POS System Training: A Complete POS Tutorial for Beginners
The world of business is truly dynamic. The changing needs ask for an advanced technology solution to streamline modern-day operations. That’s where a POS system comes into play.
A Point of Sale (POS) System is a combination of hardware and software that enables businesses to process sales transactions efficiently and manage operations seamlessly.
There are a lot more advantages of POS systems besides those mentioned. It facilitates the processing of transactions between a business and its customers.
A POS system encompasses a range of components that include both hardware and software. Hardware like cash registers, barcode scanners, receipt printers, and software that manages sales, inventory, and other business operations.
Whether you own a retail store or a restaurant, mastering a POS system can significantly enhance your efficiency and customer experience. In this comprehensive tutorial, we will delve into the key features of a POS system and provide a step-by-step guide to POS training for beginners.
Understanding Key Features Before The POS Training
To understand POS as a whole, you need to first understand the key features of the system.
POS Terminal
A POS terminal is basically where the transaction occurs. Let’s say you own a supermarket and a customer has selected 5 different snacks and is now ready to pay for them. They come to the counter where a clerk scans the barcodes on all the snacks and accepts payment. This is done with the help of a POS terminal.
There are multiple components of a POS system that the clerk makes use of to make this transaction happen.
Initially, they use a barcode scanner that sends the product information to the POS software. The software in a computer system calculates the total cost and prepares a bill.
If the customer is paying with cash, the clerk manually inputs the cash amount into the system. But if they want to pay with a credit or debit card, the clerk uses an EFTPOS machine to accept payment.
Once the payment is accepted, a bill printer prints the bill and the clerk hands out the bill to the customer.
Integration with Payment Gateways
Since a customer can prefer to pay in multiple ways such as cash, credit card or mobile payments, the system should accept multiple modes of payment. That’s where a POS system seamlessly integrates with various payment gateways. This not only enhances customer convenience but also speeds up the payment process.
Inventory Management
Another key feature of the system is inventory management. Before any transaction occurs, all the products or services that a business offers are entered into the system. When any of the products or services are sold, the system automatically updates the inventory to make sure that your inventory data is always right.
With this type of efficient inventory management, you can track your inventory levels in real time and avoid stockouts. This feature allows you to optimise your inventory, reduce wastage, and ensure that popular items are always available to customers.
Sales Reporting and Analytics
With all the transactions going through the system, a POS system has all the data it needs to generate detailed sales reports. The system automatically generated analytics based on these data which provide you with insights on your business’s performance.
You can analyse these sales trends, peak hours, popular products, and customer buying behaviour. These analytics empower you to make informed decisions, tailor marketing strategies, and enhance overall profitability.
Integration to Online Ordering System
If you want to sell online, you’re going to have an online store with an online ordering platform. A POS system can seamlessly integrate with your online ordering system to make sure all online orders are managed efficiently. This ensures that both your physical and online store uses the same inventory data giving you omnichannel support. With omnichannel support, you will always have consistency with your inventory data.
Employee Management
An efficient point-of-sale software comes with features that help manage employee performance and shifts. It allows you to track working hours and monitor sales made by individual employees. Moreover, you can even set permissions for different staff members to access specific functions within the system.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Enhancing customer experience is crucial for any business. The availability of CRM capabilities enables you to capture customer information, track purchase history, and create loyalty programs. By understanding your customers better, you can personalise their shopping experience and foster customer loyalty.
Business Specific Features
Different types of businesses have different needs and requirements. That’s why, POS systems are built with business-specific features to cater for their specific needs. For instance, a restaurant-specific POS system would typically have integration with kitchen printers. This helps in sending orders electronically to the kitchen as soon as an order is placed.
Complete POSApt’s POS Tutorial for Beginners - Web Version
Now that we have a good grasp of the key features of a POS system, let's explore how it actually works. For this POS tutorial, we will be using POSApt’s web version to explain its key features. Moreover, we have dedicated video tutorials on YouTube for our tablet-based POS system. Let’s get right into the POS system training and master POSApt.
Step 1: System Setup and Configuration
Caption: Free Demo Signup
Getting started with POSApt is a breeze. Once you have signed up for an account, the first step is to configure the system to suit your business needs. If you’ve purchased a paid plan, the POSApt support team will visit your store and will set it up for you. Moreover, the support team will train you on how to use both hardware and software systems.
Caption: Login Panel after Signup
If you’re on a free plan, you’ll have access to tutorial videos which you can use to configure the system. You will have to first customise essential settings like business information, tax rates, and payment options. Take your time to ensure accurate configuration, as this lays the foundation for your POS system's seamless performance.
Caption: POSApt Dashboard
Step 2: Creating Your Product Catalogue
A well-organised product catalogue is the backbone of a successful POS system. In this step of the POS tutorial, you will learn how to add products, set up categories, and define product variants. With POSApt’s upload product image and product description feature, you can create an appealing catalogue. Additionally, you can set individual prices and manage stock levels to keep track of inventory effortlessly.
