Tired of time-consuming manual inventory counts? Long queues slowing down checkouts? We’ll show you the top POS system features that can help streamline your day-to-day retail operations and make business management a breeze.

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Key Features

To run your business smoothly, you need a POS system that makes it easy to make money, build better relationships with customers and improve your operations.

These POS software features can strengthen your business and give you a competitive edge.

1. Compliance and Security

A POS system keeps your company’s sensitive information safe, protects your customers’ details and makes sure transactions are secure.

Endpoint security software acts as a watchdog for your work devices, stopping viruses and attacks that could steal your data. It also ensures that you’re following the GDPR rules to keep customer information safe.

Password-protected networks prevent data leaks, while regular software updates keep hackers out. Strong security measures like end-to-end encryption and two-factor authentication, along with antivirus scans add extra layers of protection.

• Audit Log
• GDPR Compliance
• PCI DSS Compliance
• Single Sign On (SSO)
• SOC Compliance
• Payment Dispute Management
• Two-Factor Authentication

2. Customer and Loyalty Management

As customers expect more from businesses, CRM has become more important for sales and marketing than it was even five years ago. This is because 88% of customers are more likely to buy from a business again if they feel they received good customer service. So, by using CRM to understand and serve your customers better, you can keep them coming back for more.

POS systems offer CRM tools like loyalty programs, point-based rewards, marketing tools, promotions and discounts, customer profiling and insightful reports. You can track your customers’ purchases and website activity to see what they like, how they shop and what they usually buy.

You can also create custom profiles for each customer with information like their age, gender, location, purchase history and spending habits, and use this data to offer them personalized promotions and attractive deals.

Use data reports to see how well your marketing strategies are working for your customers. You can track which items are selling well (or not), who your loyal customers are and how much you’re selling overall.

A Twilio report found that 76% of customers prefer brands that offer a personalized shopping experience. You can grow your business with features that put the customer first, like special deals, rewards programs and loyalty points. Give them options to pay with gift cards, use discounts at checkout, and take advantage of coupons and deals.

• Customer Insights
• Electronic Gift Cards
• Link Transactions to the Customer Profile/Account
• Points-Based Loyalty Program
• Send Promotional Messages
• Store Credit

3. Employee Management

A well-organized system for managing your staff can help everyone work together better and get more done. Time clocks let employees track their hours and daily tasks. With an activity log, you can see how your team is doing, track time off, check daily tasks and create schedules.

Many POS systems offer training tools to help employees learn new skills and improve at their jobs. These tools give you a snapshot of each employee’s performance and how much they’ve helped the business earn.

You can also set company policies, handle payroll, add tips, give out benefits and manage your staff activities securely within the system.

Many POS systems let you set up different accounts for each employee. Each person gets their own login, so you can see who’s selling the most, spot issues and reward your top sellers. It’s also handy for calculating commissions and bonuses, and having separate logins helps you catch any mistakes or theft.

• Employee Assignment
• Employee Sales Performance
• Employee Scheduling
• Labor Hours Tracking
• User Permissions

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4. Inventory Management

A good inventory management system tracks all your products in different locations. It tells you exactly how much stock you have at any given moment, warns you when you’re running low and even shows you what’s selling like hotcakes. This helps you keep the right amount of stuff in stock, so you’re not stuck with too much of one thing and not enough of another.

To make managing your supply chain easier, you can sort products into groups, add descriptions and pictures for each item, and track sales.

Instead of typing everything by hand, which can be slow and lead to mistakes, your POS can scan barcodes, find products, give them serial numbers and add unique tags to items. You can also set up alerts to get notified about low stocks, new orders, expiration dates and where items are located.

Stay in the know with real-time reports on your profits, how much your business has grown over time, which products are making you the most money and your total sales. The software also offers insights into future inventory needs, shipping trends and purchase orders.

