Retail point of sale systems are pretty essential for any type of retail-based business these days — but if you run a pharmacy, particularly a small pharmacy that serves a small community, you definitely deserve to update your traditional system for an industry-specific pharmacy POS system. Here are just a few ways that retail pharmacy POS systems are extremely beneficial for small pharmacies today:
- Inventory management of all the non-prescription items in your store can be something that gets pushed to the back burner; providing prescription medications safely and efficiently is always one of the most essential processes of a small pharmacy. But it’s important to remember that consumers don’t just come to your pharmacy when they need prescriptions — they come to you for everything from cough medicine to packages of gum, and it’s important that you’re able to provide these items too! Pharmacy POS systems will help you with inventory management tasks for these items, along with tracking sales trends and alerting you when it’s time to reorder certain items.
- Payment methods are becoming more and more diverse every year; gone are the days when consumers paid primarily with cash or checks, and a traditional cash register could process transactions just fine. Not only does your POS system have to be capable of processing debit and credit cards, as well as cash and checks, but as a pharmacy you’ll also be dealing with plenty of coupon cards and manufacturer product vouchers. It’s important that your software system can process all of these payment methods quickly and without errors.
- Loyalty programs are another growing trend among retail businesses, and consumers really do pay attention to the businesses that offer loyalty rewards or discounts. As a small pharmacy, you’ve probably found it difficult to compete with the bigger chain pharmacies in this aspect — you can’t exactly afford the complicated loyalty rewards systems that these stores can afford, and you probably don’t need a rewards system that’s so complicated. Luckily, newer pharmacy POS systems can equipped with tools including sales analysis and basic loyalty program features, allowing you to provide your customers with a valuable service.
So now it’s time for you to contribute! If you’ve recently purchased a new pharmacy POS system, how has it helped out your pharmacy? If you’re thinking about buying one, what hesitations or questions do you have? We would love to hear from you!
