The Internet has made life easier. A POS (Point of Sale) system accepts payments from customers and enables you to keep track of your sales.
As a business person, one of your main aims is to profit. That is the general purpose of businesses. Measuring your sales against your purchases will let you know if you’re making good progress.
Sometimes it takes your accountant a hard time to track all sales you have made. You will have done them a solid by purchasing that POS system.
However, there is always a negative side to everything, and you need to familiarize yourself with it before deciding whether to have a POS.
What are the Pros and Cons of Having a POS System?
Pros
It is Fast
Nothing beats the speed of POS system payments. As a customer, I prefer a system that accepts my payment faster. Using cash can be a bit slower as the seller might find a hard time getting the balance.
To you as a business person, getting the number of sales you’ve made is fast since the data is available in the system. You also get the orders your customers have made in a fast way.
Easy Management
It is always important to recognize hard-working employees. Using POS, you will be able to know employees who make more sales and reward their hard work according to your will. It is a tried and tested effective way of employee motivation.
You will easily manage your employees and implement improvement where need be. A good working team is one of the key factors that lead to the success of a business. Track the performance of your business using a POS system.
Improved Customer Service
We all get disappointed when we look for something online and end up not getting it since it is out of stock. As a customer, I love easy purchases. I love it when a seller considers my needs keenly and to the point.
POS systems allow you to book items for your customers when you order new inventory so that they get priority when stock arrives. That way, you will get to attract customers.
Cons
It is Expensive
Getting a POS system is quite costly to purchase. We can attribute this to the fact that as a single system, it performs many functions. All functions are of great benefit to the business.
Upgrades that keep happening now and then make the price increase. They are inevitable. You will incur the cost of upgrading the system. You might also be required to get licenses again.
The cost of it all is one of the main disadvantages of using a POS system. After purchasing the system, maintaining it is equally costly. When the system gets malware, you will require a good amount of money to repair it.
Security is at Risk
This has to be the scariest thing that comes with using the internet. People can hack into your system and cause a security threat. Your money will be at risk of getting stolen, and privacy is also threatened.
On top of that, a security fee is paid monthly, leading to an increase in the cost of the system.
Keeping Up With Competitors
Your competitors will always keep you on your toes. You will always want to ensure your system is better than theirs. This will eventually lead to you upgrading your system from time to time.
A better POS than yours will create a pool of customers for your competitor.
Relies on Internet
POS systems function effectively when there is the internet. Unstable internet reduces the effectiveness of the system. If you are considering purchasing this system, ensure you install internet that is strong enough.
Malware
Just like any other item, wear and tear is an expected outcome. When this happens, you will have to incur the cost of repair. In this system, it is called malware.
This cost comes together with your customers being unable to make payments. By this point, you will have started experiencing reducing sales.
What Are the Common Errors that Occur on POS?
Purchasing the Wrong POS
The size of your business is an important factor to consider before deciding to purchase a system. Is your business a growing one or not? Choosing the wrong POS can be costly.
Have a clear view of the goals of your business and the revenue so that you can avoid this error.
Improper POS Installation
However easy it may seem to install a POS system, you should always consider having it installed by a professional. This will save you the stress of worrying about improper installation.
Inaccuracy
We all know the good old saying that cheap is expensive; if you can afford an accurate POS system, do not think twice about purchasing it. Accuracy is a key factor to consider before purchasing this system.
Purchasing a costly but accurate POS system is the best solution for this error.
Failure to Train Employees
A good POS system loses its worth when the users fail to use it properly. Train and educate your employees so that execution can be easier for everyone.
What are the Risk Factors in POS Business?
RAM Scraping
Hackers get information on credit cards using this method. The best way to prevent this is by installing tightened firewalls. You can also separate key components of the POS from the business network.
Phishing
Hackers keep expanding their tactics. Through phishing, they send links to your email, which gives them access to your system after you open the link.
Advise employees not to check their personal emails using the POS devices and not browse using corporate devices.
Is POS Transaction Safe?
POS transactions are not fully secure. From the threats mentioned above, hackers will always want to hack into POS systems. Full safety is therefore not guaranteed when using POS systems for transactions.
How Long Does a POS Reversal Take Place?
Reversal may take from 24 to 72 working hours. If a dispute arises, the reversal will take longer. In normal circumstances, reversal doesn’t take more than ten days.
Wrap Up
POS systems are a good invention. The number of people it has helped is countless. However, the positive side of this invention should not prevent us from knowing the negative side of it all. Hackers will go to great extents to get data from POS systems.
