Customers are billed at the point of sale, which is also known as the point of purchase. Whether a customer buys something online, in person, or picks something up from your display (or booth), they’ve reached the point of sale (POS).
The hardware and software of your point-of-sale system are what allow your company to make those sales.
How does a small business’ POS system work?
With a POS system, you may collect consumer payments and track sales. However, the arrangement may be slightly different depending on whether you sell online only or have a physical location.
To describe a store’s cash register, we’ll use POS (point of sale system). Modern point-of-sale systems are all digital these days. The consumer can be checked out from anywhere in the world, thanks to this feature.
- It is sufficient to have a POS app installed on a tablet or Smartphone connected to the internet.
- A customer chooses your product or service. They may ask a salesperson to ring them up if you have a real store. That employee could scan the barcode to see how much the item costs. The camera on your mobile smartphone can be used with some POS systems like Square Point of Sale to scan items visually. This phase is complete when a customer has finished adding products to their online shopping cart and hits the checkout button.
- Your POS system calculates the item’s price, including any sales tax, and then updates the inventory count to reflect the item’s sale.
- Your client makes the payment. Your customer will need to pay using a credit card, tap/debit/loyalty/gift/gift card/cash to complete their order. If they opt for a different payment method, their bank will have to approve the transaction finally.
- The point-of-sale transaction comes to an end with the payment being processed. This is the point at which a sale is considered final. Once the payment has been processed, you will receive either a digital or printed receipt. You either ship or deliver the purchased goods to your consumer.
What to Look for When Purchasing a POS System?
Additionally, you’ll need to decide on what kind of POS system to purchase. It would help if you also thought about how you’ll pay for it.
Point-of-sale systems can be purchased from a retailer or the software developer. These are independent third-party vendors who are authorized to sell the software company’s products. Both options have advantages and disadvantages. Using a local reseller has the extra advantage of allowing you to get on-site support and help from them.
In either case, be certain you know who will be in charge of maintenance, and support will be your choice of option—repairs and whether or not additional charges would be made for future maintenance.
