Electronic Cash Registers vs. Point of Sale Systems
By: Blaine - 5/16/2014

I have a lot of customers call in who are confused about the differences between these two things. They both accomplish point of sale operations, but at drastically different price levels, and capabilities. To save my fingers some extra typing, I'll refer to them as ECR and POS for the rest of this post.

ECRs are the natural evolution of the original mechanical cash registers that you see in old western films. They can work well for small businesses or people just starting out. But they really only accomplish a few things. Most are only capable of running pre-set sales that you need to set up initially. Even then they can only handle a hand full of items. Some are advanced enough to do basic inventory tracking with a very limited number of items, and run reports for end of day operations, or even directly connect a barcode scanner or pin pad. That's about as far as an ECR will get you though. For people interested in being able to do more, read on.

POS systems are the industry standard for most businesses. These can range from 1 to 10 or more stations, and fit any business from retail to restaurants and more. The biggest features here are advanced inventory reporting with the ability to handle larger inventories. POS system software can even do things like track employee hours, transactions by individuals, advanced and customization reports, generate purchase orders, provide customer loyalty programs and more. There are POS system software packages that are even for businesses like Hotels, Salons, Automotive, Firearms, and Gyms. All of these take into account the business needs of the unique requirements for each business type, and make the point of sale computer system you have the best thing for your business.

Ready to take a step in the right direction for your business? Call us and ditch the ECR.

Electronic Cash Registers vs. Point of Sale Systems By: Blaine - 5/16/2014

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Electronic Cash Registers vs. Point of Sale Systems
By: Blaine - 5/16/2014