What is a POS System

A point of sale system, or POS system for short, is a hardware device that comes with a point of sale software that you use to bill your customers for products or services offered by your business. In this article, we'll explore the functionalities of a POS system and how it can benefit your business.

What is a POS System?

Formerly more commonly known as a cash register or cashier system, POS systems have come a long way since. A POS system allows your business to accept payment from customers in the form of cash or cashless payments and helps you keep track of sales, inventory, and many more. While it may sound like a simple solution for your business, modern POS systems play an integral role in centralizing a shopfront's operation process to make management much easier.

How Does a POS System Work?

A POS system automates various business operations, such as inventory management and sales tracking, to name a few. Here's how it works:

• Your staff enters or scans the barcode of the item or service purchased.
• Your POS system calculates the total bill and taxes applicable based on your configurations.
• Your customer makes payment via cash or cashless payment options.
• Your POS system records the transaction.
• Details of all daily transactions will be collected and presented to you in different reports for business analytics.

Hardware of a POS System

A POS system is made up of various hardware components, including:

• A POS terminal
• A barcode scanner
• A customer display
• Receipt printers
• Cash drawer
• Cashless payment terminal

Key Features of a Modern POS System

As mentioned previously, modern POS systems have come a long way since cash registers. Here are some of the key features a modern POS system has to offer:

Flexible Payment Processing Options

The rise of cashless payment technology, together with its rise in popularity, has resulted in most Singaporeans opting to make payments through contactless or cashless options. Providing your customers with the convenience to pay with the payment option they prefer does not only create good customer experiences but also could be the difference between customers buying from your business or a competitor that offers flexible payment options.

Reporting

Getting in-depth reports about your business is crucial to help you plan for growth. Modern POS systems consolidate your business data and present it to you with a wide range of reports to give you better insights into your business.

Inventory Management

A POS system ties up transactions with your inventory to automatically update each product's stock count, making inventory management less tedious. You can also use the POS system to generate variance reports during routine stock take, which shows you the actual stock at your shop versus forecasted stock levels in your POS system.

Employee Management

Managing employee payroll, such as CPF contributions, commission, etc., is a tedious and time-consuming process. A POS system can simplify employee management by tabulating staff payroll automatically and generating reports for you based on your configuration.

Customer Management

Returning customers are crucial to a business's success. CRM capabilities such as categorizing customers into different tiers for differentiated benefits, setting up a reward points program, and creating automated promotion campaigns play a part in boosting your business's customer retention rate. While managing customers manually through a third-party software is prone to human error and time tedious, a POS system can centralize customer management, thus simplifying the process and boosting accuracy.

Cloud-Based Backend

This feature is a highlight for business owners that are operating multiple outlets or are not able to be present at their shop at all times. A cloud-based backend allows business owners to manage their POS settings, menu items, inventory, and more remotely through an online portal

If you are looking for a POS system for your business, click here to book a free demo.