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Choosing the Right Retail POS Dealer for Your Business

January 31, 2010

Retail POS System Overview

Due to the in depth nature of a retail POS system, choosing a POS dealer is a big decision – greater in many ways than the actual POS software and hardware you choose. Price is an issue, but you’ll surely get what you pay for, so it is worth it doing your research before picking a POS dealer. Here are some ways to make sure if your retail POS dealer is dedicated to and capable of supporting your business through any problems you might have.

Support

Customer support is important for the success of installion of your POS systems. So, you better make sure you know exactly how your POS dealer provide you in terms of response times, replacements, and phone support. This is the single most important aspect when deciding to purchase POS systems.

 

POS Installtion

Having a quality installation of a POS system lasts longer than the average installtions. Qualified installers will not take a standardized approach to installation: they analyze your needs, test your existing infrastructure, including power lines, and make sure you get a system that exactly matches your business needs. Within the first week or two of using a POS system will determine whether it work right or not, so a well-tested installation is very important. You may ask how often the POS dealer will be on site during and after your launch – only after the system is running, or will they check back and answer the inevitable questions that arise?

 

Experiencing POS

As with any major business purchase, potential vendors’ experience in the industry is also important. But with POS systems you can go farther: study how much experience the vendor has in providing systems to other retail establishments similar with your business. gasoline stations have different needs than convenient stores, and a quick-service food chain varies considerably from a high class bar restaurant. Good POS salespeople will ask you about your business, your particular needs, then supply you with a solution that exactly fits.

 

Facilities

Visiting POS dealers’ facilities can be a great way for you to know how they operate. You will be able to check out their repair shop and get a sense of how busy they are. You may also ask for an organizational chart or a tour of their help desk. When it comes to your support needs, proximity may or may not be that important to you – if you’re planning to rely on telephone support and shipping components back for repair, it will not matter, but if you want field technicians to come to your business establishment, distance from your vendor can be a factor.

 

System Demonstrations

To make sure that the system is easy to navigate, give it a test drive. Some POS vendors do live demos, which gives you an advantage of seeing how the hardware is set up and how will it look in your location. Others will invite you to try out the system in their shop, which gives you that facilities tour we’ve discussed earlier. Either way, we strongly recommend an in-person demo if you don’t know how to operate one.

 

References

Another well known way to investigate POS dealers for your business is to ask for references to other customers – just make sure to ask for references that are in business similar to yours. Expectedly, you will be referred to the vendor’s most satisfied customers, but you will still be able to learn quite a bit from them. Below are a list of sample question you may want to ask them:

  • How did POS systems helped your business?
  • Did you wish you had done differently?
  • Any support or repairs you’ve made? What kind of respond did you receive from the POS vendor?
  • Do you know of other people who uses this system? This can get you additional references to call, and some may be more honest in their advices.

Don’t be afraid to ask for a reference that dislikes the dealer, as well. Every business has dissatisfied customers from time to time, and you could also learn from them.

 

Return policies

You may get a return policy but that depends on the manufacturer, not all of them has warranties that ables to get repairs or replacements, and even returning an POS equipment is more difficult. Many POS dealers charge very expensive restocking fees (0 and up) for returns on complete systems; some vendors may allow you to exchange individual pieces of hardware for others, but some don’t accept returns at all. Again, make sure you read carefully their policies before signing a contract with them.

 

How can you find the right retail Point of Sale system provider for your business?

Here’s a convenient way to receive multiple quotes for retail POS systems via the web at: Retail-POS-Solutions.com

The author of this article is a retail POS system expert with over 20 years experience serving the needs of thousands of businesses just like yours.

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