Introduction
Everyone knows that a retail business relies on sales, no matter what they sell or the size of that business. People also know that the days of the old-fashioned cash registers are gone. These registers have been replaced by technology known as point of sale (POS) systems; which nowadays are highly sophisticated and are the backbone of any business where sales are involved.
The problem faced by business owners is there are so many types of systems and companies that employ the systems, how do they decide which one to use? What should he or she look for in a point of sale system? Once they have narrowed down the search to a few candidates, how will he or she know if any of those systems will work for THEIR establishment?
People in the retail bicycle store business, you are in luck! This article will focus on the top five POS systems for your exact type of business. The primary resource utilized in this piece is a complete accounting of this topic by a firm called Top Credit Card Processors.com. We shall reveal why we chose this firm for our article, how they arrive at their findings, and comprehensive details on the top five point of sale system companies in their report. For each company discussed, we shall describe how each particular system can be used for bicycle stores.
Background on Top Credit Card Processors.com
In preparing this article, we went looking for a reputable firm who is tops in their industry. We found that in the company, Top Credit Card Processors.com. They are the definitive leaders when it comes to rating the POS service providers and compiling independent reviews. They have made it their mission to help merchants of all types and size find THE BEST payment processing systems in the entire industry.
Top Credit Card Processors.com produces these reports each month, therefore the information is always up-to-date. They incorporate benchmarking methods to evaluate the vendors and compare each of these merchants to others on the list. Also provided is a link to contact information for each POS vendor so that prospective clients may personally speak to a live expert.
What Criteria Should Bicycle Shops Use?
As a bicycle shop owner, you might be asking “what criteria should I use when deciding on a point of sale system?” Let’s examine that issue right now. Of course versatility in accepting payment methods is a must, as well as the ability to keep track of inventory. What else? Are you forgetting some things? Perhaps utilizing a particular system can enable you to come up with sales geared towards specific groups of customers whom you wish to attract to your store. The right technology will allow you to go to your customers as well as service them at your shop.
Other questions to ask include: what about the ability to finalize a purchase quickly, or to maintain records of which items are selling and which are not? Surely you want those features to be available. Here is something you might not have thought of – keeping tabs on the overall performance of each staff member. A good POS system can help you discover why one person is selling more than the others and determine a course of action.
What Factors Are Involved in Rating these POS Companies?
Let’s go back to that report for a moment. How did they determine which company ranks where on the list? Some of the mitigating factors are:
The year they were established
How much revenue is involved
Rate of retention of clients
Who their major clients are
Services/features they provide
How is their customer support
Overall score
Was there a change in rank since the previous report
As we mentioned, also included in this report is the company name, contact information, where they are located, existing reviews, the opportunity to write a review, and a link to their website for complete details on the company and their systems. Keeping all of these facets in mind, we now move onto the heart of this article, the top five POS Systems as ranked by Top Credit Card Processors.com. Reading our article in its entirety will enable you to make a totally informed decision on which system to choose for your bicycle shop.
POS Vendor #5 – CardSmart Merchant Services
This Las Vegas, Nevada-based company celebrates its 30th year in business in 2019. It offers three separate point of sale systems, each with its own retail-oriented service package. This company prefers to keep its clientele private. All of the three systems are reputable and have numerous features that are useful to bicycle shops.
One system in particular to make mention of is Aldelo POS Pros. Not only do they have all of the perks of standard POS systems, they feature things like enabling you to maintain a waiting list and even customer paging. Those things can be useful to a bike shop owner if he or she has multiple customers waiting on repairs. These features can also help manage those customers and page them when work has been completed. Another feature of Aldelo POS Pro is known as delivery order routing. This is useful when bicycles, or parts, or services are being delivered to customers.
Remember that CardSmart Merchant Services has two additional point of sale systems, either of which would be an excellent choice. This company will provide a business with several helpful financing solutions, perfect if you are low on operating cash for whatever reasons. For a nice blend of versatility and industry experience, choose this company.
POS System #4 – BankCard USA
You will find this 4th-ranked company in Agoura Hills, California, having been established in 1998. Two of their more than 20,000 clients are Lunaria Music and Coastal Dermatology. BankCard USA has one type of POS system available; however, it is quite sophisticated and reliable.
The system featured by this company is known for its ease of use and versatility. Its cutting- edge technology can be utilized either on your counter or with a tablet via cloud storage of data. This can be extremely important if you are transporting a bike to a customer. It will allow you to go to your customers’ homes to deliver merchandise or perform repairs on location and be paid on the spot. How great is that?
