Technology has advanced greatly over the past three years in an effort to adapt to people’s daily lives in the post-pandemic era and enhance convenience and quality of life. The same is true of the connection between technology and how it affects businesses. Numerous companies, big and small alike, decided to abandon traditional sales tracking in favour of automation, which is more pragmatic.
During the height of the pandemic, when consumers were unable to physically go into stores and carry out physical financial transactions, automation was a vital forerunner in raising earnings and keeping firms competitive, while operating efficiently.
Everything has since been shifted online. Beyond all expectations, the COVID-19 outbreak has changed the world. Social distance and hygiene measures had a direct impact on how enterprises operate, and these changes will persist in the post-pandemic era.
This is where a POS system comes into play. By streamlining the transaction process and recording essential sales data, POS software solutions improve retail operations and assist businesses in compiling and organising data from routine transactions and purchases. The two most common POS software systems are traditional and web-based.
Even though both these systems have their advantages, in this blog post, we’ll be differentiating traditional and web-based POS systems, focusing on web-based systems, and looking into why they are essential for enterprises in the post-pandemic era.
What is the difference between traditional POS systems and web-based POS systems?
A standard POS system is connected to a server, making it simple to gather and arrange payment details, transactional information, and other data that could be used later on. Traditional POS systems have the drawback of requiring expensive hardware and extensive networking infrastructure to function properly. As a result, there’s room for the system as a whole to be prone to mistakes and malfunctions.
In contrast, a web-based POS system doesn’t require any hardware installation; instead of keeping a server computer in your physical store, these systems upload and host data on trusted third-party cloud services. Web-based solutions were only utilised by multi-store enterprises prior to the spread of COVID-19 because it was simpler to manage data and inventory for multiple stores. But this isn’t the situation today.
Post-pandemic, many companies are using web-based systems due to their numerous benefits, including simple access, remote work abilities, improved organisation, etc. that ultimately lead to better profits and convenience. In the end, the hardware of these two systems is what separates them the most.
How have web-based POS systems helped streamline business operations in the post-pandemic era?
There are several benefits to cloud POS options when compared to conventional POS systems. Companies can use web-based systems to manage payments, keep track of inventory, and monitor sales. They are hosted online and many businesses find cloud-based POS systems to be an enticing option since they can reduce the cost of POS system ownership by as much as 70%.
Since both consumers and businesses have realised the convenience a web-based system offers and the variety of online payment platforms it enables, contactless payments have emerged as the best way to make purchases in this post-pandemic era. This is because it allows purchases to be made from wherever. Below are a few of the important aspects of a web-based POS system that helps streamline businesses.
1. Remote accessibility
Any business owner would consider expanding their company if they wanted to see consistent earnings in the fiercely competitive retail sector. Using a web-based system in such instances offers many advantages, two of which are simplicity of access and centralised management across many store locations.
During the most recent lockdowns, retailers who had immediate access to their POS systems from anywhere were able to work from home. This technology makes it simple to manage specific products that are special to each store and keep track of inventory levels at each location, simplifying operations and streamlining business processes.
2. Affordability
Running a business is no easy task. There are many expenses to keep track of, so any business owner would look into getting the most for a considerably lesser price. But doesn’t obtaining both price and efficacy with a single piece of software sound useful? That is what a web-based POS system does.
In contrast to traditional POS systems, which have high initial costs, web-based POS systems have low hardware needs and rely on continuous fees like monthly and annual subscriptions. Web-based systems, therefore, are much more cost-effective and also offer the added benefit of easier maintenance.
3. Easy inventory management
Retailers can complete all of the following tasks using a single piece of software when using a contemporary web-based retail POS platform:
- Distributing identical goods across all stores and internet outlets
- Dividing identical product stock amounts by location, online, or warehouse
- Giving employees the option to check all locations for real-time product availability and regulating exactly how much access staff have to costs and inventory details. Easily build new stores or stock splits to reallocate inventory at any moment
- Handling internet orders from retailers for pickup or delivery effortlessly
- Shopping online with in-store payment at the time of pickup online shopping with in-store exchanges and returns
- Reducing stock-outs by immediately adjusting purchases or rearranging stock quantities as sales occur, rather than after the fact
Web-based POS systems are essential for businesses in the post-pandemic era
Operations must be consistent, and there should be little space for error for a business to function properly. Here, POS systems are successful in eradicating any issues brought on by people, such as offering inconsistent pricing among stores and neglecting stocks and inventory. This ensures greater client satisfaction and enhances the reliability and integrity of the business.