Best POS Hardware Bundles in Australia

Regardless of the size of a business, point of sale (POS) systems are an essential part of every retail business. Unlike traditional cash registers that were used solely to process payments, modern-day point of sale (POS) systems are more advanced solutions that are programmed to perform multiple other tasks including tracking and managing inventory, tracking and managing employees, customer relationship management, and more. Therefore, it is essential to pick the right point of sale (POS) solution that would meet your business needs, within your budget.

Before diving into the topic, let us discuss what a point of sale (POS) system is.

What is a Point of Sale (POS) System?

The place in a store where transactions take place is called the point of sale. In other words, it is the place where the customer pays for the chosen commodity/service and the merchant/sales assistant accepts the payment and issues a payment receipt to the customer, thereby completing the transaction.

To complete the entire purchasing and selling process, businesses use a set of POS hardware and software components, commonly known as the point of sale (POS) system.

Point of Sale (POS) System: A Sneak Peek into the Past

The first point of sale (POS) system, the cash register, was invented over two decades ago by James Ritty, an Ohio-based salon owner. The cash registers were designed to record error-free transactions, and facilitate bookkeeping, and cash management. The National Cash Register Corporation acquired Ritty’s invention in 1884 and later added cash drawers and paper rolls to print receipts at the onset of the 20^th century. Eventually, these devices were transformed into digital machines by the mid-90s. The modern, digitised devices came with an LCD screen, credit card magnetic strips, and thermal printing. Later, Gene Mosher developed the first graphic touchscreen interface in 1986.

How are Point of Sale (POS) Systems Beneficial?

1. Inventory Management: One of the key advantages of owning a point of sale (POS) system is inventory tracking and management. You will be notified of the products that are running low in stock so that you can re-order them. At the same time, you will also be notified about the products that are not selling well. Since you can track your inventory on your monitor, you need to be physically present to keep track of all your products. This also eliminates the chances of loss due to employee loss.

• Report Generation: A point of sale (POS) system can track transactions and sales and generate accurate and reliable sales reports monthly or quarterly, as per your preference.

• Employee Management: Your point of sale (POS) system would help you track your employee’s log-in and log-out time and the total number of sales they have made per day, which will help you, reward the best performing employee and also get an idea of the total number of sales being made per day.

• Customer Management: Since the point of sale (POS) system is programmed to store customer information such as their purchase history, you can provide personalised services tailored for specific customers. This will help build a better customer relationship.

As mentioned, point of sale (POS) systems use hardware and software components to function. In this article, we have discussed the hardware components in depth.

P.S. Know that you can purchase hardware components separately or pick hardware bundles, as per your requirement. If you are planning on purchasing the hardware components separately, ensure that they can be integrated with the other devices and your software conveniently.

Common Hardware Components

The input and output devices of a point of sale (POS) system that allow the point of sale (POS) software to function is known as the point of sale (POS) hardware. In a modern-day retail business setup, the point of sale (POS) hardware can range from traditional desktops to iPad and more.

Some of the popular point of sale (POS) hardware components include:

1. POS Monitor: The point of sale (POS) monitors are the display devices on which the point of sale (POS) software is installed. These can either be a desktop, an iPad, or a tablet. Initially, retail stores used to have specific checkout counters where checkout processes used to take place and all the hardware components used to be placed there. With the advent of mobile point of sale (mPOS) systems, retailers/sales assistants can checkout customers at any location within the store just with the help of a robust device and stable internet connectivity. This expedites the checkout process and is beneficial for both the customers and sales assistants.

• Barcode Scanners: Almost every commodity in today’s world come with a barcode attached to it. These barcodes contain product-related information and can be scanned and decoded with the help of a revolutionary device known as a barcode scanner. These devices are one of the most vital components of a point of sale (POS) system and help with expediting the checkout process, checking inventory levels, providing accurate and real-time product-related information, and more.

Primarily, there are 4 types of barcode scanners

• In-counter Barcode Scanners: This type of barcode scanners are the ones that you can spot on the checkout counters of most retail stores and are capable of scanning multiple items quickly and easily.

• Fixed Barcode Scanners: These types of barcode scanners are designed to read barcodes using sensors that get triggered when any commodity is passed in front of it.