Another attribute of the BankCard USA point of sale system is that it will work without an Internet connection. This is a huge asset. You do not need to worry if your connection is on the fritz, or if you have customers who do not have the Internet. This company is proud to produce POS systems that are both simple and powerful at the same time. Some of its other features that can be used by bike shop owners or staff members are the variety of payment methods it can accept, as well as its capability to provide sales statistics and inventory details.
If you want to go on a vacation but dread being out of touch with your shop, fear not! This system will let you look at and manage business data in real time from any place you may be with the aid of an Internet-enabled device. This includes a tablet or an android phone that can hook up to the net. Are you convinced? To speak with someone from this firm right now, go to their website.
Presenting POS System Company #3
Next up on our informative list is Credit Card Processing Specialists out of Grandville, Michigan. They are a young company who has experienced explosive growth since bursting onto the POS system scene in 2010. Their clients include household name, Ace Hardware and also Discovery Network. What makes them a point of sale merchant to watch for? We shall spell it out for you.
For starters, they have five separate types of payment processing equipment; any of which would be fine for a bicycle shop. Two types are wireless terminals and virtual terminals. Both of these are perfect for a bike shop who wants to offer in-store or at-home bike merchandise or services. Their mobile applications service that allows the processing of payments via cell phones is also quite useful.
Of course Credit Card Processing Specialists has similar basic features and services to the previous companies on our list. What makes them stand out is their ultra-professional staff that oversees all operations throughout the company. This includes a 24/7 support team with the knowledge necessary to answer any questions you might have.
Whether you have a smaller, family-owned bicycle shop, or are one of a chain, this firm has the technology, services, and expertise to provide a class-A experience for each customer that comes through your doors. They will even give your management team, your staff, or your customers endless access to their learning center. There anyone can get more details on their POS systems and how they function.
POS Company That is Ranked #2
That point of sale system company is Harbortouch out of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Harbortouch will have been in business for twenty years in 2019 and boasts some of the region’s most recognizable clients. This includes Gino’s East Pizzeria and Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt. So what does Harbortouch offer its clientele? Keep reading and we will tell you.
This POS leader has some of the premier hardware and software in its industry. Amongst them are two separate POS systems, each coming with touch screen monitors and crystal clear pictures of all merchandise in the shop. This is marvelous for bicycle shop owners that want to make the recording of purchases easy, yet complete. This is important in order to keep tabs on what inventory you have and what you need to order more of.
A Harbortouch POS system will give you numerous ways to save time and money. What shop owner could not use those perks? They also give clients a lifetime warranty on all equipment. Better yet, you can try it for a 30 day period. That trial period is completely risk free. Want a comprehensive demonstration? Call them today. Contact information is on the following link: https://www.harbortouch.com/.
Whichever of the two POS systems you purchase from Harbortouch, it will provide you with the ability to accept the newest and most diverse forms of payment. Among them are Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and debit/credit cards containing EMV chips. Perhaps the best thing of all for you and your customers is that they have the lowest processing fees guaranteed throughout their entire industry. What’s more, the cost of buying all of this terrific equipment is very reasonable.
THE Number 1 Ranked POS Company
As of January 2019, that distinguished title belongs to Beacon Payments, LLC, hailing from Boston, Massachusetts. This firm has been around since 1998 and services more than 10,000 clients. Beacon prefers to keep the identity of all of its clients confidential. Why is Beacon Payments, LLC number 1? Let’s examine this.
A few of many reasons for their success is that they provide the best technology, the best service, at the best prices possible throughout the business. They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Of most importance, their account management team is extremely well-educated and each member is an expert in the point of sale industry.
Whether you are just beginning your bicycle shop endeavors and do not yet have customers, or have been in business for decades, Beacon is the company to go with. They feature the most versatile ways of securing customer payments, services to allow billing of customers, inventory management, and anything else you need to succeed. Read all about Beacon Payments, LLC at https://www.beaconpayments.com/.
Bicycle shops all over the world can benefit by owning a point of sale system from this company. Both the standard and the enhanced features of a Beacon POS system are excellent for the ease of processing customer payments. This will contribute to the shopping experience of customers in YOUR store and help your bike shop to flourish. Call them today!
Conclusion
There is far more information available from Top Credit Card Processors.com than what we have presented here. For the sake of brevity, we elected to limit this list to five. However, it should be noted that the full list consists of 30 point of sale business companies. Additionally, they have a separate list of the 10 best POS companies that focus on a business utilizing tablets. Perhaps the latter would be helpful for smaller mom and pop-type bicycle shops where physical space is limited. For complete information on either of the two lists, click on https://www.topcreditcardprocessors.com/. Good luck with your search.