Thoughts on why people don’t buy POS

I talk to a lot of people about Point Of Sale systems each day.  All of these customers contacted us to ask about our product because they saw, at some point, value in a Point of Sale system. 

There are a lot of reasons why some people never progress past the information gathering stage to actually implementing a system. Most of them revolve around money and how tight it can be trying to run a business on a shoestring.  I understand completely and I’m the first person to say that we want them to focus on their business and then purchase a POS when it makes financial sense.  

However, there are also some reasons that are based completely on fear or misunderstanding.  So, I thought I’d share three of my favorites here in the hopes of educating people on why these are not always great reasons.

1) I’m too small for a Point Of Sale system:  This is a fairly popular one that I hear at trade shows and over the phone sometimes.  The reality is that it’s a numbers decision – it comes down to what you do per month and what you think your ROI (return on investment) will be.  Virtually everyone I talk to agrees that POS systems will help increase the bottom line and even agree on the 3-5% ROI figure.

So  the formula is simple (using minimum amounts):  3% of monthly gross / cost of POS.

If you are doing as little as $13,000 a month (just $3,000 a week) that equates to a minimum of $390 a month added to the bottom line for ROI.  A system that is $5,000 will take a little over one year (1.07) to pay off.  

A $10,000 system (multiple stations) would take a little over 2 years (2.14) to pay off and that is still just calculating at $13,000 a month at 3% of gross.

Don’t forget that after the system has paid for itself, you still keep making that ROI!

2) I heard that it’s a nightmare if they breakdown:  This is one of the things that some people are scared of.  Usually the conversation goes something like this:  “I would really like a POS but my friend has one and when it broke down his store experienced a really bad time”.  Can this happen, of course.  Is it a reason to not buy a POS?  Of course not.   When your car breaks down it the same situation – a nightmare.  I’ve yet to have anyone sell their car and decide to walk because of it however.  They key is to remember the other 99% of the time that the POS helped you out! 

It’s all in how you plan for a potential problem.  Make sure your staff knows what their obligations are and how to continue to take care of customers until the problem has been solved. 

3) My staff won’t let me put it in – they would revolt!  This is another reason that people bring up.  This one also confounds me as it means that your employees are running the store.  I hate to say it but typically when this type of store puts in a POS, they discover the employees did not want it because of employee theft, giving away drinks etc.   The employees that are not responsible for theft etc are actually really excited to have a POS in the store.

Are you one of the people above?  If so, it’s ok – we understand and will be patient in talking with you and following up.