You can immediately tell an organised shop from one which looks like Ali Baba’s cave on a bad day (and without the treasures). The products on offer are neatly stacked, the staff wear a genuine smile, and they actually know your name.

An efficient POS system will free up sales staff, which means that they can spend more time on the floor engaging with customers

What usually distinguishes a good retail operation from an average or a downright bad one is organisation.

And nothing spells organisation better than a point-of-sale system.

The right POS system gives you control over all areas of your retail operation.

It helps you streamline your business, keep track of your inventory and stock levels, and manage the relationship with your customers. It’s the shop manager you’ve been looking for.

Improve customer relationships

What guarantees repeat business is having a good relationship with your customers.

First of all, an efficient POS system will free up sales staff, which means they can spend more time on the shop floor engaging with customers.

Customer relationship management allows you to keep a detailed profile of every customer, which a POS system will then organise according to such criteria as preferences, demographics and purchase history.

Moreover, good customer relationship management will help you organise loyalty programmes, enrich the trust your customers have in you, and plan your marketing campaigns and promotions according to the real needs of your customers.

And while keeping track of promotions using traditional methods can be a headache, a POS system allows you to immediately tell whether a campaign or promotion is doing well.

Organise your inventory

By recording every sale, POS systems keep track of your sales as they happen, which means that you can track your sales and keep an eye on your inventory in real time.

You can organise your inventory according to your needs and sort out your stock in categories, which facilitates and speeds up searches.

For instance, if you sell clothes, you can organise these according to brand, colour and size.

You can then issue reports on sales trends according to these categories.

Added efficiency

A disorganised approach to business will dent your profits.

With a good POS system, you can eliminate pricing errors and double entry of orders, speed up transactions, and restock according to your real needs.

By adding efficiency, you can make better use of your staff. Instead of getting bogged down with double-checking inventory or cash-register reconciliation, your staff can spend their time in more productive pursuits, such as helping customers and being present on the shop floor.

Manage your operation

To keep full control of your business, you don’t need to be present all day, every day. Many operations suffer when management is away – however, POS systems can automate a number of functions and also give you access to sales records online. Moreover, if you have multiple outlets, a POS system will help you maintain consistency across all your operations, including pricing and stock levels.

For instance, if a customer is asking for a product you don’t have in one store, you can immediately check whether another of your stores has it and arrange for delivery.

That’s good service.

Saving and making money

A POS system helps you streamline your financials and cut down on wastage. Any good POS system will provide you with detailed sales reports and audit trails which highlight the good and bad performers. That way, you can see which of your products and services are worth trading in and which aren’t.

By having a detailed dashboard of your sales, you can plan ahead. You can see which are your peak selling hours and increase staff during those times.

During slump hours, you can plan sales offers and discounts – a POS system will then be used to help you in the process of markdown management.