What is a POS System?

“POS” stands for “point-of-sale.”  Many businesses, such as retail stores, restaurants, theme parks, hotels, salons and spas use POS systems to record items for purchase, to place orders, and to calculate bills. 

Retail point of sale systems are often just very sophisticated cash registers.  In the 1970s, computer-operated cash registers became popular, and began to offer features like client-server technology, peer-to-peer communications, backups and remote access.  Today, these systems have become standard in the hospitality industry, and have been customized by many different retail businesses as well.  POS systems can be linked with your merchant account and allows your business to accept credit cards transactions quickly and easily.  Because POS systems can process transactions immediately as they occur, your business can enjoy better, more accurate record keeping and increased employee efficiency.
 
POS systems are usually industry specific and can be highly customized.  Almost everyone has seen the touch-screen terminals at a restaurant- these are probably the best example of an industry-specific system.  The restaurant can assign a key for each menu item.  When an order is placed, the server can specify a certain table, input the order of each diner, and send the order to the kitchen staff simply, without ever leaving the dining area.  The kitchen staff can view the orders on a screen or have the individual orders printed, and then prepares the food.  The POS system can also generate the check at the end of the meal and store the total for payment.  This process eliminates order error, and makes ordering and preparation faster and easier for restaurant staff.

The components of POS system can be customized for your business.  The software you use will determine how your sales are input and computed, and will determine the hardware necessary.  POS software has been specifically designed for all types of businesses.  For example, most gyms and sporting clubs use a specific version of software that allows them to check in members and make adjustments to member accounts, and also to “ring up” small items like bottled water or protein shakes.  This type of software combines retail functions with a customer database.

A POS system is an important purchase.  The wrong POS system can be very costly in terms of lost time, frustration, and financial expense.  The right system can help your business in almost every area of decision making- which products to stock, how to schedule employees, and how to plan promotions or sales.  A good POS system will save countless hours and many thousands of dollars.  Though the system itself is a big purchase, merchant services benefits to your business can be immense.

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