What Are The Benefits of an EPOS System?

Electronic point of sale (EPOS) systems are now commonplace in businesses all over the world, replacing traditional till systems as a way to process card and cash transactions.

There are many benefits to using an EPOS and digitalising transaction data, including better record keeping and oversight over sales data, and error reduction.

Beyond this, the best EPOS systems come with features that traditional tills lack, including inventory tracking and integration with marketing tools. These can improve both your business’s efficiency and your customers’ experience.

Watch our video or read on for the biggest benefits. Or if you’re short on time and already sold on getting an EPOS system, use our free quote tool to be matched with our network of trusted EPOS system providers and receive tailored quotes.

What Are the Benefits of An EPOS System?

The main benefits of an EPOS system are:

• Sales data centralisation
• Reduction in human error
• Improved workforce efficiency
• Improved customer experience
• Improved resource management
• More effective marketing

✔ Data centralisation

Unlike analogue tills, where sales data is stored on receipts printed out at the end of each day, an EPOS systems act as a centralised hub for all data.

This means that you’ll be able to view data from all transactions made using your EPOS system, regardless of which EPOS till it was made at or what day it was processed. Most EPOS systems also enable you to easily filter data by day, employee and transaction type, something that’s not possible with printer sales history receipts.

✔ Human error reduction

An EPOS system minimises the risk of human error, since it allows you to log and categorise products and prices in a digital library ahead of time.

This means staff simply need to select the correct product from the EPOS system’s digital library, with no need to manually type in prices.

On top of this, many EPOS systems also allow you to schedule discounts and other promotions centrally, reducing the risk of staff applying the wrong discount amount or forgetting to apply a discount entirely.

✔ Improved workforce efficiency

EPOS systems allow for multiple user logins at no extra cost, so you can easily track staff sales activity.

This gives you insight into who your top performers are and who are potential underperformers. Why has Daniel only served four people when Penny was able to serve 10 in the same amount of time? What was Adam doing between 10:15 am and 10:40 am? Because he certainly wasn’t serving customers.

You can use this data to incentivise your workforce. Companies such as Costco have seen an upturn in productivity by ranking employees on a leaderboard and rewarding top performers. Create a competitive environment where your employees can use healthy competition to propel each other onto bigger and better things.

✔ Improved customer experience

Most EPOS systems offer clever automated functions that save staff valuable time and speed up order processing for customers.

For example, hospitality EPOS systems often integrate with kitchen display systems (KDSs), so an order processed at the counter or at a table gets directly relayed to kitchen or bar staff, without your waiters having to walk back to the kitchen with paper notes.

With a tablet EPOS system, staff aren’t tied to the counter. Wireless devices free them up to provide a more engaging shopping experience for the customer. Not only does this help to reduce queue time at checkouts during busy periods, but it also gives your talented sales staff the opportunity to convert browsing customers into hard sales.

✔ Improved resource management and reaction to trends

An EPOS system will help you to maximise profit with detailed reports and live inventory management.

Back office functions allow you to track inventory thanks to sales data, and some systems even let you automate reorders for when a certain product’s stock levels drop below a set threshold.

Some EPOS systems even integrate with your ecommerce platform to provide a consistent omnichannel shopping experience. So, whether you sell something online or in-store, your stock level immediately updates.

Detailed analytics allow you to identify which products are selling well and let you look at metrics such as footfall to better allocate resources. This helps business owners make informed decisions grounded in data.

✔ More effective marketing

Many EPOS systems come with built-in marketing and loyalty tools that use sales data to capture customer details at the point of sale and build a valuable database of email addresses and phone numbers.

Since their purchase habits are also logged in the EPOS system, you can use this information to provide personalised and relevant notifications of upcoming offers and events. Built-in loyalty schemes also let you reward those precious returning customers.

What Are the Disadvantages of An EPOS System?

There aren’t many disadvantages to using an EPOS system, especially when compared with an analogue till. However, here are a few you might want to consider:

• They can be expensive
• They require staff training
• They rely on internet connectivity

✔ Can be expensive

EPOS systems can be expensive, since most charge ongoing monthly software subscription costs. These range from £30 to £50 per month for the average business, but can exceed £100 for larger businesses.

Hardware can be purchased outright from most providers. However, a full till set-up can set you back over £1,000. This cost goes up if you need more than one till system.

By contrast, analogue tills only cost £200 to £400, and don’t require ongoing monthly payments.

For most businesses, however, the extra features EPOS systems offer make them worth the expense. Plus, providers such as Square and SumUp offer free EPOS software systems, which are a great option for small or new businesses on a budget.

For a full breakdown of EPOS system costs, see our guide.

✔ Requires staff training

While most modern EPOS systems are generally quite intuitive, you’ll still have to train staff on how to use them. This takes time away from focusing on sales when implementing a new EPOS system or onboarding new staff.

To make this easier, some EPOS systems, such as Lightspeed, offer a training mode.

✔ Relies on internet connectivity

Like most digital business solutions, EPOS systems operate using the internet. This means that if you suddenly lose connection, you won’t be able to serve your customers.

To get around this, many EPOS systems, such as Square, Clover and Lightspeed, offer offline mode, allowing staff to keep using the EPOS system as normal until connection is restored.

What Types of Businesses Need EPOS Systems?

Any customer-facing business that makes sales frequently needs an EPOS system in this day and age, including hospitality, retail stores, hotels, and spas or salons.

• Any business that operates in the realm of food and drink. This can include pubs and bars, or fully-fledged restaurants. Even takeaway restaurants need EPOS systems. If a sale is being made, you need an EPOS system.
• Hospitality is another area where EPOS systems are a must-have. Whether for a longer-term booking, like a hotel, or nothing more than a day, like a spa, an EPOS system is a necessary investment.
• Retail is probably the most obvious EPOS-requiring form of business. It’s hard to make frequent sales without an EPOS system, so whether you’re selling clothes, groceries or books, you need an EPOS system to process these sales.