Tag: Point Of Sale System

A unified platform known as a cloud POS system gives its users access to cutting-edge flexibility and features. Your competitors are more likely to switch to a cloud-based point-of-sale system in the next year or two, which could cause issues for your business since a cloud-based POS is known to help retailers improve the customer experience and manage numerous channels. According to research, 55% of retail businesses will replace their existing POS with a cloud-based POS system within three years, and 30% are planning to do so within the following year. It’s the best time to change how you manage your point of sale and move to a more flexible point of sale system.

One of the key benefits of switching from legacy POS systems to cloud POS software is their lack of lag time. Legacy software can often be outdated and burdensome, not only in terms of its functionality but also because updates take too long! Cloud-based solutions, on the other hand, offer almost instant access with little hassle or risk of downtime during upgrades, which means you won’t miss out on business while your system gets spruced up.

With a cloud-based POS system, you’ll no longer have to deal with complicated, hours-long upgrades. Moreover, while updating the legacy POS, power outages can immediately result in data loss, and you may have to start over, rendering your POS operations. However, with a cloud POS system, each store’s data can be backed up automatically during an update, so there’s never any lost data, time, or sales. Plus, these cloud-based systems come equipped with features like remote monitoring tools that let you know how your business is doing at any given moment. There are endless benefits to cloud-based POS systems, which is why businesses are increasingly shifting towards technologies based on the cloud.

The Benefits of Choosing a Cloud-Based POS System

POS systems are becoming increasingly popular, but what exactly is a cloud-based point of sale system? A cloud POS operates on the basis of cloud hosting, which means that your software and data are hosted remotely on highly secure servers in an encrypted format, accessible only to the authorized end-user via the web from any location. Cloud-based POS systems enable you to work from any location that has an internet connection. Let’s discuss the benefits.

1. 24*7 Remote Accessibility

   The cloud offers simplicity and flexibility in how you access back-office features. This data was only available from terminals that were on-site with a legacy POS system, which restricted its utility in cases where inventory or vendor issues might need to be handled right away. Everything is remotely accessible with a modern cloud-based POS system using only an internet connection! It’s a guarantee that you can effectively manage your point of sale operations and business operations from any location.

   The cloud storage space offers a safe haven for all your data, and you can take advantage of it on the go! You’ll be able to access what has been stored in the last instance without worrying about missing any vital information. Plus, with mobile compatibility, you can be on the floor with your employees and interact with customers to handle their issues and get feedback instantly. Just bring your laptop to the floor and stop being glued to your office chair.

2. Get Empowered with a Mobile POS Through Cloud

   Just imagine a scenario. Your store is packed on Black Friday or any holiday sale, and you’re running low on active POS terminals. Your associates are working as quickly as possible to check everyone out, but there are only two POS terminals available for use. During these situations, having more mobile terminals like employees with a mobile POS in their hands with cloud-based systems could make life easier for you, your business, and your employees, as the other employees can help customers check out using a mobile POS. This will save time for your customers and make them feel valued, which will have a positive impact on them. For your customers, you’ll be a store with exceptionally excellent customer service, even during the busiest holiday seasons.

3. Scalability

   Consider taking on a larger space and upping your inventory offerings! A cloud-based POS system will empower you to collate and update the critical data quickly so that when it comes time to expand or buy out another store to grow, it will be a cakewalk for you as far as data transfer and management is concerned. If you’re considering opening a second location, having your cloud-based point of sale system will save time and money. The best part is that it enables access from any computer or smartphone because there’s no need to open the software on the device on that particular store. You can monitor all the store locations, collate data, and track sales, an employee’s performance, pricing inventory, etc., from one screen. While it’s true that cloud-based point of sale systems are usually easier to integrate with other technologies, like QuickBooks, you could also use integrated software to track your inventory and sales data while increasing customer engagement through coupons or digital marketing campaigns across all social media channels.

4. Easy to Manage and Maintain

   Cloud-based POS systems are a godsend to retailers. Not only do they eliminate the maintenance headache, but you can update your entire chain of stores at once with one installation! The downside? During installations, there’s always some sort of software outage, so make sure everyone has their backup plan ready just in case the software doesn’t function for some time. With a cloud-based POS system, you won’t ever have to worry about your terminals falling out of sync. All updates and changes made in the company’s online portal apply instantly across all associated hardware, such as registers or checkout counters, ensuring that everyone working for this business stays on the same page with their work tasks at hand! Moving your point of sale system to the cloud allows you to get remote technical support for it when needed. This means that instead of waiting for costly technician visits to your store for maintenance, you can just manage the health of your cloud-based pos system remotely across locations.

