Upgrading Your Point of Sale System: Is It Time to Consider Mobile?

Many small and mid-sized business owners are just becoming accustomed to the changing technological landscape that simplifies the complex and tedious tasks that they have to face on a daily basis. For those business owners who have taken the leap forward into point-of-sale systems, the days of manual calculations, mountains of receipts, and human error are long gone.

A lot of business owners and managers are already moving into the newest phase of POS capabilities – mobile functionality through tablet-based POS systems. With the right software and secure networks, tablets can support fully-functioning POS systems all on their own, or be integrated into the same existing systems to increase flexibility and usability. Tablet-based POS systems are catching on in so many industries. According to a Software Advice survey, 51% of respondents said that tablet-based POS is “not at all difficult” to operate. Not only does it add mobility to a business but it also creates greater convenience for customers.

So with that being said, it is important to ask yourself, is it the right time to make the transition into mobile POS? The best place to start is by considering the following benefits and figuring out whether they are the right fit for your business:

1. Versatility

Mobile POS is rapidly becoming a hot item for a wide range of businesses. Big or small, restaurant or retail, making the switch to mobile POS can expanding options for customers and help retain valuable business intelligence.

On a smaller scale, local food trucks that serve a limited amount of dishes and employ only a few workers would benefit greatly from a mobile point of sale system. The right POS system can provide enough valuable output to feel like a third employee is right there in the truck with them. The systems are highly accommodating and flexible enough to manage small or large scale set-ups with great ease and little difficulty. In a lot of cases, each transaction will update the change in the inventory, delivering an up-to-the-second analysis of the reporting.

2. Mobility

While many POS systems provide owners with remote access to sales, inventory, scheduling and other information, tablet-based systems take this mobility to a new level. Payments can be accepted at the restaurant table. Inventory information can be reviewed directly in the stock room. Schedules can be updated in the midst of a team meeting.

The security of a fully mobile POS is unquestionable and can help customers feel more at ease when they pay. Touchscreen capabilities and mobile devices allow for customers to handle their own credit card transactions themselves, even selecting a tip amount, without their card ever leaving their hand.

3. Technologically Advanced

If your business is behind on the technology curve, upgrading to a mobile POS device will propel you to the very front of the class. Not only will the features set up your business for convenience and flexibility, the devices come EMV enabled and ready to go. Due to the EMV liability shift of 2015, it is important for business owners to comply and avoid fraudulent chargeback costs. Updating means that transactions and business data are protected by the most advanced security features that are available, which is critical in this era filled with data theft and cyber breaches.

The features that come with this POS investment will make sure that your business remains up to date with customer preferences for payment over time. On the broadest level, upgrading or switching to tablet-based systems gives you the ability to streamline business operations. Kiss manual inventory counting goodbye. Automatically generate reports and analyze your business like never before.

Aside from reporting enhancements, mobile POS ushers in a new way to market to customers. With these systems opening up capabilities, they allow more time to be dedicated to marketing. Many of the systems even have ways to set up loyalty programs, which only further increase customer happiness.

At the end of the day, upgrading or switching your POS system depends entirely on what makes the most sense for your business and needs. Mobility can mean totally different things for different businesses. With the range of new possibilities and capabilities that it provides, it is worth the time and energy evaluating the potential benefits that it can bring and seeing if it would be the right fit.