9 Questions to Ask When Evaluating a New POS Software Solution

We recently heard from a leading retailer that the next point of sale software they invest in will likely be their last. Why? Because they expect it to deliver every functionality they need today, at a fair cost, and grow with them and evolve alongside their needs.

With the emergence of fully managed cloud options like GK’s cloud4retail service that deliver enterprise POS functionality of solutions like OmniPOS, you may have more questions than ever to answer when deciding not only which vendor partner to work with, but also the infrastructure and management approach that aligns most closely with their business goals and needs.

To that end, these are the nine questions every retailer should ask themselves and potential vendors before making a commitment:

1. Functionality –Does the platform offer more than the standard 8-10 core POS functions? Does it make it easy for me to do things like BOPIS that will allow me to continue expanding my unified commerce business?
2. Scalability – Does the platform architecture make it easy for the system to grow alongside my business?
3. Integration –Is the platform open and does it expose services so I can connect any kind of clients, not just a traditional POS?
4. Security –Is my data secure and where is it stored? Does the vendor partner with my data providers?
5. Customization potential –Am I buying a stock system or can I configure it to my unique specifications?
6. Offline availability –Can I still execute all business functions when the network is unavailable?
7. Price and contract structure –How will annual contracts affect my business? Will I establish a long-term relationship with regular review from a vendor I can trust?
8. Hardware agnostic –Will I be forced to buy new hardware in order to use this software or can I reuse my existing hardware?
9. Service and support –Is there a dedicated team of professionals to help me deploy, manage and resolve issues with the platform?

Fully managed cloud services now deliver all the functionality that on-premise enterprise systems do and are worth exploring for all but the absolute largest retailers. By answering these questions, you may be surprised to find that you are positioned to break free from the limitations of legacy, on-premise platforms and capitalize on the efficiencies of a fully-serviced, cloud-based POS infrastructure.

GK Software’s cloud4retail service is specifically designed to allow retailers of all sizes to use any combination of GK’s leading omnichannel applications in a fully-managed cloud environment for increased scalability, agility, accessibility and security, all with a reduced burden and cost to your IT infrastructure and staff.