Point of Sale Systems for the Smaller Retailer

My last survey of Retail Point of Sale (POS) systems indicates that there are in excess of 1000 companies out there selling their software. They vary greatly in prices and features and can be really confusing to the smaller retailer, especially one that is starting off in the business.
To complicate things, there are now about twenty free POS packages out there that appear full featured, robust and expandable. Fortunately, the implementation of PC's has made proprietary software less relevant and most POS packages will run on any PC with a Pentium 4 processor.
Properly installed and managed, POS systems will make money for the store by enhancing effectiveness and efficiency. It's more important to develop a wish list of what a POS system must do for your organization and then find the ideal solution than dwell on simply the up front cost. Moreover, a POS system should be expandable and flexible. As your organization evolves so will your POS requirements. A good example may be tracking personal productivity. All retailers want their POS system to track sales data, best sellers and average sale. Down the road, you may want to track sales by employee, by hour or even age of inventory by SKU.
The point is, your POS wish list will likely expand as you discover other metrics that you want to track. One of the criteria to review is whether the system offers many retail metrics, or at least can be expanded later with the addition of modules from the software vendor at a nominal cost.
So, speaking of cost, is considering a free POS software package a reasonable exercise? Again, whether it's free or not, make sure that it meets your current wish list of features and can address potential requirements in the future. Although free POS systems may work for your stores, they may not be free in the pure sense of the word.
Most POS systems are written by a group of altruistic and well meaning software developers, but little support is offered. It's inevitable that you'll face assembling your own hardware and installing the system yourself. Most come with sparse documentation and you'll also face the challenges of training your store team on your own. For most retailers, the exercise can be extremely frustrating and take your focus off of what you want to do, and that's build retail sales and clientele. Software installation, customization and training may become an unplanned consumption of your valuable time. The last thing to consider is that with limited resources, free software of any type is often not thoroughly tested and may have bugs or even viruses.
Does this mean that FREE POS systems are a total waste of time? Not necessarily! Free POS systems have merit for those with a strong knowledge of PC's as well as other POS systems and can install, customize and run a system through a shallow learning curve. For those that like to tinker and see FREE as a beautiful thing, free POS software can be appropriate for this genre of retail operator. If computers are mysterious black boxes to you, it may be better to pay what you can afford to buy a POS system that will be installed and configured for you, with ongoing support a phone call away so you can focus on your core responsibilities - build your business and sell sell sell!

Take Action Today:
1) List the top ten features you want in a new POS system. Does your current system meet these needs? Have you reviewed the various POS systems out there in your price range? Do they meet your criteria?
2) Do the POS systems you are considering offer other significant options in the future? Can new features be easily added at a modest cost?
3) Are you prepared to exchange time for money in dealing with a free system? Do you have the necessary knowledge of POS system and PC's to make free systems cost and time effective?