The Benefits and Challenges of Cloud EPOS

Over the past 20 years, the Internet has revolutionised how businesses work. New technologies give businesses the ability to manage logistics, marketing, and finances in ways that are unprecedented. In the past few years, cloud technologies have taken connectivity to the next level. By incorporating a point of sale system that utilises cloud technology, businesses can process customer payments in safe, effective, low-cost ways. The following guide explores some of the benefits and challenges of cloud pos software.

Point-of-sale technologies have evolved significantly from the technologies available in the 1980s. In the past, businesses that wanted to process credit and debit card payments had to make use of a telephone to verify that a card was valid. In some cases, businesses would make a carbon copy of a credit or debit card number for later processing. While this was a fast way to take payment information from customers, it did open businesses to a significant amount of liability. For example, if a credit or debit card number is not processed immediately, a business has no way to prove that the card number is invalid. In addition, storing paper records of a customer's credit or debit card number can increase the risk of fraud. If a card number that is on paper is not stored correctly, criminals may be able to get access to these cards, increasing the risk of fraud.

EPOS systems give businesses a safe and effective way to process customer payments. Instead of storing customer financial data on a local computer, this data is automatically encrypted at the register and transmitted to a secure server that is stored off-site. Since this data is not stored at the physical location of a store, there is minimal risk of financial fraud or financial loss.

Epos systems also benefit from lower costs compared to existing payment processing systems. In the past, these systems carried very high monthly and annual fees. Because of this, they were only available for very large businesses and organizations. Smaller businesses were often unable to afford the high costs associated with processing credit and debit card payments. However, that has changed in recent years.

For example, it allow businesses to accept credit and debit card numbers through their smartphone. By plugging a small magnetic card reader into the audio port of a smartphone, businesses can process payments from anywhere. These systems are often used by businesses that have a mobile presence. For example, mobile electronic point of sale systems are often used by food vendors, service, plumbers, babysitters and other mobile workers. 

Instead of paying a high annual fee for using these services, modern electronic point of sale systems provide a variety of fee structures for their customers. Instead of charging a high annual fee for processing payments, some electronic processing companies charge a higher percentage rate for processing credit and debit cards. With using a cloud ePOS system it is much cheaper and simpler to install and use. It makes it much easier to maintain as the software needed to run it is stored in the Cloud, online.

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Founded in 1979, Business Computer Projects Ltd (BCP) is a leading systems house specializing in supply chain software solutions and warehouse management systems.  You can connect with us via twitter @bcp_software