Retailer's Solutions...QuickBooks Point of Sale

Retailers, are you tired of tracking your sales manually? QuickBooks® Point-of-Sale (POS) is an affordable, easy-to-use retail software that replaces your cash register and allows you to track inventory, sales and customers. Use it alone or get it bundled with hardware components that can save you time and reduce errors. Pair it with QuickBooks® Financial Software, and you can transfer sales information to your books automatically and streamline your entire business.



POS systems are used by retail businesses that have a need for running a cash register, processing credit cards, issuing sales receipts, and more inventory controls and processes. Depending on the amount of activity you have, you may find it beneficial to start off with the QuickBooks® Financial and as your business grows, add on the POS system later.



If you are going to be in a retail environment, you will be much better served starting with the POS system from the beginning so that you do not have to duplicate your efforts during a transition to POS later. While you can transfer inventory, customers and vendors from Financial to POS, the processes within POS are much broader. Implementing the POS processes as your company starts helps you create that habit from the beginning instead of trying to change processes later. While it’s not difficult, we all know that with the various responsibilities that we have as a business owner, if we can spend a little time upfront and gain from it later…we’ll be much happier in the long run. Especially for our employees who may not be familiar with either software (POS or Financial) we may be causing them more stress by having them learn multiple types of software.



When you interface POS with your Financial, you do not have to have a Multi-User Financial Package or go out and purchase another Financial license. Intuit allows you to install the Financial package on your POS workstation for the exchange process. However, POS does not offer a Multi-User package at this time and so if you want POS installed on multiple systems, you’ll need to invest in a license for each station. I recommend having at least two licenses, one for the retail floor and one for the back office. Otherwise, you will find yourself performing data entry and maintenance type activities out on the floor and you will soon realize how inconvenient it is!



When you first order your POS package, visit with your QuickBooks® ProAdvisor and they’ll be able to save you a sizable amount on your software and hardware bundle. You can use other manufacturer’s hardware, but from my research it will be comparable in price and you don’t have any unified support if something doesn’t work when you are setting the system up. We’ve all been through the ordeal of it being the “other person’s fault” when something doesn’t work. So why not save yourself the headache and order the software/hardware bundle through Intuit and you’ll have one less headache to deal with! My client’s have utilized the bundles and have been very pleased with the outcome and the fact that they only have to call one customer service number if they do have questions about either the software or the hardware!



When you first register your POS software, you will receive 30 free days of support through Intuit. When you work with a ProAdvisor, they get unlimited support on both the Financial and POS software so this is another great reason to have one of them on your list of business consultants! While you may have to pay the third-party consultant for their time, you’ll find the savings in having their knowledge and their access to extra support through Intuit. Make sure when you are looking for an advisor through QuickBooks®, that you find one who is certified in both the Financial and the Point-of-Sale software so that they’ll have the broadest amount of exposure to both software products. It’s a winning formula for your business. Often times the consultant is able to add additional insight to the support from the company and will be able to help you grow your business better through the use of the QuickBooks® software.



POS comes in three packages, Basic, Pro, and Pro Multi-Store. Some of the features that are offered in Pro include tracking of sales orders, layaways, commissions and more detail options for inventory. The Pro Multi-Store allows you to manage up to 10 stores from a single location.



When you are working within POS, you will want to setup a POS Merchant Services account. Processing of credit cards through any other service does not interface with your POS and Financial system. Their fees are very competitive and the benefits are great. You will have the ease of keeping track of all your information right in the POS system for cash, check and credit card transactions. For a few extra dollars, they’ll even give you online viewing of your merchant service account so you can look at batch detail and more!



QuickBooks® provides retailers a cost-effective and wide range of offerings with their packaging of POS and Financial Software. Stop wasting time on duplication of activities and start focusing on growing your business!