When it comes to choosing a Point of Sale (POS) system, there are numerous options available to buyers. We surveyed over 640 business professionals to learn more about implementing a POS system in a business setting. This data can be helpful whether you’re trying to determine whether or not a POS system is right for your business, or if you’re trying to decide which features to include.

First, Consider the Function

When it comes to choosing a POS system for your business, it’s important to think through the function the system will play on a day-to-day basis. For the business owners surveyed, their primary focus is to adopt a POS system that offers a variety of options to transactional customers. According to the research, 60% of POS systems are being used primarily to offer multiple payment options or mixed payments for customers – for example, a customer might wish to pay their bill in cash, but purchase a gift card using a credit card. Many POS systems allow businesses to offer flexible payment options, ensuring a better, more personalized customer experience. POS systems are also commonly used for customer relationship management, remote access, and inventory management.

Determine the Key Features

Once you’ve determined the main functionality of your POS system, it’s time to choose which features are the most important. Given that a majority of business owners use their POS systems to offer multiple payment options, it should come as no surprise that low transactional fees (especially on credit cards) were deemed the most important feature to have in a POS system. If you plan to implement a POS system to offer a variety of payment options, it’s important to inquire about the transactional fees associated with the service. POS users also value a system that is easy to use, has low set up costs, and has durable hardware.

Understand Fee Structure

How fees are structured is another important factor to think about when deciding on a POS system for your business. 45% of current POS users would prefer to be charged a flat monthly fee for their system; however, only 37% are actually on this type of payment plan with their service provider. About 13% of business owners surveyed are not only charged a monthly flat fee, but also commit to a pay per swipe fee.

To give you a sense of how much these fees cost, of those paying some kind of monthly fee, 42% are currently paying less than $50 a month.

POS systems offer many different options and services, so knowing what others are doing can help distinguish the offering that will be most beneficial to your business.