If you have an old, semi-electronic cash register that’s not as smart as your wristwatch, it’s going to give customers the wrong impression of your business. That’s just one sign that it’s time to finally upgrade.

Your point of sale has been with you for some number of years. How do you know when it’s time to set it out to pasture and upgrade to a more modern system?

Here are some factors that we typically see when business owners decide they’re ready toss out the old and go with a new point of sale:

1. It’s missing payment options – like contactless

Customers these days want options to pay however they prefer. Some are still comfortable paying with cash but many are moving towards contactless options in light of the global pandemic. It’s a smart idea to offer different ways to pay and let the customer choose whatever is most convenient for them. A point of sale system that can accommodate many different options is the one that can grow with you over time.

2. It’s not tracking inventory

The ability to track inventory through the point of sale is becoming a must for all sorts of businesses. If you do any volume at all, it’s a good idea to let the point of sale track inventory because otherwise you need to do inventory manually or just guess. Neither one of those is a good option. Besides, think about all of the important things you could be doing (like email marketing) instead of doing inventory by hand. Let the point of sale handle it for you!

3. It’s not providing the right reporting

Speaking of inventory, the point of sale should be providing reports about your inventory and sales. If not, that’s a major red flag for your business! The point of sale should be logging and tracking all of this data that can then be used to produce sales reports so you know what’s selling and what’s still sitting on the shelves. More importantly, the reporting can help you understand where profits are coming from and what promotions are generating the greatest revenues.

4. It’s not connected to the cloud

By now, you’ve heard a lot about point of sale systems being connected to the cloud. If not, you’re missing out. The cloud offers a slew of advantages. For one thing, it allows you to keep the point of sale software updated and patched with the latest features and security upgrades. In addition, it allows you to access the data and reporting from anywhere with an Internet connection. This means that if you own multiple restaurants or store locations, you can view all of your data in one consolidated dashboard wherever you happen to be that day.

5. The hardware is tacky

Let’s face it: the point of sale equipment leaves an impression on your customers. If you have an old electronic cash register that’s not as smart as your wristwatch, it’s going to give customers the wrong impression of the business. On the other hand, if your point of sale looks sleek and smart with modern design touches, that’s going to elevate your business in the minds of your customers. Remember: you only get one chance to make a good first impression!

6. It’s slow

How does speed at the point of sale affect your business? It can have a dramatic effect on customer satisfaction if customers are waiting too long to check out. This is especially true if a line forms and people are becoming impatient while the customers in front of them are waiting to pay. Modern point of sale systems have features that can help process a queue faster. Many use a ‘two tap’ functionality to quickly ring up items that are frequent sellers. This helps the cashier process orders and payments faster by reducing the number of steps needed to complete a transaction.

7. It can’t support online sales

If the pandemic has taught us nothing else, it’s that businesses need to have multiple channels to connect with customers. Online sales can help drive additional revenue and a point of sale system should be the backbone of that channel. If for no other reason, the point of sale should be the one source for inventory no matter where an item is sold (ie online or in the physical store). This way, it’s much easier to know when you need to re-order and it’s much easier to produce sales reports because the sales are being tracked by the point of sale in both instances.

Want to learn more about modern point of sale systems? Contact us today for more information and a demonstration.

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