Spice caught up the guys from Square to find out about the benefits of cloud-based point-of-sale apps.

Technology is continuing to change the face of businesses everywhere. One item in particular that owners need to be able to understand and implement is the use of cloud-based point-of-sale systems.

Understanding and adopting the right point-of-sale solution can help businesses start, run and grow. It can serve sellers with a powerful suite of back office tools to provide new insights into their business, bringing with it time efficiencies and cost saving benefits.

1. Easy to set up: Cloud-based point-of-sale apps are simple to implement and set up. Once they’ve been downloaded and an account has been set up, payments can begin to be recorded right away. What’s more, many of the cloud-based apps are designed to integrate seamlessly with existing hardware such as receipt printers and cash drawers. The simple layout of the user interface within these apps means staff can be easily and quickly trained up and and feel comfortable using the app within minutes.

2. Get live sales data: The beauty of using a cloud-based point-of-sale app is mobility and remote accessibility; this means sales trends can be monitored in real time. The software can provide valuable analytics for sellers to better understand their business and their customers and monitor daily activity in real-time. Mobility is also a huge benefit – the ability for a seller to run their point of sale from a tablet or smartphone rather than a fixed point of sale gives them the flexibility to change the way they do business easily, and at no cost.

3. Internet connection isn’t always needed: The common assumption many business owners make is that to use a cloud-based point of sale it needs to be connected to the internet at all times. However, many, including Square Register, champion ‘Offline Mode’ which allow merchants to continue to run their point of sale and record transactions while offline. The data is then stored securely and will sync with the reporting dashboard as soon as a connection is resumed.

4. Nothing to lose: All of the data is stored in the cloud, which means if any hardware should fail, businesses are still able to access important information on other devices – no data recovery needed. Cloud-based point of sale apps are typically login based, so hardware failures won’t stop your business from running – the seller can simply login to their account on another device. This ensures that downtime is minimised, which is very important when running a business as it allows the seller to focus on the important things.

5. Feedback: Cloud-based point-of-sale apps such as Square Register often give the seller the chance to shift to paperless. Customers are given the option to request printed, SMS or email receipts, allowing businesses to reach customers directly and opens up a new channel of communication.