Point of Sale (POS) is the place where customers make payments for their goods and services. A retail POS system is a centralized solution to manage all retail operations at stores. In general, it consists of hardware and software.
- POS software
POS software refers to the technical solution to handle sales activities and data, including:
- Customers
- Sales and orders
- Inventory level
- Marketing and promotion campaigns
- Staff and shifts
- Reporting and analytics
- POS hardware
POS hardware is all physical devices integrated with the POS software, such as:
- Touchscreen terminals
- Customer-facing display
- Scale for weighing items
- Label printers
- Barcode scanners
- Credit card reader
- Mobile POS systems
mPOS is a subset of cloud-based POS system so it also stores data in the cloud and offers the same benefits as cloud-based POS systems along with the following benefits:
- Dedicated usage for mobile devices (smartphones, iPad, and Android tablets)
- Ultimate mobility for businesses that are on the go
How retail POS works
- Allow data entry in bulk when migrating from worksheets to the new EPOS system
- Look up customer databases and product catalogs to automatically fill orders
- Scan item barcodes to automatically add products and prices to invoices
- Deduct the amount in your inventory after completing the transaction
- Provide low stock alerts via notification or email
You need to configure payment methods in your POS software to process payments, including:
- Set up a merchant account
- Pairing with POS hardware and payment terminals
- Show payment options on POS screen
