Point of sale, or POS, systems are run by many different types of businesses, from restaurants to retail stores to grocery stores to hotels. No matter what kind of product or service you are selling, small business owners depend on quality, organized point of sales technology to grow their business and cultivate their brand. Though, it may feel daunting, follow these simple steps on how to install a point of sale system and get your business booming in no time!
The Software
Every point of sale system works from specialized software designed to manage your company’s inventory, sales, reporting, and more. Tailored to particular industries, each POS system will work slightly differently, but they all need to be integrated into your existing computer network. Download the point of sale software to your computer and all other devices in your network. Doing this will make it easier to set up the POS hardware. For example, if you are running a restaurant, you will want to download the software—like our BPA Restaurant Point of Sale software—to your main computer, but also to each of the workstations you will be using day-to-day.
The Hardware
Now, turn to the physical components and machines you will be using to run the software. Similar to the variety of software, point of sale hardware includes many types of industry-specific technologies. For example, a restaurant may use our kitchen display system and credit card processing hardware. Whereas a retailer may turn to the barcode scanners and cash drawers we offer. No matter the hardware type, they all will need to be integrated into the software system you have already set up. Once you have plugged in each device and connected all the cables to their corresponding ports, you are ready for the final step.
The Sales
All the merchandise, services, and menu items you plan to sell will need to be entered into the system. Though this will take time, working through the finer details of the software at the beginning will help you run your POS system more smoothly in the weeks and months to come. Be sure to double-check your hardware out on the sales floor to make sure the information displays correctly. After use over time, the point of sale system will then allow you to access the various reporting metrics it gathers. These often include data points regarding best-selling items, sales by payment type, and inventory status. Our Complete Hotel POS systems and software even allow clients to integrate retail and restaurant point of sale modules to seamlessly organize guest folios.
Though you may have learned how to install a point of sale system, it will take time to master a new arrangement. But once you and your staff have learned the ways of the POS system, you will be running your business more efficiently than ever before. If you ever run into trouble, contact our support team via phone, email, or our online chat!
