Choosing the right Point of Sale vendor, to assist with your Point of Sale implementation and support, is what most often makes for a successful or unsuccessful project. When choosing a Point of Sale vendor you should carefully evaluate the following criteria:
· Years in Business: the Point of Sale industry is quite mature today. There is no reason to choose a vendor that is just entering the industry. Choose a vendor that has a track record and preferably has been in business for a minimum of 5 years.
· Financial Stability: you plan on growing your business and you need a vendor you can count on in the future. Choose a vendor that has shown long term financial stability. Do no hesitate to ask for a D&B rating and current financial statements.
· Number of customers: choose a vendor that has a minimum of 100 customers. Smaller vendors with less than 100 customers may lack experience and longevity in the market.
· Retail Experience: we cannot overemphasize the importance of choosing a vendor that has experience in retail operations. A vendor that is staffed with technicians who understand retail will add invaluable expertise to your implementation, training and ongoing support.
· References: your vendor should be able to supply at least 10 single or multi store references that are similar to your retail business operation.
· Training Services: your vendor needs to be able to provide retail training services. At a minimum they should be able to take you through the topics of implementation, inventory entry, purchasing and receiving, point of sale and reports. Ask your prospective vendor for a training catalog out lining their training courses.
· Support Services: Support is the most critical thing of all! Your business will suffer when the system goes down if you do not have a vendor that can support the software you purchased. Your vendor should offer support during the standard business hours and most importantly should offer emergency technical support after hours, weekends and holidays for critical support issues. Look for a vendor that has a variety of support plans, including unlimited support plans for a flat fee, discounted support incident plans, and single incident plans that suit your needs and budget.
· Software Updates: ask your vendor how often software updates are released. How will you receive software updates? Are there any extra charges for getting an update?
· Customization Services: you may need to convert inventory, vendor and customer information from a previous Point of Sale system. Choose a vendor that has experience doing inventory conversions. In addition, you may want the software to do a function differently than it does out of the box, or require data to be sent or linked to another system in your operation. Choose a vendor that is competent in doing a customization to your software when needed. Ask the vendor for references for other customizations and inventory conversions they have completed for customers.
· Plan for Growth: Choose a vendor that can support your business as you grow. If you think you might be expanding your chain out of state, or even out of the area, your vendor has to be able to handle this expansion. You do not want a different vendor for different regions of the country.
