A good POS system can be the only difference between a successful business and a struggling one. This is especially true in a competitive market where customers are always on the lookout for exemplary services. The best you can do is to invest in a good POS system and ensure you have the best customer service in town. But POS systems are more or less like other technological advancements meant to ease transactions between retailers and consumers. That is, they are susceptible to glitches and even bugs. This shouldn’t worry you at all because you can always have these issues fixed. What should worry you instead is a slow POS – one that hangs when all cashiers log into the system to start billing customers. Note that this can happen even when the system is just 6 months old. Here’s what you should do to speed up the system.
Switch To Touch Screens
The touch screen option is by far the best alternative to the manual entry system. It doesn’t just simplify the billing process. It also saves time. There is also the fact that it makes it easy for you to enter data directly into the system without typing errors that often turn out to be costly. The cashier simply uses a barcode scanner to quickly scan an item before touching the screen to bill the item. In a nutshell, the cursor activity is controlled by a quick touch on the screen. Remember too that by switching to the touch screen option, you will eliminate the keyboard, mouse pad and keyboard problem.
Go For Easy To Load Receipt Printers
Hardware and software problems like a seizing printer can be annoying and hard to deal with. It gets worse when the receipt printer jams with customers queuing and waiting for their bill. This quickly escalates to poor customer service which is the last thing you want as a business owner. Two or three seconds into the waiting game and customers will simply abandon their carts to the next cashier or the next store. This is easy to prevent. All you have to do is run software diagnostics before opening the store. Make this a daily habit every morning before opening the store. Inspect all printers just to make sure the paper roll is full. The go for easy to load printers to keep all paper rolls handy. This should not be a problem solely because the latest thermal printers are easy to operate.
Use Wi-Fi To Speed Up The System
Do not underestimate the power of Wi-Fi when it comes to speeding up a slow POS system. With fast and reliable connection, you can easily conduct inventory checks, bill items and swipe cards. Note that using a separate credit card system can also slow down your POS system. That is why you should integrate your credit card swipe system with your POS. Nearly all vendors offer this service upon request, so ask. It will make it easy for you to process payments in less than two seconds.
Use Reliable Barcode Scanners
How else will you reduce pricing mistakes and inventory errors without reliable barcode scanners? But that’s not all there is into barcode scanners and slow POS systems. Try getting an OMNI directional scanner so as to scan any object or item no matter where the barcode scanner is.
Isolate Your POS system
This should be a no brainer if you are not new to POS systems. Avoid hosting your POS system on an open network. The reason here is simple. POS systems are vulnerable to attack mainly because they contain inventory information, store details and customer data. Hosting the system on an open network is akin to inviting problems. Remember to also restrict staff access to the system for private emails as this can easily invite adware and viruses.