10 Winner POS Systems for Businesses that Thrive

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StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |POS System|10 Winner POS Systems for Businesses that ThriveThe Point-of-Sale system, popularly known as POS, is one of the must-have tools of business owners who want their businesses to thrive. 54% of businesses now use POS to process transactions, and the total number of POS users is expected to reach 85.6m by 2025.

Why is POS the current most sought-after tool for many business owners? What advantage can POS have on your business? And what are the top POS systems to use?

This article answers all these questions in detail.

What is a POS system?

A POS system is an electronic device used by business owners to accept credit card payments and complete business transactions. A POS system is equipped with a POS terminal and software that enables sales transactions to take place.

How can a POS system improve sales for your business?

As a business owner, your ultimate goal is to reach your sales goals. And the way to go about it is to ensure you create a seamless experience for your customers and perform business transactions efficiently.

The good news is that a POS helps you achieve this and much more. Let’s check out the different ways a POS system can help grow your business.

Increased productivity

A POS system helps you get more things done.

Rather than checking balances and accounts for business transactions with manual documentation, you can easily automate all these activities with a POS system.

This means you won’t have to spend so much time trying to document daily transactions because your POS system does all the work for you.

Through this, you have enough time to focus on other aspects of your business that matter.

You will give more attention to your customers during purchases and satisfy them with top-notch customer service. The result of this? A great customer experience that paves the way for high customer retention.

Provides you with actionable data

One of the invaluable assets a business owner can have is access to vital data.

Besides providing you with your customer data, a reliable POS system gives you insights into what you have in stock and the items running out of stock.

This means you will never run out of stock on any purchase unaware, making you a dependable business owner for all your customers.

Your customers can always count on you when they need you, which increases your chances of getting high returning customers.

What’s more? You can work with the stock data your POS system provides you with to know what goods are doing well and what goods are not.

With this, you know what item to stock more and what things to put on hold. This reduces the rate of damaged goods and ensures you don’t run at a loss in your business.

Keeps your customers updated

A POS system isn’t just a medium for you to complete sales transactions with your customers. You can maximize the POS functions to impact your business by making it an effective marketing tool.

To make this happen, you can install the capture feature on your POS device to keep your customers abreast of the latest offers and promotions or new products available.

With this strategy, you can guarantee your customers will never miss a thing on your offerings and products. This simple technique can contribute to increasing sales for your business.

StrategyDriven Tactical Execution Article |POS System|10 Winner POS Systems for Businesses that Thrive10 Highly sought-after POS systems for your business in 2021

When purchasing a POS system for your business, it’s important to opt for one that provides you with all the functions your business needs to excel. Below are the ten most coveted Point of Sale systems for 2021 to consider.

1. Lightspeed

Lightspeed is one of the best Point of Sale systems for businesses that manage large and complex inventories.

Lightspeed helps you create several product bundles, put multiple variants in different sections, and run numerous orders from a centralized catalog.

Lightspeed gives you detailed analytics on items’ costs and items running out of stock so you can stock up before things run out.

You can access reports from any location and track your inventory from anywhere. Lightspeed offers the convenience that makes trading easy for small and large businesses.

What’s more? Lightspeed comes with an easy-to-use platform that makes transactions easy, and you won’t have to break a sweat to train your staff to sell and take payments anywhere.

2. Square POS

Square POS is one of the most prominent POS systems used worldwide. One of the main reasons Square POS is among the top list of the best POS systems is its flexibility.

Its flexibility allows you to accept payments en-route or through standup terminals.

Whether you own a coffee shop, grocery store, or you run an online business, Square POS allows you to complete your sales transactions in the most convenient way for you.

You don’t have to purchase POS hardware if you don’t want to; you can convert your phone to your POS solution. There are also several options to choose from to suit your needs if you want a POS hardware system.

3. Helcim

Helcim Card Reader is famous for its multi-functionality.

It doesn’t only allow you to make online transactions wirelessly; it allows you to create and design your store online.
With easy-to-use templates and interfaces, you don’t have to be a designer or web developer to set up your website in minutes.

Helcim also enables you to make and accept payments from all your devices.

This means you don’t have to always be on your desktop or in your store to take and complete payments; you can make sales transactions while you are on the go, on your tablet, or mobile phone.

4. PayCafe

PayCafe is among the best POS systems to use if you plan to run your online store simultaneously with your physical store.
It enables you to complete your sales transactions from one place by allowing you to make and receive payments from online transactions and physical transactions.

PayCafe also provides you with reliable data to work with. It gives you insights on your customers’ transactions, and how well your store is doing so you can make changes and devise new strategies for what works and what doesn’t.

5. Shopify

Shopify is among the most common POS Systems among business owners who accept payment transactions across multiple channels.

