At one point or another, you may have purchased something online, paid utility bills over the internet, or perhaps sent money online as well. The software that handles such transactions is called EPoS (short for Electronic Point of Sale) software, and this software is beneficial for both customers and online merchants.

The Benefits of Using EPoS Software

EPoS software makes businesses work and help business owners earn money even while they are asleep. The software pretty much puts businesses on auto pilot, as you just need to set it up once and it processes orders for you, without the need of human assistance.

Since this is an automated system, the likelihood of errors in computation is minimal to none, as well as delays in processing orders. Both businesses and customers benefit from the use of EPoS software. Of course, it is the responsibility of the business owner using such software to keep it up to date.

This type of software also helps business owners in keeping their inventories up to date. Most EPoS software offer business owners the ability to monitor the performance or sale reports of their products, as well as keep track of any customer who may be delinquent or past due in making payments. Recurring billing can also be set up with such software, allowing both customers and business owners the peace of mind that their payments are already scheduled at a certain date of every month.

Is EPoS Software Right for You?

With so many benefits, a lot of business owners may be wondering if using EPoS software is right for them. Keep in mind though that the initial purchase of such software, as well as the installation of it plus the integration with your current website which sells your product can be a tedious task, of which some business owners decide to get a technician to do it for them. One question you should ask yourself is if you really need it. Are you getting less than a hundred orders of your products every month? Do you have enough manpower to manually accommodate these orders? How is your current system working for you - are you able to track your profits, refunds, and find out which products are your bestsellers?

If you are running a small scale store with only a handful of products for sale, this software may not be an immediate need. But for mid-scale businesses and for those who offer a multitude of products with different prices, then this may just be the answer you're looking for. This system will help your employees in terms of memorizing the prices of each product, not to mention computing sales taxes, shipping costs for different states or countries, and coming up with the correct order total.

Choosing the Right EPoS Software

There are a lot of different kinds of EPoS software available, mainly because of its popularity as well as the number of online stores out there. So how do you choose which software is right for you and your business?

First of all, find out how your customers pay you. Most EPoS software allows businesses to accept online debit or credit card payments, but if you have a large number of customers paying you via PayPal, then choose the software that allows them all of these options.

Do your customers tend to order different products at once, or only one at a time? Allowing customers the flexibility of ordering single or multiple products at the same time would be to your advantage. This saves them time in having to retype their credit card information whenever they make a purchase, and also makes the whole transaction a lot faster.

Are you going to need a system that allows you to keep your customers up to date with your latest products and promotions via email? If you do, then choose an EPoS system that also includes an email broadcast feature. This will allow you to inform your customers of any sales or promotions you may be having, and also keep them updated with your latest product offerings with a single click of a button. You only need to compose your message once, and the system will send it to all of your customers with their first name in the message for a personal touch.

Deciding on which EPoS software you will use for your business is quite easy, once you determine what you need and expect the software to do for you. Mail order software will allow you to keep track of inventory, send out invoices, process payments, and generally speaking, make the whole sale transaction a lot easier for you and the customer. The only thing left to do would be to find an EPoS system that fits your budget.