Low Cost Point of Sale Systems
Introduction
Low cost point of sale systems are a great way for any retail type of business to process orders. It does not matter whether you are a restaurant owner looking for more efficient ticket and order times or a retailer who needs detailed inventory reports. In fact, such a system can help you to identify your best products, services (menu items) and even your peak selling hours and seasons. You will have access to reports which can help your business save money by managing more efficiently and controlling inventory.
Influences on the System Cost
The greatest influence on the investment in a low cost point of sale system is going to be the software. When choosing your software, a business owner should consider exactly what type of features and functions they are looking to perform. Obviously, the more customization you require, the higher the cost of the system. The good news is that there are many POS software providers who have very powerful generic types of software which can be included with your system.
The type of actual equipment will also influence the total price of your point of sale system. A full line of equipment which includes a computer, monitor, customer display, printer, card reader and bar code scanner will cost more than if you already have some of the hardware. In fact, many business owners are able to take some of their existing equipment and integrate them instead of purchasing everything brand new.
Consider Your Needs
What do you actually want you point of sale system to do? Ask yourself some questions about your business, like:
- What types of tax must you collect on each sale (does it need to be programmed into the system or not)?
- How many departments or distinct areas do you have within your business location?
- How many products and services do you carry?
- Are you planning on expanding your line(s) of merchandise any time in the near future?
- How busy is your business?
- Will you need more than one register or POS system?
- Will you need to accept coupons, gift cards or other types of non-cash payments?
- How will you (or your employees) process refunds?
- What types of payment does your business accept?
Your answers to the above questions will determine exactly which types of low cost point of sale system you will require. The more complex you need it to be, the more involved will be the programming that is required. Obviously, if you need more than one register or full station you will need to invest more.
Bottom Line
It is quite possible to find some very low cost point of sales systems. However, take your time to consider all of your needs and exactly what types of features and functions you want to see in your new system. Remember that this is an investment which can help you improve sales and affords the ability to better manage and control your business.
How to Automatically Fill Out Forms During Checkout
We are contacted quite a bit from consumers looking to easily make purchases on the web using one of our USB credit card readers. Rather than type in their credit card information, they’d like to swipe it. This makes perfect sense, however, that is not the intended use for our product. Rather, USBSwiper is meant for use as a merchant (seller) to easily accept payments with credit cards.
No worries, though, if you’re looking to speed up your online checkout experience we can still help. There are automatic form filler tools available online that you can use so you don’t have to keep filling out forms. These include usernames and passwords, credit card information, street addresses, etc.
I’ve been using RoboForm for years now, and I love it. Check em out and I think you’ll find they save you loads of time making purchases online and filling out forms in general.
What to Look for in a Portable Credit Card Terminal
Whether you want to get rid of your obsolete credit card terminal or are just processing credit cards for the first time, a portable credit card terminal can be an efficient way to get the job done. Let’s face it – our society has become very mobile and a portable credit card terminal is virtually required in many professions and businesses. With this in mind, you may wonder what to look for in a portable credit card terminal.
Compatibility
First and foremost, be sure that your chosen portable credit card terminal is compatible with whichever device that you intend to use it with. There are options available for just about any type of device, including PCs, MACs and smartphones. Find a portable credit card terminal that is compatible with your desired device.
User Friendliness
There is no point in getting something that will take you 5 hours to set up. Also, if you have to call the manufacturer’s customer service team 3 times per day, you may as well go with a clunky device that you may have seen at a cash register.
While tech equipment can be tricky to novice users, be sure that you have at least an idea of how to use it. Have a qualified customer service representative walk you through the entire process of using your desired portable credit card terminal before committing to it. Alternatively, speak with someone you know who has a device that you are considering to get information on how it works and whether or not it is suitable for your particular business usage and flow.
Fees
Everybody in the world has the lowest fees – regardless of industry – or so their ads say. Take a look at the detailed fees of the company you are considering purchasing your portable credit card terminal from. Consider equipment fees, monthly fees, transaction fees and any other fees that are listed on their website. If anything is unclear, contact the customer service team for clarification on all fees that you will be required to pay if you sign up for their product.
