A floral point-of-sale system is a big business investment that helps you manage your customer relationships and increase your shop’s competitive advantage. Today’s POS systems offer modules that include order entry, inventory, accounting, customer database, reports, marketing, wire service integration and credit card processing to name a few.
It’s important that you properly maintain your POS system to ensure that it serves your businesses for years to come.
Training
Owners should invest in training until they have a good handle on what the POS system can do for their business. Recent studies on floral POS systems indicate that while the majority of owners buy a floral system for its order entry, database and marketing capabilities, the majority of users do not take full advantage of these features. Most floral POS systems offer training with the initial purchase but it is not realistic to expect that a short training period will give you a handle on the complete capabilities of your system. Don’t get caught in the “I didn’t know I could do that” response years after having your system installed.
Data management
One of the key functions of any floral POS system is the order-taking process. The ability to process cash-and-carry, telephone, wire, catalogue and web transactions is essential. The order entry module is the most widely used function by you and your staff in any floral POS system. This module is often linked to databases of store operations that may include information such as customer data and purchasing history. It is important to keep these databases updated and accurate. Floral POS system administrators should incorporate database management as part of their regular scheduled processes. A well-maintained database is also one of your business’s most valuable assets. Your store’s valuation can increase up to 35 per cent based on the accuracy of your database. It is the single biggest factor any buyer or valuator will examine in your business.
Storing sensitive customer information
Your customers expect a secure and stable environment when trusting you with their valuable data. Some floral POS systems automatically collect and store customer credit card data for extended periods of time. Additionally, many of them even have to collect the Card Verification Value (CVV) information in order to process the credit card. Businesses should ensure that the sensitive data within their floral POS systems is encrypted, adheres to privacy laws and that access to data is limited. Can you imagine the damage that the loss, duplication of or access to your customer data and credit card information would cause?
Backups
Backups are the last line of defence against hardware failure, floods, fires, virus infections, security breaches or just accidental deletion of data. You should always ask yourself what would happen if you lost all your critical business data today. How long would it take you to recover? How much disruption would it cause to your business and your customers? Even if you are doing backups now, occasionally restore your data to make sure that the backup system is working properly. Additionally, always store your backups off site.
Anti-virus software
It is essential to protect your company and its data from viral attacks. Within a single hour your anti-virus protection could become out of date, due to the ever-evolving nature of viruses. Viruses won’t go away any time soon. More than 30,000 have been identified, and 400 new ones are created every month, according to the International Computer Security Association. System administrators should ensure that their anti-virus software is updated and always activated.
Power supply
You’ve invested time and money in your floral POS system. Don’t let power disturbances cause your business to lose productivity, equipment or data. Quality power protection is an inexpensive insurance policy against incidents. I recall one story where a store staff member plugged in a new microwave and blew the circuit due to faulty load balances. The circuit was easy to replace, but the computers on that circuit lost all their hard drives and monitors.
By reviewing some of these points, you will allow your business to spend more time on growth and less time on support issues.
Every other issue, this department will look at different technologies and how they affect your shop.
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