If someone said to you “ I can guarantee to slash your marketing budget and at the same time increase your sales.”…what would your response be? Admit it.. You would be interested.

Business automation is definitely the way forward and it is by far the most sensible way because in effect, through the installation of a POS system, you are replacing an inert non-intelligent system (a cash register) with the equivalent of several extra members of staff. All sorts of management and admin functions which either you yourself or an assistant used to be paid to do, ranging from inventory tracking to reordering and maintaining contact with customers, could be a ‘one-stop’ function if you decide to embrace a POS- driven computer system.

In fact, you may already have a computer capable of running your sales system but then again you may decide to invest in a customized set up, designed for your particular needs.

The old ‘I’m not very good with computers’ argument is no longer valid because a modern POS system even appears to do all of the thinking for you, with a lot of the inputting being done by your customers.

One thing you should remember though is that even a properly implemented,state-of-the-art POS system is no substitute for a bad business. A computer- based system is not a magic bullet which somehow suddenly turns a badly performing business into a thriving enterprise. The control is still yours but the functionality of an appropriate system will make the administration of your business much easier.

After you have installed a POS system, there will still be some work to do. For a start there will be some training, there may be quite a bit of inputting if you already have a client base and if, for instance, you are holding a lot of stock, you will need to tell your new system about that too! But once everything has been set up, you will very quickly realise that the front-end effort was well worth it!

Another quite important aspect of computerisation is to ‘carry’ your staff with you. It is much easier to discuss proposed changes with your staff and allay any fears they may have. These will range from some thinking of themselves as being ‘computer illiterate’ to very genuine fears that they are about to be replaced by technology. You may wish to discuss that with your hardware and software supplier and ask them to come along and discuss your intentions with your people.

When spending money on technology, the usual rule applies: Think about value and not necessarily just price.

Modern POS systems are modular in form so you don’t have to buy everything available all at once but you may wish to have a planned implementation programme with your supplier. Most of your system is going to be invisible to your staff and the biggest change for them may be something like a wireless card reader or a brand-new till with a touch-screen. All the other functionality, such as tracking each of your individual sales people’s performance etc are visible only to you, the business owner.

So if you are intending to cut costs, save time, increase business efficiency as well as helping you to make better marketing and operational decisions, it is difficult to see how that can be achieved without a fully integrated POS system.