• Barcodes and Labels
• Create Duplicate or Similar Products
• Inventory Counts and Control
• Low-stock Notifications and Auto-Order Suggestions
• Product Bundles and Package Breakdown Management
• Product Catalog and Import
• Product Variants

5. Items and Service Management

Updating your inventory doesn’t have to be a hassle. With bulk imports, you can quickly add, update or remove groups of items instead of doing it one by one. You can assign categories to items and services, sort inventory into departments, add labels and serial numbers, attach pictures, write descriptions and more.

Make things easy for your customers by suggesting items they’ve recently looked at, showing related products and displaying discount coupons. If you offer delivery, you can use your POS to split up orders, track them in real-time, update your online catalog, process payments and more.

• Bulk Item Import
• Group Item or Service Categories
• In-Store Pickup
• Itemized Refunds
• Item Modifiers

6. Payment Transactions and Cash Management

A POS system allows you to take cash payments, print and send receipts, send invoices and let customers add discounts at checkout. You can also download bank statements, record sales transactions (invoicing) and get detailed reports to better understand your finances.

One smart way to stay on top of your accounting is to link your POS system with your accounting software. This connection automatically sends your sales info to your accounting records, so you don’t have to enter it by hand. This keeps your fiscal records current, so you an always see how your business is doing financially.

More than half of Americans use digital wallets to shop online. With an NFC reader, you can accept payments from credit and debit cards, older magstripe cards, store credit, gift cards and more. You can even accept payments from digital wallets like Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.

With integrated payment processing, you don’t have to manually enter payments or try to match up different records, leading to fewer errors and more accuracy.

The system automatically calculates taxes and reinforces compliance with necessary laws and regulations. You can provide printed receipts or share them via email, and also let customers add tips for staff during checkout.

• Cash Handling and Monitoring
• Customized Invoices
• Digital or Printed Receipts
• Discount Management
• Offline Mode
• Payment Dispute Management
• Payments Fraud Protection and Monitoring
• Payment Types
• Split Payments and Partial Payments

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7. Reporting and Insights

POS analytics is like a treasure map, revealing hidden insights about your business based on real-time data. You can generate reports to view total sales, profit margins, inventory performance, marketing stats, customer profiles, employee activity and more.

You can analyze these reports to gain a better understanding of your business operations and make adjustments to enhance overall performance. For instance, POS reports can help identify top-selling items, track inventory levels and monitor employee performance. You can use this information to adjust catalog items, manage inventory and improve customer service.

POS systems also offer real-time data insights that enable you to respond quickly to operational changes. For example, if an item is not selling well, the system can provide data on its performance, allowing you to adjust your pricing and promotions accordingly.

• Cash Flow Report
• Customizable Reports
• End-of-Day Report
• Gift Cards Balance Report
• Inventory Report
• Retail Dashboard
• Sales Report
• Tips Report

8. Sales and Marketing Management

POS systems display products in ways that attract customers, using digital signs, suggesting items and highlighting things on receipts. You can also showcase top sellers to get people interested and put popular products near the checkout counter for easy grabs.

The software lets you create email marketing campaigns. You can send promotional messages, store updates, discounts, coupons and other news to an extensive list of customers all at once. To get more customers, you can make newly added items stand out, advertise your products on social media and offer deals.

By understanding how people shop and what they like, you can make better suggestions and increase sales.

• Layaway or Layby Sales
• Line Items and Sale Notes
• Order Fulfillment Management
• Product QR Codes
• Sales Quotes and Orders
• Social Media Platforms Connection

9. Store Management

Connect your physical store with your online store to provide a consistent shopping experience to your customers. You can add products and suppliers to make sure everything is available at all your locations.

Customer orders are a handy way to keep track of what your customers want. If a product is out of stock, you can write down their information and let them know when it’s back in. It’s as easy as scanning the product code into the order section of your POS system.

Once the item is back in stock, your staff can quickly check the order list and give the customer a heads-up. This makes them happy because they get what they want, and you get more sales!

You can make sure you don’t sell more stuff than you actually have. A POS keeps track of what’s in stock, so you can set limits on how much customers can order.

For returns and exchanges, you can handle everything online instead of manually. When you receive a returned item, you can instantly refund the customer’s money to their original payment method. You can also manage your stock levels based on what’s available and show updated prices, all in one place.

