1:- Square

Square is a great POS system that was created with retailers in mind. Its various features and extras, as well as its hardware work to create the most efficient checkout and inventory management process for retailers around the world.

Square’s POS software is easy to use, simple to set up, and accepts multiple methods of payment. The company offers its own card readers and POS terminals, as well as compatible software that can be used on tablets or computers.

The software itself provides valuable insight into sales numbers on a day to day basis, as well as weekly or monthly sales numbers at the touch of a button. Analytics tools provide useful information on the best times of day for sales, the highest-selling products, and much more.

The software also offers customizable receipts and email marketing, as well as an inventory system that sends notifications when your stock is running low. You’ll never run out of your customers’ favorite products with this intuitive inventory management.

Customer profiles can help you track customer spending habits, letting you know when their last visit was as well as which items they purchased so you can follow up with promotional emails or phone calls. Keep those customers coming back with this useful tool.

Square does not charge a monthly fee, but instead charges a specific amount on each purchase, from 2.75% for the basic package to 2.5% +10 cents per purchase for the top tier package. Overall, Square has great tools, an intuitive interface, and no monthly charge, as well as its own hardware to maximize compatibility.

2:- Vend

Vend takes a rather different approach to the POS software industry. With cloud-based software, it can easily integrate with modern POS hardware including receipt printers and registers, as well as third-party software such as Quickbooks.

The software comes with some amazing features such as inventory managers, analytics and reporting tools, as well as the ability to accept multiple payment methods. Monetary exchange has evolved from simple cash or credit transactions to touchless payments and even in-app payment and pickup. Vend supports a variety of payment methods, putting your business ahead of the competition and appealing to a specific market.

Vend is an excellent retail POS system because it’s simple to use. You can easily train employees on the interface in just a few minutes. Each tool and extra is easily accessible and navigated easily within the software. Cloud-based software means security, as well as the ability to operate offline and re-sync when your connection returns.

As far as pricing, Vend provides three packages based on monthly or annual pricing. Lite is the most basic package and runs at $99/month billed annually, Pro is the next step up at $129/month billed annually, and the enterprise package is custom priced based on your business’s needs.

Overall, Vend provides an easy to use interface with cloud-based storage and powerful compatibility and integration tools. If you’re looking for a POS system built specifically with retailers in mind, this is it.

3:- Lightspeed

Lightspeed is focused on making retailers more efficient and better organized. A more efficient store helps improve customer loyalty and reduce costs. Lightspeed provides a powerful POS terminal with the ability to accept and make payments all from one place.

The software also provides accounting tools, so you can be sure that the books are balanced when the tax man comes knocking. This makes it simpler to manage financials when everything is located in one piece of software.

With e-commerce options and a custom loyalty program, you can sell on any platform and provide a loyalty program that will keep customers returning to your store year after year.

Additionally, Lightspeed provides powerful analytics tools so you can discover the strong points in your sales numbers, and make the necessary changes to increase foot traffic and online sales.

Lightspeed offers a package for single stores starting at $99/month, which includes 24/7 support, up to 5 employee accounts, personalized onboarding, a POS terminal, and secure cloud backup. The payment system is safe and secure, so you can be sure your customers’ financial information is processed with their security in mind.

Overall, Lightspeed is reasonably priced, provides hardware and software, as well as cloud-based backup services and excellent support for their products. The software itself has a large following and comes highly recommended by its users, with excellent reviews on several technology websites.

The Bottom Line

A POS system can transform your business into a powerful entity with incredible tools for monitoring sales trends, identifying problem areas, and better managing inventory for maximum efficiency. Remember that efficiency is one of the most important aspects of a business, and can save thousands of dollars per year. Put your business’s efficiency at the forefront of your efforts by choosing one of these three POS systems specifically designed with retailers in mind.

Cheap is not always good buy

First things first, let us first and foremost review one of the decision criteria. The budget is ultimately very decisive for the choice you will make.

A POS system is available for all budgets, from a few dozen euros a month to hundreds, if not thousands of euros per month. The consequences of the edition that you do is therefore also up to it. In terms of hardware, you will have or will not have certain parts, such as bancontact devices, label printers and scanners. But you can always purchase these at a later time. The complications with software are a lot bigger. Do you have the right functionalities that you need? Is it a product that needs to be fully customized or is it just the standard that makes little change possible?

The software you choose can run on the hardware you prefer. These are all questions that you need to ask, which we will discuss further in this blog.