5. Cost-Efficient

   In many ways, a cloud-based POS system can come across as more expensive than legacy software. You’ll need to pay monthly for the services, whereas some old-fashioned legacy POS software can be purchased all at once. However, you can’t go wrong with a cloud-based POS system. You’ll enjoy lower upfront costs and easier installation. Your software vendor will also provide remote support for maintenance, which means you won’t need to employ any specialized staff or bring technicians into your store, saving money in both cases (and allowing you more time to spend on other aspects of the business).

Conclusion

No business can instantly shift from a legacy POS to a cloud-based POS system; it takes time, money, and energy. Also, at the same time, most businesses are shifting from on-site POS systems to cloud POS software if you consider the statistics provided at the start of this blog. Thus, delaying in deciding to transform can hamper your growth.

Feeling apprehensive before deciding on a change is quite common. Nonetheless, the cloud-based POS system’s flexibility makes the process much more comfortable. On top of that, if you have a solution provider like FTx Global, that’s just the ingredients of a seamless transition. FTx Global has been in the industry for more than a decade, has experience in developing legacy and cloud-based POS systems, and has helped many businesses upgrade their point of sale from on-site to cloud-based.

Retail POS systems have brought a huge revolution to the whole industry by storm. Besides supermarkets, even dedicated businesses like tobacco stores benefit from point of sale system features. The best thing about using point of sale software is that it is both cost-efficient and easy-to-use. Therefore, your smoke shop can streamline its routine operations using customer-friendly POS products and services. A cloud POS system comes equipped with a wide variety of features.

Since the laws in the US are stringent, it becomes required by law to comply with the rules and regulations at the time of selling tobacco products. Therefore, if your business involves selling cigars, cigarettes, or other age-restricted products to minors, then chances are that your license could get revoked. Therefore, you can avoid such issues by using smoke shop point of sale software.

Cigar store POS software helps detect the user’s age based on their driver’s license and prompts. In this way, you can keep your store legally sound and risk-free at all times. We understand that vape retailers require an advanced POS system that gives them the ability to see and click through available brands, sizes, flavors, and nicotine levels to drive up sales. With smoke store POS software, retailers can also get an idea of which brands are popular and review monthly reports with just a few clicks.

The following are some useful tips that help to run a smoke shop retail business in the best way:

• Provide Training to Your Employees

  It is imperative to provide training to your staff members about the product range and brands you deal with. By providing them with training, you can keep them updated about advancements in the tobacco sector. Create curiosity among your employees to go online and become familiar with your product range. Besides, you can ask manufacturers about new products to provide valuable insights.

• Advanced POS System

  If you own a traditional POS system, you need to upgrade your POS for smoke stores. It is essential to embrace modern technology to stay ahead of your competitors in this digital age. It eases the task for employees and creates an everlasting impression on customers.

• Maintain Accurate Information

  Every shop section flows smoothly, and related products must be kept together. Maintain accurate information on your inventory and stay organized. Maintaining this record helps in identifying less-selling products that can be eliminated at a later stage. You can easily keep a stock of the best-selling items. The best-selling products can be displayed in more prominent positions. If your customer does not easily find the product, you could lose a customer who contributes towards sales.

• Promote on Social Media Channels

  You can think of capitalizing on social media platforms like Instagram. On this image-based platform, you can present your products to targeted customers across the globe. This platform lets you cash in on the influencer marketing aspect.

• Offer a Unique Retail Experience to Customers

  An excellent retail experience will help you spread the word about your business. When you offer a unique retail experience to your customers, it will lead to your customers spreading the word about the brand among their friends and relatives.

• Ensure Your POS System is Updated

  It is crucial that your POS system is up and running all the time. Therefore, you should make it a priority to consider its maintenance. Doing so will help you never miss a sales opportunity. All in all, it is vital to give a hassle-free customer experience, from buying products to making payments. It will ensure that your customers will not go elsewhere.

• Purchasing the Right Stuff

  It is crucial to have a diverse product range t to satisfy a variety of customers. Also, it is vital to capitalize on bestsellers and new trends appropriately. Get an idea about what your customers are buying frequently and keep a close watch on fluctuations. Keep some options available in top-selling categories and ask your customers if they cannot find their desired product from the product range offered. Get some knowledge about trending items in most areas.

