POS System vs Cash Register for Retail. Which Should You Choose?

About to set up your retail business and you are considering settling for a cash register instead of a retail-specific POS system to lower your start-up capital?

Before you get a cash register, read this article to make a more informed decision.

Pros of a cash register

It is cheaper

You can get a cash register in Singapore’s market for about $300 - $500. Hence, it may seem like the perfect starting transaction management device for your new retail business.

But that is the only plus point of a cash register.

Cons of a cash register

No inventory management

Proper inventory management is essential for retail businesses and cash registers do not offer any means of keeping track of your inventory. Most retail businesses that operate on a cash register have to use excel sheets to take stock every day, and it is a time-consuming process.

Limited reporting capabilities

Cash registers have only 2 reports. The “X” and “Z” reports. One for shift reports and one for end of day reports.

These 2 reports will only provide you with the end of day or end of shift sales figures and some may also provide you with the number of each product sold, helping to make inventory management slightly easier.

No tenant sales linking

If your retail shop is located in a shopping mall, or your tenant requires you to link up your sales data for auto sales submission, you will not be able to use a cash register as it does not have such capabilities.

Why use a retail POS system instead?

Inventory management capabilities

A POS system designed specifically for retail businesses comes with inventory management functions such as:

• Low stock warning alerts when an item a low stock item is being sold
• Generate low stock reports for an at-a-glance view of products that require restocking
• Instantly update your inventory during mass stock in and outs
• Update your inventory through a stock take function that churns out a variance report for forecasted vs actual stock.

Extensive reporting capabilities

A retail POS system is able to capture transaction data and churn out extensive reports so that you can get insightful analytics of your retail business. On top of that, a retail POS system has reports that help you detect employee fraud early.

 An example of such reports are:

• Daily sales reports.
• Sales by week or hour.
• Profit and loss report.
• Best or least selling products.
• Discount and FOC reports
• Audit trails
• Many more insightful reports

Contactless payment terminal integration

A modern retail POS system like MEGAPOS is able to integrate with various multiple contactless payment terminals that support popular local cashless payment gateways like PayNow, PayLah, GrabPay, PayWave and NETs.

This will allow your customers to pay via a method most convenient to them.

Cloud connectivity

A modern retail POS system like MEGAPOS backs up its data and settings on a cloud-based server. This allows you to access the comprehensive reports provided by your POS system online.

You will also be able to make changes to your POS system’s backend settings, inventory and update your products through the online portal. This allows you to manage your outlets remotely.

On top of that, if your POS system breaks down due to wear and tear, data loss will be the least of your worries as your retail business data will be stored securely in the cloud server.

When you intend to scale your retail business, a modern POS system with cloud connectivity will allow you to view consolidated reports of all your outlets through one online portal, making analytics effortless.

Interested in getting a retail POS system?

Interested to know more about a modern retail cloud POS system? Click here to speak with our solution consultants.