POS Solution?
If you can take away one thing from reading these tips, it would be to
find a POS application that is best-match for your business requirements.
Definitely, you will learn ‘what not to do’ from someone who purchased
solely on the basis of low cost, but it will be more worthwhile if you talk
to someone with a similar business problem as that of you, and have
found a solution that best suits their requirements.
Is the POS up to the promises?
You need to find a company that stands by the promises that they make.
What specific issues you faced with your POS if any?
As mentioned earlier, software is not perfect. They may have some
issues. It is essential to find out if the issues were only minor or if the
software had major faults that prohibited the customer from carrying
out basic tasks.
How the POS Company addressed these issues?
Responsiveness is the main thing that you should look for. A company
that addressed quickly to issues is a sign of great service. Find out how
quickly the company addressed the issue and took the essential tasks to
solve the issues.
Future Plan
It is essential to think about your future. Right now you may have one
location, but in future, you may dream of having multiple locations you
should consider scalability. Ask the provider about the software’s ability
to include multiple locations. How are the multiple locations integrated?
How will rates and menu items change for multiple locations? What are
the rates related to having multiple locations?
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Purchasing POS software can be a frustrating and time-consuming
process, but with proper dedication and patience, you can have the POS
that best suits your requirements and take you to the next level of
success.
i-Verve INC is the leading design and development solution provider of
custom pos application software and also offers high-quality, costeffective
order management system. Feel free to contact us to find out
how your business can be more profitable.
Contact: - Email: - hello@i-verve.com
Phone: - +1-404-643-6023
Website: http://i-verve.com
This Post was originally published at: -
http://i-verve.com/blog/tips-to-choose-pos-solution
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