The basic functionality of point of sale software does not vary much from one package to the next. However, as you add more features, the point of sale software becomes more complicated and costly.

Make sure you know what you need the software to do before comparing long lists of features. Draw up a list of the factors that make your business unique. What unusual purchasing programs do you have? Do you offer incentives that require very detailed or specific tracking? A good POS salesperson will ask you these types of questions to determine what software would be best for you - do yourself a favor and ask them of yourself beforehand.

Basic features
Most point of sale software supports a large number of common functions: displaying the items and prices in a sale, handling taxes, returns, voids, payment options including credit card processing, layaways, discounts, accounting reports, and inventory tracking. Restaurant POS software allows creation of checks by diner or table, special orders, tracking orders per server, moving diners from the bar to a table, waiting lists, and more. It is safe to assume that any standard customer transaction will be handled by all major POS software.

Capabilities for multiple locations
Some point of sale software offers an "Internet data board." This is essentially a snapshot of the day's business that you can access from anywhere with a web connection. For franchises or other businesses with multiple locations, this can provide significant peace of mind. Other systems can be set to download daily totals to a central server.

For businesses with branches in different regions, "multimanagement" can be particularly useful. Multimanagement allows you to share some settings but vary others between sites - for example, offering the same menu but with different prices in different locations.

Frequent diner programs POS systems can make frequent diner programs available to small restaurants, which until now have primarily been in the domain of large chains. These programs, which reward return visitors with incentives or discounts, are rapidly growing in popularity. Examples include point systems that work much like frequent flyer miles - each item on the menu has a point value associated with it. Diners accumulate points that can be later exchanged for a free desert, half price special, or dollars off their meal. By assigning higher point values, you can give a boost to high-profit or low-performing items. You can also market to customers based on their typical purchase or time of visit.

Questions to ask about POS software

• Does it interface with my accounting software? How extensive is that integration - does it simply an export of journal entries for the day, or is there a thorough integration of the two programs?
• How easy is it to make changes to the programming? You will need to be able to change prices, items, and employees regularly - make sure you can comfortably work with the setup interface.
• Does the credit card processing feature work with my current merchant account?
• What type of reports is it capable of producing? Every piece of software will give you basic reports - ask for samples so you can compare.
• Does it support gift card transactions? How thoroughly - can cardholders check their balances online?
• Can you make changes in advance? For example, can you create a Christmas menu sometime in October, and set it to automatically take effect December 1?
• Does it interface with liquor control devices? (LCDs track each pour of a bottle, reducing shrinkage and free drinks.)

In addition to asking vendors questions about POS software, you can also instantly compare POS products and services from different suppliers direct from your PC.

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