Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) systems are sometimes also referred to as POS systems.
EPOS has transformed the way we do business. Through this software, you receive more than simply the capacity to accept payments in person. Often, you end up with a complete solution—allowing you to manage your transactional operations across most of your company.
Table of Contents:
Overview: What is EPOS?
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What exactly does EPOS mean? The manner that trade is conducted has undergone radical changes as a result of the internet, information, and data-collecting era. EPOS is a crucial component.
Making the correct technological investment like EPOS can support the expansion of your business. But there are many things to take into account.
We’ll discuss the fundamentals of EPOS, the significance of EPOS systems, and the advantages for businesses. Let's begin with an overview:
- Boosts Performance 🕹️: EPOS offers increased flexibility, sales information, and encryption, and both small and large organisations may take advantage of this thanks to new technology that is becoming more sophisticated and widely available.
- Management 📊: The software comes with a ton of extra features for managing a store or any other type of in-person company.
- Software 🌐: The heart of EPOS is its POS program, which may be run locally on a server or remotely over the cloud. This application always has a user interface that you may use to input or register payments, usually using a touchscreen tablet or monitor.
Consider accounting, analytics, staff management, inventory balancing, payment channels, and integrations with card machines. Through an EPOS system, businesses gain much more than just the capacity to accept in-person payments.
What Changed POS to EPOS? (& Why Some People Use the Term POS...)
What is the difference between POS (point of sale) and EPOS, and why is it important? The evolution of points of sale over the last few decades holds the key to the answer… Cash payments made into a cash drawer were the only transaction methods available when POS first began. In the end, these were known as tills or cash registers.
Time travel to the 90s and 2000s, when tills began to evolve into electronic methods with a touch display and software designed for managing inventory and recording client payments. These systems were formerly operated via local computer networks, and all data was kept on a server that was located on the physical business site.
In order to differentiate between earlier, non-electronic points of sale and electronic systems made feasible by software, the moniker "EPOS" was first developed during this shift in particular.
So why change back to POS?
Nowadays, all but a handful of POS solutions are fully functional EPOS systems. Since it has become commonplace, many businesses no longer call their software "EPOS," preferring the more catchy "POS."
Experts in the field agree that SaaS (Software as a Service), to use another acronym, will be used for all POS systems in the near future—as a result, the program cannot be perpetually held but must instead be purchased on a monthly basis as a membership for each subscription. Customer support, continuous cloud upkeep, and software upgrades are all a part of the product.
What is the EPOS till?
Modernized tills called EPOS systems assist in managing and enhancing a company's operations in a variety of areas, including data collecting, item and stock control, accounting, and transaction handling.
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How EPOS Impacts Business
EPOS blends a cash register's fundamental features with computer software's higher capabilities, as well as the scalability and agility of a web-based system.
This results in a solution that organisations can rely on to meet all of their operational, long-term planning, and record-keeping needs.
After building a solid foundation, firms may utilise an EPOS system to diversify their lines of business. For some companies, this entails either building new outlets that may be connected into a single platform for many locations or linking to an app or website that offers online booking capabilities.
Successful businesses may greatly benefit from the versatility of EPOS solutions since the platform can expand along with the company while integrating with privacy and security layers needed for things as simple as accessing your ▶️ business domain.
Gain access to comprehensive, adaptable, downloadable reporting that offers all the benefits of an EPOS system plus more besides—benefits include:
- Quickly control and modify items using simple software.
- Increase the number of channels your company uses and combine it with other internet platforms.
- Utilize multi-site management to oversee several locations and salespoints.
- Reduce wait times with efficient, scalable sales procedures.
- Choose a hardware and software custom configuration that fits you.
What is EPOS Hardware?
Your setup will be based on your company's needs. There are several other hardware components that firms may find beneficial in the hospitality industry.
And there are many things that the majority of companies can expect to have in their setup. For instance, many typical firms use the following components in addition to the primary EPOS till:
- Printer: A client record for each payment is made using a receipt printer, which is essentially a small printing device that prints on thermal or ink paper.
- Scanner for barcodes: This electronic device reads barcodes and enables you to locate product items on the EPOS system.
- Card reader: A payment card machine is used to send money digitally via Android Pay, Apple Pay, or chip & pin.
- A secure metallic drawer used to hold currency is a cash drawer.
These tools can work together to create a time-saving consumer spending and company management solution. For example, inventory checking at the store may be done fast by using a barcode scanner and entering the measured quantity.
A till display may be linked with card machinery, delivering payments straight to the reader for credit cards. It saves time because lines are shortened, and members of staff are free to talk to customers for longer amounts of time.
What is EPOS Data?
EPOS devices collect this operational data and make comprehensive sales reports in reaction to the input provided, as opposed to conventional cashiers, which track transactions and print tickets.
Managers and owners now have more information about their company, giving them the ability to take practical steps to boost sales and reduce expenses.
Employee performance, inventory levels, bookkeeping, and customer credit data are all covered by EPOS analysis.
The software also keeps track of specific transaction records… Financial information makes it simple for managers to identify who provided service to a client, when it occurred, and how much was spent. This information is crucial for addressing refunds and grievances.
EPOS Perks
Arguably, one of the main benefits of EPOS is how it links, optimizes, and streamlines various business online payments. Due to the benefits of contemporary computing, it is now possible for many businesses to connect their software and move data rapidly and efficiently between forms.
Thus, an EPOS system controlled by the EPOS supplier may be used to administer and update client loyalty schemes, for example. Bookkeeping tasks may be handled using software like Sage or Xero, and data is automatically exported at the end of each trading day.
Customers maintain their reward programmes and have fewer obstacles while making purchases. The management has a better knowledge and grasp of these procedures, which reduces the burden of the people responsible for running the firm.
They may be adjusted to meet corporate requirements in addition to quick touch interfaces. Hospitality (and popular retail products) may be synchronized for simple sales processes and then transmitted into the connected card machine for payments, while merchants depend on barcodes for product numbers.
Purchasing and colour codes are possible, and managers can oversee how and where elements get displayed. The implementation of cloud technology ☁️ allows for this to be done from any location. The vast quantity of data that the EPOS software generates and manipulates is saved on the provider's servers, and access is only permitted with a secured login.
Summing Up
Using a competitive EPOS system, gain the following:
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✔️ A leading-edge cloud-based system that is upgraded monthly to ensure you never lag behind
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✔️ Transaction software that is simple to use for a simplified sales process that accepts payments
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✔️ Numerous customizable, in-depth, downloadable reports will help you stay informed and enable you to make the best possible strategic decisions.
