Too Many Solutions - Retail Point of Sale

A quick Google search shows that there are over 90 different retail point of sale software programs and apps currently on the market which is way too much in my opinion. This has happened several times in the past and usually only 20% of these companies survive more than 5 years.

I bring this up because it shows how overwhelming it can be to find the best point of sale solution for your business  or organization. This is why knowing the following is important as you begin your search for a point of sale system:

1. Your budget based on your annual gross sales
2. Local vendor or non-local vendor
3. Your feature/function "wish list"
4. What you can handle internally related to point of sale and related technology 
5. The type of products and services that you offer
6. How many locations you have now as well as how many locations you will have in five years
7. Any other software (eg: accounting) that the point of sale system needs to share data with
8. Are you looking for PC-based systems, MAC-based systems, or systems that run on mobile devices like iPads (or a system that can run on multiple devices)
9. Upfront purchase, subscription based, or lease/business loan
10. Cloud based or something that allows you to have all your information stored locally

These are some starting points to ponder - each situation is somewhat unique but should help you narrow down which point of sale systems you should be looking at.

As always, visit my contact page for information on how to reach me for unbiased point of sale advice.

My Point of Sale Company or Provider has Been Sold, Bought Out, Acquired - What Do I Do?

One of the things that I have come across from working in the point of sale industry over the last 14 years is that companies do merge, go out of business, or are acquired by other companies. The biggest events that I can remember is when Sales Management Systems (QuickSell 2000, QuickSell HQ, and QuickSell Commerce) was acquired by Microsoft, Clover being acquired by First Data Corp, and DirectPOS selling off their customer list to other companies.

While this can't always be prevented or predicted, here are some things to ask or plan for in case this happens to you. Note that this information applies to both the company that you purchased your point of sale solutions from as well as the company that actually developed the point of sale software or app that you are using.

• Always make sure that you always have full access to your customer, inventory, and vendor information in case you need to switch point of sale programs
• Ask what will be happening related to support and related services
• Have a contingency plan in case you need to switch point of sale programs
• Find out the timeline for when things will be changing
• (if you are being switched to a new company/partner/dealer) Look at references and reviews for the new company
• Be aggressive in obtaining any information that you can find (don't wait and see what will happen)
• Keep running your business!
• Talk to the manufacture, if possible, to see what all your options might be
• Don't let yourself be talked into having to purchase additional services or products
• Talk to other customers in the same situation - you may be able to band together to look at all possible options
• Don't follow blindly - again, check all your options 

This is not a complete list so please do comment or email me (kevinantosh@gmail.com) your own personal experiences and suggestions.

I know that I would have told customers to avoid One Step Retail Solutions (when DirectPOS sold their customer base to One Step Retail Solutions back in September of 2013) if I had known how poorly the customers would be treated by One Step Retail Solutions.  In many cases, you can choose who supports your point of sale system and can not be forced into choosing one company over another.