Avoiding the "Blame Game"

No matter what the economic conditions are, it seems some retailers look for any way possible to save some money when investing in a retail point of sale system.  Many times they end up purchasing the point of sale software from one vendor, the computers from a different vendor, and the peripherals (cash drawer, barcode scanner, receipt printer, etc.) from yet another vendor.  In the end, they save a few bucks but also set themselves up for what is know as the "blame game".

Loosely defined, the blame game is when one vendor blames problems on the other vendor and the retailer is stuck in the middle (all while still trying to run a business).  Say that the receipt printer stops working - the vendor that provided the receipt printer will blame the software vendor and vice versa.  Not fun to deal with when your system is down.

Best advice is to always purchase everything (computers, software, peripherals, training, installation and on-going support) from one vendor. While it may appear to cost more initially, you will have one vendor to call for everything related to your point of sale system - no blame game!

Speaking of Workshops...

Link to information about an upcoming FREE (yes FREE) workshop at the Idaho Small Business Development Center that focuses on retail point of sale technology and how to budget for a point of sale system: http://www.idahosbdc.org/workshop.aspx?ekey=40320076

Note that this workshop can also be conducted online or at a location near you (in the past year these workshops have been held from Helena, MT down to Reno, NV (and points in between).

DirectPOS - Boise, ID and Spokane, WA

Idaho Small Business Development Center

Owning versus Renting Point of Sale Systems

One of the more recent trends in specialty retail point of sale systems is the ability to 'rent' a system. Generally one monthly payment includes the software, hardware and support.  Traditionally, point of sale systems have been purchased outright (or leased with intent to own after 3 to 5 years).

This question came up again when I was co-chairing a retail technology forum at the IFTD show in Reno, NV.

The answer simply comes down to down works best for your budget. An outright purchase means that you own everything and can start enjoying a return on investment with your system. However, just like some people prefer to lease a car, a monthly rental payment tends to be easier on your budget.

Things to watch out for when renting a point of sale system include the following:

1. Is everything included in the monthly payment (software, hardware, support and upgrades)?
2. Do you still have access to all you customer and inventory information should you decided to switch to a different system?
3. What happens if the company goes out of business?
4. How are hardware repairs handled?

The final pondering point we talked about at the conference is that renting will cost more in the long run. With a typical point of sale system starting around $3000.00, we determined that utilizing a similar system with a monthly payment of $79/month will cost $4740.00 over the course of five years.

In the end - it is what works best for you and your budget.  Of note, there are some 'free' point of sale systems being offered. We all know that nothing is free - these companies make money on the back end by charging higher fees for credit card processing or similar services.