Luke 14:28
This is a very important step in your process because a lot of time people don't understand what a retail management system encompasses. I have seen this so many times: people that have come to me when purchasing a system thinking it is just a POS station but there are so many other devices and services that come with each system. When you are purchasing a retail management solution you are not just buying a Point of Sale station. Allow me to lay out These systems in full and what they involve such as software and hardware, as well as a lot of other devices that you will need to budget for.
- Retail Software: This is very important because it will be the system you are using and operating so make sure it is something that fits your needs and will allow you to grow as well as be easy to use for your employees. If you have not already done the needs analysis, you can access it here.
- Accounting Software: This is the second most important product but a lot of the time people already have this in place so you need to make sure the retail management software and accounting software are fully integratable. Side Note: it is best that both of these systems are bought as separate packages. All-in-ones, like ERP's, have a less robust feature set for each function performed (i.e. pos, accounting, marketing, etc.), and tend to have more failures because all in one systems tend to have too much going on. When one “part” breaks, the whole system goes down.
- Point of Sale Terminals: Yes, these are important, but they also add price to your purchase. Buy this item last because you want to make sure that the software you get is compatible with the hardware. Also, I recommend you buy hardware and software from the same dealer: it makes it easier when issues arise (and they will), as you only have to make one call for software, hardware and support. Also, purchasing everything from one company will usually translate to savings. Point of sale terminals can be all-in-one units specifically designed for touchscreen, or you can purchase PCs and monitors for each station. Each scenario has its own set of pros and cons, but your consultant or dealer should be knowledgeable about the caveats of either situation.
- Peripheral devices: are any retail hardware devices which are used with your retail point of sale workstation. These devices include printers, cash drawers, barcode scanners, modems, credit card readers, check readers, customer displays, weight scales, PIN pads etc.
- Barcode Scanner: These allow purchases to be more rapidly scanned than would be possible by manually typing in item numbers or SKUs at the point of sale. Using a scanner eliminates the possibility of errors that can occur with manual entry.
- Label Printer: These are usually paired with the barcode scanner, which, depending on how you sell your product in your store you are going to have to make a lot of labels they are a great way to import and track inventory for stores.
- Receipt Printer: This is a must if you are selling to customers in a retail environment where you are face to face with your customer. Companies that sell only to wholesale clients tend to use inkjet or laser printers to print full page invoices, when printing is necessary.
- Cash Drawer: This separates the cash, coins and checks accepted at the point of sale.
- Keyboard: Even if you are using a touchscreen pos station, a keyboard comes in handy when looking up an item, changing quantities on a sale or selecting criteria for sales reports.
- Back-office servers: This houses the point of sale system database for inventory, customers, etc., as well as other business applications. Each point of sale terminal or back office computer accesses information from the server, rather than storing the data on the PC or POS terminal. This is a necessity because you want to have only one iteration of the database that is updated from each machine in real time for reporting, inventory and sales data.
- Training: This is one of the biggest investments when buying a system is the training package. Knowing how to use the system to the fullest potential is very important to invest in. This will allow you to be more effective and efficient with the system, which will make it possible for a faster return on your investment (ROI). You really need to budget for this and make sure to see what each system offers you and utilize this to the fullest.
- Internet connection: This is a must for secure internet credit card processing, as well as web integration for ecommerce. There are many other benefits to having a reliable internet connection. In this day and age, it is practically a necessity.
- Implementation: This also takes a good investment. Having a company set up your system correctly is important in order to get the most out of your investment. Your business has unique and specific needs, so investing in a company that is capable of both configuring your system and understanding your needs is crucial to the return on your investment.
While the price of the complete point of sale system should not be the only factor in your decision, establishing a budget can help prevent you from putting too much strain on your business’s finances. so here is a rough outline of what your budget needs to consider as far as price but these costs depend on what you want. What features do you need? How fast do you want it to go? Should you purchase an extended warranty on hardware?
The more features you want, the more your retail POS system will cost. A single-user software license can cost between $1,200 and $2,500. Do you need new Point of Sale terminals, cash drawers, barcode scanners and receipt printers? Add $3,000 to $4,000 per workstation. Extended warranties are a good investment because you pay upfront, then don’t have to worry about paying for hardware maintenance for 3-5 years, rather than after one year.
