Many schools today have a student store on their premises, often found next to the cafeteria. These stores may sell school apparel, accessories adorned with their school logo, light snacks and drinks, classroom supplies and even tickets to events.
These stores will function more efficiently, especially during peak times, with a good, affordable, POS (Point of Sale) system.
Here are 5 Advantages of Using a POS System in School:
1. Automation and simplification of tasks
POS systems should speed up transactions and reduce student wait time. The standardised sales procedure is easy for store personnel to learn and eliminate, most if not all, mistakes. A simple transaction takes just three steps: select the product on the screen, click the Complete Sale button, and take the money.
This is so fast that it often takes only one associate to staff the store at any given time.
2. Accuracy
Since these procedural steps are automated and validated, there will be fewer user mistakes due to keystrokes errors and/or giving incorrect change. Among the available POS systems specifically designed for schools is Store 4 Schools. This is designed in such a way that:
- The staffer can either select an item from a product button/or scan the product’s barcode using a compatible barcode scanner, thus eliminating the need to type in the product number or perform a product name lookup.
- The staffer has the option to complete transactions using: a) a student’s prepaid store account; b) any major credit card; and of course, c) cash payments.
3. Easy access and lookup of transaction history
This is especially useful when a student wants to return a product or purchase more of the same item but forgot its name or brand. Store 4 Schools has a couple ways to look up past sales. A quick look at the Latest Transactions listed on the Home Page is very useful if the purchase occurred that day, or even a couple of days ago. Alternatively a name search under Students section, will rapidly pop up a window containing all the student’s transactions.
4. Manage store/supplies/inventory management
Many POS applications, including Store 4 Schools, have a built-in inventory system which is the core of any POS. Knowing your store’s inventory at any given time is crucial in order to be profitable. You need to know what you have on hand, which products are running low, and those which have been languishing for quite some time. Store 4 Schools provides the ability for you to create and print barcoded labels to affixed to unlabeled products, or print a lists of products with their corresponding barcodes.
It should be possible for any good POS system to categorize products that some inventory can be carried and sold in the departments for which they are best suited: PE apparel, for instance. Store 4 Schools can certainly categorize products by department. Examples of these departments include:
- Bookstore – Some schools have a separate store that is only responsible for textbooks. Since Store 4 Schools runs in a web browser, the bookstore or library and could handle all book sales or manage all loans – all based over the main inventory.
- Audiovisual equipment – Similarly, loaning audiovisual equipment to students can be tracked and managed using the POS system inventory tracker. Students check out the equipment and checked it back in when their projects are completed .
5. Generate reports for analysis
Perhaps the most useful and important piece of POS systems is the ability to generate reports for analysis. You can run different reports to measure your store’s profitability and inventory status. These reports will help determine which products are the best sellers, which are the stagnant ones, which vendors provided the cheapest price, which sales staffer/clerk made the most sales over a given period, profit and loss statement, etc. In short, these reports show the school store’s profitability, and indicate where improvements might be made.
Summary
In summary, using a POS system in school is an almost standard. These systems not only ensure the efficient running of a school’s in-house store but also the effective management of the store’s inventory. Finally, POS systems provide the ability to create reports to show the store’s profitability, inventory levels, and staff sales production.
So, if your school has a store on the premises but you’re still running it the old fashioned way, consider adopting a well proven POS system and you’ll soon enjoy its benefits. Happy selling!
Based in Orange County, CA, Software 4 Schools was founded in 2008 by Ben Star and Michael Buss who were teaching at that time and who wanted to make the school’s dance ticketing run efficiently and record sales and attendance accurately. They developed their own software and have since branched out to address other tasks that their fellow teachers and school administrators find tedious and time consuming. . Click here for more information.