POS Buyer's Guide - Buying Tips

Published: 04/17/2011

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Buying Tips

• Make sure you think through all of your special discounts and promotions before making a purchase. Those unusual programs can be difficult to accommodate in some software, so make sure you do the research.

 

• As with any computer systems, backups are important. Talk to your vendor about creating automated backup schedules.

 

• Do not use your POS computers for anything other than POS. Especially resist the temptation to connect them to the Internet and use them for web browsing or email.

 

• Preventative maintenance can be important. Simply vacuuming out the cases and lubing and cleaning printers can extend their lives considerably.

 

• If you have a little bit of computer ability and think you might be able to put a POS system together yourself… that is probably a very bad idea. POS systems have to be much more robust than regular systems, and the issues that can crop up are very specific to POS.

 

• Most major POS software publishers provide some sort of demo on their web sites – many even provide a full working version of the software either as a download or on CD. Using the software on your own can help you evaluate the ease of use and judge how stable and/or buggy the software is.