Washington Marketing

Literally thousands of businesses open their doors every month and the vast majority of them struggle with the logistical demands of running a business. Managing inventory, tracking sales, processing credit card transactions, and keeping up with bookkeeping is a full-time job and can seem impossible on top of management and strategic duties. That’s why it’s important for retailers to choose point of sale and inventory tracking software that simplifies and automates workflow. Your POS software and inventory tracking systems would make your life easier and save you from headaches. But how the heck do you choose the appropriate system for your company? There are literally dozens of companies offering point of sale systems, and keeping track of all the features and gizmos can make a person’s head spin.

There are a few valuable resources for information and reviews, but I generally recommend POS-Wizard point of sale software reviews because they have literally hundreds of articles on all of the different systems on the market and they do a good job of breaking down the features in a straightforward way. They’ll explain the differences between cloud based and local point of sale software and some of their articles cover important aspects of inventory tracking that you wouldn’t realize were important until several months of product use. Ultimately, this resource is a great way to save time and money.

One of the most important components of a good POS system is the user interface. This is the component of the software the merchants interact with on a daily basis and it includes the dashboard and the overall graphical interface. A positive UI experience makes it easier to use software and find exactly what you’re looking for without any frustration. Most point of sale software systems cram in too many features and then do a poor job of organizing them, which makes finding even basic functions a pain. MerchantOS has one of the best point of sale software systems in terms of usability. Their interface is clean and user-friendly, but they don’t skimp on important features. It’s a nice balance between form and function. That said, I think they could do an even better job of streamlining the experience in the future (and I’ve heard they’re working on that).

Another potentially irritating logistical nightmare is inventory tracking, especially if you have a fairly large retail store. Tracking and ordering complex items from several dozen suppliers can be very challenging without some form of automation. Luckily, most point of sale systems now include robust inventory tracking systems. Things can still get tricky if you’re trying to integrate brick-and-mortar inventory with an e-commerce website. Very few point of sale systems integrate with e-commerce sites, so it’s worth doing extra homework to guarantee you’re getting the features and integration you’ll need. When in doubt, just ask a sales rep and they’ll usually provide a straightforward answer. If they end up giving you the run around, you probably don’t want to work with them anyway — which is a great segway into my final piece of advise…

Features and a positive user experience are extremely important, but so is customer service. Don’t be afraid to interview a company thoroughly before signing up for their service. Finding the right point of sale software service is really important and it’s easy to get lost in all the features and gizmos. Ultimately, you need a powerful system and an excellent customer support team. Having the right people on your team will save you from lots of headaches and will ultimately save you a ton of time and money. Don’t be afraid to thoroughly interview a company before making a commitment because changing POS software systems can feel like breaking up with a spouse. Try to avoid the hassle and heartache by choosing a company you’ll still love in 10 years.