Whether you’ve been in business for 30 years or you’re a small shop just learning the ins and outs of payment processing, here’s what you need to know about the systems available today and how you can boost your profits simply by choosing a new merchant services provider.
So you’ve chosen your POS provider…great! You now know the intricacies of merchant account fees, daily batch fees, per transaction costs, gateway fees, setup costs, etc., but did you know these rates are continually fluctuating? That’s why it’s important to periodically reevaluate your payment processing provider to ensure you’re getting the best rates available and not missing out on technology changes that could save your business time and money.
Here are 5 additional ways implementing a new POS system could help reduce your costs:
- Newer systems come with quicker processing times and more transaction options
New POS systems are much faster than the cash registers of yesteryear. Everything from reading a product barcode to processing a credit card transaction over the Internet will save you time, thus making the customer – and yourself, of course – happier. Newer systems will also allow the customer to pay in whatever way is most convenient to them whether it’s by tap, card insertion, swiping, or even using cash. This kind of software allows you to use add-on devices to help make things quicker and make the sale faster, such as electronic cash drawers, barcode scanners, credit card readers, and receipt or invoice printers. No more writing it down on a piece of paper or summing it up on the calculator. That is outdated!
- Reducing costs by saving time
The customer, the cashier, and business owners can all get real-time information about each transaction and sale made. The customer will receive near-instant notification that the transaction has been processed successfully via their credit card and they will get an invoice or receipt with accurate and detailed information about the products he or she just bought. The cashier will know what they’re scanning has been wrung up correctly instantaneously, making it easier and faster to run all items and know if each item has been accounted for accurately. Most importantly, business owners will know exactly what they’re selling, for how much, and to whom.
- Increasing efficiencies
With the right POS system, you can process payments even when you are not in the store, giving you more freedom to manage your business from wherever you are. You can access your back-office server remotely, allowing you to view reports in real-time of overall sales, profit after markup, sales attributed to each employee, and other metrics that may be important to your business. Efficiency leads to greater productivity and better performance, which ultimately translates into greater profits. The best POS systems allow for customization so that you can see only what is relevant to you at any given time — all without having to leave the comfort of your home. Talk about being efficient!
- Improving inventory and staff management
Cutting costs and controlling expenses becomes much more manageable with the right POS system.
For example, choosing a POS system that doesn’t fit the needs of your business could mean hiring more employees to handle things like inventory management and manually tracking all transactions within your business. Choosing the right POS system will streamline the process of inventory management, track transactions, and keep customers informed. With a point-of-sale system in place, businesses no longer have to manually count and record sales information or rely on other manual systems which can be time-consuming and prone to errors.
For businesses that have multiple stores, point-of-sale systems are especially helpful for managing all outlets from one central location. This eliminates the need for additional staff members who would otherwise be responsible for coordinating between each store. Having a point-of-sale system also ensures that pricing remains consistent across all stores as changes made in one outlet automatically update the POS software everywhere else.
- Cost mitigation by improving data safety
If you’re running a retail business, having a pos system is more than just an efficiency — it’s a necessity. But with many POS systems, data security can be at risk if your system crashes and all the data is stored locally on a closed network which can lead to large losses in potential revenue.
Fortunately, modern POS solutions have made great advancements in data security thanks to cloud-based systems that store your business data remotely for easy access and backup. This means that even if your POS system crashes or you mistakenly delete a file, you’ll still be able to restore it in real time. Additionally, some of these web-based POS systems offer advanced features that allow you to retrieve the file within 30 days as well.
Choose the Best POS System For Your Business
Now that you understand the potential cost savings you could incur by switching to a new merchant services provider, your next question might be how to go about choosing the merchant processing service that would be best suited for your business while also being the most cost-effective. Which is where we come in.
If you do have questions about which provider might be the best fit for your business needs our skilled Technology Advisors are here to help. We will assess the current solutions you have in place to determine the best provider to help you improve your customer outcomes, save money on hardware costs, and better enable your staff to succeed.