1010 Questions You Must Ask Before You Invest in a Point-of-Sale Computer System For Your Store
With so many Point-Of-Sale (POS) computer systems on the market how do you decide:
- what software to use?
- what hardware to invest in?
- what features you need?
- and who you can trust to deliver what they promise?
This task can be daunting. This article discusses the 10 questions you need to ask before you make this crucial decision for your store and business. The proper POS computer system, from the right supplier can give you the critical business decision information and increased productivity you need to grow your store to a success you’ve only dreamed of before. The wrong POS computer system, from the wrong supplier can be your worst nightmare!
Investing in a POS computer system for your retail store requires an initial commitment in both time and money, but the rewards in the form of increased productivity and informed decisiion making can be enormous. With the right POS computer system from the right supplier you’ll have much more time to work ON your store rather than IN your store. You’ll have both the time and information to truly manage and make informed decisions rather than just performing mundane day-to-day tasks that don’t create real value for your business.
You need and must ask these 10 key questions before you invest in a POS computer system to ensure you get EXACTLY what you need and don’t end up living your worst nightmare.
#1: Does The Company Your Are Considering Guarantee That You Will Be Happy?
#2: Can The Company You’re Considering Supply Everything You Need,Hardware, Software, Accessories and Support?
If you choose to get your software, hardware or support from more than one company you are setting yourself up for disaster. If you get your hardware from one supplier, and your software from another, and you have a problem, the software supplier will blame it on the hardware, and the hardware supplier will blame it on the software. Then, if you have another supplier for support, or printers, or scanners, or whatever, you’ll just multiply the problem.
You get caught in the middle, with no one taking responsibility. You don’t get the answers you need, and you waste time and money. You don’t want to get caught in this position.
If you get all of your software, hardware, accessories, and support from one source, there is no room for excuses. There’s no one else to blame, and no one to shoo you off to. Two other reasons to get everything from one source...
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#3: Do They Have the Technical Support, Infrastructure, Financial Strength and Credibility to Serve You Now and In the Future, or Just Price?
Price will certainly be an important factor in your decision, but consider, “How happy would your customers be if they bought the lowest priced option with the products you sell?” Are you wearing the lowest priced shoes you could find? Are you driving a Yugo? I doubt it. How often have you been happy when you bought something based on price alone. There is always going to be someone with a lower price. Be sure to find out about:
#4: Do They Have The Right Software For Your Store?
You should be looking to partner with a distributor that specializes in Retail Store POS, and the company you partner with should have experience in your retail category.
Many times retailers buy their computer hardware, printer, and other peripherals and think they’re ready to go. Then they shop for software and need to “settle” for something that works with their hardware but doesn’t give them what they need to manage their store.
If you purchase your hardware first, or limit your software considerations to those that “happen” to work with hardware you already have, you’ll severely limit your choices of software and the company that can provide it.
Your POS software will have hardware and operating system requirements. For example...
To Learn the Answer to This Question and 9 Others CLICK HERE to get your FREE Report, "10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Invest in a Retail Management Point-of-Sale Computer System For Your Store" including Your 121-Point Check List.
#5: Do They Have All of the “Extras” You’ll Need and Are They All Installed and Tested?
When it comes time to talk price, be sure you are evaluating comparable solutions. There is no such thing as a “Complete POS System” that’s right for everyone. Don’t get me wrong, there certainly may be a package that includes everything you’ll need. But be sure the representative spends enough time with you and asks enough questions that you get everything you need and don’t end up paying for things you don’t need. Know what you are looking at and make sure you are comparing apples to apples! Some companies will leave out necessary items to show a lower price.
Maybe even more important, especially if you’re getting your system from an internet company or if you’re getting hardware from one vendor, software from another, service from another, etc. Who’s going to make sure it all gets installed, and tested and you know how to use the system?
Be sure you know how much training you’ll need, the type of support you need, and how you’ll get your data entered into the system. Be sure to get the details about software upgrades, hardware upgrades, and patches. Are these upgrades and patches included in your original purchase price, included in ongoing maintenance costs, or not included at all?
You need to be sure you know who is going to do all of the following or, do YOU need to do it?
To Learn the Answer to This Question and 9 Others CLICK HERE to get your FREE Report, "10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Invest in a Retail Management Point-of-Sale Computer System For Your Store" including Your 121-Point Check List.
#6: Do They Have The Experience In Your Industry To Get The Job Done? How Many Installations Have They Completed?
Many people make the mistake of buying a POS system from whomever is located the most conveniently or has the lowest price. We’ve already talked about the fact that the perfect system for every retailer doesn’t exist!
