POS
POS Integration
For a trouble-free point of sale integration this
year, follow these four steps
By Kyle Lauber, Marketing & Communications Coordinator, Star Micronics – www.starmicronics.com
Position your business to make 2018
a great year by giving your customers
the shopping or dining experiences
they want, all while enabling your staff
to work smarter, not harder. A new or
upgraded point of sale (POS) system will
allow you to have the POS integration
your business needs now, and also gives
you some room to grow in the future.
Here are four things to do if a new POS
integration is on your wish list:
1. Communicate with staff
Talk to your staff to understand their
challenges and the technology that can
help them to do their jobs more easily
and efficiently. A retail store’s counter
and sales staff or a restaurant’s waiting
staff and cooks are on the front lines
of dealing with customers and hearing
their feedback – especially when
your business doesn’t live up to their
expectations. Your employees’ input can
help you identify which POS integrations
are important for reducing wait times,
increasing order accuracy and providing
a higher level of customer service.
2. Choose the right system
When making an investment in a new
POS system, ensure it has at least the
POS integration capabilities to support
these five types of solutions:
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Sales reporting and analytics
Gain better insight into sales
numbers and profit margins,
identify top selling items
Inventory management
Maintain proper inventory counts
and gain transparency into which
store locations have items available
Customer relationship
management
Collect important data about
customer buying habits and
preferences, which can be used as
the basis of a marketing campaign
Employee management
Time clock functionality, scheduling,
and integrated payroll processing
will automate some of the most
time-consuming processes
Checkout tools
Make sure your POS system
integrates with peripherals that
help the checkout run smoothly,
including barcode technology and
fast, accurate scanning capability
3. Select a dealer partner
Choose a reputable POS provider with
a solid track record of success. Before
signing on the dotted line, ask what
types of training and support services
are available. Adding functionality to your
POS system will require expert training
to make sure your staff understands how
to use new functions and features, and
how your business can leverage them to
get the greatest ROI. Be sure to inquire
about the availability of on-site training,
tech support hours, repair services (on-
or off-site) and additional support that’s
available.
4. Will be using mobile POS?
Carefully consider the choice to integrate
mobile POS with your POS system.
Mobile POS is a reliable way to increase
table turn or reduce waiting at the
check-out. Servers can take orders and
process payments right from the table,
which cuts several minutes of waiting for
hungry diners.
In retail stores, adding tablets or
ruggedised mobile devices allows
employees to search for inventory or
process transactions right from the sales
floor. Some retailers may opt to remove
some of their traditional checkouts
and replace them with mobile devices,
which frees up floor space for additional
products. When you upgrade, evaluate
whether adding mobile capabilities is a
smart strategy for your business.
The ultimate goal
A new POS integration can help optimise
operations at your store or restaurant,
improve inventory management and
ease the workload on employees. If
you’re considering purchasing a new
POS system or upgrading the one you
already own, choose one that enables
integrations that automate processes,
manage inventory and helps your
business run more efficiently.
KIOSK solutions 39