Modern point of sale solutions with smart value adds can make a significant difference to small business growth and customer engagement, writes Gareth Corbishley, commercial lead at Halo Dot.
Most businesses, when faced with the point of sale (POS) conversation, get inundated by potential solutions. It’s a minefield of acronyms, lingo, and depreciating hardware.
In the segment of software point of sale (SoftPOS), decision-makers are offered the opportunity to optimise their payments and manage their customer expectations; without the complications associated with traditional POS devices.
Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) want insights that can help them make more informed decisions around pricing, metrics, market penetration and value-added benefits, which is made a reality with SoftPOS.
Companies want to know which players in the market are best suited to their business needs and how their pricing models will grow with them. They want to know that when they invest into a specific point of sale solution, the provider will be able to cater to all their needs. The SME wants a business in their pocket.
Obviously, any business is in business to make money. This means that invoicing, receipts, payments and transaction management processes must be seamless, flexible and reliable to ensure customer buy in. The customer will favour companies where payments are simple and secure.
This is particularly relevant in the current climate where customer trust is thin on the ground and declined payments, repeat payments and delayed refunds leave a bad taste for customers.
In addition to ensuring that the customer experience is as frictionless as possible, SMEs want tools that make it easy for them to do business too. This could include being able to do automated accounting from a mobile device, to manage any procurement elements from anywhere using smart tools and services, or even, from a customer relationship management perspective, using a mobile device to generate and send invoices and resolve customer problems. SMEs are run by time-strapped entrepreneurs who don’t want their payment platforms to be rigid and inflexible blockages to their success.
There is power in having agility and flexibility embedded into a SoftPOS solution that sits on a mobile device and can be accessed from anywhere. The technology enables immediacy, convenience and functionality – and allows tap, pay and go on the move.
It’s a reality that many financial institutions are starting to realise and embed into their own financial offerings. SMEs want their payment and financial platforms to move beyond bureaucracy and into accessibility, without compromising on KYC, regulation and security.
Today, with the right tools, anyone can start a business from their mobile phone. The world has got to a point where software is driving business growth and it is both accessible and inexpensive. Many of the costs that traditionally were expected of the business have now fallen away, and entrepreneurs have more space in which to explore new ventures and opportunities without hefty financial investments.
This means that SMEs can invest into smart financial solutions without perceiving them as a grudge purchase, and they can invest into solutions that give them a competitive edge when it comes to markets and customers.
The real consideration when it comes to choosing a POS solution should be how it empowers the entrepreneur and SME to go further, do more and squeeze out every drop of value from every financial interaction and transaction.
In conclusion, a preferred choice for SME’s should be SoftPOS systems as they offer several benefits over traditional POS devices; including increased accessibility, cost-effectiveness, effective reporting and analytics, scalability, decreased reliance on hardware, integration with other systems, and improved customer experience.