What about buying from the most convenient local guy? POS is a highly specialized environment and unless a company has years of experience in POS systems and many, many installations, you’re taking a huge gamble that they will not be able to support you once you start using your system. With today’s technology, your support technician can literally be on your system fixing it from anywhere in the world. The key then is...
To Learn the Answer to This Question and 9 Others CLICK HERE to get your FREE Report, "10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Invest in a Retail Management Point-of-Sale Computer System For Your Store" including Your 121-Point Check List.
#7: What About Service and Support?
We’ve already talked about being sure that you get your software, hardware and support from one company so they can’t blame anyone else for your problems. Find out exactly what their support includes. How many times can you call before you are charged extra? What happens if you exceed this number? Are you billed for the extra calls?
To Learn the Answer to This Question and 9 Others CLICK HERE to get your FREE Report, "10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Invest in a Retail Management Point-of-Sale Computer System For Your Store" including Your 121-Point Check List.
#8: Is The Software Easy To Use and Intuitive?
You’ve seen it. In fact you may have experienced it in your own store with your current software. Software that is supposed to make the store productive and checkout quick and easy for customers and it does neither. In fact, the software makes checkout a nightmare for customers and some operations nearly impossible for the clerk. Can they refer you to clients in retail categories, like hospital gift shops, who often have senior volunteers working the registers who use their software because it is easy to learn and intuitive?
This is possibly the most important of the 10 questions you must ask and it is critical that you...
To Learn the Answer to This Question and 9 Others CLICK HERE to get your FREE Report, "10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Invest in a Retail Management Point-of-Sale Computer System For Your Store" including Your 121-Point Check List.
#9: Is The Software Robust Enough and Have Enough Features To Give You The Information You Really Need To Manage Your Store?
If you don’t have a POS system now it is easy to be WOWED by the information that even the most basic systems can give you. This can be a big mistake! Once you start using your system, one idea will lead to another and soon you’ll be wanting something the system can’t do. A good example of this is being able to write your own reports to get information from the system that is not in the “canned” reports that come with the system.
You will be WOWED by the number of reports that come with most any software. You’ll wonder how you’ll ever use all of them, let alone need any others. You’ll find that you won’t need or use all of the reports that come with the system, but there will be information that you want that is not included in the reports that come with the system.
If you get software, like QuickBooks POS that does not allow you to...
To Learn the Answer to This Question and 9 Others CLICK HERE to get your FREE Report, "10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Invest in a Retail Management Point-of-Sale Computer System For Your Store" including Your 121-Point Check List.
#10: Is The Software Written On a Platform That Easily Allows It to Keep Up With Technology and From a Company That Is Committed To Keep Up With That Technology?
In the world of POS, things that were considered science fiction just a few years ago are common place today. This is why today, with up-to-date software, you the independent retailer can have a POS system that gives you more and better information than some of the retail giants!
Most of the retail giants have POS systems that costs millions, tens of millions, and even hundreds of millions of dollars. They are so entrenched in their systems that converting to an entirely new system is out of the question. For you, it’s great that these giants are public companies whose stockholders demand greater and greater profits each quarter. Why? If they toss their old software, they will need new hardware also. That means they need to write-off all of their old software and hardware right away. That leads to lower profits, which leads to lower stock values, and fired CEOs.
- So many of these retail giants continue to use software that is not nearly as easy to use or as easy to get information as POS systems designed for independent retailers. Here are just a few
- examples of this:
- Importing data into the system
- Merging information directly into MS WORD to write letters
- Writing your own letters
- Communicating directly with your web site
- Easily modifying canned reports
- Ease of getting information. Here’s the type of thing you’ve likely seen. Checking backroom stock or stock at another store. Older software might require you to back way out of your current screen using multiple clicks and waiting as programs load. A newer system will likely do this with one click.
- Take this example and apply it to lay-aways, gift cards, processing returns, back orders, loyalty programs, partial payments, work orders, sales quotations and more. It’s easy to see how you, the independent retailer, with an up-to-date POS system with all of these functions built into the sales screen, will have better information and be able to service customers better than the retail giants.
Now you’ve seen that by keeping up with technology, you can actually have an information system in your store(s) that gives you better and faster information than the retail giants. Who should you partner with when it comes to your POS system to be sure you are keeping up with technology in the future and don’t end up with a POS system that’s a dinosaur?
Wouldn’t you want a company who is considering your future now, and using the most up-to-date and proven technology today? An example of this type of company is Microsoft Dynamics Retail Management Software (RMS). Here are a few indications of how Microsoft’s RMS is considering YOUR future now and using the most up-to-date proven technologies to make independent retailers’ jobs easier.
To Learn the Answer to This Question and 9 Others CLICK HERE to get your FREE Report, "10 Questions You Must Ask Before You Invest in a Retail Management Point-of-Sale Computer System For Your Store" including Your 121-Point Check List.