When a shopper is ready to make a purchase, your business should be ready to provide a smooth payment experience. From food trucks to footwear stores, the way your customers complete their purchase is an important part of their experience with your brand.
That’s where a point-of-sale (POS) system comes in. A great POS system can streamline payment transactions and even help manage sales, inventory, and customer data.
Here's what you need to know about POS systems, plus a quick video on how to find the best point-of-sale solution for your needs.
Video: Learn what to look for when you’re picking a point-of-sale solution for your business, and get a detailed guide to the best POS systems and tools
A point-of-sale (POS) system is a platform businesses use to process and complete customer payments—online, in-store, or both.
In the past, the most common POS system was a cash register. Now, portable and connected POS terminals, tablets, and monitors can power contactless and secure transactions.
A POS system can consist of both hardware and software, which offer different functionalities and benefits.
Within a POS system, the primary role of POS hardware is to provide a way for merchants to take payments from their customers. Here are some of the common types of POS hardware:
POS systems run on software that helps the system complete transactions, gather data, provide feedback, and more. POS software can sync across devices and share updates in real time.
Beyond processing payments, comprehensive POS software systems can also help manage other aspects of your company, including sales, inventory, and reporting. This ultimately can boost efficiency, accuracy, and overall management.
Some POS software, like Tap to Pay accessed through the PayPal POS app, can work with or without traditional hardware. The PayPal POS App is preloaded on PayPal terminals and available on iPhone or Android to process payment transactions.1
POS systems offer a range of capabilities. Some just process payments, while others can integrate your transactions, inventory, and customer data. A comprehensive POS system can facilitate sales, gather customer insights, activate special offers and discounts, and manage product inventory.
Not all businesses need the same POS capabilities. It’s important to assess your business’s needs and goals to ensure that your POS system has all the functionality you require to support your current and future operations.
A lot goes into choosing the right POS system for your business. The first thing to consider is whether you’ll be selling in one primary location (such as a storefront), in many locations (such as a food truck or event-based business), or a combination of the two.
Mobile businesses need a POS system that is fast, convenient, and portable. If your business will be making sales in multiple locations—such as in-home service providers, contractors, and businesses that sell at events and farmers markets, consider using Tap to Pay.
With Tap to Pay, you can Take contactless payments using a tap or QR code. You can enable Tap to Pay on your PayPal Point of Sale App. No extra hardware is required. With a phone or tablet, you can take payments virtually anywhere you do business1
The ability to process a variety of payment methods is an important feature of any POS system. Offering more choices in payment methods can help reduce friction for your customers during the checkout experience.
To help ensure that your customers can use the payment method that works best for them, look for a POS system that offers Tap to Pay, card payments, gift card transactions, QR codes, and manual card entry.
Learn more about POS payment processing
POS systems do more than just process payments. Compare the following features and benefits to choose a POS system that makes it easy to manage your day-to-day business operations:
Ultimately, choosing the right POS system depends on the unique needs of your business. Consider a POS system that supports the following:
If you’re shopping for a POS system, PayPal Point of Sale can help streamline transactions and business operations. Click here to learn more about our complete Point of Sale solution.
These solutions and more are available with PayPal Open.
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