Selecting Point of 

Sale Software 

Will you make these 

mistakes? 

The following article appears courtesy of Jeff 

Haefner. Jeff is the author of “The Point of Sale 

Software Buyers Guide – How to Choose POS 

Software and Avoid Problems”. For more 

information on his guide or to contact him, visit 

his website at http://www.possoftwareguide.com/. 

If you’re like most retailers, you’re 

worried about making a mistake when you 

choose point of sale (POS) software. I 

don’t blame you. Buying POS software is 

a big investment. Not to mention, POS 

software can have a huge impact on the 

efficiency and success of your retail 

business. 

What’s more, there are around 1,000 

different systems to choose from and 

they’re all different. The choices can be 

overwhelming and confusing. 

The truth is choosing POS software is 

very difficult. And too many retailers end 

up with the wrong system. In fact, it’s 

common for retailers to go through two, 

three or even four different systems before 

they find one they’re happy with. Those 

mistakes probably cost between $10,000 - 

$100,000. 

Here are a few of the mistakes I see 

retailers making over and over again. 

They Buy the Hardware First 

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve 

heard a retailer say, “I just bought new 

computers, printers and I have everything 

ready to go. Now I need to find POS 

software.” 

As soon as I hear that, I think to myself, 

“This guy could have saved himself a lot 

of 

time and money if he selected his POS 

software first.” 

Why? First, your POS software will 

have hardware and operating system 

requirements. Second, and more 

importantly, not all POS systems are the 

same. The system you choose is very 

important, as it will have a huge impact on 

the efficiency of your business! If you 

install your computer system first, you 

potentially limit your POS software 

choices. The perfect fit for your “unique” 

operation might run on UNIX but you 

already bought a Windows 2003 server! 

You may also find that the printers and 

scanners you just bought aren’t 

compatible. 

You can avoid frustration and save 

money if you choose the POS system first. 

Then you can ask the software company 

about its recommended hardware and 

operating systems. 

They Ask the Wrong People 

 All too often retailers ask a computer 

consultant for suggestions about POS 

software. Most computer consultants have 

good intentions but they tend to give poor 

advice when it comes to choosing POS 
software. While computer consultants are 

great resources for information about 

computers, hardware, and networking, they 

do not usually understand the intricacies of 

POS software and retail management. Nor 

do they realize that with about 1,000 

different software programs, it is VERY 

easy to choose the wrong one for your 

business. 

They Don’t Place Enough Focus on the 

Character of the Software Company 

When you invest in point of sale 

software, you are buying a relationship, 

not just a product. In fact, the “quality” of 

the software company is as important as 

the product. 

Why is the software company so 

important? After you purchase the 

software, you will rely on the software 

company to supply updates, technical 

support, training, and possibly hardware. 

Let me ask you a few questions to help 

you understand why the company is so 

important... 

o What if the software company went out 

of business? 

o What if they don’t give you software 

updates when you need them? 

o What if it takes 2 days to get your 

technical questions answered? 

o What if the software has a bug and they 

don’t fix it? 

o What if they didn’t give you sufficient 

training? 

The truth is, the level of service and the 

financial stability of the software company 

are very important. It is critical to evaluate 

the software company; otherwise you 

could run into some frustrating and 

expensive problems. 

They Overlook Important Features 

 Unless you are a POS expert, it’s 

difficult to sort through countless systems 

and figure out what you need. What’s 

more, it is difficult to understand the “true” 

potential of your POS system. As a result, 

many retailers get confused and they 

overlook important features that would 

save them a great deal of time and money. 

 Most people don’t realize that every 

POS is VERY different. Some are 

designed for large ticket items like tractors. 

And others are designed to work in fast 

moving retail environments like a grocery 

store. As a result, it is common for 

retailers to end up with POS software that 

isn’t really designed for them. The key is 

to properly analyze the needs of your 

business. Only when you have done so 

can you create a list of features that are 

important to you. That list will assist you 

in comparing systems, and ultimately, 

purchasing the right system for you. 

This might seem overwhelming, but 

with a little guidance, you can find the 

right POS system. You just need to know 

which mistakes to avoid, where to look and 

the right questions to ask. 

As you can see from the above article, 

employee associations are not so different 

than any other business in this regard. In 

the past, we have considered identifying 

POS systems in an attempt to standardize 

employee association operations. In our 

search, we have consulted with industry 

experts like Jeff Haefner as well as audit 

firms familiar with employee association 

operations and POS vendors. Based on our 

research, we have concluded that 

standardization would prove prohibitively 

expensive for employee associations given 

the uniqueness of each operation and the 

local conditions specific to each. 

The CR staff will continue to identify 

POS software that may be appropriate for 

employee associations. We will also 

continue to provide best practices in the 

selection of POS systems. In that regard, 

we encourage associations to tell us about 

success stories and lessons learned so that 
your colleagues in the field can take 

advantage of your experience. You may 

contact the CR Operations Team at 

foodandfun@state.gov. 

