MOBILE POINT OF SALE SYSTEMS FOR SMALL BUSINESS
Small business tips for the move to mobile payments
Good news! Your business is doing even better than you expected — you have a growing base that seems genuinely interested in your products and inventory is flying off the shelves. It’s going so well, in fact, that you are probably grappling with new questions:
Food trucks?
Secondary location?
Emergency registers?
Mobile services?
While being a victim of your own success at least sounds better, it’s important to have solutions when needed. Modern point of sale (POS) solutions handle these problems using just your phone and a card reader. The move to mobile doesn’t have to be difficult, and we have some recommendations to make it as easy as possible.
When making the move to mobile payments, keep these factors at the front of your mind:
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- Payment options
- Cloud-based data
- Integration options
Diversifying payment options appeals to more customers
When talking about adapting to mobile point of sale systems for small businesses, payment options are a critical topic. The traditional till model (cash, check and card) isn’t going to cut it anymore in the age of digital wallets. Additionally, the looming likelihood of cryptocurrency as a standard form of payment may present further obstacles in the future. This means that your POS solution has the ability to keep up with an ever-evolving payment landscape.
Top-of-the-line POS options offer you:
Many of your customers are not going to be paying in cash or checks. While it’s still important to have a POS that accepts traditional forms of payments, you will also need a POS that can take newer ones, such as:
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- Cards
- Digital wallets
- Payment links
Above all else, you want to make sure that your POS is modular enough to accept new forms of payment when they become relevant. Customers of all types will walk through your doors at some point, and you want to make them feel that their money is just as good as the person beside them.
You need to make sure that your establishment is able to meet whatever needs your customers may have. Some might wish to handle their bills differently, so it’s important to have several options available through your POS solution. Helpful functionalities include:
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- Split checks
- Discounts or seasonal specials
- Multi-level tax support for payments in different states
POS systems with these features make customers feel at home in your business. No matter where you go, it’s critical that customers feel as though their requests are not putting a strain on the company. If so, they are far less likely to make a return visit.
Cell phones are the centerpiece of modern life, so why not make them the centerpiece of your POS? High-end point of sale systems for small businesses offer intuitive mobile apps for their products, designed to encompass all features into a single, user-friendly interface.
These apps allow you to take payments easily and even generate invoices when necessary to ensure a simplified payment process across the board. They also ensure that there are no expensive upfront costs for hardware or software impeding your startup. This means that your business can take off quickly without running into too much trouble.
Safety measures have become especially important over the last few years, so it’s important that your POS solution offers customers the best choices possible for contactless payment. By paying using the near-field communication (NFC) chip or tap function on the card, customers are able to conduct their purchases with you at their comfort level. This ensures that they are more likely to refer other customers your way or even make a return trip of their own.
The central reason for switching to mobile is that you want to reach customers where they are rather than making them come to you. It’s pointless to do all that reaching if you can’t help them when you do finally reach them. For that reason alone, these features are essential when switching to mobile payments.
Cloud-based data means more access and security
Another thing to look out for when switching to mobile point of sale systems for small businesses is data storage. Traditional registers utilize internal systems with poor (if any) record keeping, often done by hand at the end of the day. Modern POS solutions, however, bring their data onto the cloud where it is stored online.
Cloud-based data has a couple of inherent advantages over traditional models, including:
| Universal access |
| When talking about mobile payments, it’s critical to remember that the opportunity for a sale can come at any time. Whether it’s a service call on the road or a random chance encounter with a potential customer, you need to make sure that you are ready and able to process payments whenever they come up. Luckily, high end POS systems offer universal access to your payment data and payment management system. This means that you can take payments using several different devices, including tablets and dedicated card readers, in addition to the phone itself. Making your POS solution modular in this way allows you to change gears when necessary to meet the needs of whatever customers you may come across. |
| Data analytics |
| One of the most important features of mobile point of sale systems for small businesses is analytics. By taking a close look at customer purchase histories, you can get a better idea of how they prefer to pay, making your staff more prepared for service calls with them. Similarly, a strong POS offers you the ability to cataloge payments by type. This allows you to view what kind of payments your customers make most often and vice versa. When you have a good idea of what they do prefer, you can more easily gear yourself towards those trends while still making yourself open to less common forms of payment. |
| Increased security |
| Above all else, your customers want to feel secure with your company. They are entrusting you, not with just their money, but with their card data, which can be detrimental to them if leaked. Luckily, modern POS solutions store all this information on the cloud, where it is kept safe through integrated security protocols made available through the vendor. This ensures that your offering of additional features does not come at the expense of data security. |
Cloud-based data is the key to your technology strategy for mobile payments. By bringing your data online, you gain valuable analytical data while giving your customers valuable peace of mind. In addition, you ensure that this data can be accessed 24/7 with any device from anywhere at any time. This combination provides the best of both worlds, opening doors for customers while closing them to potential threats.
Integration options streamline operations
There’s a reason that modern businesses have moved away from the traditional till — they don’t work with most other new systems. Legacy devices can be a major problem, with users slowing down daily operations just to manually carry data over. This costs time, energy and ultimately money as the first two begin to impact your bottom line.
When looking at mobile point of sale systems for small businesses, then, try to avoid the pitfall of the register. Above all, you want something that works with the rest of your setup.
Accounts payable
Depending on your industry, invoicing may not always be a go to for mobile payments. Regardless of the industry, however, it is a crucial tool to have when you need it.
Modern POS solutions automatically integrate with your accounts payable to allow for automatic invoice generation. In addition, they make for more accurate accounting when it comes time to balance the books. Although your payments may be mobile, top-tier POS solutions bring their data back into your centralized business strategy.
Hardware integration
What better way to make payments than with no hardware at all? By bringing your payments onto a mobile setup, you allow for quick and easy payments with just a smartphone.
When you do need additional hardware, however, you need a POS solution that can accommodate those needs. The best in the industry allow for easy integration with additional hardware such as tablets, card readers and even the systems you use in-store.
Valuing integration capabilities goes beyond just what your POS can do now. It’s important to also think about what it can do in the future. As you survey your options, it’s important to ask yourself:
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- How long will this last before becoming outdated?
- Does this POS have the modular parts to adapt to new technologies?
- Does the POS vendor offer support networks to make those adaptations as they become necessary?
If the answer to any of these questions is “no,” you can rest assured that option is probably not the right one for you. Without the ability to easily pivot to incoming technologies, POS solutions are likely to quickly get left in the dust. This is especially true when considering the now-rapid rate of advancement in the technological sector.
The trick to mobile point of sale systems for small businesses
By offering features for payment, data storage and integration, top-tier POS models allow you to hit the ground running. The trick with mobile point of sale systems for small businesses is that they have to be all-encompassing. It’s easy to find solutions that offer some of the features discussed above, but all boxes must be ticked. You are taking your business out on the road; the last thing you want is to go back to the office for something you didn’t realize you needed.
Companies like talech excel at crafting high-definition strategies for mobile point of sale options. Offering scalable solutions that can be sized according to your company, we tailor our products to meet your specific needs. Similarly, we work with companies as they grow to act as your trusted partner the whole way on your path to success. Contact us to learn more about our retail POS solutions or to take part in a free demo.
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