Cash Registers versus EPOS System

Maybe to procure an existing business and inherited Point of Sale terminal or you’re about to open your first store and are leaning towards a conventional electronic till. Whatever may be your scenario, it pays to ask, “Am I using the best system to process sales for my business?”

The following content can assist you for the question and potentially identify a brand new tool you would like to feature to your business operations. We’ll provide you with a summary of the options that are related to each system, furthermore criteria to guide your decision-making process.

Cash Register Overview

The electronic cash register is the traditional workhorse of the retail, quick-service restaurant (QSR), and also for full-service restaurants (FSR). I believe we’ve all seen a cash register before, therefore no need to describe in detail. It’s a basic tool that offers businesses the flexibility to record sales, calculate tax, store receipts and hold cash in cash drawer. It can print out end-of-day reports for balancing the register and perform rudimentary sales tracking.

It depends on how advanced may be the cash register you can use further hardware such as a card reader and barcode scanner with the register. Some cash registers even include small digital displays to enhance the accuracy of transactions, and permit customers to see the group action details.

Point of Sale System summary

Point of sale (POS) systems offers all of the functionality of a traditional cash register, beside advanced options that permit businesses to operate effectively and with efficiency. It’s important to notice that POS systems represent two broad categories: traditional POS systems and newer mobile point of sale (mPOS) systems.

Traditional POS systems have been for many years. You always see these in full-service restaurants and bars, or in big-box retail stores. They generally run on a mix of proprietary and generic hardware, which includes:

A touchscreen device for getting into sales

A computer running wherever the POS software runs

A server for storing sales data

There are some significant variations between mPOS systems and traditional POS systems. First, they run on an iPad or Android versus a computer or other proprietary hardware. In addition the majority cloud-based, therefore there’s no need for a server. Your data is going to be accessed from anyplace if you`ve got an internet connection.

Lastly, mPOS systems are generally sold on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) model. This implies that the business pays a monthly subscription fee instead of buying it outright.

Why Use a Cash Register?

Despite the clear benefits offered by modern POS systems, there are some reasons why a business would possibly wish to go with a traditional cash register.

Affordability:
Whereas newer mPOS systems are cheaper than traditional POS systems, it’s hard to beat the price of a conventional cash register. Small business has just about everything they have to start process cash transactions. Of course, an additional hardware is required for you if you would like to take require card and/or smartphone payments like Apple Pay.
Long Lifespan:
The cash register invented in 1879. The fact that the device remains in use nowadays may be a testament to its longevity. Cash registers are basic devices with few moving elements. Whereas this limits what they will do and it makes them last an extended time. This can be a bonus compared to traditional POS systems that need you to pay further for package updates and customer support. However, as we’ll cover below, cash registers don’t have this advantage over mPOS systems. Since they’re generally SaaS products, their subscription fee includes access to all or any future versions of the package and customer support. This allows mPOS to evolve together with your business through an incessantly improving POS expertise.
Why Choose a POS System

There’s one thing to be said for the spartan reliability of a traditional cash register, however that simply doesn’t compare to the possibly transformative power of a POS system. Here’s what we mean.

Smarter Inventory Management:
POS systems automate inventory management. Once a customer buys from you, the system automatically updates your inventory count therefore you know when to reorder, versus having to perform inventory tracking manually.
Better call Making:
POS systems provide businesses advanced analytics and reports to guide in decision making. These reports will cover everything from sales by hour to inventory performance at the item level. Compared to a conventional till, the number of insight that a POS system delivers will appear a revelation.
Software Integrations:
POS systems generally integrate with software packages like accounting and marketing systems, sharing data between them. This permits you to run your business with intelligence and efficiency. As an example, pushing daily sales data directly into your accounting may end up in time savings and stop errors. This isn’t attainable with a cash register.
Simplified Staff Management:
Most POS systems permit their staff to clock-in right from their system. You`ll be able to sometimes run reports on every employee’s sales performance, allowing you to take smart decisions concerning staffing and training programs.
Targeted Customer Marketing:
Point of sale system helps to build customer data like email addresses at the time of purchase. This permits you to create your subscriber list to be used in email marketing campaigns. Some systems associate purchases with a customer email address, permitting you to raised target customers with email promoting.
Why Use an mPOS

If by this time you’ve set that a POS system is that the right choice for your business, the question then becomes, “mPOS or traditional POS?” Let’s dig in.

I’m simply about to come back right out and say it, for many small businesses, selecting an mPOS makes the most sense. Traditional POS systems have two important drawbacks: high prices and subpar usability.

As we have a tendency to noted higher than, traditional POS systems are valuable. However that’s solely half the equation. You may possible incur different charges over the life of the system. As an example, if you would like customer support, most traditional POS systems would require you to get a support package which typically costs several pounds. The choice is to pay per incident. Per incident support is usually priced either as a flat fee otherwise you might find yourself paying per hour of support time used.

Traditional POS generally runs on a proprietary hardware. This implies that once one thing breaks you would like to travel back to the seller and pay to own repairs created or purchase a new piece of hardware. Since this hardware is proprietary and not “off the shelf,” it’s generally costlier than its generic equivalent.

The best price is the worth of software upgrades. Once the POS supplier releases associate updated version with new options, you don’t automatically get access to it. Instead, you would like to shop for a brand new license for the updated version. Depending on how important the upgrade is, this will be terribly expensive.

Apart from cost, usability is usually another issue with traditional POS systems. These systems are recent. They need noncurrent interfaces that are confusing and too complicated. This will result in important potency issues. Until your team learns the system, things, like ringing up customers and rending guest checks, are simply about to take longer. Not only is that this annoying for your employees however it will very irritate customers.

Most mPOS systems don’t have these issues. Since they’re subscribed as a SaaS product, you’ll pay an inexpensive monthly subscription fee to access the package. This fee can generally embody access to a minimum of basic customer support at no further charge. You’ll also get access to all or any future versions of the package for complimentary. During a couple of minutes, you’re sensible to go with the latest and greatest point of sale package.

The hardware tends to be higher too. As a result of these systems run on iPads or Android tablets, and work with standardized card readers and receipt printers, it’s abundant easier and cheaper to repair or get new hardware if required. Lastly, mPOS systems tend to be newer and modern. They’ve learned from the mistakes of conventional POS systems. As a result, they generally feature sleek, easy interfaces that facilitate your team rise up to hurry way quicker than different tools. Key functionality like desegregation different tools together with your POS, or checking analytics reports also tends to be easier to try to.

Whether you decide to have a cash register, POS, or mPOS it’s about to be a central part of your business, therefore it’s a call to be considered. Creating the incorrect alternative will price you valuable time and money. To assist you, we have a tendency to place along a free guide, selecting a POS System, that walks you through the method from begin to end.