What is the best POS system for a small business that’s ready to grow?

What makes the best POS system is adaptability. Although the main purpose of POS systems is regulating transactions, they have evolved to handle additional responsibilities with improved functionality. This can be especially beneficial for small businesses, which operate under narrow margins and with limited staff.

Many industry-specific features serve as examples of POS adaptation, such as:

Inventory management
Accounting integrations
Table mapping
Online menus and ordering

Each feature is important but relies on a few central features that connect everything through your POS infrastructure. In this sense, looking for core adaptability features is a great deal more beneficial for small businesses than any individual feature.

So how do you know whether or not a POS system is adaptable? This article recommends two key features to keep an eye on when selecting your new POS. Using talech software as an example, we recommend considering elements such as:

Cloud-based access
Mobile Capabilities

Expanding to the cloud takes your data everywhere you go

For small business owners on the go, switching to a cloud-based POS model is the best first step; online POS models provide access to a host of valuable metrics that would otherwise require intense calculations. Better yet, it means you can access those metrics from anywhere. This includes breakdowns of:

The spending habits of your customers
Your biggest sellers
Employee performance by sales
Labor cost reporting

Having an online model provides you with this information from any internet-connected device. This means that you can check on your business from home after hours instead of having to go there in person. It also means knowing when something isn’t working well, allowing you to adjust your business model where necessary. Having this kind of freedom can cut your expenses by close to 10%, according to Intuit market research.

Mobile features let you conduct business on the fly

Depending on your business model, mobile capabilities might be a close second in terms of relevance to your daily operations. This tool is essential for service workers (technicians, mobile vets, etc.) making house calls. It can also play an important role in the restaurant industry when adding delivery services to your menu.

Mobile features allow your on-site employees to conduct transactions using an app on their mobile phones. These abilities include:

Taking payments (check, card, digital wallet, etc)
Generating invoices
Issuing discounts and promotions

Mobile capabilities allow small business owners to drastically change the way they do business. Adding additional mobile services means reaching new audiences that weren’t available before. The addition of these revenue streams reaches new contributions to the overall health of your bottom line.

So what is the best POS system for a small business?

There are a lot of reviews that will give A/B comparisons, but the general rule of thumb is this: invest in systems that offer the kind of flexibility that small businesses need. You never know when you are going to need to drastically change your business model due to some unforeseen catalyst. If or when that does happen, you want to make sure your technology can pivot into whatever comes next.

Another good insight to keep in mind is to consider company transparency. For example, talech offers interested clients a free demo to see whether or not it meets their needs. If you are interested in learning more about what we can do to become your trusted partner, contact us here.