If a tiered fee structure is in place, be sure to do the math to see how much you will actually have to pay if you use a particular type of portable credit card terminal.
Conclusion
Shopping for a portable credit card terminal can be a challenge for a novice tech user. However, a little research and testing on the front end can prevent a major headache later on. Doing so will allow your business to offer customers more flexible payment options and even attract new customers.
Uses for Bar Code Scanners
When was the last time you visited a retail store without seeing bar code scanners? Chances are, you probably never have done so.
From retail stores to office buildings to just about everywhere else, bar code scanners have become an important tool in the modern world. What are some uses for these devices?
Point of Sale
Next time you check out at a retail store, the items that you purchase will almost certainly be scanned with a bar code scanner. This allows the clerk to view the price and other information and generally helps tally up the total cost of all products.
Inventory Tracking
Have you ever ordered an item online and tracked it through the shipping process? If so, chances are that it’s tracking information was recorded through the use of bar code scanners.
Other businesses use bar code scanners, as well. These include warehouses and any other type of business that can benefit from inventory tracking. You may even see grocery store employees using bar code scanners to scan items while on the shelves – not just at cash registers.
Shopping
Before the Internet went mainstream, you’d either have to check out newspaper ads or drive from store to store to comparison shop. Even after the Internet went mainstream, you’d still have to sit at your computer to comparison shop from home before heading out, unless you wanted to spend all day driving from store to store.
Now, bar code scanners allow customers to scan items (via a mobile phone) at a particular store and compare prices to nearby stores as well as online retailers. So, next time a sales rep. at a store tells you that his store’s deal is better than the rest, you can instantly prove him right or wrong.
Also, some stores have installed bar code scanners for customers to scan items with. This can be helpful when a price-tag is missing or to verify that a posted sale is still valid.
Tracking Documents
Bar code scanners can be used in conjunction with certain document imaging systems. The documents are given bar codes and tracked through the use of these devices. Effectively, this is a means of inventory control, only for documents instead of typical inventory items such as parts or consumer goods.
Conclusion
In the ever-evolving world of technology, it may seem odd that bar code scanners have maintained their relevance over several decades. Technologies that are in high-demand one day can quickly become obsolete. However, given the information that their usage can provide, bar code scanners will probably be around for a while.
Should You Get a Credit Card Reader for Your Computer and Business?
Once a mainstay next to the cash register as a large device with loads of buttons, a credit card reader can now come in the form of a small device that can be attached to your computer. For small businesses or those who just don’t want a clunky device taking up extra space, this can be a great deal.
A modern credit card reader can fit in the palm of your hand. You can get one that still has the same functionality of a much larger credit card processing machine in that it can read the magnetic tape that is found on most credit cards. However, a credit card reader that can be attached to your computer opens up a world of options, as it can be used at work, home or anywhere else that you work from.
Example
To illustrate how a credit card reader for your computer could be very helpful, let’s consider an experience that I had with an one owner business. It was a woman who owned a graphic-design business.
I made a few purchases from this woman over the course of a few weeks. On each occasion, time was not of the essence, so I paid with cash. The woman had to leave her computer (where she appeared to be at every time I walked in), walk over to a separate area, take my cash and print out a receipt. I’m not even certain that she had a credit card reader at all, but, judging by most businesses in that area, she would have had an older machine if she did. Had she been very busy, that could be a very inefficient process when taking multiple customers into consideration.
Instead, the woman could have had a credit card reader attached to her computer. Payment could have been as efficient as a quick swipe of a credit card and off I would have been with my purchase. Imagine how much more efficient this would have been if she had a long list of customers to serve to get an idea of how a relatively inexpensive device could be highly useful.
Should You Get a Credit Card Reader For Your Computer?
If you use a computer during your daily business activities or just have one present on site, a credit card reader can be a great tool. Getting approved for a merchant account, downloading some software and attaching a credit card reader to a USB port is all it takes to get the ball rolling. Just think of the increased productivity and user-friendliness that a credit card reader for your computer could add to your business!
