How to implement a POS system - a step-by-step guide

A cutting-edge POS system will undoubtedly enhance your retail business, but you need to ensure the implementation process is effective. This blog post will provide you with what you need to know to achieve a smooth transition.

It’s also good to know that implementation is the journey's first step. To stay ahead of the competition, you need to keep progressing. That’s why choosing a scalable, cloud-native system with seamless functionality is important. These systems allow you to continuously develop your business without costly upgrades, time-consuming IT projects, and potential downtime.

Why do you need a modern POS system?

Before we get started on implementation, let’s have a quick look at the advantages of modern, cloud-native POS systems:

Scalability: cloud-native systems scale along with your growing business, eliminating the need for costly modifications and upgrades
Accessibility: a modern POS system is easily accessible from different devices
Inventory management: track your inventory effectively in real-time for a better overview
Campaign management: manage complex campaigns and promotions with ease
Security: cloud-native POS systems encrypt transactions and customer data to keep them safe from cyber attacks
Sales reporting and analytics: gain access to meaningful business data
Integrations: modern POS solutions are designed to be easily integrated with other technical platforms, such as accounting systems
Customer management: personalize campaigns and loyalty programs
Employee management: keep track of employee hours, schedules, performance, and payroll
Checkout tools: effective, accurate checkouts with scanning and auto-pricing

Implementing a POS system - a step-by-step guide

Step 1: assessing your POS needs

First off, you need to understand your unique business requirements and base your POS brief on them:

How big is your transaction volume?
Is there a need for advanced warehouse/inventory tracking and reporting?
How many employees will be using the POS?
Is there a need for CRM functionality and/or CRM integrations?
Does the POS need to be integrated with accounting?
How is the current hardware setup, and will additional hardware be required?

In this stage, it’s also good to get input from the staff who will be using the POS system. Make sure the system has functionalities to ease common pain points, e.g. inefficiencies, security issues, stress factors, and other similar problems. It is crucial to get this stage right, so you have a solid basis for your implementation plan in place.

Step 2: finding the right vendor

Now, you know more about your unique POS needs. Step 2 is finding the vendor that best matches your business requirements. Some POS systems and vendors are tailored to certain business types, and it’s also important to check customer testimonials, reviews, and other forms of word-of-mouth. In the vendor selection phase, it’s also important to once again engage the staff. Let them give their input, so the system makes a difference in their day-to-day work.

You also have to figure out who will perform the POS setup. Your POS vendor is usually able to help you out with the process. Another option is hiring a consultant or a firm to assist with the implementation. You can also do it yourself.

Did you find an interesting system, but you’re still not sure if it’s the right fit? Some providers, such as Extenda Retail, offer trials, demos, or other ways to explore the product before you make your final decision. Testing the POS out live is a good way to learn if it’s right for your business.

Step 3: implementation plan

A successful POS implementation requires an appropriate and detailed implementation plan. Some things that should be included are:

Business requirements: what do your specific business needs look like? What are your must-haves? What devices will you use?
Budget: what does your short-term and long-term budget look like?

Employee/team input and requirements: gather internal input about the POS implementation, and make sure all stakeholders are on board

Provider selection: compare different providers (e.g. by listing pros and cons) to identify the one most suited for your business

Set up and organization: who will be responsible for the implementation? What does the timeline look like

Training: who will train the users, and how will it be organized? Is there an internal point person? How can the POS vendor help out?

Deployment: when and how will the POS be deployed, and what needs to be done to make sure it goes smoothly?

Optimization: how will the POS setup be followed up on and improved over time?

Step 4: staff training and onboarding

The employees need to be trained in using the system, and it’s important to focus on the most common tasks and challenges in the business. Some POS vendors offer staff training as part of the implementation, which can be practical. Choosing an intuitive, easy-to-understand platform will ease the learning curve and accelerate the training. It will also make future onboarding of new users much easier.

You should also identify an internal point person; a staff member who can dedicate time to learning and understanding the POS system in-depth. Having a point person in place makes it easier to handle issues internally, instead of reaching out to customer support for basic questions. The staff training phase is also a good time to establish guidelines and best practices, e.g. how the system and equipment should be used (and not used) in the business.

Step 5: integrations, testing and deployment

After finding and choosing the right system, it’s time to test and deploy it. First off, you need to set up your product inventory, user accounts, and payment solutions. You also need to connect your hardware and integrate the POS with other business systems, such as accounting and warehouse solutions.

Set up and upload your product inventory, user accounts, hardware, payments, and integrations. This part is much easier if you choose a system known for smooth, effective integrations. To make deployment easy, our solution Hii Checkout comes with a bundle of all the APIs you need to integrate the POS with other parts of the business.

Step 6: continuous training and development

Having a quality POS system in place is a great start, but it’s just the beginning. If you choose a cloud-native solution, many updates and new functions will likely be implemented without costly projects and disruptions.

You’ll be able to reap the benefits of having all your customer data in one place, increasing customer satisfaction and forming new market strategies. Step by step, you’ll get ahead of the competition by doing things in more and more innovative and effective ways.

Hii Retail - super fast implementation and time to market

The Hii Checkout POS system from Extenda Retail is known for its fast implementation. Simple integrations, global scaling, automatic deployment, and other features ensure you get going fast. The solution includes:

Hii Checkout App: Hardware-agnostic web app that can make any device into a checkout. Our headless, API-first approach allows you to build your app or use ours
Hii Checkout Engine: unified pricing and promotions across all channels and devices, and products can be checked in or out of the cart from anywhere at any time
Hii Checkout Hub: an expanding library of checkout microservices and APIs, handling data transfers, allowing you to configure your checkouts based on what your business needs
Hii Connect: dedicated microservices and APIs for integrations to 3rd party complimentary / add-on applications and peripheral solutions, such as vouchers, electronic items, gift cards, mobile payments, and more

Hii Retail In Store: Dedicated application for store staff to manage essential backend checkout-related processes.