How To Choose Right Point of Sale Software

Tip #1 - Choose Epos Software First 

There are many instances I've heard a retailer say, "I just bought new systems and printers and I have everything ready to go. Now I’m looking for EPOS software."

These retailers could have saved a lot of time and money by choosing POS software first!

 Why? 

Your EPOS software needs to have hardware and an operating system requirement. For example, most of the software will require a specific version of Windows, Unix or Linux. Moreover, each program may function only with certain kinds of printers, scanners, cash drawers and card readers.

In case if you install your system first, you will limit your POS software choices. The EPOS system that you choose is important. It will have the huge impact on the productivity of your business! You may also find that the printers and scanners you just purchased aren't compatible either.

You can avoid frustration and save money in case if you choose the EPOS Software first. You can get some information about their recommended hardware and compatibility either. 

Tip #2 - Buy From One Source 

If you purchase hardware and software from different companies you could run into some frustrating situations.

In case if, when you have an issue and call for support, 'blame game' starts. The hardware company and software company blame each other.

It can be seen many times. It's best to buy your hardware and software from one provider. You may pay a little more by and large, but it’s worth it if you have a problem. Also they can pre-configure the PC system and save you time! 

Tip #3 – Search for Industry Specific Software 

If you observe this article, I hope you learn how important is to look for software that is tailored for your industry. Why? 

Each retailer has different needs such as...

• An apparel store requires a special "matrixing" feature so they can track various colors and sizes. Not all Pos systems may have this feature which can save a lot of time. This is a compulsory feature for apparel stores.
•  A motor cycle parts and service retailer needs in depth work order features, integration to Parts Catalog systems and more. These industry specific features can save up to 1 to 50 hours every day, depending upon the size of business.
• A few retailers have specific E-Commerce/site needs. This can save much time.
• A structure materials retailer needs to get stock by the "board foot". Their POS couldn't run effectively without this.
• Furthermore, the list...

Tip #4 - Buy Name Brand 

Many systems will have a 1 – 3 year warranty and perhaps on site service. Your POS hardware (ex: receipt printers, cash drawers, etc) will have up to 1 year warranty.

To avoid issues with your warranty, it's better to purchase from a branded company. In case if the company you purchased goes out from the business, you still have full support from the manufacturers. 

Tip #5 - Don't Forget the Miscellaneous Items 

When you analyse and compare price quotes you need to consider the different items. They can quickly include! A few POS companies will include everything and others will let certain things out of their quote.

Here's a checklist of items to consider:

• Training fees 
• Support fees
• Software update / maintenance fees
• Receipt printers
• Barcode scanners
• Cash drawers
• Till roll, label printer and many more…

How To Use Categories In Retail POS Software And Get The Best Results – Part 2

Let us continue where we have left in the first part...
 

When you have categories assigned to your merchandise, you can use your retail POS software to quickly create some very powerful reports.

First you should look at your sales and profit margin for each category on a daily, monthly and yearly basis. 

Check for the following questions:

If the profit margin is high then...

• Why is my profit high?
• Are my sales totals high or low?
• Should I allocate more floor space to this kind of merchandise? Will I sell more  if I do?
• Is training required for my employees how to sell and push this merchandise?
• Am I running shortage of stock and losing sales of any product?
• Which product lines are making me more profits?
•  Should I order more of a specific product line that is profitable?

In case if the profit for this category is low then...

• Why my profits are low?
• Are my sales totals to high or low for this category?
• Should I need to stop ordering these types of merchandise and eliminate it?      Shall I replace the empty floor space with something that is more profitable?
• Should I need to switch product lines?
• Can I find a better supplier with better prices?
• Can I negotiate better prices with my existing suppliers?
•  Has the profit margin in this category change from yesterday or last month?

I can't stress how essential to analyze your financials every day. Small adjustments can have a huge impact on your bottom line. You have to consider other factors that might skew the numbers, including over-stock clearance sales, lost pioneer discounts that get customers in your store, and the best possible product mix to keep customers coming back. 

In addition, you have to collect enough historical data to make accurate decisions. That is the reason it's so important to categorize your merchandize right away and start collecting information. That is one of the main things you should set up in your retail POS software.

Whether you have a POS system or not categorizing your merchandize is an important retail management crucial that successful retailers have used for a long time. You can implement this idea in your business regardless of whether you don't have a POS system. However, a great POS system makes it a lot easier, saves time and gives you the reports in real time.

How Your EPOS Software Helps You To Get Better Prices From Your Suppliers

Here's a quick and simple way to bring down your cost of goods sold and boost your profits....

Open your epos software and draw up a sales report that summarizes the profit margins for your providers.

You can use that data to negotiate better prices with your providers.

