Customers crave simplicity and convenience, and so do businesses. As a result, many retail and F&B enterprises have implemented various software solutions to better meet these needs. However, fragmented platforms can create more work and margins for error. The answer to this problem lies in point-of-sales (POS) integrations.
Nevertheless, some businesses have put off POS integration because they do not wish to deal with the cost and hassle of establishing and maintaining such systems. They are missing out. A well-thought-out and implemented POS integration can open lucrative opportunities for enterprises and extend the use of their POS systems.
So, as surging inflation rates place more pressure on the bottom line of small and medium business owners, allow your POS system to work harder for you by integrating the right add-ons to address the unique needs of your business. Let us help streamline the process by answering the burning questions you have and sharing the best overall and sector-specific integrations to consider.
PART 2 – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT POS INTEGRATION
2.1. What Is POS Integration?
Before we begin, let us examine what POS integration entails. In summary, it refers to the process of connecting your POS system (where all transactions occur) with various software or other systems to enable seamless communication and data sharing. This direct connection allows your POS system to access real-time information from these tools and automate specific tasks, like record keeping and inventory tracking, to streamline and enhance business operations.
The integration process is carried out with application programming interfaces (APIs), allowing these various tools to connect and transfer data. Users can then interact with this interconnected system via one central hub – the POS system. However, each business utilises its unique tech stack. As such, the specifics and scale of each POS integration differ. Therefore, entrepreneurs must consider what is most suitable for their needs.
2.2. How To Choose A POS Integration
So, how do you figure out what tools best fit your requirements? The choice is not one to take lightly. You must navigate the decision-making process deliberately to ensure a harmonious fit with your business needs. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you make an informed decision.
Step 1: Evaluate your business needs
Consider the challenges and requirements unique to your business and operational structure to identify potential opportunities. For example, are you operating a retail store with high transaction volumes, or do you own a restaurant with a need for order customisation? Understanding your business intricacies will guide you in pinpointing the features and functionalities essential for your operations, laying the groundwork for a successful integration that aligns with your overarching goals.
Step 2: Make a list and sort through your options
Once you have identified what you need, the next step is to search for and list potential POS integrations compatible with your current POS system. Start by finding platforms that integrate with your existing tech stack, considering factors such as ease of use, customer support, pricing models, and scalability. When you have a list of suitable options, evaluate and compare them to see what fits your business requirements.
Step 3: Do your due diligence before making a decision
During the deliberation process, seek out positive and negative user reviews for your shortlisted integrations. Pay due diligence to feedback on the ease of use and integration of the tool. You may also want to compare pricing and consider requesting a demo to see how the software functions, especially when paired with your current POS system.
We recommend getting in touch with a representative if you seek additional information on the product. This is an excellent opportunity to inquire about onboarding, training, and other ongoing support services the provider may offer post-purchase. Be transparent about your expectations and seek clarity on the provider's commitment to meeting those requirements.
Step 4: Check for real-world compatibility
While a solution may appear comprehensive on paper, real-time application is where the rubber meets the road. So, we recommend taking advantage of free trials and demos to test the software’s compatibility with your POS system whenever possible. Doing so can streamline the implementation process and minimise operational disruptions.
2.3. Top Benefits Of POS Integration
Regardless of how you utilise your POS system, you cannot deny that it is an essential aspect of your business. As a result, some might not wish to meddle too much with the pre-existing configuration lest it impacts operation. However, while a POS system is powerful individually, it can become more valuable when paired with the correct tools. Integrations not only elevate the functionality of your POS. They also provide a host of other business benefits.
Benefit #1: Get a holistic view of your business
Entrepreneurs cannot make informed decisions to improve their businesses without comprehensive data to analyse. Therein lies one of the prime benefits of POS integration. With the correct application, you can obtain a data-driven view of your enterprise, allowing you to connect the dots between different data points and glean valuable insights into your business performance.
Leveraging this holistic perspective can aid you in refining your business strategies, understanding when to adjust inventory levels to meet demand, and identifying areas for improvement. With these real-time actionable insights, you can steer your business towards growth and sustainability.
Benefit #2: Identify the best tools for the job
Every business has varying needs, and POS integration allows for seamless compatibility with numerous applications, allowing you to tailor your POS environment to suit your unique requirements. This adaptability ensures that your POS system can evolve to meet your growing needs as your enterprise expands.
Benefit #3: Reduce time spent on administrative tasks
Time is a precious commodity for any entrepreneur. The last thing you want is to be bogged down by administrative tasks when you should be focusing on growing your business. Leveraging suitable POS software to automate administrative processes, like inventory updates, financial reporting, and order processing, can eliminate the need for manual intervention, reducing the risk of errors and allowing you to redirect your attention towards more strategic and customer-focused activities.
