Is your customer data a house of cards

POS Retail

Article | May 10, 2024

This year, we’ve rounded up an incredible lineup of industry experts to share their knowledge about the latest FinTech technologies, innovations, and trends for our now virtual MPC20. Our generous sponsors are covering your ticket in full—a $599 expense. If you haven’t locked down your seat yet, you can do so here using the code VICTORY2020 for your complimentary discount: As a guest, you can expect the same quality content as years past, now with virtual perks such as an exclusive digital wallet, gift cards, attendee rewards, and more. We’ll cover key topics including the post-COVID consumer journey, the COVID-19 impact on payments, the 5G future, and other relevant topics.

POS Solutions, POS Retail

Article | January 12, 2024

Introduction Due to the dynamic nature of the industry and the ever-evolving demands of its customers, restaurant business owners are facing a unique set of challenges. This is compelling them to streamline their operations to meet customers' rising expectations while maintaining perfect control over all aspects of their establishment. In addition, emerging innovative technology solutions are rapidly changing the world of payment systems, and the restaurant industry is the best example of it. Today, opening a restaurant is more than just serving food and making money. It is about providing a memorable experience to the customers and retaining them. As a robust restaurant point-of-sale (POS) solution assist in delivering a better customer experience, pacing up the ordering process, and managing inventory, among others, it is gaining huge popularity in the sector. Why Does Restaurant Need to Invest in Modern POS Systems Today? As the trends of online food ordering at dine-in and competition in the hospitality industry continue to deepen, it is becoming imperative for restaurant owners to efficiently manage the point of sale for their eatery. Also, the growing need for faster customer food service, efficient employee scheduling, and effective inventory management is encouraging business owners to adopt innovative restaurant technologies, such as restaurant POS systems. Here are some of the main reasons restaurants should integrate modern POS solutions. Effective Ordering Processes The ordering process, being the nerve center for restaurants, is one such aspect that needs serious attention. As food ordering processes that take a long time can significantly hamper the customer experience and satisfaction, owners of food establishments are aiming at leveraging novel restaurant POS systems to streamline and ease the food ordering processes. Increase Cash Flow Optimum cash flow is the backbone of any business. If restaurants are unable to maintain enough cash flow, they will have difficulties staying in business in the long run. Since restaurants are able to serve more customers per hour with fast-paced POS technology, allowing for greater sales and increased cash flow, business owners are aiming to deploy these modern POS solutions. Organize and Track Profit and Loss Keeping an accurate track of the income and expenses is of great importance for understanding the financial position of the eatery and creating an effective strategy to increase its revenue. A POS system can assist business owners in preparing a settlement at the end of each day, week, and month, keeping track of the ROI, and organizing profit and loss. Offer Security to Customers Customers or guests are increasingly using various cashless modes for transactions, such as credit cards, online banking, and others, for making payments. With increasing instances of customer data theft, guests are increasingly concerned about their data privacy and payment credentials. Hence, several food establishments are emphasizing embracing restaurant POS software to offer enhanced security to customers. Build Customer Database In today's highly competitive world, engaging and retaining customers is crucial for the success of businesses, especially in the restaurant industry. As the latest POS solutions aid restaurants in enhancing customer communications and loyalty, along with improving customer relationship management by building a customer database, these solutions are increasingly being sought in the sector. The Ending Thought With the emergence of innovative trends in the hospitality industry and the ever-changing needs of customers, it is becoming difficult for restaurant owners to keep the customers happy and build credibility in the long run. Since modern restaurant POS systems with advanced integrated technologies, such as artificial intelligence, can assist these restaurants in overcoming these obstacles along with providing numerous advantages, including cost reduction and increased ROI, these systems are anticipated to become a necessity for restaurants in the coming years.

