EPoS can increase your turnover and grow your business. What areas should you be researching to ensure that you purchase an Electronic Point of Sale system that will grow your business, and be supported by your supplier?
Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) offers businesses vast improvements to business process, time and cost savings and more profitable margins. However there are many systems available with varying features. What should you consider when purchasing a system that is most appropriate to your business, and what level of support will you need in order to implement the system and support it post sale?
1. How well mapped out are your own processes?
Your first task will be to map your business processes. This ensures that you identify your revenue streams and what a system can automate and thus make more profitable. This stage is the most critical as it provides the template for the system you are looking for.
2. How much time will it take me to keep my product list up to date?
Whilst the point of EPoS is to save you time in managing areas such as stock control, it can also drastically absorb your time in areas such as keeping your product list and prices up to date. An ideal system for you may be one where the supplier already keeps an industry standard product list up to date and you are simply required to complete a monthly download and add your margin to the product. Some systems require you to complete the details in-house. Consider the time-saving, thus opportunity cost, of purchasing a system where the system is remotely managed by the supplier.
3. Research your supplier
Ask for references of the supplier you are buying from; speak to other purchasers and find out what their experience was when buying, and the level of support they received during implementation and post sale. Also consider the size of the supplier as smaller businesses may not be able to give you the level of support you require; opening times, support desk hours are important considerations.
4. How robust is your software?
Ask how often you can expect updates to the system and what these updates are. Discuss with the referees the experience they have had and how they cope when unavoidable downtime occurs.
5. What support can I expect?
As in many situations, you only gain an understanding of how good a supplier is when you have a problem. Find out how many people work in the support department and their time within the business.
6. How good is the management reporting?
Good MI (management information) enables you and your managers to manage your business efficiently. Access to up to date sales figures, profit margins and stock levels all ensure you are making decisions based on facts and not supposition. Ideally, you should be able to get access to this information quickly.
7. Who actually owns the software?
A “dongle” is where a business licenses and rebrands another business’ software. If you’re looking for a supplier who can really help you tailor the system to suit your own business processes, make sure they have the rights, know-how and support to do this for you.
8. How easy is it to suspend a sale?
You’re ideal is to have a busy shop, so let’s imagine you have 5 people all using the same till; you need a quick and simple way to suspend the sale, allowing another member of the team to carry out their transaction, before you return and quickly pick up where you left off. Some systems offer hardware or credit card style key that allows the user to log and pick up exactly where they left off, others don’t. Which would you prefer?
9. How is the system backed up?
As part of your Disaster Recovery plans you need to ensure any data that is stored on the system is easily recoverable to another. Businesses who can’t recover their data, often lose clients, not just data. Check with your supplier what backup routines are included with your software and what systems administration they recommend you undertake.
10. How easy is it to close end of the month?
If you want to save time, you may also want the system to automatically close your month / period end, leaving you to review the figures quickly with your team and identify areas that need improving for the forthcoming month. If this is important to you, check what features your supplier offers in this area.
Ensure Your Choice is Appropriate for your Business and its IT Strategy
There will be other considerations, specific to your business, but hopefully by researching the above areas, you will purchase a system that speeds up your business process, makes you more competitive, reduces operational procedures and protects your business. Spending time identifying the right supplier will give you the added benefit of a strategic partner who will help you in your goals to grow your business.
Barclay Jones has extensive experience in IT Strategy and automating business process that inevitably leads to our clients' business growth. Please get in touch to talk to us about what your growth plans are.