Benefit #4: Ensure effective allocation of resources
Whether you are tracking inventory levels, monitoring sales performance, or managing customer relationships, an integrated POS system provides a centralised platform for overseeing various aspects of your business. When you have a clear understanding of the ins and outs of your enterprise, you can make more informed decisions about staffing levels, inventory procurement, and marketing investments, ensuring resources are allocated where they are most needed and optimising operational efficiency.
Benefit #5: Offer a seamless customer experience
Customers are the lifeblood of your business. As such, you will want to provide them with the highest quality of service. By integrating your POS system with a customer relationship management (CRM) solution, you can achieve this aim, providing them with a more personalised shopping experience.
For instance, you can use customer data to offer product recommendations based on past purchase history, allowing your customers to feel more valued and engaged with your brand. That also provides you with opportunities for upselling and cross-selling. If a customer frequently buys a specific item, you can recommend a complementary product they might be interested in. Doing so can help boost sales and revenue for your business.
PART 3 – BEST POS INTEGRATIONS FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Now that you understand the benefits of POS integration, you will undoubtedly be keen to start the implementation process as soon as possible. However, a question remains, “What POS add-ons are suitable for my business?”. Fortunately, we have done the legwork for you, pouring countless hours into curating a list of the best overall and sector-specific integrations for your consideration.
3.1. General POS Integrations
Not all POS add-ons are industry-specific. Here is a list of helpful tools most businesses can benefit from.
1. Accounting
Accounting software is a no-brainer for entrepreneurs seeking greater control over their cash flow. Such applications will allow you to synch financial data across your various platforms while offering handy tools, such as bookkeeping features, to help you track your finances. Automating the accounting process can also minimise errors in your financial reports, ensuring your accounts are correctly balanced and you comply with tax regulations.
2. Payroll
Integrating your POS system with a payroll application allows you to track your employees’ working hours, manage expenses, and ensure workers are paid promptly and correctly – all from your POS dashboard. Utilising this tool also makes it easier to synch payroll data to other platforms within your POS system that you use for accounting, staff management, and financial reporting.
3. Staff management
Most POS systems offer rudimentary employee management tools. However, they usually have several limitations. So, you will require dedicated staff management software if you are running a sizeable crew. This way, you will find it easier to schedule shift patterns, track the number of man-hours, and keep tabs on staff performance.
4. Customer loyalty
Attracting loyal customers should be one of your business’s top priorities, regardless of the industry you are in. With a CRM application that allows you to track and issue perks and privileges to customers, you can incentivise them to make repeat purchases. Specific platforms even allow you to create unique customer profiles, providing deeper insights into their purchase history. This information can help you embellish their shopping experience, elevating their perception of your brand and converting them into loyal customers.
5. Payment processing
As Singapore pushes towards becoming a cashless society, consumers seek greater flexibility and convenience when making their purchases. From mobile payment apps like PayNow and Apple Pay to credit and debit cards, your POS system must be capable of handling various payment methods to entice customers to spend at your store.
3.2. Retail POS Integrations
Businesses in the retail industry generally require a platform that can help track orders, take payments, manage stock, and more. Here is a list of retail-focused integrations that can enable you to maximise the use of your retail POS system.
1. E-commerce
In our digital age, e-commerce is becoming the de-facto way to shop for consumers, and online shopping platforms are becoming a necessity to cater to the ever-evolving needs of customers. If your retail business sells across channels, you will want to integrate an e-commerce application to unify your commerce strategy and link your online platform to your POS system. This way, you can consolidate your sales data on one centralised hub, improving efficiency and granting you greater visibility over business performance.
2. Inventory management
Any retail business owner worth their salt understands the importance of inventory management. While a basic stock management system may suffice for those with minimal inventory, businesses juggling a large or complex catalogue require POS software with advanced inventory features that provide low stock alerts and enable cycle counting and seasonal stock management.
3. Warehouse management
All retail businesses require storage space to house their products. Enterprises dealing with a copious amount of inventory may even have to rent a separate warehouse to store all their goods. The latter will need a warehouse management application to track and manage inventory efficiently, especially when dealing with perishable products.
4. Age verification system
While employees operating manual checkout counters can verify IDs for customers purchasing age-sensitive products like alcohol and cigarettes, retailers with self-checkout machines must ensure their POS platforms include an age verification system to prevent the illegal sales of these goods to minors.
3.3. Restaurant And Hospitality POS Integrations
Every restaurant will require something slightly different for its F&B POS system. Nevertheless, there are several sector-specific integrations that you should consider as an F&B business owner.
