POS Systems Business Guide: POS Terminals, Cash Registers & Card Swipers

A POS system is also known as a point-of-sale system. This system comes in the form of a card swiper, cash register, or POS terminal. POS applications can be found on platforms such as Windows and Unix.

Modern POS systems are relied on and must be consistent in speed, reliable, easy to use, have remote support (where you call to have customer service set up service or troubleshoot), a low cost, and high functionality. 

Benefits

POS terminals

POS terminals are generally used in retail. When you use a POS terminal you’ll notice that it has a computer, monitor, cash drawer, printer for receipts, a customer display, scanner for barcodes, and some form of a debit or credit card reader. Some benefits of the various POS terminals may include:

·         Touch screen technology

·         Pin pad systems

·         Multiple functions, such as loading gift cards, customer loyalty programs, quantity discounts, and more

Cash Registers

Cash registers may be used in industries such as Hospitality. This industry, which includes hotels and restaurants, primarily relies on sales transactions. The cash registers used today have many beneficial functions, including:

·         Labor and payroll

·         Sales

·         Remote access

·         Accounting and book keeping/ record generation

·         Touch screen technology (advanced models)

Card Swipers

Card swipers are some of the most basic of the POS systems, but still have many functions. These are used to take debit or credit cards. Depending on the system, some card types may or may not be accepted. Some benefits of these systems are:

·         Low or no monthly fees; pay when using only

·         Wireless technology

·         Easy use

·         Direct deposit to bank account

·         Versatility; ability to work at events and other locations

Pitfalls

The pitfalls of POS systems vary between the different types. If you are looking for a system to handle a large inventory, buying a small card swiper may not be ideal. This would be a task for the POS terminal. Besides the varying technological abilities of these machines for different types of stores and sales environments, these systems have the following issues.

POS Terminal

·         Large, heavy (in some models), not portable

·         Touch screen can fail

·         Slower than other types of POS systems

Cash Register

·         Only one system record the transaction

·         Training; each system is different

·         Low portability (depending on the model)

Card Swiper

·         Must be near a phone jack

·         Extra fees are common (ie: programming fees)

·         Portable terminals generally cost more

Pricing

POS systems vary dramatically in price, depending on how much you want to customize and specialize your system. Systems with custom installation and programming can cost between $2,500 and $6,000 each. Without custom installation or programming you can expect to spend between $1,000 and $3,000 each. This is true for POS terminals, cash registers, and card swipers with monthly fees.

Aren’t any Cheaper?

Some card swipers, such as Square, do not have monthly fees and are free. This simple product has an application you download. It is for very simple transactions and charges a fee only when you complete a credit card or debit card sale. Other systems may be cheap, around $30 to start, and then have similar functions. One such system, called iPay POS, has a fee of $30.00 for unlimited transactions. These systems are not meant for large businesses and retail environments, so it’s important to question your needs.

Return on Investment

You will want to consider your return on investment, ROI, when you buy a POS system. This is the amount of money it saves you or helps you make. This is determined over time, subtracting the initial cost of the machine. For example, if you purchase a terminal for $5,000 and only use it for $100 worth of sales, you won’t have a very good return on your investment. However, if you spend nothing on a card swiping application and make $200 in sales, you’ve made a positive return.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you’ll need to understand the type of business you’re expecting to do to make an appropriate purchase of a POS system. POS systems vary dramatically. Do you need to travel? You’ll be best off with a card swiper. Are you planning on cash transactions much of the time? A cash register may be the best system for you. Retail environments deal with all types of sales and customer interactions; you may need more power than you realize. This would be a good situation to purchase a POS terminal.

You’ll need to consider your employees’ computer knowledge and the training that is involved with each system. A card swiper will be the easiest to learn, while a full POS terminal may take many hours of training. Your return on investment depends on the usability of this device and how often you’ll be using it for purchases. Purchasing the correct POS systems will make it easy to keep track of your data and will help benefit your company.