Purchases or Leasing?

A full POS system will immediately cost a lot of money. It is therefore an investment that you can also save some time and time over the years. Although for various reasons you may also prefer to lease the hardware from your cash register. You then pay a monthly amount for your cashier but, depending on your choice, you also receive support and replacement in the event of a defect. For software this will be the standard in the majority of cases, you pay a monthly fee and in return you get the software in use and accompanying support if you have questions or run into something.

A POS system tailormade or standard?

If we go deeper into the software, there are still a few factors that influence the price. This also means that the system is completely tailored to your company or is standard for all potential customers. Both choices have benefits and drawbacks. When you opt for a fully customized system, you are likely to pay blue to development. That can not be a threshold for you if you have dozens of stores, but if that is not the case, you should look for another option.

Moreover, the programming will take a huge amount of time and will undoubtedly pass months before you are operational. The other extreme is then completely standard. You may only pay a few dozen euros per month and you can start immediately after payment. However, you only have the functionalities that are standard for all customers. Only if there is sufficient demand from various customers will extra development be done, which in turn can be used in the same way for every customer with a POS system. Often these standard applications are also the same for various sectors, so this option can not be the perfect match for you either.

Fortunately, the golden mean also exists. In that case, you will go for a standard system with standard functionalities, but where you can have the functionalities developed and included in your package. In addition, you can always build on the same system and you should never switch to another system if your usual system no longer meets. At Becosoft we work in this way, because we believe that this way has also determined our origins. Our system has in fact grown initially from problems in the business world where our software could offer an answer. Each user then contributed to the POS software because there were other requirements.

A POS system tailored to your sector?

Choosing is losing, unless you opt for a partner who has already chosen, then you gain expertise and specialization. Every sector is different and offering solutions for all these various sectors is virtually impossible for POS developers. Are you active in fashion with a clothing store or accessory store? Then you obviously go for a fashion cash register system. As a result, you have various functions that are specific to your sector and which you want to benefit from. Think of size bars for fashion, auction tools for garden centers or customer cards for general retailers. In the meantime, you also know where our specialization lies, we focus on fashion, garden (garden centers) and Lifestyle.

POS systems and their functions:

Multifilial functions

Do you have multiple stores and do you want each branch to have an overview of the stock in the other stores? Then you obviously need a system that supports this. Would also be pleasant if you can then report in a back office. Which products sell well in which branch and what can be the cause of this? These are all options that help you analyze your business and improve your sales.

Back Office with Reporting

Pay particular attention to the characteristics and possibilities of the back office. There you get reports that will assist you to make important decisions. If you draw reports that are totally irrelevant, your decisions will be. Moreover, reporting is also important for evaluating your employees, if everyone logs in with their own account in the cash register you can keep track of who realizes which sales and much more. At least if you have that function.

Other functions

The many functions for all kinds of retailers are countless. To give you more or less a complete picture, we have an overview page where you can find the most important functions of our system for retailers. Be sure to take a close look at each provider you are considering and do not hesitate to contact me.

Request demo

Often they can offer you a demo , which shows more than what you can read yourself. Please note: those who can give an online demo with their software often have a standard package. Let someone come to you for a demo, so you immediately see the software live at work, you can ask questions or possibly even experience the operation.

Integrate your POS system for your convenience

Do you want to further automate and make your work lighter? Then integrations are an important factor. Check whether your new point of sale for convenience store can integrate with the systems you already use, such as your accounting program or supplier link. Keep in mind that integrations will initially cost you some money, but they earn themselves back. For example: an integration with email software Mailchimp . That is a one-off cost but you save the work every week to synchronize your contacts. A bookkeeping link automatically transfers invoices to your accounting software, which saves you a lot of work in the organization of invoices and saves you direct money on the invoice of your bookkeeper. fantastic right?

Your POS system and E-commerce

We keep the best for last. E-commerce is hot right now. Just like omnichannel. And let that be just 2 things you do when you can link your POS system to a webshop. Customers can order when you are closed, your stock is synchronized and purchases are all logged in the same system, handy right? Preferably look for a company that can offer a webshop solution in addition to POS systems if you have the ambition, so the connection is easier to make and you only have 1 contact point for support.

