If you don’t have a full-blown POS system for your retail business, you are losing money — guaranteed!
The following are 10 reasons why,
1.Time is money.
As you sit at your desk, head in your hands trying to reconcile your balance sheet, the store next door, the one with the full-blown POS system has accomplished the same task in less than 5 minutes.
Most POS systems automate a wide variety of functions that normally take retailers tons of time to accomplish. Tasks like inventory and sales reports, end of the day balancing, purchase orders, and more. A full-blown retail POS system will automate all of those functions making hours of work take virtually seconds. As long as it takes you to push a few buttons. This saved time means hours on the clock, hours that you’re paying employees, hours that could be spent making sales.
2.Inventory shrinkage.
Stores without a POS system are more susceptible to employee theft; nearly 50% of retail shrinkage comes from employee theft.
POS software can help to significantly reduce or eliminate incidents. With instant access to “voided/cancelled/deleted sales reports,” “returned transactions” reports, and “inventory adjustments reports” you can easily tell when something fishy is going on. Additionally, with many POS systems you can password protect any area that you do not want employees to have access to.
3.Poor customer service means lost money.
Customer loyalty is fleeting, especially if you don’t give them anything to remember you by.
Your business and your customers can significantly benefit from a POS system. The most basic customer service benefit is the amount of time that is reduced at the checkout counter. But imagine being able to call up your customer’s profile based on your caller ID or being able to instantly check the status of a layaway or special order.
Additionally, digital copies of your receipts allow you to modify your return policy and take returns from customers without receipts.
4.Missed upselling opportunities and decreased sales.
Do you know what your customers are buying? It’s impossible to remember everything but your customer remembers and if you had a POS system, you would too.
POS systems enable sales associates to access information about customer’s previous purchases so that they may assist them better or provide them with information for upselling opportunities at the point of sale.
This excellent customer service means that you’ll increase your sales too. If for example a customer enters the store looking for an item that is out of stock, a quick check of your inventory on your POS system will show you what complimentary products are available.
5.Missed client marketing opportunities.
Do you have a customer loyalty program?
Did you know that many POS software systems offer client management and marketing features? These features enable retailers to send targeted letters, emails, and direct mailers to their customers based on demographics and past purchases.
Many POS software packages can easily produce a list of your top customers in minutes. Imagine being able to personally invite your top customers to a sale or offer them a discount for being such good customers. Some retailers use their systems to send thank you notes to customers after they’ve made a large purchase or letters to customers that haven’t made a purchase in a long time.
6.Ineffective check verification systems mean lost time and money.
The benefit to having your check verification system tied directly into a POS system is that the transactions, information, and all necessary tracking of the accounts are done automatically, thus eliminating the many steps of paperwork that would still be required if you operated a check verification system independent of a POS software system.
Steamlined systems mean that your time is spent making sales instead of handling paperwork. Each point of sale transaction is speedy and all information is available from one location — your POS terminal. Additionally, you’re adding the extra security that your customers deserve by having your transactions, check verification included, run through a secure point of sale software system.
7.Pricing mistakes and missed profit margins
Do you know what products are selling and at what price they sell the best?
POS software enables you as a retailer to easily determine which products are your fastest sellers and at what price point. This makes it easier to find that ‘ magic price point that allows you to maximize profits. Additionally, regardless of the size of your inventory, prices can be updated in a matter of minutes.
Additionally, pricing mistakes are virtually eliminated because you don’t have to rely on your employees to calculate the price of items. The computer has already done this, and your sales tax, and any discounts that may be applied.
8.Unhappy relationships with suppliers
Many retailers fail to ask for discounts because they don’t feel like they have the leverage of the big boys. In many cases, that’s simply not true. And if you have the facts and information to justify your request it’ll make your pitch all the more convincing.
If you utilize your POS inventory system to track markdowns and clearances, you can print a report that shows your supplier that your profit margin on their products is 6% lower than your profit margin from competing products. That should get their attention! Take advantage of that information and use it to negotiate better prices for future orders.
9.Website shopping carts?
If you currently sell your products online or ever plan to, then an integrated shopping cart POS software solution can save you a huge amount of time by automatically creating orders and new customers for you. An integrated shopping cart – POS software solution can also reduce errors because human data entry is always prone to more mistakes. These mistakes can make frustrate customers, eat valuable time, and mess-up your inventory. An integrated shopping cart – POS software solution can save you loads of time by synchronizing the inventory information and pricing in your POS software with your website.
Imagine for a moment that you want to start selling a brand new product line on your website. How long would it take you to manually add all those new products added to your website? With the right technology, all you have to do is check a box in your POS system and that inventory will be uploaded to your website. Your POS system will send product numbers, descriptions, images, pricing and other various inventory information to your website.
10.Inaccurate inventories and tedious ordering processes.
Ordering too much or too little of a product can create huge problems for retailers. POS software inventory control features enable you to keep your inventories streamlined by automating the ordering process. As soon as a product reaches a designated level, a purchase order can be automatically generated and sent to your distributor. Imagine the time you’ll save with that feature!