Retailers, restaurateurs, and service providers know the register has to do a whole lot of different things in order to please today’s customers. Everyone seems to have a different way they prefer to pay. Some want to hang around and chat about loyalty options and their next appointment. Others just want to just wave their card or phone in the air and get on with the rest of their day. The diners love nothing so much as a handheld POS system with printer. They want to just reach out to that little box, grab their receipt and be on their way. These customers are easy to please, and there are several solutions available that can make both the manager’s life and theirs run smoother.
However, such a quick process isn’t for everyone. That leaves business managers needing to provide both the complete point of sale experience and the -one-foot-out-the-door variety. That requires a more all-in-one solution. Handheld pay systems are great, but you can achieve a lot more with a more complete setup.
Do you need a handheld POS system with printer? Possibly.
Is that all you’ll need? Absolutely not.
The Advantages of a Handheld POS System with Printer
Handheld POS systems let you shrink the entire business transaction. They are one of the most convenient POS payment devices currently available. To the customer, they appear as an afterthought, as though the little digital box was something you the manager just carry around in your pocket. When you wirelessly or otherwise link these devices to a printer the customer walks out with the security of proof of purchase without having to delay the rest of their day.
Or so it seems. In reality, handheld POS systems are an extension of the overall point of sale equipment. There are limits around which financial institutions will accept such devices, and many devices can be used only with a single provider.
It is still great to be able to offer your customers a no-fuss payment option, especially if it means they can stay seated at their table, or in their chair at the salon while the transaction takes place – and not having to add a signature to every bill helps keep things informal when you’re in a social and relaxed environment.
If you want to make the most of your point of sale experience, however, that handheld device has to be just one of several options and just one part of a more efficient system.
Get the Most Out of Your POS System
POS systems can do a lot more than appease your customers. There are digital point of sales solutions now available that act as register, inventory management system, barcode printer, staff and customer calendar, loyalty system hub, and more.
These mixes of software and hardware essentially let you run your entire business from the same personal and professional screens you use every day. You can use them to track sales, create unique discounts and product bundles, customize tags and marketing, and mount customer-facing displays that let people flick through all your options with a slide of their finger.
It’s all about convergence. In the same way that the iPhone brought all your communication and internet desires together in one pocket-sized product, so too does the digital POS system tie all the ends of your business management together.
It improves the shopping experience for the people on both sides of your counter.
Point of Sale Convenience
This convergence of technologies into a single source plays out in different ways across business types. In each example, though, the goal is the same – bring everything into one hub.
For restaurants – A handheld POS system lets customers finish their meal without stepping into a mini business meeting of signatures and huddling around a cash register. Instead, they can pay with a tableside system. With a more complete system, however, you can use the digital register for table and position management, to place orders, and even manage the demands of the staff roster.
For retailers – Again, a handheld POS system with a printer takes the formality of the final transaction out of the shopping experience by reducing it to a single wave. If that handheld device is part of a bigger system though you can use it to offer on-the-fly discounts, to print your own barcodes, to streamline loyalty programs, and to track inventory in real-time.
For services – There’s nothing more convenient than paying for your hair appointment with a flick of the wrist while you’re still seated comfortably at the salon. And if you’re the manager adding this handheld option to a raft of chip, swipe, and smartphone-based payment options gives this same simplicity to other customers who feel safer standing before a cash-filled register as they make their payment.
Handheld payment options are a definite advantage to today’s small business world. Using them exclusively, however, limits what you can achieve.
Give Your Customers More Options
Convenience makes a business more user-friendly, but convergence makes it more efficient. If you can combine a handheld POS system with printer into your overall point of sales hardware and software you’ll ultimately make your business easier to manage. You can turn a functional, cold business transaction into a more dynamic and customer-friendly experience is you’re able to offer everyone the comfort and security of paying the way they prefer.
Security and efficiency are the heart of the POS systems we’ve created at talech. Our hardware is easy to use and simple to install, and our software makes all your business functions accessible from for phones, iPads, or home computers. You can do business whenever and wherever you choose. Sign up for a free demo and learn how to best serve your customers while making your own life simpler.
