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Point of Sale systems: Choosing the Right Dealer for Your Business

Posted: February 1, 2010 at 9:47 pm | Tags: point of sale system support, point of sale systems, pos equipment, pos support, pos systems, Retail Point of Sale, Retail POS

Retail Point of Sale (POS) System Overview

Since retail POS systems is a very important part of your business, choosing a POS dealer is a big decision – bigger in many ways than the actual hardware and software choices. Price will be an issue, but you’ll surely get what you pay for, so it is neccessary to do your research before going to a POS dealer. We have some info that will help you make sure if your retail POS dealer is capable of proving your needs, as well as being dedicated in supporting your business.

POS Support

As discussed here, customer support is vital for the installtion success of your POS. So, you better make sure you know exactly what your POS dealer provides in terms of responses, product replacements, and telephone support. This is the single yet most important aspect of a POS purchasing decision.

 

Installing POS

Getting a quality POS systems installation will have lasting effects which will benefit your business for a very long time. Qualified installers will not take a standardized approach to installation: they analyze your needs, test your existing infrastructure, including power lines, and they make sure you get a system that is exactly what your business needs. On the first week or two of using a POS system will determine whether it work right or not, so a well-tested installation is vital. Ask how often the POS dealer will be on site during and after your launch – only until the system is up and running, or will they visit afterwards and answer the unavoidable questions that arise?

 

Experience

As with any major business purchase, potential vendors’ experience in the industry is also important. However with POS systems you can go further: research how much experience the retail vendor has in supplying systems to other retail establishments in your line of. gasoline stations differ in needs with a boutique store, and a quick-service food chain varies considerably from a five star sea food grill restaurant. Good POS salespeople will ask you about your business, your particular needs, then provide a solution that exactly fits.

 

Facilities

Visiting POS dealers’ facilities can be a great way for you to know how they operate. You will be able to check out their repair shop and get a sense of how busy they are. You can ask for an organizational chart or a tour of their help desk. According to your support needs, distance may or may not be very important to you – if you plan to rely on telephone support and shipping components back for repair, it will not matter, but if you expect field technicians to come visit you, distance from your POS vendor can be a factor.

 

System Demonstrations

To make sure how the system will operate, nothing works better than trying it for yourself. Some vendors allow on-site demos, which gives you the added advantage of being able to see how the hardware is set up and how will it look in your location. While other vendors will invite you to test the system at their place, which gives you that facilities tour we discussed. Either way, we strongly recommend an in-person demo if you are unfamiliar with POS systems.

 

References

Another easy way to investigate POS dealers for your business is by simply asking for references to other customers – just make sure you’re asking for references that are in business similar to yours. As expected, you will be referred to the vendor’s most satisfied customers, but you can still learn quite a bit from them. Here’s a list of questions you may want to ask them:

• How has the POS system affected your business?

• What would you want to be done differently with your POS system?

• Have you needed any support or repairs? What kind of respond did you receive from the POS vendor?

• Do you know of other people who might be using the same system? — By this you can get additional references to call, and some may be more honest about the quality of the system.

Note that you can also ask for references that dislikes the dealer. Why? Every business has it’s own weaknesses, which means they also get dissatisfied customers from time to time. By this, you could learn what to look for and what to watch out for.

 

Return policies

Most manufacturers offers warranties that enables you to get repairs and/or replacements for any equipment failures, but returning equipment is harder. Many POS dealers charge a large amount of money for restocking fees (0 and up) for returns on complete systems; some vendors only allows you to exchange equipment for others, but some do not accept returns at all. Again, make sure you understand these policies before signing a contract with them.

 

How to find the right retail Point of Sale (POS) system provider for your business?

Here’s a convenient way to receive multiple quotes for retail point of sale systems available on the web at: Retail-POS-Solutions.com

The author of this article is a has over 20 years of experience in retail POS systems serving the needs of businesses just like yours.