All About The Hardware Requirements For Setting Up A Shopify POS
One of the most important components to consider while setting up your business is the POS (Point Of Sale) system. It is where the real financial transactions between you and your customer take place. Unless you have a smooth, easy to operate, efficient, swift and accurate POS, you could have issues with customers and end up wasting your time over routine tasks. 
What Are POS Systems?
When customers pay for goods and services at your store, they have made a point-of-sale transaction. Modern, technologically-advanced POS systems can also handle inventory, sales reporting, and customer management, without requiring multiple components such as cash registers, manual accounts, bookkeeping, etc.
Typically, POS systems should enable digital scanning/counting of products, identifying inventory items according to their unique serial numbers, tracking/reporting inventory levels in various places, consolidating orders, customizing or reordering according to popularity, etc.
These systems comprise software and hardware components.
POS systems enable customers to pay for products and services
Hardware Requirements For POS Systems
There are certain essential physical components that are needed to set up a fully functioning POS system. They can be bundled with or without the software, based on your requirements. The CPU that runs the system may have proprietary software from your POS vendor, or it may have a standard OS. Remember that this system should be used only for handling sales, generating reports, and managing inventory. Avoid using this system for your other transactions, personal e-mail, Internet browsing, chatting, entertainment, etc.
Typical hardware components include:
Monitor: or a device that displays the product database for salespersons. It may also provide functions like employee login, sales report display, etc. Tablets are more convenient to view large reports and databases. Flat-screen LCD monitors are more compact, while touch screens are faster and also save counter space. Latest update The Best Invitation Ideas for Different Events.
Customer displays or pole displays are other forms of the monitor, where the customer can view each transaction as it happens, along with prices and total payable amount. Some pole displays can be used for advertising discounts, offers, loyalty programs, etc.
Bar-code scanners are available in a range of sizes and technologies. From the small, hand-held ones that you see in smaller store checkout counters, to the large embedded ones in big supermarkets, these are accurate, time-saving, and efficient devices that are ideal for quickly dealing with multiple purchases for a single customer. They can also perform other functions like inventory management and automatically monitoring stock levels.
Card readers: and signature capture devices help enable the payment transaction. New regulations have made EMV-compliant card readers mandatory. In some cases, the monitor or keyboard itself may have a magnetic stripe reader. You only need a PIN pad to input the customer’s PIN. These devices are also useful in enabling gift cards, loyalty programs, etc.
Printers for issuing receipts: This component prints out a transaction record for the customer in the form of a receipt. The available types include dot-matrix printers, thermal printers, those that include check readers, and those that use MICR technology, etc. You need to ensure there is adequate stock of supplies that are needed for your printer, and if it’s integrated into your POS, connectivity cables are essential.
Cash drawer: is used to store money, card receipts, transaction records, etc. It is an automated device that is integrated with the printer or other hardware and opens when it receives the signal.
These components give you the facilities to tag a customer’s sale/transaction, keep track of these transactions for every customer, record details of each customer’s name, date of birth, phone number, email id, etc. and contact them via phone or email. Some systems may also have features like loyalty programs, etc.
Purchasing The Right Equipment
If you already own some hardware, you may be able to patch it in while migrating from another platform. Doing so can save you money, but it’s important to get the right advice from an experienced technician.
Shopify card readers are available in the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland at affordable prices. These devices allow you to take advantage of low credit card swipe rates using Shopify Payments. They can be plugged directly into your own POS device. Customer signatures can be input directly on to the screen, and they will be safely stored online.
You may want to know where to purchase printers, bar-code scanners, cash registers, etc. It’s important to select a reliable brand that matches your needs, preferences, and budget. Shopify Hardware Stores in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland can provide you with the right hardware kits. In other countries, you can purchase supported hardware from authorized resellers.