Shopify POS integrates your business transactions in one place so you can take and make payments seamlessly on any platform.

Shopify POS offers inventory management and detailed analytics. It comes with features that let you sell on social media while you are on the go and also on third-party market platforms.

Due to the effective integration Shopify POS offers for your online store and in-person store, your customers can make payments online and pick up, exchange or return purchased items from your physical store.

6. ShopKeep

Shopkeep is one of the most common POS systems used by small business owners to facilitate business transactions.

ShopKeep is easy and straightforward to use, which gives you and your customers an enjoyable user experience.

ShopKeep also comes with a Mobile App that keeps you updated about your business metrics so you can keep tabs on your business wherever you are.

7. TorchBistro

TorchBistro is a functional POS system for business owners in the food industry. So, if you run a restaurant, club, or bar, TorchBistro is your go-to POS system.

It comes with several functions such as table management, staff management, inventory management, data analytics, and much more.

TorchBistro lets you take orders online with your POS hardware or software. You can also purchase both and use them simultaneously for the success of your business.

8. Revel

Revel is one of the best POS transactions for businesses that run transactions from several platforms.
It offers a centralized system that enables you to take and make payments from different platforms from one comprehensive place.

A unique feature of the Revel app is its ability to enable you to perform transactions even when you don’t have a connection, as it makes use of both the cloud and your local network to store your data.

9. Toast POS System

Toast POS system is one of the ideal POS systems for restaurants as it was explicitly customized for food-based businesses.
It comes with all the functions to facilitate sales for your restaurant business. Such as table mapping, inventory management for ingredients in store, and the feature enables you to take online orders.

Toast offers other features that let you manage your staff effectively. Such as automated payroll and labor reports features.

10. POS Nation

POS Nation is designed to be one of the best POS systems for liquor and convenience stores.

It comes with functional features like actionable analytics on sales and employees—inventory management on carton packs, purchase orders, stock details, and many more.

POS Nation doesn’t only allow you to complete sales transactions and keep track of business activities; it is equipped with built-in ID scanning and age verification features that guide you through selling to the right people.

Conclusion

A POS system is an essential tool to facilitate your business success as it offers flexible payment methods and business analytics. This article discussed the top 10 POS systems you can employ to build a thriving business. Before you proceed to choose your POS system, be sure to check out each review to help you make spot-on decisions.

5 Indications You’re Cut Out for a Job in Customer Service

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Customer service|5 Indications You're Cut Out for a Job in Customer ServiceContrary to a common misconception, customer service is not merely hearing complaints and speaking politely to customers; it is a critical component of any successful business operations. By ensuring high-quality customer service, any organization can build a favorable reputation in their industry, attract new customers, and keep a loyal client base.

Given its relevance, it is not surprising that customer service jobs have always been in demand in the Philippines. If you are interested in entering this industry for career advancement opportunities and financial gain, know that this sector is not for everyone. You need specific skills, personality traits, and qualities to succeed.

To ascertain if you are cut out for a position in customer service, below are several signs that you may want to consider. If most of them ring true to you, then there is a good chance that you will thrive in this field of work.

You Have a Way with Words

Although communication skills are necessary for customer service, the job entails more than merely speaking fluently and calmly. Customer service representatives should be able to relay awkward things or give unpleasant news in a way that does not upset or irritate the clients. However, it is worth noting that having a way with words is not about lying but packaging the message in a more palatable manner.

For instance, instead of giving an outright refusal to a customer request that is against company policy, you can tell the client that you will see what you can do about the issue and inform them about the result the following day. In the interim, make sure to see what else you can do to help the customer that may not be violative of your company policy. When you call the next day, the client will most likely be receptive whether you’ve found another way to help them or your reply to the original request is unfavorable. Either way, this will send the message that you tried your best to resolve the issue.

You Are Cool as Ice

Answering calls, addressing different concerns, and dealing with frustrated people all day can be taxing and emotionally draining. That is why customer service representatives should be patient enough to deal with all types of individuals and concerns without taking things too personally.

Think about how you deal with friends and acquaintances and the different circumstances in your daily life. Are you easily irritated when things do not go your way? Do you tend to lash out at others when they act rudely?

If you answer affirmatively to the above questions, you probably need to develop the value of patience before seeking a position in customer service. Take note that unless you have the ability to remain calm and unperturbed in any situation, you will probably have a difficult time staying and growing in the customer service profession.

You Have a Positive Outlook

One study published in the Journal of International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences found that more than 50 percent of customer service representatives in Metro Manila are high in cynicism due to the nature of the work environment. The finding is understandable, considering that individuals working in this sector are getting beat down by bad-mannered and frustrated customers on a daily basis. It is easy to believe the worst in people if you encounter the not-so-nice ones regularly.

