Point of sale (POS) software

Point of sale (POS) software is commonly used in millions of retail businesses through out the world. And there are thousands of different POS software programs to choose from. They range from very simple POS programs to extremely advanced programs with thousands of different features designed to streamline operations and improve efficiency. In addition, there are about 30 different vertical markets that software companies have customized their POS software to handle.

POS software is utilized at the physical location at which goods are sold to customers. When using POS software, all sales and transaction are made through your computer. You tell the computer what you're selling, the selling price, and the quantity sold. Then it calculates the total, including tax, and tells you how much change is due. It also records every sale and tracks everything.

In fact, POS software can serve as complete retail management system that will automate several areas of your business. The software might include:

• Point of Sale
• Inventory Control
• Automatic Purchase Order Creation
• Automatic Price Updates
• Bar Code Scanning
• Accounts Receivable
• Accounts Payable
• General Ledger
• Payroll
• Customer Tracking and Follow Up
• Shop Management
• EDI (Electronic Ordering)

In general, retail point-of-sale systems have wide field for application in the retail businesses. The application of POS systems could be in the field of streamlining sales transactions, providing useful data regarding financial achievements of the businesses, proper inventory management and more effective customer relationship management.

Even though retail POS software is designed for the purpose to provide support with the financial transactions and to help in the above mentioned business operations, still, some of the POS software could meet particular business requirements to bigger or lesser extend. According to this fact, it is well recommended that each enterprise should invest in the POS system which is designed to meet specific business needs.

As was mentioned above, the retail POS systems help in the sales transactions processes. The POS systems are one of the simplest and they are created in a way to operate with the purchase processes in ease and efficient way. Hence, the software has options for entering data which could possibly represent the whole inventory in the shop, for example. Additionally, when the purchase is made, the system automatically counts down the item from the inventory list and helps in that way contributes for improved inventory management. Also, regarding the customer relationship management and providing sales reports, there are other settings that could additionally be set in the particular POS software and all that for the purpose business operations to be more productive.

Apart of the retail businesses, hotels and restaurants should have more complex POS systems. This is due to the fact that in such businesses which are service orientated, the POS software applied should be able, for example, to customize various orders from different tables and in alignment with that to keep track on price variations.

The fact is that the POS systems that apply to service sector businesses such as restaurants, hotels and fast food businesses should be able to customize and manage multiple orders. Either the example is for fast food business, or dining out restaurant or even a hotel, POS software should operate with various orders made during the service process, and still providing the right bill for the right table, or the right bill for the right room order if the hotel business is taken into consideration.

Clearly, when starting a business it is important to take the industry specific POS system into account. Therefore one should not just trying and finding the best deal, but rather invest in the system that will work best to make the everyday businesses activities more effective. Understanding why each system is unique will help when trying to make the decision for what type of POS system to purchase.

Although the examples given above are from specific industries, the systems could be applied to different industries that have similar purchasing processes: The retail POS can be used in stores ranging from clothing to electronics and the restaurant systems could be used in various hospitality related industries.

Worth to be concluded is the fact that when buying the POS system one should not only decide to buy the POS system with best buying deal, but also to consider the specific industry requirements where the particular business operates.