Ah, business plans. Every business needs a plan, from the tiniest handmade enterprise to the largest multi-national company. In addition to giving you, the business owner, a blueprint for what your business will do and how it will do it, your business plan offers future investors, landlords and so on the information they need to help your venture along. Although your formal plan should include big-picture concepts and future planning, it should also focus on smaller details and immediate needs. An essential item that’s easy to overlook at first is your company’s point of sale system.
How To Choose a POS System
Don’t leave decisions about customer management and POS systems till the last minute. To get the most out of your register system, first figure out what features and services you need in your POS setup. Depending on the type of business you’re starting, you may already have some ideas about what you want or need. For example, if you’re opening a salon, you’ve probably been talking to other successful salon owners about how they run their businesses. You may have heard them mention Booker POS, and now you’re wondering what that is. As you have these conversations, take notes so you can do more research.
Booker, for example, is a software solution for spa and salon owners. It includes booking capabilities and customer record management, and works with Clover hardware to create a complete POS system tailored to the salon and spa industry.
No matter what line of business you’re in, you may have heard terms such as “EMV compliance” and “Cloverflex” in relation to choosing a POS system. These phrases are used frequently because payment processing is a crucial component in any business setup. The reason you hear Clover mentioned so often in these conversations is that it’s one of the most flexible POS systems out there.
Benefits of Clover POS
Of all the POS hardware and software options you explore, you should choose one with the most benefit for your business. As your business changes over time, so will your payment processing and inventory management needs. That’s why flexibility is key. The Clover POS family has this flexibility built into its hardware. With Clover, you can choose one piece of hardware or multiple pieces, and your system will work seamlessly because everything is cloud-based. If you start with something small, such as Clover Flex or Clover Go, you can always upgrade to something larger, such as Clover Mini or Clover Station, as your business grows and your needs change. You won’t need to start over from scratch; simply integrate your new hardware into your system, and you’re ready to go.
The other huge advantage of Clover over other POS systems is that it works with just about any payment processor. You aren’t tied into using the hardware’s native software for your financial needs. The app-based nature of Clover also means that you can use third-party software (such as Booker) to customize your POS for your exact business needs. Some popular app types include appointment setting, restaurant front of house and back of house communication, online ordering and customer rewards programs.
No matter your type of business or organizational structure, if you take customer payments, you will need a point of sale system. Don’t find yours through trial and error. Research the available hardware as well as your financial processing and add-on app options, and make the decision based on your current and future business needs.
