Having your own successful business is a dream, but it can be tough to transform it into a reality. Owning your own retail store is downright impossible if you can’t afford rent, utility bills and so on. However, a small stall at a local market is an entirely different story. With a little luck, customers will like your products and flock to your stall for your handmade items. However, there is one traditional-store convenience all those customers expect you to have now – a way to handle credit and debit card transactions.
When a customer walks into the stall he/ she wants to shop, relax and enjoy the experience. Your small stall has unique and exquisite products to offer which is reasonably priced. People fancy what they see and when the purchase is made easy for them they tend to spread a good word. As a result the footfall increases and so does the revenue. The business is good and it is a win win situation for the stall owner and the customer. All you have to ensure is that the transactions are smooth. This experience should be delightful and comfortable for the customer. Employees can up sell products and assist customers in making a decision.
You Have Options with Cloud-POS Systems
Tablets are the solution to your problem. The good news is that almost everyone owns a tablet. If you have an iPad, even an older model, you have everything you need to get started. You can easily use your tablet to process payments with a cloud-based POS system. Sound complicated? Not really. Here is what you have to do to get your own miniaturized credit card terminal up and running.
Step 1 – All you really need to get started is the tablet and the POS software. Vendors do offer software/hardware package deals, especially for small business owners, and you can negotiate with the vendor and pick the system you want if you choose to go this route. If you don’t have a large inventory, you may not need all the features on the system. This can help reduce the cost and increase the profit of the stall.
Step 2 – Take your time while evaluating the systems. You will require a Wi-Fi connection or a remote connection that will keep you connected to the cloud-server while processing payments. A system package is usually only for the tablet and the software. If the vendor stores your data, such as inventory, online, you will have to pay a monthly service fee to access it.
Step 3 – For the easiest set-up, get a miniaturized credit card terminal. This is the most important aspect of the POS system. All you have to do is attach the system to your iPad and swipe the card. The payment is processed, and you can have the customer to sign on the iPad screen to authenticate the purchase.
The entire process is simple and stress-free. You can easily use it in your stall to process credit card payments. If you do eventually expand your business or add extra employees, you can negotiate with the vendor and expand your POS system by adding more iPads and credit card payment terminals.
A Word of Caution
You have to be careful when you swipe credit cards as customer data has to be protected. Make sure your tablet has the latest anti-virus, malware and adware protection installed on it to protect your customer’s credit card information and documents. Online data information is already protected by the cloud server such as the Shopify POS app for example, which is great at ensuring secure transactions; moreover, they use state-of-the art security systems to ensure that your customer data is safe. It’s also a good idea to ensure that you lock down the system with PINS and passwords to prevent anyone accessing the system and stealing data. To prevent theft, most vendors will also provide a table-locking system and geo location data to find tablets in case they are lost or stolen. With these features, you can just ensuring that your iPad is safe and your customers do not have to worry.
Finally, as you already know iPads are not new. Almost everyone knows how to use them, and this makes the system even more attractive to small business owners. In fact, with a little effort, you can probably find really affordable older models on the market to help you with your credit card payments. Remember, as you don’t have a large store or many employees, you do not need to invest in additional hardware like label printers, barcode scanners and so on. All you need is the tablet iPad and a streamlined POS, and you are good to go.