Caption: Product Dashboard
Navigate to the inventory section at the left panel and click on ‘add product’. Fill up the form with product name, description, image and prices and click save at the bottom of the page.
Add as many products in their relevant categories as you like (tip: you need to create product categories before you can add products into them).
Once you’ve added the product, you can make quick changes or configurations directly from the Product list page. This means you don’t have to go inside a product page to change small things such as its price.
Caption: Product list
Step 3: Processing Sales Orders
Caption: Orders list
With your product catalogue in place, it's time to process sales orders with ease and efficiency. Just click on the ‘Orders’ tab on the left panel to view and manage all your orders.
POSApt's intuitive interface allows you to add items to the cart, apply discounts, and manage different payment methods seamlessly. You can also split payments, apply taxes, and offer customer-specific promotions, providing a personalised shopping experience.
Step 4: Managing Returns and Refunds
Caption: Refund Dashboard
Handling returns and refunds can be a daunting task for any business. POSApt simplifies this process by providing a straightforward mechanism to process returns, issue refunds, and update inventory accordingly.
Simply open the ‘Orders’ tab on the left panel and find the refund button just beside ‘View Order’ for each order. Customise which order is being refunded, the amount being refunded and the payment method, and you’re good to go. It’s that simple.
Step 5: Generating Real-Time Reports
Caption: POSApt Dashboard
Data-driven decision-making is crucial for the growth of your business. You can find real-time reports right on the POSApt’s dashboard. View your sales performance, check the most sold products, view the number of pending orders and more. To get a detailed view of these reports, just head over to the ‘Reports’ tab on the left panel.
Caption: Sales Reporting
You have the option to export these sales data into PDF or Excel for data analysis, sharing or future use. Use these reports to optimise your business strategies and identify opportunities for growth.
Step 6: Utilising the CRM Module
Building strong customer relationships is the key to fostering loyalty and repeat business. That is why POSApt has also included a few neat features that allow you to manage customer relationships. In this step of the POS system tutorial, we explore POSApt's integrated CRM features, where you can create and manage customer profiles.
- Customer Profiles
To access customer profiles, simply click on the ‘Customer’ tab on the left panel. Here you can add new customers, their contact details and the type of customer. Moreover, you can select customers for the loyalty program from this tab.
2. Loyalty
To set up loyalty, click on the ‘Settings’ tab and open ‘Store Settings’. There you’ll see a tab on the top of your screen that says ‘Loyalty’. Click on it and you can customise your loyalty feature. Firstly figure out what your loyalty points system will look like. For instance, say these are your settings:
- 1 Loyalty Point = $ 0.01
- 1 Loyalty Point for every $ 1 spent
- Price of a Red Velvet Doughnut is $5
This means, if they have at least spent $500 previously to earn 500 Loyalty Points, they can pay for Red Velvet Doughnut with their loyalty points because 500 LP * $0.01 = $5.
Of course, you can customise the value of these points to meet your requirements.
3. Gift Cards
Caption: Gift Vouchers Dashboard
Sometimes, a customer might want to give their dear one something special from your store as a gift. With POSApt’s gift card management system, you can generate gift vouchers as per the customer's requirement. Set the amount for the gift card and generate a special code. This code then be used to purchase items from your store at any time.
To set up a gift card, click on the ‘Gift Cards’ tab on the left panel and fill up the details. Once you hit the send button, an email with the unique code will be sent to the customer.
Step 7: Employee Management and Permissions
Caption: Employee Management Dashboard
Effectively managing your team is essential for a well-organised business. POSApt allows you to create staff profiles, and monitor their attendance. Learn how to empower your employees with the right access while ensuring accountability within your business.
Simply click on the ‘Employee’ tab on the left panel and create employee profiles accordingly. You can also integrate payroll software and automate payroll for all employees.
Step 8: Integrating Payment Gateways
Caption: Payment Gateway Integration
Smooth and secure payment processing is critical for a seamless customer experience. To integrate various payment gateways with POSApt, simply head over to settings and click on ‘Payment Method Settings’. Here you can set up payment methods and offer a convenient and secure payment process for your customers.
Wrapping Up with POS Training
Congratulations! You have completed our POS tutorial for beginners. This means you should be able to effectively manage your business operations with POSApt. Embrace the power of a truly versatile cloud POS system by POSApt. Remember, mastering your POS system is an ongoing journey. This continuous learning and exploration will empower you to unlock the full potential of your business. Furthermore, you can join our POS system referral program and earn some extra cash.
Even after this training, if you’re stuck on something to do with POSApt, our support team is always ready to help you out. You can simply email us at info@posapt.au or give us a call at +03 8802 4468.
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