Looking for the best POS system for your business? Compare the top 10 POS software here!

Whether you are starting a new business or expanding an existing one, choosing the right POS system can make all the difference. In the past, your POS system was a cash register and a credit card machine. Now, however, POS systems contain much more than basic transaction functionality.

Determine Your Needs

Honestly, assess the size of your business and how large you plan to grow it over the next few years. If you own a small restaurant and never plan to open a second location, then you don’t need multi-location support and you also likely do not need an inventory system that can handle 500,000 unique identifiers. If you are running a small restaurant, chances are, you would be just fine with a POS system that provides basic inventory functionality, timesheet integration, and a table map in addition to basic transaction functionality.

The reverse is also true; if you own a local chain of restaurants, then you will need multi-location support if you want to be able to manage all of your locations together, rather than running all of the sites separately.

What Are The Main Differences Between Small and Large Business POS Systems?

First, price is going to be a factor to consider. A POS system designed for a medium or large business is going to demand a premium that is often more than a small business owner can afford or is willing to pay. For larger companies, this cost is worth the extra functionality that these systems offer.

POS systems designed for small businesses are often robust enough to manage your daily needs, but they are also simple enough that you will not have to dedicate several hours a week to just maintaining your POS system. When you start getting into POS systems for medium and large scale businesses, the initial setup, as well as maintenance, complexity grows immensely. The main sectors for POS systems are Retail and Restaurant business.

Determine What Hardware you Want to Use

Many modern POS systems do not require custom hardware as older systems do. Since 2010, there have been several POS systems released for iPads. What makes these systems great for small business is that there is a minimal upfront cost. With older systems that relied on proprietary hardware, you either had a substantial upfront cost to purchase the hardware or had to sign up for a long term service agreement. With modern iPad based systems, most companies offer service on a month to month basis.

Conclusion

To determine what POS system is right for you, you must first honestly assess how large you plan to grown your business, as well as how much time you want to spend setting up and maintaining the system.