POS is an abbreviation frequently used in business for ‘Point-of-Sale’ and a POS system is used as the point where a payment transaction takes place. It can be anywhere a customer make a payment in a bar, a salon, retail store, hotel, cafe or restaurant. POS systems are also designed for use in casinos, stadiums, clubs and drive-through’s, as well as for individuals who sell items at craft fairs, farmer’s markets or trade shows.
Anyone involved in taking payments from customers should know exactly what a Point-of-Sale system is, and what it is capable of doing.
What is a Point-Of-Sale System Designed to Do?
A Point-of-Sale system is not just designed to handle straight-forward payment transactions. It can also involve things like discounts and promotional offers, gift cards and coupons, exchanges and returns.
POS software can also be linked to back-office functions and be set up to include things like stock ordering management and control. It can be used for CRM (customer relationship management), e-commerce and wireless methods which allow payment to be made on a smart phone or tablet.
Generally, a POS system has to be able to accept payment by cash, card and check. It may also need to be set up to accept foreign currencies, crypto-currencies and other forms of payment.
A Point-of-Sale system can be a simple process of recording each sale and every transaction, so at some point in the day a report can be generated and reconciled with the amount of cash and other forms of payment received since the previous daily report. A more complex system may have additional accounting functions.
Password-protected data can be used to track the hours worked, and individual sales made by each user of a POS system.
Point-of-Sale Hardware
POS software is run on some sort of computer hardware with a display screen. If it is operated by a clerk in a store, the system might require a bar code scanner, a credit card payment processor, a cash drawer, a customer display showing the cost to each item as it is scanned, and the total amount. It will have a printer for customer receipts and other features, such as integrated weighing scales for groceries.
Other types of business use their own customized hardware, which has been designed for their particular industry. It could be anything from a wireless hand-held device to a self-service payment machine for customer use.
What is a Point-of-Sale System Solution?
A POS solution can be supplied by POS Super Store to meet all the Point-of-Sale requirements of any small business, medium-sized company or big corporation. In a large store, for example, the POS system can be linked to the product inventory and stock ordering systems. An Internet-based POS system can provide a better solution for a restaurant or bar. Other types of POS solution can be provided to match individual requirements in any line of business.