That said, a customer service representative should have a positive outlook to remain happy and satisfied in their work despite frequent interaction with unpleasant clients. Positive people focus on the good things, are inherently grateful, and do not dwell on things they cannot control. They are proactive and see opportunities in all circumstances. If those around you often comment on your positive energy and optimism, you will probably be effective in assisting frustrated customers and keeping the spirit up of those around you.

You Are Highly Adaptable to Change

Customer service work is unpredictable. Apart from the system continuously evolving, there is no way of knowing what types of calls a customer service agent will receive throughout the day. There might be a downtime for a certain period followed by multiple phone calls nearing the end of office hours. Even work schedules can be erratic.

How do you usually react to changes and instability? Perhaps you are hardly bothered by surprises, or you are thrilled with the idea of not knowing what to expect. If that is the case, working as a customer representative could be a good fit.

You Maintain Long-Lasting Relationships

As mentioned above, effective customer service is about making clients feel valued by the company. That is why people working in the industry should be genuinely interested in people and build customer relationships. Doing so means remembering client names, being sensitive to their needs, and addressing their concerns in the most efficient manner.

To determine if you have this ability, you may want to assess your personal relationships. If you make friends effortlessly, get along with everyone, and maintain long-term friendships, then you might be suited to work in the customer service sector.

The items discussed above are just some of the essential indications that an individual is well-matched for a job in customer service. Ponder on them to see if they speak to you. If your desire to pursue a position in the field becomes stronger, or if the job becomes even more interesting, you should seriously consider joining the customer service industry today.

Advice for Setting Up Your Home or Mobile Video Studio

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StrategyDriven Online Marketing and Website Development Article, Advice for Setting Up Your Home or Mobile Video StudioNot too long ago, producing and broadcasting videos could only be done from a professional film or television studio and required a lot of expensive, specialized equipment. Nowadays, though, anyone with access to a few items of modern technology can make and transmit videos over the internet, and even arrange permanent home studios of their own. Follow these tips to set up yours for the first time.

Consider Your Situation

The first step to setting up your mobile or home broadcasting studio is to think about what you’ll be doing with it. There are a few pieces of equipment that everyone making video feeds needs, such as video and audio recording equipment and lighting, but many of the options are geared towards specific roles. Will you be sitting inside at a desk doing a video podcast, standing up doing a task for an instructional video, playing an instrument for a music video, or moving around outdoors? Will you be broadcasting or streaming live, or will the video be edited and uploaded to a website later?

You should also consider your environment. What kind of lighting do you have, and will it be difficult to make you look your best or even be seen? Is there noise pollution from outside, or is the room full of echoes?

Write down specifically what you’ll be doing and where you’re going to do it so you can plan for what equipment you need to accomplish your goals.

Purchase Your First Equipment

When purchasing your initial equipment, if any, your budget is a huge factor in determining what you need now and what you can get later. If money is not an issue you can set up your entire studio all at once, or you can choose to purchase items one by one. Either way, everyone who intends to make videos needs five basic things: a way to record video, a way to record audio, a source of light, a tripod to hold the video device so it doesn’t shake (and your hands are free), and finally, a way to upload that video to the website or social media of your choice.

With lighting sources, keep in mind that you should ideally have three sources of light pointing at you at different angles for viewers to see you at your best.

As far as video goes, many people including professional broadcasters use a smartphone or tablet to record both video and audio and upload it, because they already own one and don’t have to purchase extra equipment. Smartphones and tablets are also extremely portable, so you don’t have to lug around expensive or heavy items if you’re broadcasting on the go. Alternatively, you can purchase a dedicated camera, usually a DSLR or broadcast camera, if you want to go really pro and don’t mind spending a lot on your equipment.

If you’re looking to set up a home broadcasting studio, either to interface with television or to stream live events, you may also need some sort of teleprompter. This can be either a smartphone app or a device that hooks up to your phone or tablet to show your cues and lines.

If you’re not using a smartphone or tablet, you’ll need a microphone, especially for video podcasting. Some mics can link directly to the camera or computer, while others must go through a mixing device that syncs the audio and video.

Finally, you can certainly upload your videos directly from your mobile device. However, if you want to do any serious editing, a laptop or PC is necessary, and you’ll need one with a fast processor, high-performance video card and a large hard drive. A fast internet connection is also useful for uploading large files or streaming high-quality video.

These days you don’t have to break the bank to set up your own home video studio. With the right modern equipment, you can start producing professional-looking videos to post or stream anywhere online.