• Run Effective Smart Promotions

  We do understand that there may be highs and lows in any business. If there is excess stock, companies can develop effective ways of moving the product. You can consider giving promotions like post-holiday sales, deals, or giveaways to get rid of excess inventory in the best possible manner.

• Host Product Demonstrations

  A retailer can plan to host a tasting of a selection of their products to assist customers in experiencing new products before they decide to make any purchase. The sales associate will offer insights, background, and information about the selected product range during the tasting session.

• Keep a Track of Sales

  Businesses need to keep track of sales and know-how the store performs. You can analyze business performance by getting detailed reports and valuable insights. Sales reporting will help you improve on various aspects, such as pricing, seasonal stock, ordering, marketing, staffing, and more.

Therefore, by following the tips mentioned above, you can successfully run a smoke shop retail business using a smoke store point of sale system.

FTx Global (POS System)

Did you know that your company’s Point-of-Sale system is the most important tool of your entire business? A digital Point-of-Sale system or POS system offers far more than the basic functionality of processing your sales transactions.

When used in the best way, your POS system can help you market your promotional campaigns, increase customer retention, and track inventory in real-time.

Are you currently getting the most out of your POS system? Or are you failing to maximize the robust features that your POS includes?

Here are the six features you must use to get the most out of your POS system.

Engage in Useful POS System Features

Depending on the POS system you’ve invested in and installed at your store, the user interface could appear complex. Or it might be overly simplified, which causes your staff to have to tap through too many “simplified” screens to accomplish their goals, otherwise known as a real-time waster. When using the POS, your staff needs to see only relevant options for their tasks. You need to “hide” all functions and features that are not meant to be used, and present only the screens and options they will need.

Use Analytical Features to the Fullest
Your POS system should have data-compiling abilities that help you analyze popular vs. failed products, successful vs. dud promotional campaigns, loyal vs. infrequent customer purchase rates, and other information. If you don’t take the time to review the corresponding reports, you won’t be able to get the most out of this feature. Be sure to engage in artificial intelligence analytics so that you can leverage data to your advantage.

Identify & Monitor Top Selling Items
Sales, inventory and revenue data are collected within your POS system, which helps you guide in business decisions. Once you identify top-selling and less popular products and services, you can customize promotional campaigns to drive more traffic towards best-sellers. This will help you save time and efforts spent on trying to push items that aren’t succeeding.

Integrate a Loyalty Program
A most important feature in a POS system should be its ability to create, integrate, and manage a customer loyalty rewards program. Loyalty programs help increase customer retention, sales revenue, and lifetime value. When customers purchase at the checkout registers, you can encourage them to sign up for your loyalty rewards program. Once you can track their buying habits, you can offer personalized discounts that they will be likely to act on.

Protection from Theft
Theft issue is a problem for retailers, and not everyone that steals is a customer with sticky fingers or a hacker with wicked intentions. One of the biggest sources of theft comes from employees. When inappropriate POS access is granted without discretion and security measures, it can tempt employees who lack the integrity to test what they can get away with. These attempts can be reduced and protected from theft if theft prevention features are present in the POS system.

Integrate Online Sales with Your In-House Workflow
Combining an ecommerce website with your retail store lets you handle online orders. Your POS system will help you manage online sales, payment processing, and customer data collection.

Plus, having comprehensive digital capabilities must include mobile app integration if and when you launch one. Be sure that your POS system can merge your physical and virtual stores to reflect your overall sales activity.

Your POS system is integral to your operations and increasing revenue. You can keep your retail store running smoothly and grow profits by monitoring inventory, handling sales, direct marketing to loyalty members, and measuring employee productivity.

Follow these tips to get the most out of your Point-of-Sale system and receive a great return on your investment.

Are you looking to switch POS providers, upgrade your POS capabilities, or implement a new POS at your retail store? FTx POS Solutions offers all the hardware and software you will need to be up and running in no time. Our software has features for inventory management, lottery ticket management, and launch promotional campaigns with an internet connection, as we offer premium cloud-based solutions. With features like biometric security, timeclock and customizable access settings, FTx POS system helps you manage employees effectively while eliminating the risk of employee theft.

To learn more about the solutions and technologies offered by FTx Global, be sure to visit our website or contact us at any time.