An electronic cash register (ECR) is a system designed to enable products to be sold at a retail outlet. An electronic cash register typically processes goods by: reading the information contained on a product label (usually using a scanner), followed by checking the price database for the price matching the label information, adding that price to the running total of all products being purchased by the customer and then sending data to sales and inventory software after the sale is complete. While the ECR combined with a credit card terminal is the traditional system, businesses should consider upgrading themselves to the Point of Sale (POS) system.
The POS terminal market is now flourishing because there are a variety of reasons why the gawky cash register can be tossed aside and a sleek and adroit pos terminal can be adopted. According to Arizton’s report, The global point of sale terminal market size by revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 8% during the period 2019–2025. Here are the top 7 point of sale advantages you can count on to grow your business.
- Efficient and effective
You can’t expect a painter to paint without colours and canvas, right? So, don’t expect your employees to decrease checkout times if you’re not giving them the right tools for the job — a barcode scanner and a POS system. When your cashiers have the right tools to support how they work, your operation will run more efficiently. - Convenience in use
As the days of analogue technology continue to fall further out of use behind us, so do cash registers. Today, everything is digital, and everything is touchscreen. Navigating a touchscreen has become second nature to practically all of us. With an intuitive interface, POS software is simple for employees to learn, which will result in shortening training time and help them to be more productive overall, says a POS terminal market report. - Wider payment capabilities
Point of sale advantages also include the ability to readily accept diverse payment types including EMV chip cards, contactless payments (NFC), and mobile wallet payments. In fact, a recent POS terminal market research found that 44 percent of respondents prefer to pay using debit cards and 33 percent favour using credit cards as their preferred payment method. That means cash is slowly losing its charm as king and there’s a new queen in town — plastic. - Accuracy cannot be compromised
Another reason why the POS terminal market size has grown widely is because point of sale technology improves accuracy throughout your entire operation, with real-time data. Eliminating the need to upload or enter data into back-office systems — minimizing the risk of human error. - Employee Management
As a manager at a retail outlet – a lot of time is devoted to managing your employees, especially you man at the sale point. Also, you are responsible for the exact accounting and theft if any. Your point of sale software will minimize the time you spend on schedules and schedule enforcement. Modern POS systems include time clock functionality, so your employees can clock in and out on a POS terminal. Point of sale advantages empowers you with access control measures to make sure employee identity is verified for clock-ins and access to your system—especially for functions including voids and returns to minimize shrinkage from employee theft. - Inventory
Point of sale technology includes advanced inventory management capabilities. From tracking a product’s quantity-on-hand to setting up reorder triggers and a retail matrix, POS software is going to save you hours of inventory management each week. Unlike the cash registers, you can receive real time data with POS systems. - Time is money
Do you like to wait in long lines? We don’t either, and neither do your customers. In fact, if checkout lines are too long, customers will get frustrated and put back the items they intended to purchase and walk out. POS technology allows you to make the most of the checkout experience to engage customers and make sure they leave with a good impression of your brand.
We can tell you that upgrading from an ECR to a point of sale system will result in a fast return on investment (ROI), both in dollars and time spent on day-to-day operations.
