EPoS stands for “Electronic Point of Sale” and is commonly used when describing both the software and hardware used to efficiently and accurately record the sale or movement of goods or services within a business. You don’t need to be a retailer to make use of EPoS; many businesses including restaurants, hair dressing salons and fast food outlets make use of EPoS in some way or another with the common goal of becoming more efficient.
When you are thinking about EPoS the most obvious thing that springs to mind is the check-out used when you are paying for goods or services. More often than not your transaction will be processed through an EPoS terminal, which could be a cash register linked to a barcode scanner or more recently a terminal which offers you touch free transactions. Far from being a device that simply calculates your final bill, the EPoS system will usually be recording the movement of the goods which you are buying and will be adjusting the physical stock levels within the business. By calculating inventory in this way the business has far less need for manual and time consuming stock counts and can re-order goods with far more accuracy and confidence.
As anyone would expect when paying for good or services, the EPoS system will issue the shopper with a printed receipt via the installed hardware.
In a typical retail outlet the EPoS hardware and software would typically include:
- Monitors
- Computer
- Cash drawers
- Receipt printers
- Customer display units
- Barcode readers
- Debit card / credit card readers
- In grocery stores and supermarkets you will also often see weight scales.
