What Is the Point of Sale?
The “point of sale” refers to the time and place when a business accepts and processes a customer’s order. The POS system employs hardware and software components for this purpose. It’s best to understand how these components work before shopping around for a POS system. This information is crucial to budgeting for systems best suited to your needs.
How a POS System Works
A point-of-sale system guides customers through steps that end with a successful purchase. In most cases, it works in the following way:
- A customer selects an item(s) to buy. The buyer either physically presents the products at the checkout store or views their digital shopping cart with the intent to finalize their payment.
- The POS system prices the item(s). The business’s POS tool tallies the customer’s item(s) total cost, including practical tips and sales taxes. Often, businesses use POS software that provides discount management tools. These allow companies to track how customers apply coupons and promo codes.
- The customer pays. Customers typically pay using credit cards, cash or checks. Therefore, POS systems often include corresponding hardware such as cash drawers, card or check readers and receipt printers. While online stores lack the need for hardware components, their point-of-sale systems usually include plugins or apps that make it possible for customers to pay using mobile money, credit cards, PayPal or even cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
- The POS system completes the transaction. The software runs calculations that determine what the customer owes and the exact change that may be due. At this point, a cashier or the automated machine itself manually returns any change. Internet shoppers get taken to a post-purchase page with their relevant purchase and shipping information. In most cases, customers receive a confirmation email.
SimsTechnologies advanced POS system can do so much more than track sales. The right software can provide crucial insight into customer behaviour, enable real-time tracking of inventory and much more.
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