Thursday, May 5, 2011

Liquor store POS systems and wine point of sale systems

Written by: Eisla Sebastian

Traditionally, liquor stores and wine shops have used a punch key cash register as their point of sale system (or POS). While registers once served their purpose, these machines are now outdated and hinder the efficiency of your sales staff. In response to the changes in technology and money exchange trends, modern POS systems for liquor stores need to have specific components to make them effective. When you buy liquor store POS systems for your business, you need to ensure that they have these basic components, as well as the other components that interest you.


Liquor store POS systems: common applications

Most liquor store POS systems are going to have the same basic features. This may include things like a touch screen monitor, credit card scanner, check reader, and inventory database module. Add-ons that you can request from your POS software manufacturer include quality control check systems, bar code readers, special reporting and tracking programs, and special pack quantity options.

Other features that liquor store POS systems and wine point of sale systems have that can be very beneficial to those businesses are tools for inventory management and tracking as well as communication. Inventory management tools that come with liquor store POS systems allow you to quickly identify what products are in inventory storage, what products are on your shelves, and what you need to reorder. You can even set up your POS system so that you can place new orders directly through your POS system.

Tracking tools can be used to determine which liquors are selling well and which are difficult to move. This can help you better manage your available stock so that you're moving the products you stock quickly. It can also help alert you when orders need to be placed or when you need to rotate your stock.

Finally, communication tools offered by POS systems allow you to network your liquor stores' POS systems. This allows you to monitor what is selling or not selling at each store if you have multiple locations, check the inventory at any store you own, and update the POS systems for all of your stores from your main server. The networking process is usually accomplished via a modem communication setup.

Wine point of sale systems and customer loyalty programs

Even a family-owned wine shop can have a competitive advantage over chain store wine retailers by using a liquor store POS system. Liquor and wine POS systems allow for customer loyalty programs such as House Accounts for loyal customers -- think about inviting your customers to be a part of a Wine Club for a new wine each month! You can also offer gift cards, track deposits for casks of wine, receive notifications when a special label is almost sold out, and provide credit accounts for frequent customers. There are even marketing features on some liquor store POS systems that allow you to store shopper information for a future email newsletter about wine tastings, wine sales, and special events for exclusive customers. These are features that are only available with liquor store POS systems, so make sure you request a liquor store POS system price quote if you'd like these features.

Finding the right liquor store POS system

When you're shopping for a liquor store POS system, it's very important that you understand what features your store needs. For example, if your store deals with a rotating inventory of seasonal items and liquors, then you'll want a POS system that is easy to update or comes with a large database of products.

Next, you'll want to look at how easy your POS system is to use. If you have a staff that is made up of both native and non-native English-speaking employees, then you may want to select liquor store POS systems that have graphics on the touch screen in addition to the written product description.

Regardless of what features you want your liquor store POS systems to have, it's critical that you request free price quotes from a number of vendors. This will ensure that you are not only getting what you want but that you are also getting the best deal on the POS system. Requesting free price quotes will also provide you with the information that you need to negotiate a better deal with the vendor that you decide to work with.

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