Hotels have them, supermarkets have them, maybe even your church has one, but you are still not quite sure that your small business (a cafe, a hardware, a boutique, a salon, a curio stand, etc) needs a Point of Sale (POS) system. Well, let’s find out.

What Is A POS System?

First of all, a point of sale refers to the time and place where a buyer and seller complete a monetary transaction for the payment of goods or services.

Therefore, a POS system software is a technology that allows these money transfers to be conducted electronically at that time and place.

It typically involves a monitor (tablet, phone, etc) and a card reader, which are connected to a backend system.

Why A POS System Matters?

Understandably new technology, especially financial, can be intimidating but this article offers you several reasons why the POS system could be a welcomed development in your Kenyan small business.

• Security – We have probably heard stories of small business owners who have been robbed of their cash in their stores or on their way to the bank, or stories of owners whose employees have dipped their hands into the cash drawer or failed to hand in all the cash received from customers.
  • The POS system transfers money from the customer’s bank account directly into the business bank account.
  • Cashless transactions are generally safer since contact with potentially infected cash is minimized. E.g. Reduce transmission of infections like COVID-19.

• Greater flexibility – While mobile money systems equally allow cashless transactions, they are tend to restrict users to a particular network.
  • This is not the case with POS systems because they read credit, debit and even prepaid cards from multiple banks affiliated with global payment processing networks like MasterCard or Visa.
  • This not only makes it available to a larger local population, but also a foreigners.
  • Therefore, curio stands and other small businesses catering to tourists, as well as these customers, can easily enjoy this safe and convenient technology.

• Efficiency – Advanced POS systems such as Cloud POS even allow customers to remotely transact on e-commerce websites, from any part of the world.

• Smarter management solutions – Not only do they conveniently facilitate transactions, but;
  • POS systems also enable small businesses to manage their inventory, take stock of their sales through generated sales reports,
  • POS systems assess employee performance since indicated in each transaction is the name of the conducting employee.

• Enhance customer relations – The business can capture customer information such as name, age and phone number, as well as track their purchase history through the system. No more need for multiple registers and Excel sheets.

Available POS Systems In Kenya

There are several POS systems that Kenyan businesses can choose from, such as Equity Bank Mobile POS, POSmart Systems, UzaPoint and CompuLynx. One should judge based on cost, reach, convenience, unique needs and security level.