As the economy reopens, small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are looking for ways to adapt their operations to new consumer behaviors and health safety guidelines. They may be ready to reach out to ISVs and their channel partners to see how technology can help them establish new revenue and ensure business continuity. Keep in mind when you talk to a prospect about a new point of sale (POS) system, you’re talking to someone whose eyes are open to what can happen if circumstances force them to find different ways to operate their store or restaurant. They’ve probably already done some research and know that cloud solutions may be able to help them adapt – they may ask you about Point of Sale Software as a Service ( POS SaaS) before you even get the chance to pitch it.
Benefits of POS SaaS for Merchants in 2020
- Mobility
Most on-premises hangers-on had a rude awakening during the pandemic and economic shutdowns. Brick-and-mortar stores, restaurants, and other businesses had to close facilities, but could still operate if they had buy online, pickup in store, takeout menus, or delivery in place. POS SaaS gives merchants the ability to access their systems on mobile devices—and the ability to continue to serve and engage their customers curbside or at their front doors. And, When restaurant dining rooms were permitted to reopen, many had to add outdoor dining – POS SaaS on a mobile device made it easier to take orders and payments outside. POS SaaS also gives managers the ability to log in from any location to access reports, update menus or websites, and track sales.
Transparency Market Research projects that the demand for mobile POS will drive expected growth in the POS market, nudging some of the 86 percent of merchants that had mobile POS on their tech roadmaps last year.
- Hardware choice
POS SaaS is often hardware-agnostic, and browser-based solutions can enable users to log in from any device. This gives your clients a broader choice of hardware and devices they can use as a point of sale, which can help them save money and have the features they prefer.
- Agility
The pandemic hit with little warning. What worked for businesses late in February didn’t – or could have violated government orders – in March. New requirements called for new business operations. A survey from GetApp found that 92 percent of small businesses “reinvented themselves” as a result of the pandemic. POS SaaS allows merchants to add third-party solutions, such as online or mobile ordering, and quickly subscribe to value-added features, such as gift cards or loyalty program solutions, to support their new business models and revenue streams.
- Payment model
In difficult financial times, selling software licenses for an upfront fee may not even allow you to get a foot in the door, but you sell POS SaaS on an as-a-Service or subscription basis. Users pay a fee per month, per terminal, which is more affordable and manageable for merchants during the economic recovery.
- Low risk
A feature of POS SaaS that should be particularly appealing to your prospects post-shutdowns is that they don’t have to make a long-term commitment. The risk is much lower than buying software outright that they may need to wait years to amortize – especially if the business is shut down for part of that time. POS SaaS also gives users the flexibility to change software bundles and add features as needed, rather than buying a finite solution to install onsite.
- Maintenance included
Merchants aren’t usually IT experts, so thoughts of having to perform or pay extra for software updates, make sure they implement security patches are probably deal-breakers. With POS SaaS, the vendor managers software maintenance and the user always runs the most updated, secure version.
- Scalability
When business grows, it’s much easier to add lanes with POS SaaS. Add to the subscription, buy a terminal or even a tablet and start managing transactions.
POS SaaS is Good for Your Business in 2020, Too
Advising your prospects about POS SaaS solution options that are available will show SMB business that they have an alternative to “free POS” that doesn’t have the functionality they need, especially if they want to integrate with online ordering or other third-party platforms or add-ons. Moreover, if you integrate your POS software with a full-featured omnichannel payments solution, you will give your client the ability to accept the full range of payment types on any channel, supporting their newfound agility with cloud solutions.
Show your prospects what’s possible as they strategize and redefine their businesses in 2020 – while growing your own recurring revenue – with POS SaaS.