Many retailers fail to ask discounts since they don't feel like they have the leverage of the big young men. It’s not true in most of the cases. You just need to ask. The worst answer they can say is no.

For example, you could call your provider and say, "I'm taking a look at the reports in my POS software and analyzing the profit margins for my business. I can see that you're one of our top providers but our margins on your products are low.

 

In fact, they're 8% lower than our top two sellers. We truly like your products and we like ordering much more, but we need to get more money. What would you be able to improve discounts permanently?"

I think you get the idea. This is important and more powerful than simply saying, "Can I be able to get discount?"

In case if you don't have an EPOS system you can get this data, but it will take a long time to create it. With the right EPOS software, you can whip out this data in almost no time.

You'd be stunned how just asking for better prices from your providers can knock off a bug chunk of your stock costs. What's more, having genuine data before you makes it easier get what you need.

How To Use Categories In Retail POS Software And Get The Best Results – Part 1

The first tip should be simple and powerful way of increasing profits. Also, it's something you have to start doing immediately!

When you start using your retail POS software, you have to add your stock, Right? You take each bit of merchandise and enter the product number, price, selling price and other pertinent data into your POS system. At that point when you sell those products, the retail till software recollects the details of every transaction - so you can pull up a large variety of reports at a later date and time.

For example, you can pull up a report that shows what number of XYZ devices you sold yesterday. Presently this is amazing in itself, yet there's an important and powerful way to use your point of sale software.

One of the most important steps is to get on your retail POS software is to assign departments and categories to each inventory product. In any sort of situation, few retailers use departments and categories effectively. This is an important step to getting the most of your retail POS software.

When done in a right way, categorizing your inventory can give you powerful data that allows you to manage with your business more effectively. Let me give you a simple example and show you how to use this data to maximize your profits...

 

Above all, as a general guideline you should not have in excess of 10 departments and 10 categories within each department. In case if you assign more than 100 categories, you'll end up with an excessive number of insignificant categories that record for less than 1% of your business. Most of the retailers think they need more categories, however even the biggest retailers in the world manage their businesses with great success by using under 100 categories.

The technical definition of category can be defined as a group or combination of merchandise that the customer finds interchangeable. While creating your categories, consider what your customer is going to purchase. For example, if a customer walks into your store searching for a tent, they likely won't purchase a bicycle, but may choose an alternate size or brand of tent. So tents could be a category.

How to Maximize Your Profits Using POS Software

The most powerful marketing tool is the customer list saved in your POS software! For example, you can make lots of extra sales and boost your response by 1000% when sending your current customer promotions.

At the time when someone makes a purchase, they prefer buying from those who trust and who has treated them fairly in the past. If you were to rent a "cool list" you may, with a well crafted sales letter or promotion, get a 1 to 3% response on the offer. In any case if you send the same letter to your previous customers, you can see a return that is much better with response rates as high as 25%!

When crafting your marketing campaigns, you should constantly include the customer's name and customize the message. This process has proven to drastically increase the effectiveness of mailing efforts.

The issue is, mailing every one of your customers individually (composing their names and email addresses again and again) would actually take many hours of tedious work...

Fortunately, many good pos software uk resolve this issue by allowing you to merge fields into your email messages, promotions or sales letters with the goal that when people get your message, they assume you know them!

Sending customized emails or letters to your past customers can be a very powerful and profitable marketing strategy. Not only can you create instant sales revenue, however it improves your company's name recognition too...

As a general guideline, the experts say that you should keep in contact with your previous customers at least twice a year - so when they're ready to buy, they consider you first!

You may be thinking... how might I send my customers a message 2 to 6 times each year without annoying them? All things considered, you should blend in helpful information and promote your offer in a non-intrusive way. In other words, write as if you're paying special attention to your customer's best interests.

To get your innovative juices flowing, here are a couple of great ways to get more sales and improve customer loyalty. You could...

•  Automatically send thank-you letters after huge purchases.
• Notify them about discounts - As an esteemed customer, I wanted to inform you regarding a 10% discount sale we're having for our past customers!  
• Send birthday cards.
• Send articles or informational newsletters.
• Send promotional emails for add on sales - I saw you bought the XYZ gadget. You should   consider the XYZ attachment which encourages you do various things.
• Send letters to regain lost customers - I saw you haven't been back for more than 9 months. Here's a no strings attached voucher for £ Amount to get you back to see us once again.
• Promote your service by sending a letter that says - Your XYZ product was last serviced on XX/XX/XXXX and we're having a tune up special for just £ Amount... 
•  Offer a week sale to your top 200 customers.

The potential outcomes are endless. The key is to customize your mailings, create a powerful offer, and explain the benefits of what you're selling. The test and track the results of each campaign. In case if you find a winner, continue running it two times every year, or as long as it's effective.