Benefits of Cloud POS

The world of commerce has changed immeasurably during the first two decades of the 20th century. One big area of change has been the rapid switching of businesses from early model cash registers to modernized cloud-based POS (point of sale) systems.

But for those who haven’t yet witnessed what cloud-based systems can do, or are wondering why this change has happened, here are a few details of the benefits this kind of POS software can bring.

What is cloud-based POS?

With the development of cloud computing, POS providers in the post-2000 era began developing computer software that employed this new technology. Cloud-based POS is software that stores its data through the internet on servers controlled by the provider, giving access to users from any location with an internet connection and login credentials.

The resulting products allowed businesses to manage themselves through these web-based programs connecting their front-line tills and back-office software electronically.

This has been a game-changer for these new cloud-based businesses as they can now manage in real-time. Stock figures update the moment they are sold; price changes are implemented instantly and company-wide; EOD processes from multiple locations pool together and as businesses expand their cloud grows with them. 

Cloud-based POS has revolutionized the way we do business and technological leaps continue as eCommerce integrations and MPOS (mobile point of sale) become more and more necessary.

But how do these new management systems really change a day of trading for the average retail store or restaurant?

Mobile devices for mobile managers

Not only does the cloud link checkout points with the back office, but it brings new portability to businesses that make management tasks actionable from anywhere at any time. Managers are no longer tied to their desks and can be on-call, ready to advise, inform, and oversee from home or while out and about.
A cloud-based POS system means any device, anywhere, can complete tasks (or even process sales if a business is mobile).

In practice, this makes day-to-day life smoother. Let’s use an example business: Charlotte runs a chain of bakeries. She has four sites in four cities as well as family commitments. With her business using a cloud-based POS system, Charlotte receives a call while getting her children ready for school. The staff at site one are panicking because they’re on their last bag of flour and they’ll need to do a second bake later on.

Charlotte keeps a cool head, tells her children to pop their shoes on, and uses her tablet to log in from home. She checks the stock levels at all four sites. Site number two has plenty of flour. She puts through a stock transfer and says she’ll make her first stop at site two that morning, and take the flour with her when she checks on site one afterwards, averting the crisis.

After dropping off the flour, Charlotte stops off at the gym; she’s only just stepped onto the treadmill when she gets a call from site three. The manager there thinks there’s an issue with last night's takings. Charlotte stays calm, pauses her session and uses her mobile to log in from the gym and takes a look at last night's EOD report and finds the admin error herself. 

With a cloud-based POS, every business management team can have the freedom Charlotte has. Managers can go on holiday or run errands without having to relinquish their control or become uninformed about progress at the business. They can access reports, check on the days trading and update products and prices from anywhere in the world. Web-based POS means managers are no longer tethered to physical stores.

Grow safely and smoothly

Not only do cloud-based POS systems bring businesses closer together, but as businesses grow, they provide the flexibility to expand into new territory with ease.

Epos Now’s Multi-Site Manager app provides a great example of this. With your products on the system, getting ready to sell at new locations is a matter of inputting your additional address and stating which products will be sold there. As more branches open, checking in on each one simply means filtering reports by location.

There is no need for offices full of filing cabinets as there is limited need for paperwork. In fact, even downloading information is a process that can be automated. 

POS companies have been at the forefront of commercial innovation for several decades, and are continually coming up with new innovations. Accounting integrations operating through the cloud can lead to multiple sites downloading data onto your accounting software which you check from your lounge each evening as the businesses close.

Skeptics comparing cloud-based POS vs traditional POS may cite security concerns in having your business accessible through the internet. However, each business’s data is protected by the provider’s server security, and growing small businesses can implement multiple login credentials for different access levels.

For instance, site managers may have login access only for the front till software used for trading, while area managers access back-office visibility relevant to that area, while owners have full account access. This would mean three levels of access to different parts of the software with three sets of login credentials.

So while non-cloud-based POS users go without the easy growth, hierarchy-led access levels and mobile access, businesses on the cloud still have all of that and more. 

Advantageous, but no less affordable

The truth is, POS providers like Epos Now continue to search for the disadvantages of cloud-based POS. That’s why cloud POS is open source, which allows software technicians to find faults and send out regular updates to improve the technology and ensure the software has the latest capabilities.

For Epos Now customers, this has led to an offer that brings with it:

• A top-of-the-range, cloud-based POS solution updated each month to ensure you never fall behind
• Easy to use transaction software for a streamlined sales process with credit card processing integrations.
• Hundreds of flexible, detailed, downloadable POS reports ensuring you’re fully informed and able to make the best business decisions
• The very latest app options to optimize your potential in marketing, accounting, product and inventory management, eCommerce and more

For the very best hardware and software offers, take a look online or submit your details below to have a conversation with our expert team.