You are walking through the farmers market with arms full of fresh fruits and veggies, and you are now ready to check out. You get up the counter to pay for your items, they only accept cash, and all you have is a debit card! Now what?
Many people say that paying for something with cash is “inconvenient.” Not sure about you, but I’m the same way. I would much rather pull out my card, swipe it, and be done with it. I would be frustrated that the seller at the farmers market doesn’t take credit cards and probably ask them to put my items back.
What is POS?
You don’t want to lose sales. That means you need to have a Point of Sale (POS) system in place so that you are not losing sales or customers. A POS system will allow for you to accept cash, check, credit, or debit. Most point of sale systems typically includes a cash register (or a computer), cash drawer, receipt printer, customer display, a barcode scanner, and the majority of POS systems also include a debit/credit card reader (although some may charge for this).
POS systems do more than just process sales and accept payments. They make it easier to run your entire business, with features that help you analyze sales data, track inventory, connect with customers, and can even help manage your employees. Some even include, or have, integrations for email marketing, loyalty programs, and other capabilities that streamline processes and save you time and money.
Our top 3 POS systems for small businesses
There are many POS systems out there that you can get for your business, and we want to share with you our top 3 recommendations.
Square POS system is easy to use. The intuitive order and payment flow makes POS transactions a snap and let you effortlessly manage your customers and your entire business. The Square POS system allows you to accept credit cards and will help you track your customer’s purchases, compare your day to day sales, and help keep your inventory on point. With Square, you will need to buy your hardware and then you will be a fixed amount per swipe and there are no hidden fees.
ShopKeep has been rated it the #1 iPad POS on the AppStore. ShopKeep is quick and easy to set up, allows for your business to accept credit cards, has accurate reporting, and can save you hours of counting inventory every week. With ShopKeep, you will have to buy the hardware as well, but a small to medium-sized business can expect to pay a base price as low as $49 a month for subscription-based POS software.
And as our top pick, the Quickbooks POS system. With the Quickbooks POS system, you can accept credit card payments, either scan or manually enter the barcodes, track your inventory with every purchase, track and reward your customers, and even syncs directly to your Quickbooks accounting software. The great thing about Quickbooks and why it ranks the top of our list is because it is a one-time fee. You still have to purchase the hardware, but you are not charged monthly or per swipe.
Let’s sum it up
Let’s sum it up for you. The Quickbooks POS system is super easy to learn and to teach to others. Yes, all of these systems posted above allow you to collect payment via credit card, track your customers, and will help automate and manage your inventory with ease, but Quickbooks POS ties directly into your Quickbooks software, saving you time and money on accounting.
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