The point-of-sale is the cornerstone of any retail business. Without it, managing a store would be a complete nightmare. In 2019, POS systems can do more than ever before. Through powerful cloud-based functions, they help you manage your inventory quicker, run sales on the go, give your accurate reports wherever you are, synchronize with your accounting software, help you share on social, and so much more.
What does it mean to be cloud-based?
Well, it’s kind of a wonky term. Microsoft Azure, one of the largest computing services in the world describes it as:
“…cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—including servers, storage, databases, networking, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet to offer faster innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.”
The key point being, you do less technical work, maintenance, and we’ll provide you with everything you need for a recurring cost. Your store will save money, stress, time, and is always be up to date and running more efficiently.
Almost everything you use today is cloud-based.
You might be surprised to find out that just about every digital tool you use is cloud-based. Be honest with yourself, when was the last time you put a CD in a computer and ran an installer program? In fact, most computers today don’t even come with disc drives. The tech world has quickly moved on, and the point-of-sale industry is finally catching up.
Think of the tools and programs you use every day, whether it be for personal or business use:
- Google Drive
- Gmail
- Slack
- Spotify
- Apple Music
- Netflix
- Hulu
- OneNote
- QuickBooks
Even professional business tools like Microsoft Office and Adobe Creative Suite now offer online versions of their programs.
It’s not like you had to order a disc from Google to use their services. It’s all web-based. In 2019, there is absolutely no excuse for a small business tool to be an installed system. It is outdated, legacy, and so far behind what is capable of modern software solutions.
Why Cloud-Based Programs Are Superior For Retail
Now that we know most platforms today are cloud-based, here are the biggest reasons why:
Updates & Improvements
Probably the biggest benefit of them all is consistent, regular updates. Businesses, technology, practices, and the way people shop changes all the time. Well-run software companies understand this and regularly update their products. They also typically offer these changes for free! In the past two years, Ricochet has released 2 massive design overhauls of the software, over 20 major features, and everybody got those for free! Rather than paying a large sum of money upfront for a fixed version that can quickly go out-of-date, cloud-based software always keeps up with the latest trends.
Security & Data Integrity
Data, confidentiality, and security are a very important topic! The good news is that effect cloud-based systems operate on extremely secure platforms. If you are using your own computer with install-based software, all of your businesses’ information is dependent on your computer never failing. While those odds are small, the chances of an entire enterprise server network crashing are minuscule. Companies like Ricochet also create automatic backups of your data. So it’s almost impossible for anything to ever go wrong.
User-friendliness
Have you used old software recently? Remember the original iPhone?
At the time, the user interface was revolutionary! But barely 12 years later, it would be completely unusable. There are lots of POS systems that still use design practices from the 1990s. Regular updates and changes with cloud-based systems keep up with the best of design practices out there, making sure that the tools are always simple to understand and feel more intuitive.
Hardware Adaptability
Along with constant design updates, many tools like Ricochet also push back-end updates to support more hardware. A receipt printer today is very different than one from 10 years ago. If your software never changes or updates, you’ll be stuck with old hardware. With Ricochet, you can always use the latest, most beautiful and functional devices for your store. Impress your customers with a powerful iPad POS and wireless devices with Ricochet’s latest app development.
Affordability
This is an often debated topic. Yes, most cloud-based companies will bill you monthly or annually to use the software. Yes, as long as you’re using the tool, you have to pay for it. But, in most situations, the benefits dramatically outweigh the costs. Plus, traditional software companies will often pressure you to “upgrade” to their latest version, just to bill you all over again for a simple update. With Ricochet, your monthly bill stays the same while your company grows. You always get the latest version, unlimited support, unlimited products, unlimited use, unlimited users, unlimited staff, and so much more for a single, monthly price.
Ricochet could be the POS system your store is looking for.
We’ve been changing the challenging the consignment industry for years now. As the first to bring modern software and design practices to the segment, there was a lot of confusion and debate about the benefits of cloud-based software. Now as a strong competitor in the retail space, Ricochet has grown dramatically and is empowering stores all over the world with modern, capable, and elegant software solutions like never before.
If you’re already running a store, or are thinking about opening one (first of all, congrats!), then perhaps Ricochet could help your business with more affordable and powerful point-of-sale solutions. You can try Ricochet for free for 14-days.
