Guide to point of sale software

If your growing retail business still manages inventory with word processor or spreadsheet programs, it's time to consider point of sale software. Point of sale (POS) software serves as an electronic cash register for your apparel retail business and tracks inventory and transactions. The latest POS software packages also include tools for automatic re-ordering when your shoe or clothing inventory runs low, forecasting tools for trending footwear and apparel sales, and even full-featured reports for general ledger and customer relationship management (CRM).

There are numerous inventory POS system or inventory management software packages available for your apparel or shoe retail business. Researching the available options and a few minimum requirements before you buy can optimize the ways POS software impacts the efficiency .

POS history
Point of sale software was once a hefty array of software and hardware components stored in a back office that cost retail chains thousands of dollars in software and hardware implementation and maintenance. High-end POS software even featured hand-held scanners for reading the SKU (stock keeping unit) tags on clothing. At closing time, retail chains could print reports of apparel sales and remaining inventory. However, these same businesses still had to use separate software packages for tracking their inventory on items like shoes or clothes, calculating payroll, managing purchasing budgets and printing yearly tax statements.

The latest POS packages are available as a SaaS (software as a service). SaaS point of sale software simply requires a PC or hand held device that has access to the Internet. For retail chains, this means you no longer need a costly robust computer server handling transactions because the POS is Web-based software and streamlined from a hosted data center. As a SaaS solution, your point of sale software is constantly backed-up and updated with new software builds and e-commerce tools on demand.

POS features
The new generation of point of sale software features comprehensive packages that integrate every requirement of a retail apparel business, plus innovative tools for diverse environments. If your retail business specializes in seasonal sports footwear and clothing, POS software can automate sales and track sizes, colors and styles for placing additional orders.
For example, point of sale software can lower prices on soccer footwear as season wrestling shoes appear in brick-and-mortar stores or online retail storefronts in late September. These features automate your inventory and provide an inclusive sales inventory snapshot. The hosted data supplies reports might reveal, for instance, that soccer clothing in black and red outsold yellow jerseys, and high-top green wrestling shoes were popular for online sales in Wisconsin, but blue footwear selections were the top choice among Texas customers.
Clothing retailers may find features such as inventory query management helpful when items are returned to the store without tags.
Without an SKU to scan, versatile POS packages offer query options for entering a keyword or a category for locating the item.Before selecting a point of sale software package, determine your minimum requirements. Then you can decide which automated software can turn your business into a thriving Internet super store.