Cloud POS for every business

With less capital available to invest in a new retail store, small businesses must prioritize each expense, especially upon opening. In fact, many new SMBs don’t make it through year one. But there are steps to take that will contribute to a successful start.

We’ve covered many different strategies that can help small businesses succeed. And of course, a great POS is one of the most integral parts of your retail infrastructure. But today let’s consider the merits of a cloud-based POS system for retail. Cloud-based point of sale systems offer more reliability, flexibility, and security. Retail technology is evolving, and the fast pace of the industry means businesses need to evolve with it. Cloud technology has made a variety of processes simpler, allowing businesses to streamline their payment processing, inventory control and other functions. Before the cloud provided a new world of possibilities, retailers and merchants were tethered to traditional cash registers, server maintenance, and complicated software installations.

This new breed of technology allows you the freedom to manage every aspect of your retail business in one central location, or from anywhere you like. Traditional POS systems rarely include free customer and technical support, and locally-installed software does not update automatically. In contrast, cloud-based solutions are updated and issues are resolved, usually before you even know there is a problem. Cloud POS systems are the future, but before you purchase one for your business, it’s important to ensure that it will work the way you need it to

What Are the Different Types of POS Systems?

There is one major distinction on how a POS stores data. The terminals capture information and send it to a server to be stored. This can be on-site or off-site. Below is a look at the two options.

• On-Site Servers

It used to be that all POS systems were run on a server that was physically within the premises of the building. Each terminal would run on the POS software but a single server, usually somewhere in the back of the store, would store all of the data that would be captured by the point of sale.

This means that all data can only be accessed from that single server. Though fewer retailers are using this system, there are many small businesses that continue to rely on this model.

• Cloud-Based Point of Sale

Using a cloud POS system, the data is instead stored in remote servers. The terminals using the POS software stay the same, but there is no on-premise server storing all of the information.

This remote server is one chosen by your POS provider. It might be a server that they run themselves or one that they pay a third-party to use.

The hardware used with this system can be exactly the same as that used with one using on-site servers: desktop, laptop, or tablet.

Offline functionality

It’s one of the best feature online web-based POS system can offer. The offline point of sale functionality means that the sales recording will keep working even when the internet is down. Thus, the cloud-based point of sales provides restaurateurs and retailers the offline capability of handling customers and their purchasing activities without any hurdle. This offline mode works in a situation when the internet is not available; this special functionality keeps company able to record stable payments without interruption. The data can easily be captured and then the system synchronizes itself when it is back online.

Optimize and manage promotions with ease

For almost every business, promotions are essential to attract and retain customers. Many firms struggle to track specifications, duration, and terms of promotions when it comes to run short-term promotions. And, diversity of businesses run multiple promotions at the same time, which means promotions and business profitability, goes hand-in-hand. So, failing to track promotions will lead you to lost sales and patrons because customer care will suffer. To deal with this situation, the point-of-sale systems on the cloud is the perfect pick that will allow you to track promotions and profits with ease.

Brand Flexibility

The lack of sleekness when it comes to the design of traditional POS is a turn-off to many. We’ve all seen those stores whose brands are conceptually consistent across the space except for the bulky black POS machine at the corner with the giant cash register, payment machines, and printers. You can choose to install a cloud-based software POS on the machine that most matches your vibe and your needs. This is in addition to the immense customizability of these popular devices to begin with. With the variety of payment add-ons available on the market (such as Square), you’re bound to design a POS system that works for your brand’s aesthetic. It makes it easy to be a minimalist brand with a cashless store and exclusively e-receipts; and it’s just as easy to host a more classical store with a large variety of compatible hardware. So, whether you’re just starting a business or you’re already years into it, a cloud-based software POS is definitely worth your consideration.