Finding the Best Stock Photos for Your Book Cover

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Stock Photos |Finding the Best Stock Photos for Your Book CoverAn adage tells us not to judge books by their covers, but that’s just what everyone’s going to do anyway, especially when talking about actual books. If your name isn’t quite enough to sell the book on its own, the cover design might be. On the other hand, a bad cover might drive away from the otherwise interested buyer.

It doesn’t matter whether you are planning to sell your book online or in a brick-and-mortar store or even as an audiobook. Front cover, or its thumbnail is the first thing a potential buyer will see when browsing the book section. And yes, the reports of the death of printed books have been greatly exaggerated. While the number of bookstores has been declining, printed books remain the most popular medium with audiobooks gaining popularity and e-books losing some of their charm lately.

So, the design is essential. But a good plan costs a lot. Well, not always. But before talking about the cover images themselves, let’s talk about the general design guidelines and current design trends a bit.

We won’t go into too much detail about the cover typography here, but good typography is essential and should match the overall design. Handwritten or big bold sans serif fonts for fiction and clean and crisp fonts for non-fiction are popular choices.

You may have seen the words “Millennial pink” and “Gen-Z yellow” thrown around. They aren’t witty comebacks to “OK boomer” but popular contemporary design colors. Millennial pink is a dusty pink color popular in fashion magazines, Tumblr, and books aimed at the young and millennials. Celebrities like Beyonce and Kendall Jenner popularized Gen-Z yellow, and it remains a popular color for dust jackets and book covers. Trends change fast, and we don’t know what will become popular in 2020. Pantene color of the year is always a trendsetter, so maybe we’ll see Classic Blue in bookstores this year. But keep in mind that using something that doesn’t have real staying power can make your design look outdated fast.

What about the actual cover images then? First, think about your genre and audience. Each style has its stereotypical theme. Fantasy novels have knights, swords, and dragons. Planets, androids, and spaceships are ubiquitous in science fiction. They might be cliches, but that’s partially what the buyer is expecting to find. Don’t always aim for the least common denominator, though. Floral background and a shirtless beefcake on the cover signals a romance novel but may drive away everyone except the lovesick and romance hungry.

When you have the theme in mind, you need to think about the style you wish to go for. Making an exceptional design takes some experience, but there is one affordable shortcut that takes advantage of already proficient designers: Stock photos. There are stock images of almost every theme with many different styles, so there should be something for every need. So how to find what you need? Dreamstime employs a powerful search engine where any search keywords can be filtered with different modifiers. You can limit your search to only images with people, choose pictures that haven’t been used before to avoid using the same image as someone else, apply desired color composition, exclude undesired keywords, and so on. Choices are almost endless. For inspiration you can check the editor’s choice section for some of our popular images.

Finally, a couple of useful tips: Choose a few different covers and run them through a test audience. With stock images, this won’t be prohibitively expensive. Also, I would avoid the so-called “free stock” sites. Any good public domain images are probably already in use in a million different places. You would want your book cover to be unique.

When you have decided on your cover image, make sure you get the correct image license. There are licenses for every need, from online publishing to printing.

Business, Investment, and Charity

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article | Business, Investment, and CharityThe joy of any business is the Return on Investments (ROI). Also, the money you will accrue from the investment can go far in doing great charity in society today. However, before starting a business or investing, you might want to ask yourself how viable the business or investment is. That is when you should start thinking about a community-oriented charitable project. Therefore, if you are lucky enough to meet someone like Fred Baerenz, you might not want to miss the chance to pick his brain on how he seamlessly gel business, investment, and charity. By the end of the conversation, you may be an idea away from being wealthy as you desire.

What should you look for in a business investment? 

Business and investment are not easy, but you will be smiling your way to the bank once you do it right. It is practical to know that you will not always get it right as desired, but the journey is worth the cost. Before considering a business investment, there are many factors to consider. The world of business is dynamic and tying it with investment makes it even more dynamic. However, with the right team and tools of the trade, you will scale high in business as an investment. The research on the market will be a good place to start. The opportunity and niche presented should be sustainable enough at last for your capital.

Charity investment

Business flourishment will bring activities such as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Everyone has responsibility around the community of their establishment, if not the world. Considering activities such as children’s funds and supporting climate change are just a few of the CSR charity investments one might consider. Building a sustainable CSR goes hand in hand with building the business. Charity investment comes with its share of challenges and benefits.

In conclusion, the desire to build wealth is admirable and takes too much patience and strategy. Either through business or investment, success is a journey that takes resilience. The moment you will find yourself in magazines such as Forbes and your name all over Wall Street, you might want to consider joining AOG Wealth Management to secure your future. The billionaires club has its privileges but maintaining the status is what matters. Therefore, learning how to stay on top of your business, investment, and charity is important in any cooperate world.