Are you setting up a new salon or spa or have an existing business in Canada? Getting a POS is one of the best ways of being able to run your business effectively. However, the market is flooded with tons of POS systems and you may not know which one to pick. Fortunately, this guide will help you make the right choice. If you are a salon expert, having a POS allows you to focus on your core business. Let us get to the details of the best salon and spa POS or till systems.
What Is A POS System for Salon & Spa
Before discussing the best POS systems for your salon and spa, let us start with the basics. It is important to understand what a POS is before choosing one. A POS refers to an electronic point of sale. It is a software platform that manages all the business’s financial aspects, including customer information, sales data, receipts, and much more.
Overall, a POS allows you to run your business effectively by automating many processes including Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It also helps in making it easier to manage inventory levels and ensuring that everything is kept in order.
A POS simplifies running your business by allowing you to view all the transactions from a centralized location. With a point of sale system, generating reports becomes extremely easy and you can even run reports that break down sales figures based on various demographics.
Why You Need a POS for Salon and Spa
When choosing a POS, there are several benefits that you will enjoy. The most obvious benefit is the automation of the business processes. It allows you to manage everything from within a single platform. This reduces human errors and makes generating reports easier.
If you have multiple employees managing your salon or spa, then a POS will allow them to do their jobs effectively. They can enter client information into the system and update it as required. A POS also allows employees to check clients’ credit history, which helps make decisions on extending credit limits to clients (loan services).
A salon POS will allow you to track inventory levels more effectively. You can also use it for tracking payments received via credit or debit cards. A POS will eliminate the need for cash at your business location. It also makes it easier to generate reports that break down sales figures based on various customer demographics and locations.
If you are looking to add additional products or services, then adding them to a POS is very simple. You can make additions from a centralized location and have it reflected across all your outlets (e.g. branches). This also simplifies daily stock management including ordering and reordering of products or services.
What Are Some Specs To Look For In A Salon & Spa POS?
Now that you understand the benefits of a POS, let us discuss some key factors to consider while picking one.
1) Reporting and Analysis:
A POS simplifies running your business by allowing you to view all the transactions from a centralized location. With a point of sale system, generating reports becomes extremely easy and it allows you to run reports that break down sales figures based on various demographics.
2) Multi-Location Support:
It is important to look for a salon POS system that has multi-location support. This allows you to manage all your locations from a single platform without having different versions of the software at each location. It also makes it easier to add and remove locations as and when required.
3) Inventory Tracking:
It is also important to pick a salon POS that supports inventory tracking. This allows you to track inventory levels of each product or service offered by your business. You can even use it for tracking payments received via credit or debit cards. It will eliminate the need for cash at your business location.
4) Customer Relationship Management (CRM):
A CRM is a software platform that helps you manage your clients/customers. It allows you to store customer information and track sales from each location. You can also use it for generating reports that break down sales figures based on various demographics.
5) Integration:
The best salon POS will allow integration with other services including email, website, etc. It also allows integration with remote services such as POS hardware and receipt printers.
Top 5 EPOS Providers for Salon and Spa
With a large number of providers in the market, it can be confusing to choose one. The 5 best providers are listed below:
VEND by Lightspeed
Vend is a POS that specializes in mobile solutions for small and medium-sized businesses. Its main focus is productivity and using technology to increase business efficiency. It makes use of cloud-based infrastructure and integrates with third-party services to offer a complete end-to-end solution. Vend is a mobile-centric solution that allows you to manage your business from anywhere as long as you have an Internet connection and a device with a browser.
Lightspeed Retail (formerly Lightspeed POS)
This retail management software platform is scalable to meet growing demands for businesses as they grow in size or open new branches. It helps them to focus on their core activities and not get bogged down by the administration of the business. It is suitable for single stylists to large chains. It also provides a centralized location where one can manage employees, sales, and inventory from any branch of the business.
Square POS
This is one of the most popular POS platforms for mobile sales. It allows you to accept credit and debit card payments from any smart device in your store. Square is a cloud-based solution that can be used on an iPad, iPhone, or Android device. It is easy to set up and allows you to start accepting payments immediately after installation.
ShopKeep by Lightspeed
ShopKeep has developed this POS solution with independent retailers in mind, ensuring that they meet their needs effectively without putting them under too much pressure. A user-friendly interface is combined with a large number of features to offer great value for money. The POS solution is also scalable to meet your growing demands as your business grows or expands into new markets and locations.
Salon Iris
Salon Iris is a cloud-based POS solution that allows you to run all your business operations from a single platform. The software offers various add-ons for managing stock, tracking expenses, accounting, and reporting among many others. It also integrates with leading point of sale providers such as Square, Sage Intacct, and QuickBooks.
Final Thoughts
Salon& Spa POS Software is here to stay and the benefits that it offers will only increase in time. Salon POS software will improve your business operations significantly. As a stylist, you no longer have to worry about missing appointments or taking payments manually. Your day-to-day administration tasks are also much easier thanks to this software.
With this guide, we sincerely hope you are more informed about the salon POS system, which can help your business! It is now more important than ever to choose the best salon POS software for your business. Your feedback is important and we would like to hear from you in the comment section below.