It is rightly said that it takes months to find a customer and seconds to lose one. You not only need to focus on offering superior quality products but also on providing them in the shortest amount of time. A POS payments system can streamline order processing and help to provide a superior customer experience in your store. This article discusses the concept of POS and how it can help you to improve your retail business.
What is a POS?
POS refers to “point of sale.” It is the location where a customer finalizes their purchase by paying for goods and services. A POS system is a combination of hardware and software used to process orders and accept payments in physical stores.
A modern POS system contains a barcode scanner that the cashier uses to scan products and ring them up. As the cashier scans more items, the display unit shows the total price of all the items along with applicable tax and the customer can pay either using cash, mobile pay or by swiping their card. After successful payment, the cashier generates a receipt and shares it with the customer.
What are integrated payments?
Now that you have seen how a POS system can help you streamline order processing, you can take it further by integrating payments. Payment integration is all about connecting the POS system with a payment processor so that the data transitions smoothly between the platforms.
By integrating the POS system with a payment gateway, you save yourself the hassle of manually entering the customer and card details at the checkout counter. Payment details are downloaded into the system and payment can now be accepted by the EFTPOS machine.
You should try to use the same company for POS and payment processing, as both hardware and software need to coordinate. Using the same company, you don’t have to endure the headache of handling compatibility and upgrades. Even communication becomes more accessible as there is a single point of contact for payment and POS.
How POS Integrated Systems Help Your Retail Business
The benefits of a POS integrated payment system go beyond the checkout counter. The right system positively impacts multiple facets of your business – be it better customer experiences or increased profitability. Here is a list of benefits describing why you should opt for integrated payments.
#1 Reduce human error
Did you know that a non fungible token worth $300,000 was accidentally sold for $3,000? The reason was a misplaced decimal point!
A mistake like this can cost your business a fortune so it is essential to minimize human error. You do not want to incur unnecessary costs because of a misread number. This problem can be easily solved using a POS system.
If your POS system is synchronized with a payment processor the item will automatically ring up at the correct price without any decimal errors.
#2 Lowers the cost
Without a POS system, customers have to wait for a manual checkout process which slows down the transaction. By using payment integration with POS, not only is the checkout process streamlined, but it also eliminates the time spent on reconciliations. All this leads to big savings in time and money.
The payment processors offer special concessional rates if the merchants use their preferred partners. You can get better rates by selecting a payment provider that integrates with your POS.
#3 Efficiently run the store
These days, customer expectations are rising and their patience is decreasing.
One of the reasons shoppers choose a physical store over an online store is to have immediate access to products instead of waiting for days to arrive.
But if you make them wait in long queues to checkout, they will treat it as an inconvenience and may think twice before approaching your store next time. On average, retail shoppers prefer to wait only for 5-10 minutes before abandoning their purchase. Don’t miss out on potential sales by making the customers wait too long.
Integrating the POS with a card reader can help your employees cater to customers even during rush times. Prices are scanned accurately and if you are offering a discount on the product, it can be auto-applied.
With an integrated payment processing machine, your customers get various payment options associated with the purchase. And even after the sale, the POS system saves the transaction information in the database. Implementing a POS system increases customer satisfaction and employee productivity!
#4 Better reporting and insights
You can automate bookkeeping by using a POS payments system and a payment processor. As every transaction gets recorded, you can keep track of the different payment sources – cash, card, cheque, etc. Tracking your cash receipts can help you ascertain the overall profitability of your retail store.
A comprehensive POS solution will offer you store statistics all in one place. For example, payment reports can help prevent employee theft and help you ascertain which types of products are most in demand. Use this data to decide which items to stock and which ones to shelf off.
Dear Systems POS
If you are wondering which POS software to implement for your retail store – DEAR Systems is the perfect solution for you.
DEAR Systems POS works online as well offline, so even if you lose your Internet connection, your data will be safe and synced when the Internet is connected again. You can effortlessly reconcile cash receipts and store customer data for better insights.
Get comprehensive reports about your sales, inventory and product performance. Book a call with us to learn more about how we can help you with DEAR Systems POS.