Process point-of-sale transactions for minimal cost, for clients and for yourself. Manage clients. Track and discount inventory. Process sales and settlements with no monthly or annual support fees.
'Point of sale' refers to the point at which a customer brings merchandise to the checkout station for purchase.
This is a crucial part of your total effort because customers' experiences at this point will finalize their opinions about your operation. Speed and accuracy along with a modicum of pleasantries will encourage return visits.
A good software program expedites the process of entering inventory and tagging it. It is possible to enter items at POS that have not been entered into the software's database but it's time-consuming and should be avoided by using barcodes wherever possible.
In consignment software, each consignor is assigned an ID which may be a number or any combination of numbers and letters. Keep in mind that if consignor IDs are a mix of numbers and letters, every software database must sort the IDs as text, so numbers will be in the order of 1,10,2 instead of 1,2,10.
Each item ID will be in two parts (generally): 1) the client ID (identify the owner of the item) and 2) the number of the item belonging to the consignor. For example, SmithM-4 might mean that Mary Smith is the owner of the item and the item is the 4th item that she has on consignment. At the point of sale, if there is no barcode for the item, the Item ID can be typed in or the item can be selected from a list of items.
The Best Consignment Software invoice has provision for 5 invoices, so if the person checking out wants to look for something else or go to her car for her credit card, her invoice can be put on hold and invoice 2 can be opened to process the next person in line.
A picture of any item can be taken and stored in the program's database then recalled at POS. This is particularly advantageous in businesses dealing in high-end inventory (to avoid tag switching for one).
There are several ways to discount on the sales invoice. Discount:
In the program, the default method of payment is 'Cash' so the clerk doesn't need to make a selection if that is the payment method. Otherwise, the clerk uses a drop-down menu to select credit-card type (Visa, debit, etc.), check, gift certificate, or PayPal.
Any sale can be designated as a layaway. At the point of sale or later, a payment schedule can be entered (and changed later on). The program tracks each layaway, payments due, payments late... Of course, purchases are delivered with the last payment.
With Best Consignment Shop Software, consignors can settle for store credit. In the program, a % can be set to be added to settlement for store credit to encourage clients to accept store credit as payment. The amount of store credit will be displayed on the sale invoice and can be applied toward purchases.
A 'system' in the IT world refers to a complete package of software and hardware and often includes a barcode scanner, cash drawer, and receipt printer. (A label printer is not part of POS.) There are other options like a pole display, brackets for mounting drawers under counters, etc.
Stores reselling used merchandise often have no-return policies (because patrons understand that they are purchasing used merchandise and by and large expect second-hand dealers to disallow returns). Often the expense of the receipt printer can be avoided because receipts aren't needed. Best Consignment Shop Software can print receipts on plain paper or purchasers may be satisfied with the credit-card transaction receipt or a hand-written one.
A special adapter is available with Best Consignment Software which substitutes for the receipt printer and connects the drawer directly to the computer, allowing the drawer to be opened with a key press. The drawer will still open for cash and check transactions but will not 'pop open' for credit-card, store credit, PayPal, or Square payments.
Pole displays might also be an unnecessary expense. There are no secrets at point of sale so if it's possible configure the POS layout so the checkout monitor is viewable by both clerk and purchaser. Another option is to connect a second (small cheap) monitor for patron viewing.
Best Consignment Shop Software is not tied to any credit-card processor so stores are free to use any credit-card processing they choose. The clerk processes sales as usual, selects the credit-card type, and the payment transaction takes place completely outside of the POS software. Software vendors who require using their card processor do so because they get a kickback on every sale.
A strong advantage that's not quite so apparent is that because the software is not involved in the payment process, the software is not included in PCI compliance.
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