Customer analytics can reveal a lot about your business. From your top-selling products to the best days to offer specials, this information can help you maximize your company’s profitability with proper product placement and marketing efforts.
The question is, how do you keep track of analytics without laborious manual data collection in order to capitalize on your best-selling points? The best way to collect customer analytics is with a POS upgrade.
Read on to find out what the key components of a great POS system are and how you can use them to maximize profits and actually save time in your day-to-day.
Looking to improve your marketing efforts through collecting customer analytics? Talk to our team today.
A Great POS System is Essential
If you work directly with customers – whether you’re in the retail, restaurant or hospitality business – a great POS system is critical to your success. Small business owners tend to go wrong when they only use it for its main function: accepting payments. This means you’re really overlooking the value a modern POS system can offer.
POS systems have the ability to track everything you need to know about your company’s product sales. When are your peak hours? What products seem to sell best? How often do you need to restock specific products in order to be reliable and maintain happy customers who keep coming back? If these are questions you aren’t already thinking about or capitalizing on, it may be time to reevaluate the way you use your POS system.
Key Components of a POS System
Before understanding how your POS system can help you hone down your operations, it’s important to know the key components of what a POS system actually is. Modern POS systems consist of both software and hardware components.
The software is what actually processes and stores customer analytics at the time of transaction, or point of sale, if you will. This modern software will consist of two portals: a “front-end” interface where transactions are completed and a “back-end” interface where all of your data, analytics and management functions exist.
While onsite POS systems have been the norm for years, the majority of businesses are switching to cloud-based systems. They come with more options to integrate with other software programs, and are actually a much cheaper option because they are usually easy to set up compared to an onsite POS that requires local hosting.
When it comes to the hardware component, POS systems tend to differ based on the needs of your business. Some of the most important hardware components include the interface or register, the cash drawer, receipt printer, barcode scanner, card machine and network devices (router, modem or hub for internet connection).
Depending on how your business accepts payments, you may not need specific items of hardware. For example, if you only run sales via card, you probably won’t be needing a cash drawer.
Save Time and Maximize Profits
Upgrading your software will not only help you save time in your efforts to stay on top of your product, but also in the effort to record profits in your accounting software. You can actually link modern POS software with your accounting software and say goodbye to manual data entry and your endless, daunting spreadsheets.
And let’s be honest, cutting down the time spent reconciling your accounts is nothing short of a miracle – especially when it comes time to do your taxes.
Best Modern POS System
Now that you know the value in a POS upgrade, the next question is: how do you know which product to choose and who you can trust? Although there are many products available, finding the best modern POS system for your business can be simple.
As Alaska’s leader in the credit and debit card processing industry, Cornerstone Credit Services has done thorough research on which payment processing system is the most reliable and reputable product for our community. This is when we stumbled upon what we now recommend to all small business owners: Clover POS.
We’ve found Clover POS to be the best mobile POS system for small businesses because it’s truly designed to make your daily operations as fast and easy as possible. With features such as online ordering, full mobility, contactless payments, gift cards and loyalty programs, and the ability to run your business virtually, you can truly take advantage of all the benefits a modern POS system has to offer.
If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your POS system or feel that your business could benefit from the additional functions of a modern, mobile POS system, we can help. You can even ask us about signing up for a free demonstration before you commit!
Ready to get started? Contact our friendly team today.