Streamline accounting, inventory, and employee management in one simple step.

As an entrepreneur, you may sometimes feel like running your business is a lot like herding cats. You might even fantasize about how lovely it would be if you had a way to streamline vital processes such as bookkeeping, inventory, and employee management. If this sounds like you, take heart because today is the day. In the next few minutes, you will learn about the single step you can make to enhance the ease and efficiency of each of these areas.

The POS solution.

Have you been so busy juggling work-related tasks that you have missed out on all the talents that are packed into a modern point of sale (POS) system? If the answer is yes, rest assured that a great deal has changed since the days of the “dumb” credit card terminal that only read the customer’s card and sent the information on to the other players in the payments process.

In fact, today’s POS solutions are loaded with hardware and software that will revolutionize all aspects of your store, including everything from the shopping experience your customers enjoy down to those necessary preparations for tax season. Today’s POS usually consists of some or most of the following items.

• Terminal or tablet with screen that customers can see during in-person payments and that you can use for back-office tasks.
• The payments processing and business management software that is the “brains” of the POS.
• Barcode scanners for inventory tracking and product catalog management.
• Cash drawers.
• Receipt printers.
• Card readers.

When combined, this suite of equipment and software form a mighty silent partner that can take numerous aspects of your physical or ecommerce store to the next level.

Your accounting wizard.

Without accurate, on-time bookkeeping, your business would be unable to operate smoothly and profitably over time. Up until recently, staff had no choice but to manually do many of the tasks associated with finances, including keeping track of stacks of receipts and remembering when to send out bills to customers who had neglected to pay.

Today’s POS systems use automation to make these crucial business functions lightning-fast and accurate. Best of all, your POS has the ability to integrate smoothly with any other accounting software that you already use to keep your finances in order. With your POS in place, there will never again be any gaps between your inventory, your customers, and the resolution of charges.

Keeping your finger on the pulse of your products.

Since the merchandise you sell is the lifeblood of your store, it is important that you keep track of it during every step of its journey from delivery, to your warehouse, until it leaves in the hands or the electronic shopping cart of your customers. Thanks to your POS, it is possible to have 24/7 access to every product-related detail. Its built-in inventory management tool lets you do the following.

• Record each piece of merchandise when it enters your warehouse using a barcode scanner.
• Register when each item has been bought.
• Track who purchased each item (provided that customer contact details have been entered into your POS’s database).
• Notify you when quantities are low so that you can re-order proactively.
• Generate reports that show which goods are selling well and which are not, enabling you to make intelligent purchasing and marketing decisions.

Once you learn how to harness the inventory management power of your POS, you will never again have those nasty surprises that come when in-demand items go out of stock during your busiest sales season.

Use your POS to become the best boss.

Speaking of business assets, your staff are invaluable to your success. And when you use your POS’s employee management tool, you will be able to furnish them with the targeted training and open, clear communication they deserve.

That’s because your POS is able to give you individual data about each of your workers. With a few clicks, you can see each person’s selling strengths and weaknesses and can access their attendance and performance records over time. This gives you everything you need to provide curated feedback, training, and rewards that play to each person’s strengths, address areas that require improvement and handle disciplinary issues proactively. The system even allows you to create and update schedules from anywhere, communicating the modifications instantaneously to each staff member via email.

Keeping a retail operation afloat is a herculean task that is not suited for the faint of heart. However, you now have access to a tiny but indomitable powerhouse of skills that can lighten your burden without sacrificing security or forcing you to revoke control to another human being. If you haven’t already raised your game by incorporating a modern POS into your operations, you can’t afford to wait another day.