5 Must Have Point of Sale Peripherals

Often when looking for a POS System you focus on software or the computer itself, ignoring the necessary peripherals. However, these devices are often essential to having a complete Point of Sale system for your business. Without them you basically have a fancy looking cash register rather than a true computerized system. Therefore it is important not to overlook such devices. Here is a list of 5 most important ones and why you should have them:

1. Caller ID – a must have for a business that does deliveries. This small and relatively inexpensive (about $200) device will help you speed up the order taking process by identifying the customer delivery address. Most point of sale systems software like pcAmerica or Aldelo support caller id feature. It will also help you identify the areas you deliver to most and plan your marketing strategy.

2. LCD Customer Display - your old school linear display (VFD) that only displays price information are becoming terribly antiquated. A full LCD customer display (about $250) not only gives your POS a modern look, but also works as a full time billboard for your products.

3. Inventory Mobile Device – retailers with significant amount of inventory such as supermarket, liquor stores and party or beauty supply store will greatly benefit from having this type of device. We have found that Honeywell Dolphin paired with pcAmerica Pocket Inventory (about $2000) greatly reduces inventory maintenance time. The device syncs directly with a POS System allowing for faster input of the whole inventory into the Point of Sale.

4. Customer Facing Interactive Pin Pad – we found devices like Verifone MX series (about $600) to be very beneficial to our retail customers. These pin pads could be programmed to display promotional materials to the customers and speed up credit and debit card processing. They also give customers an added security as their credit or debit card never leaves their hands. Though previously restricted to large retailers like supermarkets and pharmacy chains, such devices become more and more popular with smaller retailers like stationery and liquor stores.

5. Omni-Directional scanner – this is not as obvious as you might think. We have found that the majority of retailers utilize single line scanner meaning that you have to hold a bar code a certain way to be able to scan it. This greatly reduces efficiency of your business, and creates unnecessary bottle necks at the cash register. Omni directional scanners allow you to scan a barcode regardless of its position. Though a bit pricier than a regular single line scanners (about $150 price difference), these devices greatly reduce scanning time making customer flow smoother at the cash registers.

Hope this little list can make your point of sale decision making a little easier. Check soon for more articles.