point of sale (POS) is the time and place where a retail transaction is completed. It is the point at which a customer makes a payment to the merchant in exchange for goods or after provision of a service.
At the point of sale, the merchant would prepare an invoice for the customer (which may be a cash register printout) or otherwise calculate the amount owed by the customer and provide options for the customer to make payment. After receiving payment, the merchant will also normally issue a receipt for the transaction.
POS in various retail situations would use customized hardware and software tailored to their particular requirements. Retailers may utilize weighing scales, scanners, electronic and manual cash registers, EFTPOS terminals, touch screens and a variety of other hardware and software available.
Pos Option a grocery or candy store may use a scale at the point of sale, while a bar and restaurant may use software to customize the item or service sold when a customer has a meal or drink request.
point of sale is often referred to as the point of service because it is not just a point of sale but also a point of return or customer order. Additionally, today POS software may include additional features to cater for different functionality, such as inventory management, CRM, financials, warehousing, etc.
However retailers and marketers will often refer to the area around the checkout instead as the point of purchase (POP) when they are discussing it from the retailer's perspective. This is particularly the case when discussing planning and design of the area as well as a marketing strategy and offers.
Point of sale vendors refer to their POS system as "Retail Management System" which is actually a more appropriate term given that this software is no longer just about processing sales but comes with many other capabilities like inventory management,issuing of purchase orders, quotations and stock transfers, barcode label creation, sale reporting and in some cases remote outlets networking or linkage, to name some major ones.
retail point of sale system typically includes a cash register (which in recent times comprises a computer, monitor, cash drawer, receipt printer, customer display and a barcode scanner) and the majority of retail POS systems also include a debit/credit card reader.
It can also include a conveyor belt, weight scale, integrated credit card processing system, a signature capture device and a customer pin pad device.
While the system may include a keyboard and mouse, more and more POS monitors use touch-screen technology for ease of use, and a computer is built into the monitor chassis for what is referred to as an all-in-one unit. All-in-one POS units liberate counter space for the retailer.
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