What is Point of Sale (POS)?

And Why it is Essential for a Retail Business

POS or PoS is an abbreviation for Point of Sale (or Point-of-Sale, or Point of Service). The term is applicable to a retail shop or store, the checkout/cashier counter in the store, or a location where such transactions can occur in this type of environment. It can also apply to the actual Point of Sale (POS) Hardware & Software including but not limited to : electronic cash register systems, touch-screen display, barcode scanners, receipt printers, scales and pole displays. Point of Sale Systems are utilized in many different industries, ranging from restaurants, hotels & hospitality businesses, nail/beauty salons, casinos, stadiums, and let's not forget - the retail environments. In the most basic sense, if something can be exchanged for monetary value - a Point of Sale System can be used.

Point of Sale (POS) Technology

The term Point of Sale is often used in connection or relative with the hardware and software for checkouts. In the case of some locations, with wireless capable systems or network wired via TCP/IP.

Point of Sale Systems made huge advancements from the mechanical cash registers of the first half of the 20th century. An example of such type of registers were the NCR models, operated by a crank, and the lever-operated Burroughs registers. These registers recorded data on paper tapes or journal tapes and required extra steps to transcribe the information into the retailer's accounting platform. The obvious next step in evolution of the POS was to convert the mechanical workings into electrical. An example of such type of register was the NCR Class 5 model. In 1973, new registers that were operated by computers were introduced, such as the IBM 3653 Store System and the NCR 2150. The other computer-based manufacturers were Rigitel, TRW, and Datachecked. That same year brought about the introduction of the UPC/EAN barcode readers that integrated with Point of Sale Systems. And in 1986, the Point of Sale Systems became based on PC (Personal Computer) technology with the introduction of the IBM 4683.

During most of late 1980s and throughout the 90s, stand alone credit card devices were developed and introduced so that credit card processing could be more easily and securely integrated. Some popular examples include the VeriFone Tranz 330, Hypercom T7 Plus, or Lipman Nurit 2085. These relatively simple devices (compared to technologies today) have evolved in recent years to provide processing of multiple applications (credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, EBT cards) and also provide age verification & employee time clock. All processes can now reside on a single device. Certain wireless Point of Sale systems not only allow for mobile payment processing but in the case of restaurants, they also allow servers processing of the entire order at the tables.

Currently, retail POS Systems were among the most sophisticated, powerful and user friendly computer networks in commercial usage. In fact, most Point of Sale Systems do much more than just "Point of Sale" tasks.Even for the smaller tier 4 & 5 retailers, there are Point of Sale Solutions available that include fully integrated accounting, inventory tracking & management, open-to-buy forecasting, customer relation management (CRM), service management, rental services, operation reporting and payroll modules.

Source: http://id.berita.yahoo.com/teknologi/