Do you have budget POS Systems?
I have often had received telephone enquirers from businesses looking for Point of Sale Systems for Cafes and Restaurants, and I hear “Do you have budget POS Systems?” or “Where can I buy a cheap POS System?” or “Do you sell second hand POS System?”
Buying a Cheap POS System – NOT
New and newly renovated Cafes and Restaurants spends a lot of money on venue decor, cutlery, kitchen equipment, table clothes, advertising, man power, etc. But often when it comes to sourcing the backbone system that drives the business – the POS system – they tend to take a shortcut.
The other worrying trend in search results on Google, when someone look for a POS System, paid advertisements popping up “Lowest Price POS Systems in Australia, Click now and Save $$$$!!!”. It’s less on what the solution deliver, educating the customer to make the choice, more on being cheapest in the market. On the fine print, the advertised POS is a used PC and a touch screen monitor, 58mm USB Printer and a 5 coins 4 notes cash drawer, 30 Days warranty, no mention about after sales support. FYI; Australian favorite for a cash drawer is 8 coins and 5 notes, metal design for durability. So I fond it is more a cheap way of selling recyclable computers as POS systems.
Unfortunately, a second hand cheap POS Systems or so called budget POS systems can quickly become a nightmare as they are mainly a bare bone systems and one have to purchase new and ongoing POS software license, then pay for the installation of menu into the POS system, certainly no support and finally to get paid get training. Otherwise, it’s do it yourself in most cases.
A POS systems in general works harder than your everyday personal or office computer. Buying a cheap POS system already 3-5 years old are at the end of it‘s efficient life already. Imagine if it was a Car! You obviously you will have bigger and better issues to worry about running your new business day to day than talking to tech support every other day, most of the time “email” them the issues you have.
The whole point of this quick write-up is, most things which appear cheap in life are not really cheap, and that’s no different to cheap POS systems. The information is collected based on support calls we receive from customers and listing to their stories of their bad decision. It is the case majority of the time.
A Point of Sale System consists of …
2. Easy to use and well designed POS Software
3. Ongoing Warranty, Service and Support backed by a passionate group of people combine everything together.
If your quest is to buy a cheap POS System and you have narrowed does few Google results, atleast consider why it is cheap in the first place.
Few more questions for you pre purchase …
1. Are there any ongoing Payments, like License or Monthly pay?
2. Am I buying your POS? or am I Renting?
3. Is it a Subscription? What happens to my Customer information and Data when I want to Exit?
4. Is the hardware second-hand?
5. Do I get a warranty for the purchase?
6. Do I get local support in a difficult situation, how much?
7. Is there Remote Support – Onsite Support?
8. How long have they been in the POS business?
9. How strong are they in the POS market? See if they have already provided POS systems for any known cafes and restaurants to you. There’s nothing like a referral.
Investing on a new POS system may come with upfront costs, but you are likely to have a long and stress free life with a new system, supported with warranty.
Visit the POS systems provider and checkout a DEMO. When buying a POS system, you build a relationship with a good POS provider for support and future upgrade and updates. You are not starting a business to stay in one business. You grow with your business and more you grow, more POS terminals and equipment you need to manage a larger venue or multiple cafes and restaurants in more than one place. So, it makes a lot of sense making a visit in person and have a feel of who you dealing with as per people, company. And also tryout Software Demo, Feel and touch the POS hardware and clarify terms and conditions.
* A good Point of Sale company deals with lot of Cafes and Restaurants with good as well as bad practices. If you are new to the industry, a meaningful conversation is very useful to figure out some tips and tricks that you might have not been aware of. For example, Provide Free Wifi to Customer in exchange to a Facebook check-in to your business.
“POS System is not a one fits all system. It is setup to be unique to a business”
