The point of sale or point of purchase is the place where you call your customers. Customers are at the point of sale when they pay online, walk to checkout, or pick up products at a booth or kiosk.

Your trading system is the hardware and software that enables your business to sell.

How does a POS system work in a small business?

The POS systems allow businesses to accept payments from customers and track sales.

It sounds simple, but the settings can work differently for online sales, brick-and-mortar stores, or both.

A sales system used to identify cash registers in a store. Today’s modern point-of-sale systems are completely digital, allowing you to see your customers wherever they are. All you need is a POS app and an internet-enabled device such as a tablet or phone.

1. A customer decides to purchase a product or service. If you have a physical store, you can ask the salesperson to call you. This employee can use a barcode scanner to find the price of an item. Some POS systems, such as Square Point of Sale, can also visually scan items using the device’s camera. For online stores, this step occurs when a customer has finished adding an item to their shopping cart and clicks the checkout button.

       2.  The POS system calculates the price of the goods including sales tax. The system then updates the inventory quantity to show that the item has been sold.

       3. The customer pays.

To complete a purchase, the customer must complete the payment using a credit card, Tap card, debit card, loyalty points, gift card, or cash. Depending on the payment type selected, the transaction must be authorized by the customer’s bank.

1. The point-of-sale transaction is complete. This is the moment we officially start selling.

Payment is processed, a digital or printed receipt is generated, and the customer ships or delivers the purchase.

What types of hardware and software do POS systems typically include?

All POS systems use POS software, but not all businesses need POS hardware.

If you have an online store, you don’t need any POS equipment to accept payments as all sales are done on your website. But if you have a cafe, you may need a cash register and credit card reader.

If you’re driving a food truck, all you need is your phone or tablet to process your order.