The most important points for you are listed

1. Keep the price always in consideration with functionality and expansion options
2. Check whether leasing is possible, you can save a lot of investment
3. Ask if you can also request customized extensions in addition to the standard functions
4. Has the POS provider experience with your sector? Ask suggestions or precise operations
5. Ambition to grow? Be sure to keep an eye on the multifilial function, many small providers do not support this.
6. Provide a clear interface and software that stores sufficient data, it will become increasingly important in the future
7. Comprehensive reporting is a must for your company, it can save you thousands of euros of revenue if you make better decisions on that basis.
8. Other functions ought to be taken into consideration. Make a list for yourself with which functions are decisive for you to work with your new POS developer
9. Do not go over 1 night, request an extensive demo that preference in your case takes place, so you immediately get the right feeling with the software and the provider can see your store to see if further optimizations are possible.
10. Make life easy, be sure to look at the integrations that can be made and ask specifically for integrations with the software you already use.
11. To E-commerce or not? It is a choice you make, but even there it can save you a lot of work and chance of return if your products and stock are linked between your physical and your online store.

12.Ask us for information as well , we can guide you and our cash registers offer various functionalities for specific sectors that light up your work.

First of all, it is important to set up a framework. We determine on the basis of which criteria we will choose a POS system. Here we have to distinguish between hardware and software. In this article I will limit myself to the software. Let’s start by listing the criteria. There are two types of POS system, namely catering and retail. I will limit myself here at the moment to retail.

1. The budget of a POS system: For obvious, but certainly an important part. Perhaps difficult to determine first, because perhaps the other criteria give more insight into all your wishes. In addition, many POS system with hardware and software are sold together.
2. Operating system: On which operating system do you want the POS system to run. Many, many current Point-of-sale system run on a version of Windows XP (Windows POS also runs on the basis of windows XP). Windows XP no longer supports updates from April. If you already have hardware on which Windows XP is running, you may be able to search for a Point-of-sale system that also runs on the free, and very secure Linux (for example Ubuntu), so that this is also in order. If you purchase a new POS system, it is also important to look carefully at the operating system.
3. Inventory: If you want to keep track of stock in your store, the POS system will also have to be suitable for this. The somewhat older simple Point-of-sale system often use groups where no inventory is kept. The somewhat newer (often digital) POS system do have a stock management system. If you would like to keep track of your stock, you realize that a system of barcodes is quickly desired. The reason is that then each article can easily be scanned with a barcode scanner and the chance of errors is minimal. If you have few products (0-30, and sometimes more), you can still lose the products on your screen. There are also systems where you can look up each product via a scrolldown menu. This does in turn affect the speed at which you strike products. Also check out the options for the stock regarding your other sales channels, such as webshop and invoicing.
4. Product management: This part often takes a lot of time. New products must be added to the POS system. Check carefully how easily you can create a new product, and whether there are possibilities to do an import via an xls or csv file.
5. Functions: It is important to determine which functions should be present at the POS system. This could include functions such as discounts, payment transactions, gift certificates.
6. Safety: How is the security of your Point-of-sale system regulated. This is the safety of operating the system. Is the POS system block, so the cash drawer is not easy to open. And of course the online security. This is especially important when your POS system and / or computer connect to the internet. How is the POS system secured? How are data transferred and what operating system is used.
7. Updates: It is good to think of supporting updates when deciding for a new POS system. Updates are often made for more security, new functionalities and so on. View at the purchase how often you will receive updates and whether you have to pay extra for this.
8. Multiple branches and / or POS system: An important choice for the POS system is the possibility of expansion, but also of shrinkage. You are probably full of ambition and think big, but it is nice if there are opportunities for flexibility. How is this paid for and what about the synchronization between the different POS system. See if special modules have to be purchased here or if this is standard.
9. Support: How is it settled with the support, Where can questions be asked and where else can you read the documentation?
10. New functionality, the thought about the future: What kind of business do you do? What is the structure, vision and accessibility? Are there opportunities for innovation and new functionalities? One can think of new payment modules, sending receipts by e-mail or SMS, or for example picking up an order in the store. How is the POS system arranged for this. As a retail entrepreneur, you can also make suggestions, contribute ideas and participate. Send receipts by e-mail or SMS, or for example to pick up an order in the store. How is the Point-of-sale system arranged for this. As a retail entrepreneur, you can also make suggestions, contribute ideas and participate. Send receipts by e-mail or SMS, or for example to pick up an order in the store. How is the POS system arranged for this. As a retail entrepreneur, you can also make suggestions, contribute ideas and participate.

Also, If you own a liquor store and wants to purchase POS System for your shop, I recommend you to first read this review for liquor store pos system here.