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Friday, January 21, 2011

Is Point Of Sale System Required For Small Businesses?

Point Of Sale system can be considered in different ways by different people. It can be regarded as an advanced cash register, or an integrated system which combines sales, inventory, purchasing, and bookkeeping. POS has more benefits to business than using an old-fashioned cash register. There might be different varieties of POS systems, but some important elements common to all systems are:
  • computer and monitor
  • point of sale software
  • a receipt printer
  • a cash drawer
The most basic systems will also consist of barcode capability, which will usually consist of a barcode printer and scanner.

In order to have full benefits of POS system, then it should be connected to inventory, pricing, and bookkeeping functions, along with barcode scanners. Implementing a barcode system will not only facilitate the checkout process and decrease errors, but it will also help in dynamically updating inventory numbers as the stock leaves the store. POS software can be programed to inform when stock reaches a particular threshold so that, it can be ordered before it is finished.


An integrated POS system will immediately expose occurrence of shrinkage. If stock on the shelves is not in accordance with the stock numbers in POS system, something wrong can be suspected.


The use of POS helps in getting a good picture of product life cycles, customer buying patterns, seasonal trends, and so on. Many complete-featured POS software programs provide reporting options depending on these and other criteria.


Each market has different needs, and there are POS systems intended for many different kinds of marketplace. Even if there is no particular system matching the needs, one system can be configured to reach specific business challenges.

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