POS

The point of sale (POS) or point of purchase (POP) is the time and place where a retail transaction is completed. At the point of sale, the merchant calculates the amount owed by the customer, indicates that amount, may prepare an invoice for the customer (which may be a cash register printout), and indicates the options for the customer to make payment. It is also the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service. After receiving payment, the merchant may issue a receipt for the transaction, which is usually printed but can also be dispensed with or sent electronically.

The POS serves as the central component for your business; it’s the hub where everything—like sales, inventory and customer management—merges.

As evident as the benefits of a POS system are, we found that 56 percent of single-store retailers are still not using one. Instead, we found, many are still using a combination of manual methods, cash registers, QuickBooks and Excel for bookkeeping.

So why have retailers not taken that step to POS yet? To begin with, implementing new technology—especially technology that’s central to your business process—can be scary and overwhelming. Retailers need to consider the negative consequences of failing to have a POS in place.

Hardware Components of a POS System
These are the common physical components required to get your POS up and running.

Monitor/tablet: Displays the product database and enables other functions, such as employee clock-in and viewing sales reports.

Barcode scanner: Scanning barcodes pulls product info and adds it to the order list. Barcode scanners can also integrate with inventory management systems to automatically adjust stock levels.

Credit/Debit card reader: For take payment via digital money.

Internet: Required stable and high speed internet connection to operate POS system..