• Consignment Management
• Globalization Settings
• Import Stock from Physical Stores to Ecommerce
• Master and Submaster Accounts
• Multi-Store Management
• Returns and Exchange Management
• Shipping Management

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Technical Components

Here are some of the technical components of a POS system:

1) Hardware

POS hardware refers to the physical devices and equipment used in a point-of-sale system. You can connect your platform with these tools to improve operational efficiency and accuracy, and deliver excellent customer service.

Think of a Point of Sale (POS) system as a team of tools working together to help you run your store smoothly. Here’s what each member of the team does:

• Computer or Tablet: The brains of the operation. It runs the software that makes everything work.
• Cash Register or Terminal: Handles the money. It might have a cash drawer, a place to print receipts and a keypad for entering amounts.
• Barcode Scanner: Makes checkout a breeze. It reads the barcodes on products to identify them quickly.
• Card Reader: Takes care of credit and debit card payments.
• Receipt Printer: Gives customers a record of their purchase.
• Touchscreen Monitor: Lets employees use the system by simply touching the screen.
• Customer Display: Shows customers what they’re buying and how much it costs.

2) Third-Party Integrations

Connect your software to other apps you might already be using in your business, like Shopify or WooCommerce for your online store, PayPal or Stripe for payments and Salesforce for customer management. This makes everything work together smoothly, so you can manage your accounting, sales and marketing all in one place.

3) Network Infrastructure

To work well, your POS system needs a few connections:

• Local Area Network (LAN): This is like the network in your home, but for your store. It connects all the POS devices so they can talk to each other.
• Internet Connection: This is your link to the online world. It’s needed for things like processing online payments and accessing your POS system remotely.
• Wireless Connectivity: This lets you use wireless devices like tablets or phones with your POS system. It gives you more flexibility and makes it easier to move around your store while helping customers.

4) Data Storage and Security

Here are some storage and security tools that protect your data:

• Storage: A POS system offers a company database to store transaction data, inventory information and customer records.
• Backups: The system regularly makes copies of all the information, so you won’t lose anything if the computer crashes.
• Security: Security measures such as multi-factor user authentication, data encryption and antivirus firewalls regulate access to sensitive information.

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Additional Features

In addition to the requirements covered above, here are some more POS system features that help enhance business efficiency and improve the purchasing experience.

Ecommerce

You can show and manage your products online, keep track of your inventory in both your physical and online store, and sell products across different channels, all in one place. You can also track customer information, like their order history, how much they spend and what they like, to make smarter decisions about your business.

Invoicing

Modern POS systems do more than just ring up sales. They create clear receipts and invoices for customers, showing all the items, prices and taxes. You can even email invoices directly to customers.

Invoicing tools are great for keeping track of everything: sales, orders, rentals, repairs, items on consignment, what you buy from suppliers and when you move stock between stores. They even help with watch and jewelry repairs and track the status of those repairs. If you have multiple stores, these tools track inventory transfers so you always know what’s in stock and can avoid missing out on sales.

Cloud-based POS systems are extra handy. They store all your invoices, both customer and supplier invoices, in one place and record every sale. This means you can see all your invoices from anywhere, not just at the store, and easily keep track of sales, purchases, rentals, orders and any other invoices.

Customizations

Many platforms offer a range of customization tools to enhance the look and feel of your platform and align it with your brand’s unique identity. You can add your company logo, change fonts and append colorful templates to tailor the visual appearance of the platform interface. You can also customize receipts, payment methods, catalog items and more.

Mobile App

Many POS providers offer a mobile app to go along with their software. These apps usually work on popular devices like iPhones, Android phones and Windows tablets, and they let you complete important tasks right from your phone or tablet.

You can take orders, process payments, check your inventory, manage customer info, see reports and more. Some apps even work offline, so you can keep doing business even if you don’t have internet access.

Multi-Store Management

If you have multiple stores or branches, you can manage everything, from inventory to sales and reports, all in one place. You can quickly move products between stores, see how each location is performing, try out different marketing tactics, personalize the customer experience and more.