• Handheld Barcode Scanners: Among all the barcode scanners, handheld barcode scanners are the most popular ones and are available in both corded and cordless models.

• Presentation Barcode Scanners: These devices function mostly like in-counter barcode scanners and can scan multiple items easily. These are hands-free devices that can produce omni-directional scan patterns.

• Payment Processors: The primary function of a point of sale (POS) system is to process payments. Payment processors are devices designed to accept and process payments to complete a transaction. With cashless payments on the trend, customers prefer paying through credit/debit cards or any other third-party payment mode. To process these payments you need to own advanced payment processors that can provide customers with their preferred modes of payment. This not only expedites the checkout process but also builds a better customer relationship.

1. Cash Drawers: Digital payment and cashless transactions are indeed in vogue.But, it cannot be denied that cash payments are still equally preferred by customers. As a business owner, you need to ensure that your cash is stored securely. Cash drawers are designed for the sole purpose of storing cash and coins and come with separate compartments for each. You can also store other bills and receipts in these drawers. Usually, these devices are connected to the point of sale (POS) monitors and open and close on receiving a command from the point of sale (POS) software.

• Receipt Printers: As the name suggests, receipt printers are used to print payment receipts and are one of the important hardware components of a point of sale (POS) system. Nowadays, customers seek both e-invoices and physical payment receipts for their purchases. The receipts contain purchase-related information like the product name, SKU, date, time, place of purchase, price, tax break-up, etc. These slips come in handy should a customer wish to return/exchange any purchased product.

There are 2 prominent types of receipt printers

1. Impact/Dot Matrix Receipt Printers: Sturdy and reliable, dot matrix receipt printers are the oldest type of receipt printers. In these devices, the printheads come with pins arranged in series that when impacts the ink ribbon produces dots in the form of alphabets or graphics. Dot matrix printers are not as expensive; however, the maintenance costs of these devices are high as these printers come with moving parts. Also, the printing process is noisy.

• Thermal Receipt Printers: As the name suggests, these printers work on heat-mechanism, for example, Epson TM-T82III Thermal Receipt Printer. When the heated printhead comes in contact with the chemically-treated (heat-sensitive) paper, it darkens the paper creating alphabets and numbers. Thermal receipt printers are the most widely preferred type of receipt printers. The maintenance costs of these devices are low because they do not require toners and ink ribbons. But, the thermal papers being heat-sensitive are susceptible to damage if exposed to heat, water, and even lotion. Hence, the durability of the prints is low.

Besides the aforementioned point of sale (POS) hardware components, there are a few other tools that some businesses require. Some of them are:

1. Scales: Retail stores selling commodities that need to be priced based on their weight, for example, grocery stores, require scales. You can either integrate these devices into your point of sale (POS) system or use them as a standalone system.

• Customer-facing Display: You must have spotted these devices at the checkout counters at retail stores. As the name implies, these devices are used to display the total amount the customer owes and a detailed price breakup to maintain transparency with the customers. Retailers also use these devices to display customised messages to the customers and are hence a great means to provide better customer service.

• Self-service Kiosks: These devices can either be tableside tablets or touchscreen computer screens that allow customers to place their orders and pay for them on their own, without any assistance from the sales assistants. Most retail stores, gas stations, and restaurants that usually get high order volumes use self-service kiosks.

• Digital Menu Displays: Used particularly by restaurants, these devices give restaurant owners the flexibility to add new items to their menus, specials, and promotions as and when they please. Customers these days prefer digital menus over standard menus as they provide the customers with the scope of placing an order off the menu.

• ID Card Printer: As the name suggests, ID card printers like Evolis Zenius Classic Single Sided ID Card Printer are used to print identity cards that are essential for many businesses.

Conclusion

A point of sale (POS) system is essential for the smooth functioning of any business. Therefore, as a business owner, you need to pick the right POS bundle for your business that would suit both your business needs and budget perfectly.

If you are looking for premium POS hardware bundles in Australia, then POS Plaza, an online reseller of the industry-leading point of sale (POS) brands is your one-stop destination. You can browse through our array of hardware components and consumables and pick the ones that meet your business requirements.