Portfolio item: 557 Words
The way businesses collect transaction payments is changing. Depending on the type of business you run, it may be necessary to complete transactions quickly. This is certainly the case with quick serve restaurants such as coffee shops and fast food outlets. The traditional point of sale (pos) system consists of a terminal and cash register, with a server tucked away in the office handling all the data storage functions. Data security concerns, downtime, and vulnerability to hardware faults has led to the adoption of cloud pos systems. Should you bother upgrading your current system? This article will answer the question by outlining the benefits of a cloud-based pos.
Data Accessibility and Off-Site Monitoring
One of the biggest advantages of implementing a cloud pos system is that your data is available from any location on the planet, as long as you have an internet connection. The benefits of this accessibility include being able to monitor the performance of your business off-site. If you own businesses with multiple locations, you no longer need to visit each one in turn to analyse the sales transactions data. Simply logging into a secure account will make the data you require available to you.
Reduce Maintenance Costs
The second reason you should consider migrating from a traditional pos system to a cloud-based pos is the marked reduction in maintenance costs. Most traditional systems run on Windows operating systems. From a software point of view, you will need to apply updates on a regular basis. Most of these are covered by a maintenance agreement where you pay your vendor a set annual fee for updates. When you move to a cloud-based system, you no longer have a terminal in your office which requires regular updates. Instead, any backend processes that require support and updating become the responsibility of the vendor.
Business Risk Mitigation
Traditional pos systems pose a risk to your business. Software glitches or hardware failure could lead to long downtimes. A cloud-based pos or iPad pos is more secure because you no longer have a central server on your premises that could potentially fail due to data corruption or malware problems.
The troubleshooting process for a hardwired traditional POS is also long because of the number of elements that could be faulty. All this can lead to considerable lost revenue. Imagine you run a coffee shop and the pos software develops a fault during morning rush hour? Calling in support and trying to get it resolved could have a real impact on revenue. On the other hand with an iPad POS as long as your internet access is working, a device fault can easily be resolved by having a backup iPad ready to go.
If you are considering upgrading your point of sale system from the traditional hardwired model to a modern cloud-based system, the above benefits should convince you. However, if you are still unsure if this is the right way to go, think about this; credit card fraud and other data related breaches are becoming commonplace right? Having all the hardware of a traditional POS may be increasing the risk of customer data loss that you may not have thought about. Reducing the communication links within your systems makes them more secure. Your customer data is stored securely in the cloud, and you will be compliant with data security guidelines.