POS Solutions, Ecommerce Merchandising

Article | June 7, 2024

For any type or size of merchant, the point of sale (POS) is by definition a mission-critical system. In addition to being a basic tool for retail and companies to conduct business, today’s point of sale systems can also be profitably tied in with key operational solutions, such as inventory management, labor scheduling, and customer marketing. Here’s How to Choose a POS System for Your Unique Business Before we dive into how to choose a POS system, let’s look at why you need one in the first place. A POS system does more than transactions. It's the beating heart of your store's operations, from inventory management and loss prevention to employee management, AR/AP tracking and more. Small businesses of all types and across industries use POS systems: Retail and consumer good stores Liquor stores (within grocery stores and standalone wine & spirits stores Tobacco stores and smoke shops Grocery stores and markets Convenience stores Lawn & garden centers Hardware stores But different types of businesses have different POS system needs. POS systems’ importance makes selecting the one that’s right for your business a challenge. Here are seven tips to help formulate the right questions to ask POS vendors as you narrow down your options. Answer these 5 questions before you research POS systems What features does your current POS system lack or do poorly? This will help you prioritize your POS needs and ensure current pain points are addressed with your new POS system. What type of POS hardware will you need? From touchscreen monitors and cash drawers to receipt printers and pinpads, determining your POS hardware needs helps you know what to look for and get cost estimates from POS vendors. What POS software, apps, and integrations will you need? Your POS software is the brains of the operation. Be sure to identify specific functionality and app integrations needed. What does your business growth plan look like? This is an important one. You want a POS system that can scale with you as you grow. The last thing you need is to replace your POS system again because you've outgrown it. What is your budget? Every POS vendor you talk to will ask this question, so it's best to prepare for it. If you don't have a number in mind, you can use our Build & Price Tool to create your ideal POS system and see what it would cost. Choose a POS system that makes checkout a breeze Is your checkout process simple and easy for customers, or do you find that long lines and slow checkout speeds are holding you back? You need to maximize the checkout space for an optimal customer experience. POS systems with a minimal footprint keep things simple for your employees, and can even allow you to have multiple registers to service customers. The pace of transactions is a key factor as well. Employees must be able to quickly scan products or use smart, intuitive product lookup or keyed entries to minimize wait time. You can even use mobile devices connected to your POS system to augment your checkout capabilities. Consider your inventory management needs One of the biggest benefits of POS systems is their ability to automatically deduct sold items from inventory, making key measurements such as inventory on hand and item-by-item sales data far more accurate. However, if your business operates with a limited, relatively uncomplicated inventory – e.g. just a few hundred SKUs with little variation in size, style, or color – choosing a POS system with advanced inventory management capabilities will be a wasted investment. Key questions to ask include: How many items do you carry in each store? Do you look at each item as a unique item or as a style? How do you order inventory from suppliers if the item has varying colors/sizes? Do you need to see item attributes as a matrix? Do other buyers/store personnel need to be able to fill in or look up on-hand information without visiting the store floor or calling other stores? What merchandise information do you want to be able to view at your desktop? Decide what additional functions you want your POS to provide Even if your needs are currently fairly basic, that doesn’t mean they won’t expand as you grow. Consider additional capabilities you may want your system to provide in the future, such as: Time and attendance/time clock Sales reporting, broken down by associate, store, department, time of day, etc. Customer marketing, allowing you to capture the customer’s purchase history and other data for future marketing, and customer loyalty programs. Transfer systems, allowing associates to transfer merchandise between stores, and on-hand lookup, allowing each store to see at a glance what inventory other stores have on hand. Gift cards, tracking gift cards sold and their redemption. Identify the types of POS peripherals you will need POS system hardware isn’t limited to the cashier’s touchscreen. Think about whether dual display screens, showing customers what they ordered to improve accuracy, or displaying ads to promote key items, are worth the investment. Compare thermal printers to ribbon printers: thermal printers use heat to print receipts so even though they cost more initially, retailers can save long-term on the ink cartridges required by ribbon printers. Determine which POS security features your store needs Security must be a key element of any POS system, from the basics (lockable cash drawers, cash drops, and password-protected access) to erecting firewalls around the POS system’s network to guard against malware attacks. Retailers accepting payment cards must ensure their POS systems comply with the latest Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS). Retailers doing a high volume of payment card business may want to consider using encryption, which protects customer data during transactions by creating a cryptographic key that denies access to anyone without the appropriate decrypting key. Don't forget about POS reporting to help guide your business We get it: reporting is not a "sexy" feature. But it is critically important. Sales reports, inventory and catalog reports, and customer history tracking are just a few of the key data points available in most POS systems to help you make smart business decisions. When it comes to choosing a POS system, reporting cannot be overlooked. Ready to Choose a POS System for Your Business? Finding a POS system that meets your business’ current needs while also providing the tools for future growth can be challenging. Keep both short-term and long-term requirements in mind when evaluating different solutions. You can find more must-ask questions and considerations to choose the right POS system in our Retail POS System Buyers' Guide. For example: Local database vs. cloud: what type of software is right for your business? What information do you need to choose a credit card processor? The questions you need to ask to get past a POS system sales pitch

Article | June 25, 2020

All great businesses are blooming on the edifice of POS, which stands for Point of Sale System. Every inch of your business consistency, management, and profits is subjected wholly and solely to the retail POS system. As we all are aware of its importance in a business and how effectively it tends to expand business empires and profits. In other words, a retail POS system is like a Midas touch to your business; it enhances it and enhances it for good, adorning it with golden profits. The idea of POS software is simple. It excludes every chance of human errors and inconsistencies, holds back your company's loss, and increases the productivity of your checkout counter. This is all it does, and all of these tasks are simple, but they are reassuring business tactics that ensure promising gains and remarkable retail growth.