POS Systems: Basic Infomation On POS Equipments Before Purchasing
The basic POS systems you may see on a typical retail establishment consists of a cash register with or without a built in cash drawer, monitor, receipt printers, and an input device. It can also be a touch screen monitors, programmable keyboards, or scanners and handheld devices for inputting data into the POS system.
Touch screen technology: With its flexible user interfaces and programming, many restaruant owners prefer to use touch screens. With this type of restaurant hardware, a staff can easily set orders and cancel an order within a second. It can also reduce mistypes and accelerate ordering. Aside from that, touch screens are easier to position in any counter and even uses less electricity, although, they can be more prone to breakdowns.
Hand held devices: Restaurant PDAs are handheld devices, commonly wireless, that transmits data back to its base station. You can also use the newer version, which is the write-on handhelds that allows you to write information such as the orders and directly sends the oder to the kitchen! This type of device perfectly fit when up-selling customers of desserts or drinks. Your employee can either roam their tables or take orders from customers waiting in line.
POS keyboards: Most grocery and convenient stores prefer to use this type of POS hardware because it allows them to program individual keys for specific item codes and prices. A standard keyboard consists of 101-key, like with any computer. Others are small and flat, which are common in fast food chains. POS keyboards often has a built-in magnetic stripe readers for processing credit cards.
Scanners: A useful piece of electronic device that reads bar codes, convert it and inputs its details to a POS system computer. It speeds up sales transactions and accurately inputs a customer’s product or service details that is being purchased. POS scanners are connected through Y-connectors (or wedges) which makes them function as an extension of your keyboard.
Volume of customers: For different volume of customers, using different types of scanners can be very helpful. If the line has several customers, your staff can easily use a CCD scanner or entry-level laser scanner. But if the counter line is full of customers, then you’ll be needing the help of autosensing laser scanners. This type of scanner turns on when an item is placed in front of it, easily scan the barcode, and then turn off again. But if the counter line is overflowing with customers, you could sure use the help of an omnidirectional scanner, where it scans a bar code from any angle with its 15 or 20 lasers simultaneously!
Consider Additional POS
Cash Drawer: Where you store cash, checks, gift certificates, and other imporatant things. When looking to buy for a POS cash register, look for sturdy construction of at least 18-gauge steel. And since the usable life of a cash drawer is measured, make sure you can replace rollers, bearings, and other parts, because most cash drawers opens when a signal is released from the receipt printer.
POS printers: An addition to your restaurant POS system is a receipt printer, every retail business needs one to complete a sales transaction. POS printers are used for printing customer receipts and creating credit card slips. The dot matrix printers, also known as impact printers, are inexpensive and uses ink ribbon to print on regular paper. While thermal printers use heat and special heat-sensitive paper to generate receipts. It is slightly expensive than a dot matrix printer because it’s faster and quieter when printing receipts. They are also more reliable because they have less moving parts.
Customer displays: A customer display or pole display lets your customers know the price of the item they’re purchasing and some support advertising. Just make sure that your customer display is of the right height and shape to fit in to your counter table, as well as it’s compatibility with your POS software.
Check readers: If you don’t have one, I suggest getting one now. This device helps you be preventing check fraud by verifying essential account information, saving you tons of profit.
Magnetic stripe readers (also known as magstripe reader): A simple piece of hardware that is used to read credit cards. For added convenience, look for POS keyboards and touch screens that has a built-in magnetic strip reader, so you don’t have to buy a separate one.
Fingerprint ID readers: This type of POS equipment is used to limit which staff can access a POS terminal. It is typically used by employees to log on to their designated stations.
Keep in mind, when purchasing for POS systems, hardware or software, make sure to know the item first before heading to your local supplier. No matter how expensive or cheap a POS equipment is, keep in mind the environment where you’re going to use it. Regular cleaning keeps your keyboards and touch screens in top shape, vacuuming dust and lubing your receipt printer can extend its usable life and maintaining your workstation clean will definitely help your POS stations from dust and spills. You can always request for a FREE POS system quote online where local suppliers will offer you competitive price lists of any restaurant hardware and software you need based on the the information you provide them. So you would never have to waste money buying the wrong POS systems.
For more information on restaurant POS systems or to have a local POS professional serving the restaurant industry in your location see more information at POS-For-Restaurants.com.
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