1. Ordering and delivery
Even before the pandemic upended the F&B industry, many customers opted to avoid the crowd by dining out, turning to food delivery applications, including GrabFood and FoodPanda, to satisfy this need. If your POS system does not already facilitate online ordering and delivery, you will want an application that can handle these processes for you.
2. Menu management
Many restaurateurs are beginning to update their menus regularly with seasonal dishes to offer customers more dining choices. To simplify the process and ensure your menu is always up-to-date, you can consider applications that allow you to create and edit personalised menus to reflect your ever-changing offerings. You can also utilise this POS software to differentiate between online and dine-in options and colour-code products for upselling purposes.
3. Kitchen display system
Kitchen display systems (KDS) allow you to streamline communication between front and back-of-house by letting staff track and manage customer orders digitally, eliminating the need for physical tickets and preventing incorrect orders. They can also display restaurant data in real-time, alerting your employees to preparation tasks, takeaways, and deliveries, thus ensuring your crew is aware and has complete control of the kitchen flow.
4. Booking and reservation
Manual reservations lack efficiency and take up precious staff time. By integrating your restaurant POS system with a suitable add-on and shifting to an online booking system, your customers can enjoy the convenience of making a reservation online. Meanwhile, your staff can seamlessly manage everything from one centralised platform.
3.4. Hardware Integrations
POS integration extends beyond the realm of software. Hardware accessories are also available to streamline business operations, such as automating data entry to enhance the speed and accuracy of inventory tracking and transactions. Here is a list of must-have POS hardware for your consideration.
1. POS terminal
Previously, POS systems ran on clunky and bulky equipment. Today, mobile POS systems are readily available by installing the relevant software onto a tablet or smartphone, offering a sleek, flexible alternative and allowing you to look up inventory or input a customer’s order on the fly. Meanwhile, you can still utilise a larger terminal for more appropriate tasks like reviewing reports and managing your stock replenishment.
2. Card reader
A reliable card reader that supports contactless payments is a must for any retail or F&B enterprise. Customers now expect to be able to make their purchases via credit or debit card. If you do not offer this option, they are likely to take their business elsewhere.
3. Barcode scanner
Barcode scanners have been a fixture of brick-and-mortar businesses for years. Even as the business landscape continues to evolve, this humble POS hardware has remained essential in automating and streamlining the checkout process. That helps minimise human error from manual data entry and reduce transaction times for customers.
4. Cash register
Even though more businesses are going cashless, it is still wise to have a cash register to accommodate customers who want to pay by cash. Meanwhile, you may want to keep some petty cash around to make small payments or for emergencies. A cash register can provide a secure place to stow and organise your coins and notes.
PART 4 – FAQs ABOUT POS INTEGRATION
Let us answer any lingering questions you may have about the POS integration process that might not be addressed in our comprehensive guide above. We have compiled this list based on the most pressing queries our customers have and our responses to these questions.
Q1: What add-ons should I get for my POS system?
The answer to this question depends on two factors: the industry that your business is in and the native tools currently available on your POS system. At a bare minimum, your POS system should contain software that aids in primary business functions, such as accounting, payroll processing, and employee management and scheduling.
Going in-depth into sector-specific applications, retail enterprises will benefit from e-commerce, inventory management, and CRM-related integrations. Conversely, those in the F&B industry will require tools for delivery, guest, and menu management.
Q2: Will these add-ons make my POS system less secure?
These add-ons are generally safe to install, provided you obtain them from official service providers. With that said, we still recommend that users perform their due diligence by checking compatibility and reading user reviews before purchasing and integrating the POS software or hardware.
Q3: Can POS integration boost efficiency?
Yes! POS integration can help enhance business efficiency in various ways, such as automating crucial processes to reduce manual errors and synching data across platforms to help entrepreneurs track their business performance in one centralised hub.
Q4: What is a POS API?
An application programming interface (API) is a software intermediary that connects two applications, enabling them to communicate with each other through a set of definitions and protocols. In the case of POS APIs, they allow users to access a POS platform to handle all their operational needs, like payment and ordering. Developers can also use them to build custom POS solutions or other applications without worrying about hardware integration.
PART 5 – CONCLUSION
Your POS system is a powerful business tool. However, it can be even more beneficial when all of its features and integrations work in tandem to grant you complete control over your operations, allowing you to run your enterprise seamlessly and making every aspect of your job easier.
If you seek reliable POS software or hardware to integrate into your existing system, look no further than Suntoyo Technology. Our technology solutions qualify for the Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG), granting you up to 50% subsidies for our POS systems and applications. Contact us today to learn how we can help your business.