The system also has communication tools, so employees from different stores can chat and share information in real time. Plus, as your business grows, it’s easy to add new branches to the system.

Accounting

The software makes it easy to manage money and track finances. You can record all the details of your sales, like the date, time, items sold, amount and how people paid. It also helps you track sales and expenses, calculate taxes and categorize your spending.

Integrated Supplier Purchasing

Supplier orders help you keep track of what you need to order from your suppliers. When you’re running low on something, scan the product and tell your supplier how much you need. Integrated supplier purchases allow you to track purchases from suppliers and ensure you have the items you ordered.

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Primary Benefits

A POS system comes with helpful tools to make running your business a whole lot easier. It simplifies your daily tasks, keeps your information organized and helps you get the most out of your company. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits you could enjoy with a POS system.

Saves Time

A POS system can significantly save businesses time by automating various tasks and streamlining operations. For example, it eliminates the need for manual inventory counting and tracking, reduces errors, and provides real-time updates on stock levels and ordering needs.

It also supports multiple payment methods and allows you to take orders online so you can process faster checkouts.

Boosts Revenue

Marketing and branding tools can keep customers coming back and attract new ones, boosting sales. Automation tools save you money on labor costs and help you get things done efficiently.

These days, people use all sorts of ways to pay, not just cash. Most POS systems accept credit cards, mobile payments like Apple Pay or Google Pay, and even contactless payments or digital wallets. The more payment options you offer, the more likely customers are to find one they like and make a purchase.

Increases Security

A POS system keeps your data safe in many ways. It offers features such as data backups, payment processing, secure checkouts, end-to-end encryption and antivirus protection. They keep your business and customer information safe from hackers, cyberattacks and other threats.

Many solutions use payment tokenization, a process that replaces the card number with a random code or “token” generated by an algorithm to protect cardholder data.

Scales With Growth

A scalable POS can change and adapt as your needs grow or shift. Need to add more features, like extra cash registers? Want to connect your POS with other systems? It gives you the flexibility to do all of this, so you can always be ready for whatever comes your way.

This means you only pay for what you actually need and can avoid unnecessary costs, so you can focus on growing your business and staying ahead of the competition.

Improves Customer Experiences

POS systems help you make shopping more accessible and enjoyable for everyone. By speeding up checkouts, customers spend less time waiting in line and more time doing what they love.

With features like self-checkout, barcode scanning and automatic inventory counting, you can free up your employees to focus on helping customers. You can also store data about what customers like to buy, and offer them special deals and personalized suggestions. It makes them feel valued and appreciated, and keeps them coming back to shop more.

Customers can also provide valuable feedback to help you understand what’s working and what’s not so you can make better business decisions.

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Best POS Systems

Here’s a rundown of our top five POS systems and how they can benefit your business.

Square

Square offers POS solutions for retail stores and restaurants of all sizes. Its key capabilities include sales reports, inventory tracking, marketing and sales management, and eCommerce. You can accept all types of payments, including contactless options like tap-to-pay and take orders online or over the phone.

Square also offers hardware solutions like cash registers, magstripe readers, payment terminals and more. It accepts offline payments and automatically syncs payment information when mobile devices reconnect.

Shopify

Shopify POS helps businesses process transactions and accept payments for in-store and online sales. It’s a good choice for entrepreneurs and small to medium-sized businesses. For retail stores, it offers features like omnichannel selling, employee management, CRM and marketing, and data reporting.

You can reach more shoppers and boost your sales with an easy-to-use website for your store. Customers can browse your products online and either buy them right there or swing by your shop to pick them up.

Lightspeed

Lightspeed offers POS solutions to retail, food and beverage and service businesses. It can handle sales and inventory, customer relationships, payments, loyalty programs, marketing and reporting. It offers hardware tools like LAN receipt printers, cash drawers, bluetooth scanners and receipt papers.

You can integrate the software with third-party apps like Birdeye, EzShop, DataQlick and Local Inventory on Google.

