Between small retail businesses, and large multi-location restaurant chains, utilizing a sales processing setup is an essential part of running any business. Whether that’s a traditional cash register, POS system, or mobile POS system, each setup offers different resources that can effectively support your business in multiple different ways. But in some cases, certain offerings may not be relevant to your business-specific needs, so it’s important to determine the differences between these setups and pinpoint which one is the perfect fit for you.
Features
Run Reports
Compute tax and change
Store cash
Print receipts
Run reports
Track sales
Third-party app integration
Automated inventory tracking
Data Cloud Access
Connect to the internet
POS
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Cash Register
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
Defining a POS System
Point of service (POS) Cash registers are computerized advanced versions of the traditionally used cash register. You could choose an advanced POS system supped-up with multiple advanced capabilities and third-party application integration. But again, understand your exact needs when it comes to these provided features since there’s no need to be paying for features you will never use.
Defining a Mobile POS Cash Register
These offer virtually many of the same functions and accommodations that standard POS systems offer. The main difference lies in the flexibility they provide in processing and managing payments since they run via a Tablet or Phone. These can be especially beneficial for mobile businesses that constantly run transactions in different locations, like food trucks, retail stops, etc.
The Main Benefits when Using a POS System
Opposed to traditional cash registers, the beneficial features that POS Systems can deliver are computer and data-based. Providing built-in features that streamline inventory management, data collection, and more.
Time and attendance tracking: Often outsourced to different third-party apps, your business time clock can now be seamlessly integrated into your POS system.
Data analytics: Labor costs are reduced significantly because of the POS system’s digitized sales data. No more manually submitting receipt information, the POS system automates this process for you.
Inventory management: One of the main selling points of a POS, these built-in inventory management systems can automatically track stock changes at the close of a sale, and mark for any needed replenishments.
Defining The Cash Register
The classic, traditional cash register also sometimes known as an electronic cash register, is the most basic setup one can use to manage sales. These usually include a cash drawer and an adding machine which facilitates very basic functions and capabilities, like totaling the cost of items, automatically applying tax, and printing receipts. With the rise of technically advanced POS systems in addition to other mobile payment types like Apple Pay, these setups have become a little outdated.
The Main Benefits When Using a Cash Register
Value: Depending on the price of the setup and the financial situation of your business, there are many cases where your business will get much greater ROI out of a cash register than any state-of-the-art POS system.
Longevity: Repairing a cash register is fundamentally less complicated than repairing a POS system. Identifying issues is much simple since you know your problem always lies in the hardware, in contrast, it could take you ages to determine whether your POS system is suffering from a hardware or a software problem.
Which is Best for You
Determining the right fit depends solely on identifying your business needs out of the slew of features these setups provide. If you are a small business working on a tighter budget, then the cheaper low-maintenance cash register would be very useful. If you’re a huge high-volume retail business utilizing multiple locations that share inventory, then a specialized POS system is best. Without concrete direction on what you know you need; you could find yourself stuck in a setup that only hinders your business moving forward.
If you’re ready to fit yourself with the perfect setup, contact us at Revitpay. We’re an all-in-one payment processing solution, that can help identify your business’s needs, and match you with the perfect processing setup.