When it comes to business performance, time is money. Yet there are tasks every retailer must do to keep the wheels turning that aren’t directly income producing. So how can you spend more time and resources working on your business, rather than in it?
Today the solution is increasingly found in the cloud. And two of the most impactful areas this technology can help are your point of sale (POS) system and accounting. Imagine the possibilities if these two systems could be integrated!
Independently, your accounting and POS systems are goldmines of information about your business. But whilst you can extract these insights separately and pool the information, the process is a strain on human and financial resources. It also makes you reliant on retrospective data, hindering business agility and responsiveness to real time opportunities and challenges.
In contrast, integrating these two functions greatly improves overall financial management by creating an intuitive environment where day to day vendor and customer activities are not only tracked and measured, but optimised.
So what does integration mean for your retail business in everyday terms? Here are some of the practical benefits:
- Time saved – Integration greatly reduces duplication of data entry, as anything entered in one system is automatically updated in the other, giving your staff more time to focus on important projects
- Better customer service – As the technology is in the cloud, staff can access information from anywhere in the store using a mobile or tablet, enabling them to deliver more efficient, responsive service by being where the customer is. Common tasks like checking stock levels, placing orders and even credit card sales can all be done on the spot.
- Data accuracy – Apart from the demand it places on staff resources, maintaining two separate systems often results in a higher risk of error. Integrating your POS and accounting systems can greatly reduce this problem at a transactional level since both platforms update simultaneously, but it also ensures you have an accurate record of your overall financial position.
- Real time financial data – Optimal store performance depends on real time data. Integrating accounting and POS generates insights about day-to-day operation that allow you to respond agilely to shifts in the competitive environment, customer and supplier behaviour, economic and industry trends and achieve maximum efficiencies across every area of your business from marketing to staffing levels, pricing to store opening hours.
- Simplified reconciliations – As sales data and invoices are automatically transferred to your accounting system when they happen, daily bank reconciliations and end of month processes become much simpler. Less time and money spent on bookkeeping means you have more time to focus on driving new business.
- Easier tax and BAS – Integration saves you time during tax season as all sales transactions, expenses and stock movements have been recorded as they happen – so you and your accountant can leverage the data your integrated system provides to strategise, rather than wrangle with receipts and bank statements.
For any retail business to not only succeed, but flourish in today’s highly competitive retail environment, they must have access to accurate, real time data. Integrating your accounting and POS systems is one of most cost effective, efficient ways to achieve this. If you’ve already embraced cloud accounting with products such as Xero, Myob, Attaché or Quickbooks, linking this powerfully simple technology with all the rich data and insights currently available in your point of sale system can take your business to the next level.
If change and meeting your customers’ needs is a constant, doing nothing isn’t an option. Be sure you are partnering with a company with the depth and breadth of expertise you require. Particularly one who can help you navigate end-to-end managed services, cloud, mobile and paperless retail technology. GPK Retail consultant, Cordell Quaine, is available for a no obligation discussion on how GPK can help you reduce operational costs, manage your IT footprint more effectively and create an exceptional experience for your customers. Contact: Phone 1300 000 475 or email info@gpkretail.com.au for more information.