Dependent on various circumstances, a cloud-based retail POS system costs anywhere from $0 to $300 per month, but most small businesses spend approximately $69 per month before add-ons. Advanced analytics, loyalty programs, and gift cards often add costs, bringing your total POS system expense to at least $100 per month.
They have become the gold standard for how modern retail stores conduct business, thanks in part to the fact that retail POS systems are more affordable and powerful than ever before. Electronic cash registers are as efficient and accurate as using a cigar box at the cash wrap when keeping track of money. Modern point-of-sale systems are jam-packed with features that can help you save time and money while increasing efficiency, speeding up checkout times, improving customer satisfaction, and tracking spending and sales.
Even if you only have a few locations, you can still benefit from this strategy whether your company is a national chain with hundreds or thousands of locations. There is now a wide range of POS systems available, starting at $0 (though nothing is truly free).
In today's market, the cost of a POS system is more difficult to determine than ever before because of the variety of available options, including on-premise, hosted, cloud, SaaS, and mobile. To meet your specific business requirements, you must decide on which features the software and hardware must provide.
Although most software solutions available today are either on-premise or cloud-based, a small number are hybrid, allowing a combination of on-premise and cloud in the same solution. Most retail point-of-sale (POS) systems cost money upfront, but they pay for themselves over time. Without a POS system, you'll miss out on a lot of opportunities for your business.
When investing in a POS solution, you must take into account the following three costs: hardware, software, and support services.
POS register hardware, a back-office manager workstation, and/or a station for shipping and warehouse operations is estimated to range in cost from around $1,000 to $5,500 per workstation. An all-in-one machine is required as the core processing machine for the POS register, as well as a PC or Mac.
A traditional consumer or business class PC or Mac will cost you about $1,000 or more for a basic configuration. Before making a purchase, check to see if the software is compatible with the operating system of your choice (Windows, iOS, or otherwise). Because they are readily available at electronics resellers and online, these stand-alone machines typically have lower initial costs, a wider range of manufacturers, and can be swapped out as needed. Stand-alone PCs have the disadvantage of requiring a separate power outlet for each of the components, resulting in a "rats nest" of cables. Using a less expensive consumer-class machine on these lines of business machines, which are expected to run 24 hours a day, will put you at risk for downtime.
There are many POS hardware options. Various manufacturers offer touch screens, receipt printers, cash drawers, barcode scanners, payment terminals, line displays, customer-facing screens, change dispensers, label printers, cameras, and customer traffic counting devices.
When it comes to POS solutions, software is key because it determines what hardware you'll need and what features your company can use to boost productivity. It will also influence how customers and employees interact with your brand. Selecting a software solution and delivery partner is a critical business decision. It's easy to replace hardware if it breaks or doesn't work. In contrast, replacing software after it has been implemented takes time and money. Not to mention, your most valuable asset, transaction data, is challenging to transfer to another system. You can get great software, but your solution will be a disaster if you have a bad implementation partner.
The final part of the "how much does a POS cost" equation is support services. For a self-starter who finds a package that suits their needs, implementation and technical support costs can be as low as $0. For a business with a lot of moving parts, the costs can be quite high, especially if you need to hire internal staff to implement the POS system. A software partner who specializes in point-of-sale, inventory, and payment solutions leads to the most successful implementations. Working with a professional implementation team will cost money upfront, but it will allow the company to implement POS software and hardware solutions more quickly and with more certainty. These services cost anywhere from one to five times as much as the POS software.
BNG Point-of-Sale are POS solutions that improve your bottom line. With a full selection of POS systems for various businesses, you’ll find the right tool to grow your business with the personalized support you need. Connect with us to learn more.
