Benefits of Running Your Point of Sale on the Cloud

It has become increasingly common to see mobile devices deployed among businesses, particularly within the retail and hospitality sectors, usually for the purposes of implementing a mobile point of sale system.

The driving force behind this continual shift towards cloud-based solutions is primarily due to the increasing capabilities of these ever-improving systems, especially when compared to outdated legacy cash tills.

A Juniper Research study indicates that more than a third of retail POS systems will be mobile within the next four years.

The benefits associated with adopting this technology typically include better customer engagement, reduced outlay costs, and a streamlining of the sales process.

Greater Capabilities

Every aspect of business operation may now be run from an iPad or tablet.

Merchants may take payments from anywhere in their store, have access to detailed product information at the tap of a screen, and manage their inventory and stock levels in real-time down to the ingredient or material level.

Some applications even allow for an automatic reordering of items when stock levels reach a certain threshold.

The convenience of automation diminishes the number of hours spent on many laborious and time consuming back-office duties, allowing these formerly drawn-out moments to be spent on other, more important areas, such as developing marketing strategy, staff management, or business expansion.

Automatic Software Updates

How ridiculous would it be if someone had to come to your house every time you needed to update Netflix?

Some businesses still use systems that require on-site upgrades, which is mind boggling – we’re in the 21st century!

With cloud-based POS software updates are done remotely without requiring your attention (one less thing to worry about!).

Your sales data will be backed up on the cloud, secure and accessible by you from anywhere.

This also means that you can access the data from almost any device, including your smartphone, computer, laptop, Mac, or any other device with an internet browser.

As hardware performance increases with later models, you can simply switch over to the newest gadgets to ensure your business runs its operation at peak performance.

Enhanced Customer Service

A key benefit of utilising mobile terminals is the capacity for improved customer service.

These devices are small so can easily be deployed to every sales assistant or be set up at multiple points throughout a store, and at a fraction of what a traditional till would cost, allowing merchants to process transactions on-the-spot or provide better assistance to wondering prospective customers.

An increased number of till points means a reduction in queuing time, leading to happier customers, who don’t leave due to extended wait time, resulting in greater turnover for the business.

Many mobile POS systems also have integrated customer loyalty programs, which are highly customisable, and allow the business owner to create plans, offers, gift cards and more, catered specifically to the business’ clientele.

Reduced Costs

The majority of mobile business software operate under a subscription based pricing model, meaning users pay monthly with no large upfront costs.

This is especially useful for newer businesses or startups who are not able to invest considerable amounts of money, instead transforming the devices they already own, such as a tablet or iPad, into a powerful business tool, able to process transactions, create invoices, and manage the business’s accounting.

Scaling up or down is made simpler, with business owners only needing to add or remove devices, as and when required.

The old legacy till systems are generally quite rudimentary in terms of functionality compared with a mobile POS, and usually come with an out-dated method of support, whereby a technician would physically go to a store to manually fix any problems. With cloud-based software, most issues can be solved remotely.

Data-Backed Business Growth

Mobile terminals are data-collecting machines. Not only do they store large amounts of information, they also collate and process it, converting raw data into easy-to-understand reports.

Business owners can use these to their advantage, altering day-to-day operation based on sales or customer statistics.

For example, by using the sales reporting, a store could discover their busiest hours, informing the owner to employ more sales assistants during that time to help manage the greater influx of customers.

Conversely, users will know when the store is empty and less staff are required.

The analytics provided by a proficient POS system gives users key data which they can use to help make decisions conducive for business growth, whether relating to stock, staff, or other areas of business operation.

Cordy Bartlett is the Senior Marketing Executive at Tillpoint, the cloud-based POS & management platform that gives retailers and restaurateurs a way to run every part of their business through its suite of business apps and access to powerful growth tools.