What Is POS and How Does It Work?

POS stands for point of sale. It automates tasks related to selling and running a business.

This means that a POS speeds up your work and helps increase productivity. 

If you know how to work with it properly, you will see that a point of sale can positively impact several other stages, even customer loyalty.

Anyone who works in commerce must have seen these terms before. Maybe you even have one and don't even know it. 

And if you think that this is a resource aimed only at those who have a physical store, you will find that you are wrong. 

Today, you will understand what POS is and how it can help your business take off.

What is POS?

POS is a system that records sales. It is a tool in which commercial transactions are marked.

The POS concept can also be associated with a location, physical or virtual, where products are exposed and consumers come into contact with them. 

The consumer can walk through your store, pick up an item and buy it at the checkout, or visit your online catalog, select the desired merchandise and pay for it on the website. 

In these two situations, there is a point of sale involved in the process.

In other words, POS is a program that integrates products, payments, sales, and technology – for example, linking a cash register to a central computer and taking information from one place to another.

Some POS systems go further and offer additional and very useful services in the day-to-day business.

Kyte, for example, has sales reports, a receipt generator, and even inventory control. It allows you to manage your POS and your business as a whole using a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

What Types of POS Are There?

As mentioned above, in both online and face-to-face transactions there is a point of sale involved. Given this, there is a system aimed at each of these actions.

There are two types of POS on the market: online POS and fixed POS. Check out the difference between them below.

What Is Online POS?

Online POS is a point of sale on the internet. But the difference to the conventional POS goes beyond the business transaction environment. 

An online point of sales has more robust management tools, which help in the administration of the business on several fronts, such as payment control, inventory organization, and customer registration.

In summary, the online POS is a more complete system, aimed at those who want to optimize the operation. And usually, they can be installed or accessed from any device.

If you sell on the internet, this point of sale can help with management, facilitate your activities behind the scenes and organize your sales. 

Now, if you have a physical store, an online POS is the ideal way to digitize your business and open it to various sales opportunities, in addition to integrating administrative activities.

If you search the internet, you will also find the term mPOS, which is a mobile point of sale. This is a POS that only works through an app on smartphones. 

Kyte is a mPOS, but it is also a computer POS. With it, you have a truly multiplatform experience.

What Is Fixed POS?

Fixed POS is that traditional sales recording machine that you may have seen around in a convenience store, for example. 

Do you know that combo that is formed by a cash register, barcode reader, receipt printer, and card machine? Well, this set of devices is a fixed point of sale.

In this case, the system is connected to a central computer to receive information regarding all transactions carried out at the branch. 

Because it has a whole physical apparatus, a fixed POS is usually more expensive than an online POS, in addition to being more difficult to move it around.

What Are The Advantages of a POS?

The biggest advantage of a POS is being able to manage all orders and sales in the same system. 

You don't need to use multiple programs to perform each part of the process. With an integrated tool, all stages – sales and management – ​​are linked together.

In addition, a point of sale allows you:

• to reduce structure costs, as you can control processes using a smartphone, tablet, or computer from wherever you are;
• to have autonomy in the management of the business, as the POS facilitates several processes and, thus, you can handle several stages yourself, without needing a collaborator in each of them to help you;
• to make the customer experience unique and prevent him or her from buying something whose stock has already run out, for example;
• to facilitate the opening and closing of the store's cashier, as well as product exchanges and returns;
• to integrate processes and information, making everything automated;
• to monitor your company's financial transactions closely, with clarity and less chance of errors;
• to have quick access to important data, as many POS systems work with cloud storage;
• to optimize processes and save time with day-to-day activities.

Centralizing all these actions in a single system is very advantageous for any business. Therefore, a POS contributes to making its management much more efficient.

What Are The Functions of a POS? What Can It Do?

A POS system essentially serves to facilitate the administration of your sales and the business as a whole. Therefore, it has specific features to streamline tasks and integrate information and processes. 

Check out some of the POS functions below:

Cash Register Control

A point of sale helps to monitor the amount in cash when the store opens and when it closes, checking if the remaining amount matches when compared to sales made and bills paid. 

The POS makes the accounts and balance sheets, reducing the chances of miscalculation.

Sales at the Counter

The checkout front is where the sale is finalized, whether at a physical service counter or on a virtual platform. 

A POS automates the reading of barcodes or other types used for its control and helps to write off items sold in stock. All thanks to integrated and efficient logistics.

Issuing Receipts and Invoices

Some POSs have a feature to generate printed or digital receipts.

This streamlines communication with the customer, as well as offers more convenience by reducing bureaucracy.

Inventory Control

A point of sale helps you provide better customer service. The system checks out every time an item is sold, facilitating your inventory control and keeping everything up to date. 

Some software even allows you to set an alert for when a product is nearing its end. In this way, you anticipate and avoid running out of stock. 

Payment and Customer Control

With a POS, you can gather all information about payments received, installments, and missing in an organized way. 

It can also register customer data, facilitating communication and even increasing the chances of loyalty by providing personalized service.

Integration of Collaborators

Some POSs have an interesting feature: integrating all employees into the same system. 

Thus, you can monitor the performance of each of them and identify points for improvement in the team.

Complete Financial Control

One of the most important functions of a point of sale is the storage of essential data for the financial health of your business.

With a POS, you have quick access to numbers ​​such as sales amount, profit, expenses, average ticket, and many others. With these numbers in hand, decision-making is more accurate and is more likely to bring positive results.

How To Choose The Right POS For Your Business?

That point of sale is a fundamental tool for the success of your business, you already understand. Now, how to choose the ideal POS for your business?

First, you need to identify which tasks are most important for your store to run and/or which need to be modified or updated most urgently. 

Next, think about the size of your business and how robust a POS system needs to be to serve you efficiently.

From this information, do market research to know the products available. Compare features and prices and see which one is right for you.

Conclusion

Now that you understand what a POS is and why you should have one, how about starting to test some options on the market? 

The ideal option is to invest in a complete sales and management system like Kyte, as it has the tools and features your business needs to evolve. 

If you still have doubts about Kyte, take a look at everything it offers. I guarantee you won't regret it.