best till/epos system for me??

danimal_2

hi guys! its my first post so go easy on me!
i am in the process of starting up a retail shop, i am going to be stocking probably 50-100 items,

im looking for anyones experiences of tills and systems to keep track of what they are selling etc?

i am not sure if i need an all singing/dancing epos system or i could get away with a more traditional till? stock control probably wouldnt be too much of an issue but i would like a till that automatically adds up the totals of what each customer buys and prints them off a receipt!

Has anyone had experience of just installing a system on a laptop and buying a receipt printer instead of buying a full system?

really dont know my elbow from my a** when it comes to till systems so any info/advice would be quality!

regards Dan

cally6008

traditional bog standard till i would imagine and then there's the credit/debit card terminal thingy as well

danimal_2

does a bog standard till print off itemised receipts though? and would it scan a barcode and come up with the price if i had input all the details before?

paulwf

It is always hard to suggest an EPOS system as it depends so much on your needs...the main variable being that I've worked in shops where you might have 10 customers a day so flexibility is more important than speed and at the other end of the scale are supermarkets where you are dealing with a constant stream of customers.

If you are dealing with a constant stream of customers then be wary of the do it yourself approach with the laptop, they are more for the low volume stores with only a couple of staff who are prepared to learn the system thoroughly as well.

I think a till with a grid system of buttons would be best. This is an example I picked totally at random just to give you an idea and in no way suggest is the best: http://www.newhorizon-systems.co.uk/product/SX-590_Black_includes_FREE_Programming_NHSX590BLK#

You can program the keys and if you lump a few products together on the same key (e.g. all drinks cans rather than separate keys for Coke, Diet Coke, lemonade etc) they can be very easy to use.

I'm not sure if you can use them with barcode scanners...I've never seen them used that way, it takes a day or two of learning where every key is then it is very quick just to use the keys if you group everything sensibly. That sort of till would give you department breakdowns so very useful for sales analysis as you don't require full stock control.

cally6008

dunno, you'll have to start hitting Google and search online for the answers to them questions