If you’re thinking of changing your epos system in the future here are some points to watch out for when making the selection.

Firstly consider carefully what it is that you want to achieve for your business. This will include considering what you have now and what you might be moving to. I recently met a site owner who was still operating an Edacom 10 system. When I asked why he hadn’t moved to a more up-to-date system he replied that the Edacom did everything he needed! However status quo is not always the best. So, look at your business in terms of what it’s doing now and what you want to achieve by making changes. This may include changing an because it’s old; you might be changing the shop to a c-store or having a refit.

Other pointers include: The vendor. Ensure they are equipped to manage the installation and provide you with exactly what you want and not what they want to sell you. Look at what is on offer and remember you want features and functionality over gimmicks.

Can they support your business for the hours you want? Ensure they have a clear explanation of what is being supported, the hours of cover and the service level agreement. This reveals how long the company will take to respond and how long it will take to fix your problem. A word of caution here. If you have a 24-hour site do not assume your cover will exist for that period. Likewise how many of the seven days of the week you will receive this cover. Don’t be afraid to speak with other stores that use similar systems.

Another important factor to consider is what you need the system to interface to? Can it handle your oil company credit cards? Does it interface to your shop supplier correctly? Are other interfaces required eg for car wash, e-top-up bill payment systems, back office and head office.

I suggest you write down your requirements and make a list of things to discuss with your potential supplier. Cost is critical these days but don’t forget that price is not everything. There is fierce competition in the marketplace and the usual vendors will not want to lose any sales in the current climate.

Finally, look at new players in the market they may have a refreshing take on systems, development and support. And look forward to new technologies such as self checkout.

Topics