The Till Point – Cash Register or POS System

 

Every business uses a machine to process sales, whether an electronic cash register or a computerised Point of Sale (POS) system. But how do you decide which one of the two is right for you?

 

 

For an existing business, the size and activity of the business will be the determining factor. For a new business, the choice of cash register or POS system may simply depend on the baker’s budget. If you’re cash strapped, you can look in newspapers or on the internet for businesses closing their doors, or lease a system from a business equipment supplier.

Both POS systems and cash registers have unique benefits. POS systems provide more detailed reports, track inventory better, improve accuracy and easily grows with the business. Cash registers come at a low cost, especially a start-up business, are simple to use, have fewer components, and present basic functions and reporting.

Equally important purchase deliberations are software and hardware. POS software is simultaneously very simple and very complicated. A person new to the concept can be bowled over by the variety of terms, classifications, and related yet seemingly unconnected definitions.

At its simplest, POS software is a computer programme that takes the place of your cash register. All sales are made through the computer after entering the sales information.
At its most complex, POS software utilise a variety of operating systems, cater to specific industries and their sizes, as well as hardware requirements.

POS software systems are not limited to simple cash register functions but can also automate several other areas of your business, for example enhancing marketing by tracking customers and generating automated mailings, mechanising accounting functions like payroll and accounts receivable and payable, tracking inventory, and updating prices.

And there are other hardware components to consider in addition to your cash drawer. They include but are not limited to:
• PC
• Keyboard
• Display monitor
• Receipt printer
• Bar code scanner
• Credit/debit card reader
• Change dispenser

Then there is hardware, each component of which comes with price, materials, size, and compatibility concerns.

One of the ill-fated mistakes that business owners make is to buy their POS software before they buy their hardware, ending up wasting a lot of money when the software system decided upon is incompatible with the hardware chosen. Another slip-up is buying a system which isn’t designed for the purchaser’s specific industry and company size, which severely limits choices of software.

While there are countless POS systems available, not all of them will be optimal for your business and your industry. A bakery has much different needs than a liquor store and subsequently doesn’t need the same software.

Before selecting a cash register or POS system, identify your business needs, and the cash management and POS options available, and make your choice based on an educated assessment.

Some points to consider before purchasing a cash register or POS system are:
• Limit your search to your specific industry.
• How busy is your bakery , i.e. will you need more than one register?
• What types of payment does your bakery process?
• How many products do you provide now, and how many will you provide in the future?

Most importantly, whether buying or leasing, get the advice of an experienced professional and make sure that you find out what kind of warranty or support is on offer. Being uninformed or misinformed could lead to poor judgement, which in turn could result in loss of sales or negative customer service.

There are a number of POS specialists available in South Africa – Arch Retail Systems and Matrix Software to name but a few.

Arch Retail Systems – Spinnaker Software (incorporating Arch) is a retail management solutions and service provider. We started as a small family business in 1997, growing into a market leader in retail and wholesale management solutions with a team of more than 280 people, servicing more than 1,800 stores.

Our accumulated retail industry and technology experience allows us to innovate and deliver high-performance, reliable solutions to our clients. Working in partnership, we help our clients to optimise operational efficiency and provide the best possible experience for their customers. The goal is to make our Arch users more competitive and to increase operations’ profitability.

The rich functionality of Arch is unlocked when applying the suite of integrated retail management solutions. The solutions include Arch Retail (in-store stock and margin control), Arch Mobile (on-the-floor access to operational management information), Arch Enterprise (manage multiple stores centrally), Arch Accounting (operational data flow to accounting system), Arch Loyalty (awards loyalty and obtain info), Arch eStore (integrated online shopping platform), Arch eReplenish (fully automated procure-to-payment) and Arch Value Adds (convenience and efficiency at POS).

Arch is operational in a variety of store types: supermarkets, wholesalers, butcheries, bakeries, liquor outlets, fresh produce, DIY operations and cosmetics stores. In the bakery vertical, in addition to numerous Independents, the following Groups are also operational on Arch: OK Foods, OK Mini Mark, President Hyper, Cambridge Food, Rhino, Save Hyper, Foodlovers Market and Evergreens, to name a few.

For more information on bakery functionality offered by Arch, see: https://www.archsoftware.co.za/industries/bakeries/ 

• Key differentiators

• Skilled multi-disciplinary team to identify your needs and implement an appropriate solution
• A comprehensive and evolving suite of software solutions to address all required functionalities
• Scalable solutions for small, medium and enterprise retail operations
• Software solutions are developed in-house and continuously upgraded
• Development strategy guided by interaction with the market and feedback from clients
• Durable and reliable custom-developed hardware equipment options for harsh African retail conditions
• Online support from head office and regionally from national branches
• Footprint in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Angola, Zambia, DRC, Malawi, and Tanzania

Matrix Software – Matrix Software, specialist leading ERP software providers for the meat and food industry, offers various solutions to assist factory floor function in production plants.

Our diverse range of software offerings features a unique module listing of more than 700 modules ( program nodes ).

The company prides itself in providing affordable software systems which includes state of the art technologies and world-class functionality.

We offer a complete point of sale system that is fully integrated with our meat processing module. Our point of sale system is especially popular among butchers and retailers who process and sell meat in addition other products.

Our system offers barcoding, stock control and aging, and is fully integrated with various paypoint systems.