As modern retail technology continues to evolve, businesses adopt new ways to improve both their operations and customer experience.
One piece of technology making significant strides forward in recent years is the mobile point-of-sale (POS) system.
Mobile POS systems offer much more than just the ability to process payments. They can help streamline operations, reduce costs and enhance service delivery across many industries ranging from restaurants to boutiques, as well as independent contractors.
In this article we’ll cover the key advantages offered by mobile POS systems, and how they can enhance performance and give your business a competitive edge in the marketplace.
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Mobile Point of Sale (mPOS) systems are revolutionising the way businesses handle transactions, offering flexibility and convenience by turning smartphones and tablets into fully functional sales terminals. This technology is useful to anyone who regularly accepts or processes payments, so read along if that sounds like you. But first, what does a POS system do?
Put simply, POS stands for Point of Sale. A POS system is the hardware and software that allows businesses to manage sales transactions and accept various payment methods. It has a credit card reader to accept payments so both businesses and customers can go through the checkout process efficiently when making purchases in store. POS systems come in all shapes and sizes, so in this blog we'll explain all there is to know about mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) systems to help you streamline your payment process.
What are the key benefits of mPOS?
Let’s take a quick look a the 7 key advantages provided by mobile POS systems:
- Ease of use
- Cost effectiveness
- Ability to receive payments anywhere & anytime
- Improved customer experience
- Wide variety of payment options
- Customer data tracking
- Inventory management
Now let’s dive into the details and look at each of these benefits more closely.
The latest generations of mPOS apps enable anyone with a tablet or smartphone to set up their POS system quickly and easily.
Mobile POS systems are easy to use
The latest generations of mPOS apps enable anyone with a tablet or smartphone to set up their POS system quickly and easily. Most mPOS apps are compatible with both Android and iOS devices, which means you can download them from either Google Play or the Apple Store.
What makes these mobile POS systems unique is that they don’t even require additional POS hardware like mobile card readers, barcode scanners or printers. Instead, they use your device's camera for scanning barcodes at checkout.
This approach eliminates the need for additional hardware, which not only makes POS set up easier, but also cuts down on costs significantly.
Using mPOS is highly cost effective
As mentioned above, the latest generations of mPOS apps don’t require any additional hardware, which makes them highly affordable and cost effective for startup businesses.
For some apps you’ll need to pay a monthly subscription, but for others (such as Pebl), you don’t even need to pay any upfront fees. Instead, you’ll get charged a small percentage of every payment processed with the app.
Since many small businesses launch with limited capital, the low cost of mobile POS solutions is extremely beneficial for them.
What are the Advantages of a Mobile POS System?
Here’s some key advantages of a mobile POS system. For more points, read our article on the 7 key benefits of mPOS devices.
- Mobility and Flexibility: Unlike traditional countertop POS systems, an mPOS system is portable, allowing businesses to move the terminal to wherever the customer is, enhancing the customer experience by reducing wait times and enabling more personalised interactions.
- Ideal for Businesses without Permanent Locations: The portability of mobile POS systems makes them perfect for pop-up shops, food trucks, and vendors at fairs or markets. Even service-based businesses like home repair or cleaning services can process transactions on-site without the need for complex setups
- Supports Multiple Payment Methods: Mobile POS devices can handle various payment options, such as contactless credit or debit cards, mobile wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and even QR code payments, providing customers with better service and convenience.
- Industry-Specific Features: Some mPOS solutions are tailored to the needs of the food and beverage industry, allowing orders to be sent directly from servers to kitchens or enabling customers to place their own orders at the table.
- Lower Investment Costs: Compared to full-size POS terminals, mPOS systems require a lower initial investment, making them an affordable option for small businesses with limited budgets looking to quickly start taking payments.
- Enhanced Security: Mobile POS systems are designed with secure payment processing in mind. They handle the entire transaction within the mPOS terminal, ensuring no sensitive data is stored elsewhere, which enhances security and reduces risks for small businesses.
mPOS allows you to receive payments anywhere & anytime
One of the principal advantages that mPOS offers is the flexibility of accepting payments from anywhere at any time. With an mPOS, you're not restricted to a fixed counter or checkout station; instead, the sales process can happen right where your customer is.
This could be inside your store, at craft fairs and trade shows, or on your customer’s doorsteps (if you're offering home-repair services or consulting), or even outdoors at a fair or in a food truck.
The mobile nature of mPOS means that queues are shortened and wait times reduced significantly; there's less friction at checkout leading to improved customer experience and loyalty. Mobility also empowers sales associates to improve their interactions as they're not just tied behind a counter but can engage more effectively with clients on many levels.
Even outside of business hours, mobile POS allows you to process payments around the clock, serving customers across different time zones with ease. This aspect of mPOS affords small and large-scale businesses alike an easy way to process transactions irrespective of location or time.
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