How to Choose a POS For Your Startup Business

When I first started my business, I was excited to finally have a point-of-sale terminal. That quickly faded when I tried using it.

I ran into the same problem as many small business owners do: most point of sale systems are designed for large businesses and feel geared towards an operation that's more advanced than what a startup is looking for.

This doesn't mean you should be discouraged from choosing a point of sale system. In fact, point of sales systems can benefit your business in ways that will help your growth throughout the years. Here are some considerations to keep in mind as you choose a point of sale system for your startup:

Employee Readiness

One thing every point of sales system requires is employee training . The point of point-of-sale system is to track every aspect of the business, so your employees need to know how to use it.

This is especially important if you have a small staff. Know what their experience level with point-of-sales systems are before committing to one for your startup .

Customer Experience

If you're paying employees more money because they have point of sale training, then customers are also going to expect more from them. If they don't get it, they'll go elsewhere. So do some research on point of sale systems online and compare customer reviews like this CTS Point Of Sale System review . CTS point of sale systems will provide your new employees with point of sales training classes that will boost customer service and give them a point of sales system that they will actually use.

Data Collection and Business Intelligence

Since point of sale systems are primarily intended to help you track your business, think about what data you're looking for before buying one. If you already have an idea of the type of reports you'll be running, then there's no point in getting a point-of-sale system that can do anything but produce those specific types. It might even make more sense to outsource this aspect .

On the other hand, maybe it would be beneficial to your startup business if your point-of-sale system could collect additional information like customer demographics or purchase history. That way, you can learn more about which customers spend the most money with your company, or what products bring them to your point of sale system in the first place.

In addition to point of sale training for employees and customer service boost, point-of-sale systems can be a powerful business intelligence tool as well. If you want more specific data points than traditional reports can provide, then use the point of sales system to its full potential.

Infrastructure and Software

Your point of sale system is only as successful as you make it . The point of point-of-sale systems is to track every aspect of your business: from product inventory levels and financial transactions, to employee hours worked and customer demographics. Unless you're able to keep up with that information on a regular basis, then it will be useless. This point of point-of-sale systems is like any other point of business: if you make it, they will come.

But how exactly do you make sure you're able to handle the data produced by your point of sale system? Depending on the size and scope of your point of sale system, that may mean that you need to upgrade or change some aspect of your business infrastructure . For example, if your point of sale system has a barcode scanner, then you'll need to invest in a good inventory management software solution to go along with it.

The point here is for point-of-sale systems produce a lot of information. So much so that unless their powers are harnessed correctly by well thought out solutions, they can become a point of stress instead. So plan accordingly and get a point-of-sale system that will make the most out of your infrastructure, whether its point-of-sale systems or point of point-of-sale systems.

That said, point-of point-of sale systems can be expensive. This point is just as dependent on what type of business you're in: retail, restaurant, salon and so on. Not all point of sales systems are created equal and when it comes to small business startup costs , every dollar counts . Your point of sale system needs to fit within your budget without sacrificing too much functionality or wasting money on features your company doesn't need. If you don't want to be bogged down by big upfront costs , point-of point-of sale systems are an especially good idea.

Tier Options for Startups

Now that you've got a point of point-of point-of sales system in mind, it's time to think about how much your company can afford to pay every month. Different point of sales systems come with different monthly fees, sometimes referred to as tiers . Some point of point-of point-of sale systems allow startup companies to get up and running for free, but have extra features available only if the owner is willing to pay.