EPoS Systems

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An Introduction to EPoS Systems

Found in almost all major retail stores, restaurants and other businesses, Electronic Point of sale (EPoS) systems give businesses a convenient way of recording purchase transactions. EPoS Systems generally include some sort of store inventory database, which is updated automatically when a purchase is made. Other tasks are carried out by the EPoS system, including the printing of reciepts, processing of credit cards, and storage of customer and other records. Electronic Point of Sale software is highly efficient, easing the queues at checkouts, while registering all of the relevant information that the business needs to record and manage.

How does EPoS work?

EPoS software allows cashiers to input commands via computer keyboards, mice, touch screens and barcode scanners. When serving a customer, the cashier can either input the item details manually using a keyboard or mouse, or automatically by using barcode scanner. The EPoS Point of Sale software will then search for the product in the inventory database, update stock and other relevant records, and issue a price. The system can also automatically calculate taxes, delivery charges, refunds, and of course, change! Once the sale is complete, the EPoS system will automatically print out a reciept.

Why use EPoS?

Point of Sale software massively reduces the chances of human error and improves data integrity, as all calculations and databases are done by the computer. Could you imagine looking manually through a ten thousand item book for a 20 digit number, adding totals up and writing a reciept out all by hand? I thought not! In addition, EPoS makes accounting alot easier, as detailed reports on inventory, purchase, and customer databases can be ran off and printed in a matter of seconds.

EPoS Hardware

Most systems consist of two main pieces of EPoS hardware, the PC, and some sort of visual display unit (VDU), such as a TFT screen. Peripherals such are printers and barcode scanners can then be attached to the PC unit via relevant ports on the back of the main EPoS PC unit. Before purchasing your EPoS equipment and spending hundreds of pounds on EPoS hardware, it is important to assess your needs as a business, and also the compatability with the software that you choose to run. This is covered in the next paragraph.

There are many types of EPoS hardware peripherals, but generally the most popular are:

• Barcode Scanners
• Cash Draws
• Chip and Pin
• Customer Displays
• Keyboards
• Mobile PDA's (for mobile EPoS integration)
• Printers
• Tablets
• Weighing Scales

EPoS Software

The EPoS software is designed to be powerful, yet simple for cashiers to learn and use. There is a large selection of EPoS software on the market, which all vary by price and business need.

Once you have chosen the POS software that fits your budget and needs as a business, you will need to ensure your chosesn software meets or exceeds the specification of your EPoS Hardware. The specification of your EPoS hardware can be found by looking in the manual, on the original box, or by contacting your EPoS vendor. Please note that most EPoS software is designed to operate on specific operating systems, so it is important to make sure your EPoS software has the relivent operating system software, such as Microsoft Windows or Linux installed.

EPoS Systems

If you are unsure what EPoS hardware and software to purchase, it is recommended that you purchase an EPoS system from reputable vendor. EPoS systems come inclusive of hardware, software, and usually some sort of interface peripherals.

Maintenance and Backups

As with any regular computer system, keeping your EPoS software and hardware up-to-date and well maintained is essential, and failiure to do so can cause drastic consequences. Below is a list of tasks that need to be completed on a regular basis.

• Daily Tasks
  • Full Incremental backup. Incremental backups contain only data that was updated since the previous days incremental backup.
• -Weekly Tasks
  • Full backup - Full backups are intended as a precautionary measure and are used should the incremental backups become corrupt. These backups ensure that should even the incremental backup fail, you will only lose a maximum of a weeks worth of database records. Full backups take alot longer than incremental backups to process, sometimes even hours, hence why they are only done once a week.
• -Monthly Tasks
  • Update operating system - All EPoS Systems run on an operating systems that need updating on a regular basis.
  • Update EPoS software
• Half Yearly Tasks
  • Hardware maintenance - To ensure the smooth running of your EPoS System, it is important to ensure that the insides of your hardware are kept clean and up to date. For safety reasons, it is important that you do not attempt to carry out this task yourself, but instead to call in an EPoS professional to do it for you.

Value for Money

Considering the time and effort EPoS will save you, your employees, and your accounting team, EPoS systems will generally pay for themselves over time. In order to maximise the lifetime of your investment, it is important that you purchase equipment that is future-proof, well built and includes a suitable guarantee warranty.