The Web Developer’s POS Checklist

Whether you are a freelance web developer or a full-time employee with a company or agency, there is a good chance (if it has not happened already) that you will be asked by your customer for recommendations and advice regarding a Point-of-Sale (POS) system.

Even though POS systems may not be one of your many areas of expertise, there are some core principles and best practices that you can share that will help your customer make a smart choice, and ultimately, enable you to add value as a strategic partner — which is definitely in your best interest.

Essentially, there are five functional areas that any professional-grade POS system must support. Each of these is highlighted below, along with some of the factors and requirements within each category.

1.  Register Functions

The most fundamental requirement of a POS system is, predictably, a range of register functions that enable safe, secure and efficient transactions. These functions include support for multiple credit card processors, FSA card acceptance, end-to-end encryption, as well as things like store-branded gift cards, loyalty cards, emailing AR statements, bad check verification, and so on.

2.  Business System Interface

Frankly, it does not matter how feature-rich or advanced a POS system is, if it does not effectively integrate with your customer’s business system interface. This is especially important if your customer is in a regulated industry (e.g. healthcare), where strict data compliance rules and standards must be followed at all times, such as patient verification, HIPAA signature capture, and so on.

3.  Front-End Management

POS system front-end management features include things like price updates from any vendor, support for wireless PDAs, the ability to create custom shelf talkers, advanced product reporting, etc.

4.  Employee Performance Management

POS integration should enable employee performance management through features like unique logins, granular (user-based) security settings, employee productivity reports, and so on.

5.  Security & Compliance

Some of these aspects have been touched on above, but given how critical this is for both POS system functionality and overall business operations, it is worth mentioning again; especially since the consequences of a security or compliance breach can be severe and costly. Features in this area include integrated anti-virus protection, web content filtering, and so on.

The Bottom Line 

Although your focus is on web development, in the bigger picture, you are a professional solutions provider — which means that being asked for your input on a POS system, or even being tasked to do some preliminary research, might be part of what your customer needs. If so, then the checklist above will point you in the right direction, so that you can add more value, and have more successful — and indeed, profitable — engagements.