AAnn

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SShhooppppiinngg

EExxppeerriieennccee

by Christy Grimste, CR Operations Officer 

Obviously, the more enjoyable a 

customer’s shopping experience, the more 

likely he/she is to return. Right? The real 

question is, “What makes a customer’s 

experience enjoyable?”. A number of 

factors may contribute to a positive 

shopping experience. Let’s discuss a few. 

Customers are faithful to a particular 

grocery store, for example, because of its 

floor plan – in other words, the layout of 

the merchandise is organized and logically 

placed for ease in shopping. Consider the 

sample merchandise layout provided 

below. [The sample can also be 

downloaded from the CR internet site 

(www.state.gov/m/a/c8225.htm).] 

Developing a floor plan can be tricky if 

your space is small or unusually 

configured. Basically, merchandise should 

be arranged to flow naturally according to 

the type of goods. In general, non-food 

items should not be located or grouped 

with food items. For example, pet food 

should not be located in close proximity to 

cereal. When possible, complimentary 

products should be grouped together. 

Non-frozen pie shells can be merchandised 

with pudding mix. Salsa should be colocated with tortilla chips. These are just a 

couple of examples of appropriate “tie-in” 

merchandising techniques. Not only will 

this technique be welcomed by your 

customers, product tie-ins will also serve 

to boost sales as customers purchase items 

they may not have thought to purchase or 

might not have realized were in stock. 

Customers also want a clean store. 

Begin with good housekeeping practices. 

Shelves should be clean and free of debris 

at all times. Goods must be rotated 

according to date/code, leveled and fronted 

for the best appearance. Floors should be 

swept daily or more often as needed. Do 

not stack merchandise directly on the floor 

as it impedes the cleaning process and may 

attract pests. Good housekeeping practices 

will also keep you in tune with how your 

inventory lines are selling. 

Your customers value a high standard 

of customer service. In order instill this 

high standard; promote a positive, 
courteous and cheerful environment for the 

staff. One of the most widely used 

marketing techniques in retail is to 

promote the idea that the customer is 

always right (even when they are wrong). 

Keep in mind, it will be management’s 

responsibility to see that customers do not 

take advantage of this policy to the 

detriment of your staff. 

 What about “extras”? Extras are 

anything management can do, no matter 

how small, to make customers happy and 

welcome. For example, your customers 

may appreciate seasonal and other 

background music (at the right volume). 

 Samples of products that you are 

promoting are a good way to bring in 

business. You could set aside a particular 

day/time to let your customer’s know that 

samples will be provided. Food samples 

have become very popular in the industry 

in recent years. You may also find that 

your grocery vendor is willing to provide 

you with “not for resale” samples you can 

pass on to your customers. 

Provide simple recipes that tie in 

various product lines. You’ll find that 

these techniques will also boost sales. 

 Celebrate the holidays with your 

customers. Given away noisemakers for 

New Year’s celebrations or small 

American flags for July fourth. Plan ahead 

for the holidays important to your 

customers by ensuring enough lead time in 

placing orders for seasonal candies, baking 

items, decorations and other essentials. 

 These are just a few examples of the 

ways you can create “the enjoyable 

shopping experience” for your customers. 

If you have others you would like to share, 

contact the CR Operations Team 

(foodandfun@state.gov/). Your ideas 

could be featured in a future edition of The

CRonicle. 

New Training 

Strategy 

As many of you may know, the Office 

of Commissary and Recreation Affairs 

will not be conducting an employee 

association training conference this year. 

Training conferences had been held every 

other year since 1988. While we were sad 

to break with the long-standing tradition, 

we believe biennial conferences are no 

longer cost effective in meeting training 

needs given the high turnover rate of 

general managers. We are currently 

looking at ways to target new managers in 

the most cost efficient manner. At the time 

of publication of this newsletter, the CR 

staff was busy putting together final 

preparations for a training workshop in 

India. 

The American Community Support 

Association (ACSA) located in New Delhi, 

India is hosting the 2003 regional training 

workshop. Training will be provided to 

approximately 15 managers from the Near 

Eastern and South Asian regions. We have 

targeted this area due to the significant 

number of new managers in the area. 

Managers will receive two and a half days 

of training seminars in topics ranging from 

controlling food and beverage costs to 

budget preparation to food safety, to name 

a few. As part of their training, managers 

will be taken on tours of the ACSA’s 

kitchen and its commissary sales floor to 

reinforce in-classroom training. 

We are very excited about this new 

training format. Our hope is to conduct 

training workshops every year based on 

the new format. We will announce those 

training opportunities as they become 

available. 

The next issue of The CRonicle will be 

published in November 2003.