NCR Silver

NCR Silver offers software and hardware for different types of businesses, such as banks, restaurants and telecom companies. It provides secure payments, integrations with external tools, CRM, built-in email marketing, online ordering and more. You can track sales and inventory, get real-time reports and manage your operation from anywhere.

Erply

Erply helps retail businesses of all sizes streamline their day-to-day operations. It helps you manage inventory, track sales, build customer relationships and generate insightful reports. It also keeps your data safe in the cloud, backs it up regularly, and updates it automatically.

Employees can clock in and out of office, track commissions, record activities and more on a iOS and Android-compatible mobile app.

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Types of POS

Picking the right POS system depends on several factors, including the number of locations, the hardware and software you need, your budget and how you run your business on both the front and back end.

You can choose to install your POS system on your own computers (on-premise) or access it through the internet (cloud-hosted). Many businesses like cloud-hosted systems because they’re often cheaper, easier to use and accessible from anywhere.

An mPOS (mobile POS) system lets you take payments, sell products and manage your business on the go. They’re a great option if you don’t want to spend a lot upfront and don’t have a vast inventory.

Terminal POS systems are like an all-in-one package that includes the hardware you need, 24/7 customer support, cloud backup, online store integration, online ordering and payment processing. A multi-channel POS system lets you sell from multiple locations and manage everything in one place.

• Cloud POS
• Counter-based Touchscreen POS
• Multi-channel POS
• Omni-Channel POS
• Self-Service Kiosk POS
• Smartphone POS
• Tablet POS

How To Choose a POS System

With over a hundred POS systems to choose from, finding the right one for your business can feel overwhelming. Consider factors like your business size, the number of transactions you have, your budget, the kind of industry you’re in and the number of locations you need to cover.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you find the perfect POS system:

1. Find your pain points: Start by figuring out what’s not working with your current system. Take a close look at where things are falling short and how it’s affecting your business. This will help you figure out which POS features are most important for you.
2. Make a list: Write down all the features you need the software to have.
3. Explore options: Research popular POS systems to see what’s available and how they compare.
4. Compare: Make a chart to compare the different systems. Look at things like their features, cost, security, user feedback and ability to grow with your business.
5. Narrow it down: Pick the top three to five solutions that best fit your needs. At this point, it’s helpful to read reviews from other business owners and reports on the different systems.
6. Take it for a test drive: Ask the vendor if you can try out the software for free. This will give you a chance to see how it would work in your own business.

The Cost of a POS System

POS systems aren’t all the same — like shoes, you need to find the right fit for your business. For example, a restaurant needs hardware that lets waitstaff take orders easily, while a spa needs a system that handles both sales and appointments.

On-premise systems (the ones you install yourself) can be more expensive than cloud-based ones because of maintenance and licensing fees. Cloud platforms usually have a monthly fee, but some, like Vend and Square, offer free versions that are easier to use and more flexible.

Here’s a quick list of things to think about when you’re budgeting for a POS system:

• Installation and Setup: How much will it cost to get the system up and running?
• Data Transfer: If you’re switching from an old system, will there be a charge to transfer your data?
• Subscription Model: Will you pay monthly or yearly? Are there different plans with different prices?
• Payment Processing: How much will you pay per transaction? Are there any other fees?
• Hardware: Do you need to buy new equipment, like a cash register or card reader?
• Third-Party Integrations: Will you need to connect to other systems, and if so, will there be additional costs?
• Training and Onboarding: Will the vendor provide training, or will you need to pay for it separately?
• Ecommerce setup: If you want to sell online, are there extra costs for setting up your online store?
• Customization: Do you need any special features that might cost extra?

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FAQs

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Next Steps

No matter what kind of business you run — a small grocery store, a restaurant chain, or even a salon — a POS system can be a game-changer. It’s like having a secret weapon to tackle your business’s unique challenges and adapt to its changing needs.

A top-notch POS system makes your day-to-day work easier, helps your business run smoothly and boosts your profits. It’s the key to unlocking business success.

Ready to take the next step? Download our free, customizable POS requirements template to figure out precisely which features your business needs and how well leading products meet those needs.

What POS system functions and features are you looking for to meet your business requirements? Tell us in the comments below.