According to statistics from the Small Business Association, 30 percent of new businesses will fail within the first two years.
This happens mainly due to financial problems. This is one of the reasons why having a POS system for your business is such a necessity.
Are you in business and wondering whether or not you should invest in a POS system? POS systems for small businesses are increasing in popularity because they offer so many benefits.
If you are still on the fence about whether or not to invest in one, here is a look at some of the major benefits of getting a point of sale system, so that you can see that it is well worth the investment.
1. What Exactly is a POS System?
A POS system has the power to connect inventory, bookkeeping, and sales. If you are still using an old-style cash register, although it may be more affordable you are missing out on the kind of precision that a POS system can offer.
As a business owner keeping everything in order makes life easier because it helps you to see profits. Most of these systems have a barcode and a printer, so it is easy to tag your inventory before you put them out for sale.
2. Keep Human Error in Check
Calculating your stock and putting in orders manually, puts your business at risk for errors that can cost you money. Often when taking stock of large inventory manually mistakes will happen.
If these mistakes are minimal then this will not cripple your businesses. However, when the errors are large and occur over a period of time you are taking a huge loss. When you invest in a POS system you eliminate this problem.
3. Arrest Employee Theft
While you may trust your employees and want to think the best of them. The fact is, there may be some who cannot resist taking things from your stock.
While you may have security systems in place to curb this kind of behavior some people are clever and know how to work around these barriers. When you have a POS system in place you can easily find out where your products went.
This is because a point of sale system will keep track of the entire lifecycle of the product. This means you can track the entry of the product in the system from your supplier to the point where it is sold to your customer. This will help to deter theft as it makes it more difficult for an employee to take inventory without your knowledge.
4. Take Your Efficiency to a New Level
Double-checking everything manually takes time. This is usually the time that you should be using to market your business, find new suppliers or just doing a general overseeing of your day to day operations.
A good POS system will enter your sales information automatically. This makes it easy to see where the weaknesses in your sales are so that you can make good decisions that will grow your business.
Your POS system will also update your inventory. This means that you will not have to double-check anything on the ground manually unless you want to.
5. Make It Easy to Find Out Your Return on Investment
You are in business to make money and in order to maximize your profits, you must have data. For example, imagine how you could grow your business if you knew what your best selling products were or if you had knowledge about which of your sales reps was getting the most sales for specific products.
When you have a POS system you can generate sales reports that give you detailed information. When you know what sells well and what doesn’t you can plan how to re-stock your inventory. This will ensure that you are not left stranded with an excess of goods that do not sell well.
If you have a sales team knowing who is doing well and which products they sell the most of, not only helps you to zero in on your best-selling products, it also helps you to see which sales and marketing techniques are most effective.
It could be that the employee who is doing well has a strategy that will benefit the whole team. This can help you with your marketing efforts. In fact, just the knowledge alone of what is selling well gives you all you need to target your marketing campaigns.
A POS system is especially useful during the holiday season when you are likely to see an increase in sales. Having this system in place helps you to see what sold well during the season so that you can order with more precision for the next holiday season.
6. Let’s Talk About Cost
When you are starting out and perhaps strapped for cash it can be tempting to do manual stock-taking and use old-fashioned cash registers. However, if you put yourself at a disadvantage from the beginning it is more likely that you will fall into the statistic quoted at the beginning of this article.
When you make your business plan, try to include a point of sale system in it. While the initial purchase may stretch you, it is better to think long-term when making business decisions. In fact, it is possible to buy a used POS system, this will cut your costs as a small business while helping you to reap the benefits.
A Final Look at POS Systems for Small Businesses
POS systems for small businesses will help you to organize your inventory, maximize your sales and profits. The level of organization you get from this system will ensure that you are always informed about every area of your business.
This will increase your profits and ensure that you do not fall victim to anything or anyone that can undermine the growth of your business.
If you would like more information about how to grow your business and increase your profits, please visit the business section of our website.
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