Looking for new ways to develop and expand your business in 2020? As methods of doing business and customer expectations grow and change, small businesses (and especially independent or locally-owned restaurants) must be ready to meet demand whenever and wherever it exists. Incorporating a mobile point of sale (POS) system into your small business is one of the best ways.
With mobile POS system options, small business owners can find a phone app software that can not only accept payments but also manage parts of their business straight from a tablet or phone.
A mobile POS system is a secure, convenient, and efficient management tool designed for small businesses to help them run smoothly. They serve several different industries, from retail or restaurants. Businesses that travel to or operate multiple locations can do so from a single device. A mobile POS system is a streamlined and convenient way to stay on top of daily operations and simplify payment processing, even when you’re on-the-go.
Small business owners, and especially restaurant and bar managers, often have hectic schedules. Certain mobile POS systems work with larger systems, meaning business owners can monitor updates from their store from their smartphone or tablet. Keeping tabs on things like inventory, employee hours, sales numbers, and finance data, create custom reports.
Many mobile POS systems store information through cutting-edge encryption, allowing only managers and authorized users to recall or change specific data wherever they are quick.
Mobile POS systems do not have to be expensive. While purchasing adaptive hardware such as a contactless reader or credit card readers is a necessary expense, the cost is negligible compared to a traditional point of sale systems and their hardware. With a mobile POS system, you can transform any number of smart devices into a portable cash register. Simply combine the POS software on the device with the chip or credit card reader hardware to process payments.
Today, there are dozens of free and paid mobile POS systems to choose from, allowing small business owners to select the right system that best fits their business’ unique needs. Consider your needs against the distinguishing features of each POS system to decide the right solution for your business. There are many mobile POS systems designed for specific industries, from restaurants to boutique clothing stores. While doing your research is strongly encouraged, a few of the best mobile POS systems are listed below to help narrow your search and demonstrate the capabilities of these innovative systems.
One of the most popular mobile POS systems for small business, Payanywhere offers a wide range of features that make it easy to accept customers’ payments from your mobile device. If you’re a restaurant or a retail business, approval can sometimes only take up to a few minutes. On top of affordable processing rates, Payanywhere’s mobile POS system offers the ability to track inventory through an item library for tracking and restocks. Detailed in-app and online reporting to tell you what, where, and when your customers are purchasing, as well as easy email, text, or even print receipts for customers. Payanywhere also offers data encryption and tokenization to prevent fraud, meaning you can swipe cards and protect yourself and customers’ information.
Duet is an all-in-one mobile POS system designed to streamline restaurant management and boost your eatery’s bottom line, all while expanding customer satisfaction. Available for Android, Duet offers robust functionality for minimal investment. All information necessary to run your small business is stored locally on a computer station and in the cloud through hybrid cloud technology, allowing management to access information either on the local station or through their own mobile device. With Duet, bar and restaurant staff can split checks, add discounts, and view customers’ reservation and order history, while managers can customize the menu in real-time, oversee employees' time and pay, and pull reports for inventory control and product forecast. Fairly priced, Duet charges $69.99/month for your small business’ first station and customer support, with each additional station costing $29.99. Customer service support upgrades are available, and BNG Point-Of-Sale also offers great deals on equipment and set up.
Leveraging its reputation as an online payment processing giant, PayPal has created its own mobile POS system, PayPal Here, that allows businesses to more easily accept debit and credit card transactions on-the-go. While not a comprehensive POS system, PayPal Here does allow small businesses to accept payment for both remote and in-person transactions by providing four different kinds of card readers that work in conjunction with the app. These readers range from basic to deluxe, as the simplest (and least expensive) reader connects through your device’s headphone jack and processes magstripe payments only, while the Chip PayPal card reader connects wirelessly and reads magstripe, chip, and contactless payments. While PayPal Here does not offer features that allow you to manage daily operations or forecast consumer behavior, its reasonable pricing and easy-to-use interface make it a great choice for small businesses primarily concentrating on sales. PayPal here is known to have higher processing rates, and merchants have had mixed results getting support requests resolved.
Understanding where your customers intersect with your service or product and identifying specific, future goals for your business can help you determine whether a mobile POS system is worth the investment. The world is dominated by credit card payments, and small businesses need to provide that as a payment method to stay competitive.
If your business relies on frequent travel to complete sales, a mobile POS system could be a cost-effective way to streamline your procedures and put your product in the hands of more customers, all while managing the daily operations from the convenience of your phone.
If you’re interested in what mobile POS system could be right for your business, contact us here.
