Move over old cash registers, the newest generation of point of sale systems is here. If you’re running a retail or restaurant of any size, you will know how important that last step of the transaction and the shopping experience is. Not just for your staff who’s handling the sale, but also for your customers.

When you’re trying to crush your business goals, many retailers and F&B entrepreneurs resort to the newest marketing tricks, promotions, unique products, or they try to cut costs.

But what is often overlooked is the tool you use most during the day: your point of sale system. Also, this could very well hold the key to success.

The right point of sale system can set the stage and help move your business forward. A retailer with a revenue of $300,000 can cut costs close to 10% by using an integrated point-of-sale system. But saving costs isn’t all that a point-of-sale system is suitable for.

In this article, we’ll look at seven ways a point-of-sale system can help you keep your business running smoothly.

The Benefits Summed Up Quickly for Those Busy Store Owners

• You can probably optimize your inventory to make it match your customers’ needs perfectly. A point-of-sale system gives you real-time data and lets you discover trends in your sales. Plus, you’ll be able to get notifications when it’s time to stock up on products, so you will never have to tell your customers’ sorry, maybe next time.
• You will give your customers a great shopping experience, regardless of what location they are in. A POS system helps you connect the CRM and inventory information across stores and even online and offline.
• Save time on the busy work: a POS system can take care of your inventory counting and frees up a lot of your time by handling parts of your admin. Plus, there’ll be less risk of human error.
• The best decisions are made based on data. With a POS system, you have a tool that collects a lot of data and automatically creates reports with it for faster decision-making.
• A POS system doesn’t just help you manage your inventory better, but also your employees.
• A point-of-sale system can be a great place to start if you want to work on customer retention because you can link it to your CRM.
• The latest point-of-sale systems allow your customers to pay with the payment methods they love using.

1. A POS System Helps You Optimize Your Inventory Management

A point-of-sale system isn’t a crystal ball, but it’s the next best thing.

A point-of-sale system will help you keep track of your stock in detail. The second you sell an item, your inventory will be updated. Even across different stores – so everyone is up to speed, and you can let customers know where they can get a specific item.

By keeping track of changes in your stock in real-time, you will make trends more visible—and next season, you can show up prepared. Of course, demand depends on many other factors, but you will need a baseline. A point-of-sale system can provide that.

The data from your point-of-sale will also help you see what items are selling slowly or not at all. Also, this can help you determine what should go for sale or what things to stock up on extra. You’ll be able to focus on your bestsellers and develop a perfect buying strategy based on what your customers love.

Further allowing you to track the profitability of your items to a tee and creating an inventory that helps you get the highest possible revenue.

We know that U.S. retailers lose $224 billion a year due to excess inventory. Let’s all agree a point-of-sale that helps you keep stock like that is certainly worth the investment.

But it’s not just surplus stock that costs money. Retailers also love $45 billion from not having inventory in stock.

With the right point-of-sale system, that’s a thing of the past. You can get automatic notifications about when to rebuy an item. So you’ll never have to sell your customers’ no’.

Some innovative point-of-sale systems even show you what you’ve paid for those items in the past. So you know what deal to go for with your suppliers.

2. A Cloud-based POS System Helps You Deliver Great Customer Experiences, Everywhere, Every Time

The average modern customer has relatively high expectations when it comes to shopping experiences nowadays. They know the technology is out there to give them a seamless shopping experience across various channels and even between different stores, so best make sure they get what they want.

With a point-of-sale system, you can ensure that all touchpoints are connected, and your customers will always get the best possible service.

You get access to their data wherever you are, regardless of the store location, because everything is stored in the cloud.

Also, this is a tremendous advantage for retailers who offer online shopping on top of their in-store service. You won’t miss out on opportunities to provide the right upsell products to customers. And they will appreciate the smooth experience – and keep coming back for more.

3. A Point-Of-Sale System Saves You Tons of Time

Are you and your employees already dreading the next time you have to take inventory? Understandable. It’s by far the minor fun thing about running a retail business. It’s incredibly time-consuming, and it’s easy to make mistakes if entirely done by hand.

Thanks to the real-time inventory management that comes with a point-of-sale system, you will have a good idea of how your stock is doing. When it’s time for the physical inventory count, you won’t have to spend as much time counting everything from scratch – you can check if your stock matches what your point-of-sale system is telling you. That’s a whole lot easier than counting boxes.

Apart from taking inventory, a point-of-sale system will also save you time when it comes to your administration. It allows you to create reports automatically. But it also cuts the busy work in half of updating spreadsheets and creating schedules. Let’s jump right into that.

4. A Point-Of-Sale System Generates Reports Automatically

Do spreadsheets make you shiver – and not in a good way? If you want to grow your business, you’ll need to run a tight ship regarding admin. Plus, you’ll need insight into how your business is performing. Which employee is selling the most? What products are popular? How are we on costs?

A good point-of-sale system helps you do your admin accurately and with less effort. On top of that, it can churn out automatic reports that will help you make decisions that’ll grow your business.

5. A Point-Of-Sale System Can Help You Manage Your Employees

If you think your point-of-sale system and employee management are not related, think again. With the right point-of-sale system, you’ll learn how everyone is performing on the shop floor.

You’ll be able to create work schedules that make sense. Give your high-performing people a raise or other rewards, and see who could do with some extra training or support.

With a restaurant POS system, you can ensure you have enough staff on site for the busier moments. Wondering how? Simply by getting data about your most dynamic moments.

6. A Point-Of-Sale System Can Help You Increase Your Customer Loyalty

Do you want to increase the average customer lifetime value in your store and keep customers coming back? A point-of-sale system could be the missing link.

You can notify them of items that are back in stock. And even create a customer loyalty program that gives them rewards the more they shop at your stores.

Loyal customers are 50% more likely to try new products and spend 31% more than new ones. So that the investment will pay itself back in no time.

7. A Modern Point-Of-Sale System Opens Up New Possibilities for Collecting Payments

Have you been giving weird looks to people who try to pay with their Apple Watch or phone at your store? Better get used to it. Technology is advancing quickly, and developing new payment methods faster than you can say ‘card or cash?’

With a solid and up-to-date point-of-sale system, you ensure your customers can use their preferred payment methods and won’t have to leave your store empty-handed.

Ready to Boost Your Business?

If reading this has made you realize that yes, you could improve many aspects of your daily business with a better point-of-sale system, take the time to find one that fits your needs.

My last piece of advice? Don’t look for the system that promises the most features, but look for one that fits the features that you need.

It’ll be easier to work with, saving you even more time.