Factors That Impact The Price Of A POS

Several factors affect the cost of a POS (point-of-sale) system and the first among them is hardware complexity. Remember that the needs of your store will be different from that of others. POS system could include all of the following:

• touch PC (personal computer)
• card reader
• cash drawer
• pin pad
• receipt printer
• customer display screen
• barcode scanner

So, quite naturally the amount of hardware you need will be the first determinant in this particular case. When you have multiple POS stations you will have to pay more money than when you have one. There are other important factors in this context like inventory management, peripherals and accessories, and customer displays.

Software features

Basic POS provides you with standard features such as simple inventory tracking, limited reports, payment processing and receipts, and CRM (customer relationship management) system integration. Now, if you have a small business this should suffice for you. If you use advanced features such as the following you will have to pay more money:

• deep inventory management
• advanced CRM
• analytics
• marketing tools
• e-commerce integration
• employee management
• accounting system syncing
• robust reporting

You can however be sure that investing in them will be fully worth the money that you spend in this regard.

Vendor support and maintenance

The level of maintenance and support that the POS system comes with also plays a major role in determining its price. If you get superior support you have mental peace and a safety net but that is always going to be costlier. If the vendor provides you with hands-on support the initial installation will be smoother. Expect to pay a premium if they provide you with detailed training. The thing is on-boarding your team and installing the POS should be a standard part of the product package but that is not always how it pans out to be.

Business size and sales volume

The sales volume and the size of your business affect the price that you pay for your POS system as well. If you have a low-volume operation your needs will be different than that of a retailer with a high volume of transactions. For example, if you have only a small clothing boutique you will need only sales tracking and basic inventory. Normally, when you open a store you want it to be as affordable as it can be. Ideally, when your business gets bigger you need a more robust POS system.

On-premise vs. Cloud-based systems

If you want complete control over data systems and security you may think that choosing an on-premise system is the correct way to go. However, if you have a small business you should use a Cloud-based POS as its startup costs are lower and it needs less IT (information technology) maintenance.

The final factor in this case is the number of checkout terminals, users, and locations you have in your store. Normally if you are a chain with several locations or a franchise you will incur extra costs in this case for needs such as sales, syncing data, and separate licenses for users.