Why a Tablet-based Point Of Sale Solution May Not Be a Good Fit For Your Business

Tablet POS systems are everywhere, and the popularity of mobile devices continues to grow in the technology world.

We’re all for staying on top of advances in technologies. We trust and recommend PayAnywhere and Revel for our merchants.

However, we wouldn’t recommend them to every merchant or business.

Why?

Tablet POS systems are not a one-size-fits-all solution

We’re going to be brutally honest here and bring down some of the hype over tablets as point-of-sale systems. Yes we praised them highly in our earlier blog, and yes we still love them.

But they are not the best solution for certain types of businesses.

If you own a restaurant or a bar, a tablet will not meet all of your needs for a POS system.

Tablet POS systems are limited in how much they can process

If you have a restaurant or bar, or run a large retail store, a tablet will not give you the best return on investment, or help you manage your store like a traditional POS system would.

When you have multiple products to track, a tablet simply does not have the capability to manage all of the applications needed.

Let’s put some perspective on this.

Imagine your tablet POS system is a regular Tablet or iPad device. Now picture a laptop or desktop computer. You have to complete a project where you will have to use Photoshop, InDesign, and Adobe Acrobat. Which tool is going to be best for the project?

Technically, a tablet can run Photoshop, InDesign, and Adobe Acrobat, but switching back and forth between the programs will be a pain, as will running all three simultaneously.

Any tablet POS system will have some limitations

Aside from Revel, no tablet POS system can run off of an Ethernet connection. Wifi can be finicky to use at times, and it becomes impossible to run online if it goes down, meaning you could take a credit card and not find out it was declined until you submit your batch of transactions for the day to be processed.

We get that traditional POS systems are pricey compared to a tablet

Even if you want a tablet based POS, in the long run you’re going to spend the same amount as a traditional POS anyway.

If you buy Restaurant Manager, it’s going to more expensive than an iPad or Tablet POS, because it essentially comes with all the hardware you’ll need to run your restaurant or bar. Restaurant manager also interfaces with more technology hardware than a tablet system would.

You could buy a tablet based system and all the pieces needed individually, but you would have to manually interface all the hardware you bought separately with a cloud based system, and you’ll manually have to program all of the hardware to work with your tablet based POS system.

So you’ll have to spend extra time programming it, and interfacing it yourself.

Restaurant Manager and StoreTender will still interface quicker than any POS tablet combined with any miscellaneous bought hardware.

Times like these, it’s better not to DIY in businesses technology.

Want to talk to technologies experts?

Talk with our technology experts, and see what would be the best fit for your
business.

Why We Don’t Sell Cash Registers Anymore

Ah the cash register, considered a staple sight of every retail store across America.

The satisfying ring of the machine as it opens, and the fun of pressing those buttons to tally up a sale.

Unfortunately, it’s not the 1900’s anymore, and cash registers are a remnant of the olden days.

We do not sell cash registers anymore, and we also don’t wear top hats and handlebar mustaches (although we wish we did).

Cash registers by themselves are slowly going the way of the halfpenny and the carriage.

We’re not saying they’re completely gone

Cash registers do technically still exist in the world of merchants, however, they will always be attached to a point-of-sale system, and never sold by a professional technology company.

Those who do sell them are most likely trying to make a quick buck, and don’t care about selling you a quality product that’s going to boost your business’ success-either word works.

Cash registers serve an incredibly small purpose, and that’s to store payments made by customers in cash. That’s all they do.

While there will be a few people who pay with cash, how many more are going to pay with a card?

They are singular devices

A cash register has very little to offer a merchant compared to a full point-of-sale system (or even an iPad POS).

Cash registers by themselves cannot track, manage your inventory, or give you real time tracking of what you have in your store or restaurant.

Sure, POS systems are costly

Cash registers are cheap, much like an old laptop you can buy off of craigslist.

But cheap does not always equal the best bang for your buck.

Point of sales are a return on investment for your business. Their reporting features and tracking software help you catch theft along with your supplies.

The most useful thing a cash register can do is collect money and dust, and if you really want to keep that old-timey feel, play some vintage hits and give your business a Victorian vibe, instead of sacrificing your equipment to the good old days.

Want to upgrade?

Talk with our technology experts, and see what would be the best fit for your business.

How To Dominate The Biggest Problems Within Your Retail Business

Struggling to keep up with the ever-changing aspects of your retail business?

It’s hard to own and run a successful retail business. It’s even harder to keep up with sales, product ordering, inventory, payments processing, and the like.

It’s a competitive world out there. In light of all this, we’ve created a list of things your retail location can do to assure that your retail store is setup for success.

Location & Layout

Do you know how many studies and how much money has been spent researching how stores are laid out?

Mega retail giants like Walmart and Target have spent millions researching the best floor plans, displays, and arrangements; all to sway more customers into buying what’s in front of them.

There’s some pretty interesting psychology involved in the research, and retailers take advantage of the human brain to sell more.

Take the time to maximize your space and get the best layout for your store. Figure out what is most appealing to your customers, and lay your store out accordingly.

Organization is key

Your store must be organized, or you will lose possible repeat business.

Do you have products clearly labeled? Is your store dusty? Are there boxes everywhere making it difficult for customers to navigate your isles?

It may seem like a minor thing, but having your store clean and organized will go a long way to keep your customers happy.

Tracking merchandise

If you have that POS system (at least, we hope you do), you’d better be using it.

Tracking your merchandise will let you watch for shrinkage, and also let you know what you have on hand for better future planning.

A good POS system will quickly let you have real time data to show you when you need to order more hammers and screwdrivers if you’re a hardware store, or cute boots for winter if you’re an upscale boutique.

Be flexible with your merchandise

What you love to stock, may not be what your customers love to buy.

Sometimes you’ll have a product that just doesn’t seem to sell, no matter how many times you’ve tried to advertise it.

It may be time to stop carrying that product. We’re not saying drop it immediately, but if you’ve tried to sell it multiple times and it just isn’t bringing in revenue, you need to let it go.

Watch for fraud

Fraud losses from the register and stolen merchandise can be one the most devastating forces to hit a small retailer.

Fraud can come from customers or employees. Keep your employees honest with security cameras and your point-of-sale system.

Don’t give up

If you’re struggling and need help with technology services, talk to our experts.

We can help you maximize your point-of-sale system, and ultimately help you grow and improve your retail shop.