Buying guide
How to choose a POS system
Most POS comparisons start with the screen and the price. Those are the last two things that matter. What decides whether a system fits is the work behind the counter — what the store counts, what it prices, what it has to prove and who fixes it when it breaks — and that is what this guide is about.
Remote setup and training nationwide. Onsite service across Tampa Bay.
Where should choosing a POS system start?
With the work, not the register. What the store counts, how it prices, what a shift has to reconcile, what the law requires it to check and who answers the phone when a terminal dies. A system that gets those right is worth more than one with a better screen, and the questions below are the ones that settle it.
A demo shows a system doing what the vendor is good at. The point of going in with questions is to see it do what your store does instead — which is a different demo, and the only one worth watching.
- The item file firstIt is the part you cannot rebuild in a week, and the part every other feature depends on.
- Then the counterHow a sale is actually rung, by the person who will be doing it at five o’clock on a Saturday.
- Then the back officePurchasing, receiving, price changes and the reports somebody will open weekly.
- Then supportEvery system breaks. The difference is who picks up.
Which platform fits is not a general answer: BizTracker uses Infinity for retail and LINGA for restaurants and bars, and which one a mixed business needs is settled by looking at the operation rather than by picking from a page.
What to compare
Six things worth more than the screen
Take these to any vendor, ours included. A system that answers all six well is rare; one that cannot answer three of them is not a shortlist.
The item file
Item file setupHow items, departments, costs and prices are held, how a price change reaches a shelf label, and what happens to the file you already have.
Counting what you sell
Inventory managementWhether stock is counted at all, how a count is done on a trading day, and whether receiving updates it.
What the counter has to check
Age-restricted itemsAge-restricted sales, benefit tenders, returns and voids. What the software prompts for, and what it leaves to memory.
The payment path
Credit card processingWhether processing is integrated or separate, what the terminal is, and what happens to a payment when the connection drops.
The hardware it runs on
Hardware for InfinityWhich terminals, printers, drawers, scanners and scales are supported, and which of what you own can stay.
Who fixes it
SupportWho answers, how quickly, and whether anybody comes to the store. It is the question that takes the least time to ask and costs the most to get wrong.
How POS decisions go wrong
-
The system is chosen from a demo
It does what the vendor rehearsed, not what the store does.
Ask for your own items, your own awkward sale and your own busiest hour, in the demo.
Request a demo -
The item file is left until last
Go-live arrives and the data is not ready.
The file is scoped from a real export before anything is committed.
Data conversion -
Payments are treated as a separate decision
Two vendors, two invoices and nobody who owns the problem.
The payment path is part of the system decision, not an afterthought.
Statement review -
Support is judged on a promise
The first real outage is when the answer arrives.
Ask what happens at five on a Saturday, and ask for the number that gets answered.
Support -
Price is compared before scope
Two quotes that are not for the same thing.
Settle what is included — hardware, setup, training, support, processing — before comparing any number.
What a POS system costs
Buying questions
What does a POS system cost?
It depends on the counters, the hardware and what is included, and anybody quoting a figure without asking has not asked. What a POS system costs sets out what goes into the number and what to make any quote itemise, including ours.
Which system does BizTracker recommend?
Infinity for retail — liquor, convenience, grocery and specialty — and LINGA for restaurants and bars. Which fits a mixed business is decided by looking at the operation, and the review is where that happens.
Can I keep the hardware I already have?
Sometimes. It depends on the model and the interface, and the honest way to answer it is to look at what is on the counter rather than at a compatibility list. It is one of the first things a review settles.
How long does it take to change systems?
The software is rarely what takes the time. The item file, the hardware and the training decide it, which is why the review looks at those before quoting a date.
Do I have to switch card processing too?
No. Integrated processing has real advantages, but it is a separate decision and it can be made later. A statement review will tell you what you are paying now either way.
What if I am not in Tampa Bay?
Setup and training are handled remotely nationwide. Onsite installation and service are Tampa Bay, and that is the part of this that is local rather than the part that is available.
Take the questions to a review
No obligation. We go through the item file, the counter, the back office, the payment path and the hardware, and you get the answers whether or not anything changes.