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What Is EPoS?

Open Retail Solutions EPoS Tills

EPoS is a tool to make the running of your business more efficient, and generate information to help you make better decisions.

EPoS enables efficient computer stock control and reordering information as well as offering a wealth of knowledge about turnover, profitability, stock ratios, and other important financial information.

It’s about saving time, and producing better results.

You can also use it to maintain customer information and associated marketing, including bounce back vouchers.

How does it work?

EPoS at it’s most basic is scanning product barcodes (products can be selected onscreen or weighed too) at the Till.

That barcode is then cross referenced in the database to find out the product details which are then displayed on the screen.

Once the sale is completed, stock levels of the items just purchased are reduced and sales totals are increased.

It’s that simple.

The customer is issued with an itemised receipt while the computer removes the items from the stock balance.

It’s important to fully understand this before moving on to much more advanced features.

What EPoS is going to do for your business?

Save Time

We all know time is money, so saving as much as possible is desirable. Increase the speed at which you can process transactions, save time communicating promotions, delivery dates plus much more across your business. Yes, to begin with EPoS is going to take more time than without, but within the first 6 months you will start to see the savings.

Financial Accuracy

Have a much more accurate account of your financial information. Don’t wait until your end of year accounts to find out if you are making money, keep check on margins live as the sales happen. VAT reports are easily produced, no more daily Z reads.

Grow

Check your stock and sales in real time and never miss out on an opportunity. Buy more of what’s selling, identify and tackle what isn’t. Put a stop to out of control buyers with our budgeting solutions, setting purchase limits against what’s been ordered and received.

Support

Our support is second to none, just ask any of our current users. We go above and beyond our duty to make sure you are able to trade. Call us 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week, 362 days a year, giving you the confidence that you will not be left in the lurch. We view our users as partners not customers. We are going to be working together for many years to come.

What EPoS features do we offer?

  • Variable security settings – For example: senior staff can refund part time staff cannot.
  • End Of Sale Vouchers – Printed after the customer receipt with offers to entice the customer to return.
  • Fingerprint scanner – Logon to the till this way for 100% accountability.
  • Customer accounts – apply discounts for give credit to certain customers. Also generate invoices and payoff outstanding balances.
  • Stock Control – Never run out of your best selling line. Convert slow selling lines back into cash.
  • Sales – Monitor turnover, profit and margins accurately.
  • VAT – Run VAT reports as often as you need to. No need to record figures daily.
  • Promotions – Let the Till automatically detect and apply as many promotions as you see fit to run.
  • Loyalty – Easily control loyalty balances and use accrued points.
  • Over stocked – Find out if you are over stocked based on your trading history.
  • Scale Integration – Place items on the scale, select the correct product, charge the correct price based of price per kg, per 100g or per ton.
  • Weigh Label Integration – Weigh meat, fish, cheese or similar items at a counter, bag label and then scan at the till and charge the correct price for the amount of produce.
  • Mobile Dashboard – View sales figures on your phone anywhere in the world with an internet connection.
  • Labelling – Integrated labeling saves time. Link the product description, price etc to the database.

How to chose an EPoS Supplier

Step 1
Write a list of everything you want your EPoS system to do
Sounds simple but lots of people do not know what they want it to do, they just think they should be going EPoS. Think about the problems you have in your business and how EPoS could solve them. Implementing an EPoS system will massively change the way your business operates, and will mean training most members of staff.
Step 1
Step 2
Choose 3 EPoS companies, and choose carefully
There are a vast array of people offering EPoS systems to all kinds of different businesses. Find providers who specalise in your retail sector. Systems who claim to be able to do any kind of retail often can’t, and are unaware of sector specifics. For example if you are selling carpet, you need to record the size of carpet the customer is ordering, food retailers will need sell by date information etc. Buying a system which has not have enough features can cost your business dearly in the long run. We have had plenty of occasions when prospective customers have bought the cheapest system they could find and regretted it 12 months later, and are left we no money and a system that does not work for their business.
Step 2
Step 3
Arrange a demonstration
See the software and hardware working together in real life. Think of as many scenarios as possible which occur in your business and test them. Quiz the person doing the demonstration for as much information as you need. Not only should you use this time to judge the system, but also to judge the people you are going to be working with. For this reason we always demonstrate onsite. Other companies choose to only offer remote demonstrations to save them money and not give you good service. An EPoS system isn’t a one off purchase, it’s an ongoing partnership which will involve lots of communicating to get the most out of any system. So be sure you are happy with the level of skill and knowledge. relating to your sector that you work in.
Step 3
Step 4
Arrange a site visit to an existing user
Seeing a solution working in practice in a business similar to yours is a great way of getting a feel for how a system works. It’s also a great chance to speak to someone using the system everyday, and get a first hand account of what the EPoS company is like to work with. At Open Retail Solutions we are more than happy to arrange site visits to an existing customer.
Step 4
Step 5
Get quotes and compare
Getting quotes is easy. Deciphering the details to make a fair comparison is much more difficult. Hardware is easier to compare. Make sure to get specific models of all hardware being provided. For example our hardware comes with a minimum 3 year guarantee. You can get cheap barcode scanners, but they will break within 12 months, so we choose not to supply cheap scanners, and only work with high quality suppliers. Software is much harder to compare, as different systems will be capable of doing different things.
Step 5