5 Typical Challenges Encountered at the Point of Sale and How You Can Make Things Better

A point of sale or POS system is a physical or virtual location where you conduct transactions and exchanges with your customers. Over time, both the acronym POS and the term “point of sale” have also come to refer to the devices and associated technologies that make up a modern POS system. Regardless of how you use these terminologies, managing your points of sale effectively is a big part of scaling your business efficiently.

Regardless of whether they’re in a physical store or integrated into an e-commerce website, POS systems can be challenging to manage. Fortunately, these risks are well-studied and, with the right preparation, are easily mitigated. Here are some of the more common POS challenges faced by Philippine-based small businesses, plus some ideas on how you can build an outstanding POS environment.

1) Cybersecurity Risks

Socially engineered cyberattacks are a serious threat for startups and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Unprepared employees can easily be tricked into giving up important information by email fraudsters or fast-talking con artists. If they give up credit card numbers or bank information, it could not only cause harm to your customers, but also permanently damage your business’s reputation.

As far as POS systems go, it’s important to employ best practices that safeguard your customer’s data security. Both online and offline card reader systems should comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) and be sourced from a reputable POS vendor Philippines businesses and financial institutions trust.

Among Philippine-based startups and SMEs, the Maya Terminal and the Maya Terminal Lite have earned stellar reputations for being secure as well as versatile offline POS solutions. With their ability to securely process any card, ewallet, or QR code payment, these devices have emerged as invaluable tools in today’s cashless environment.

2) Diverse Payment Preferences

Digital payments have become increasingly diverse in the Philippines. Notably, a growing number of people are now relying on QR code payment technology to facilitate secure contactless transfers from their ewallets and bank accounts. POS systems that have not adjusted to the current digital payment landscape face frequent roadblocks and slowdowns, often leading to poor customer experiences and lost sales. 

The rolling out of QR Ph (QR code payment Philippines), the Philippine payment QR code standard, has already done much to smoothen out some of the issues created by the extreme diversity of payment methods. However, you should also make time to train your employees on how to handle different transaction types, particularly the ewallet QR code payments that are rapidly gaining popularity. Updating your QR code POS system so that it can take any QR payment seamlessly is also a must.

3) POS Hardware That Isn’t Mobile

Previous generation POS systems were generally static and could only be operated at a prepared location. While this is not always a problem, business has become more dynamic in the past several years. In the age of smartphones and social media, you may want to be able to quickly set up at pop-up events or trade shows to capitalize on changing consumer trends and engage with a broader audience. Mobile POS solutions like the ultraportable Maya Terminal Lite can empower you to do just that and enable your small business to adopt an agile approach to commerce.

Having a mobile POS also gives you the option to complete transactions anywhere on the premises. For instance, rather than processing all payments at the counter, you can bring a mobile POS directly to the customer for efficient order taking and payment processing right at the point of service. To enable this flexibility, even fully-featured POS solutions like the Maya Terminal now have enough mobile capabilities to empower businesses to reimagine their operations and create better sales processes.

4) Hardware and User Interface Challenges

POS systems are a lucrative business, and you’ll find all kinds of solutions on the market. While there are a lot of good options, many solutions lack training support or feature overly complex user interfaces. The hardware bundled with these systems can be hit-or-miss as well, with compatibility issues or special maintenance requirements that could put your sales processes at risk.

If you want a reliable POS system, it’s a good idea to look for a POS supplier Philippines startups rely on. Partnering with a trusted supplier that offers up-to-date hardware, periodic firmware updates, and customer support can make a significant difference in your sales processes, preventing user errors and maximizing your technology investments. In the Philippines, the Android-based Maya Terminal and Terminal Lite devices are especially well-liked among local small businesses thanks to their user-friendly interfaces, robust build, and extensive customer support.

5) Unpleasant Customer Experiences

You should also be particularly mindful of the totality of the experience you present to your customers. Doing nothing to fix slow queues or leaving them cluttered with all kinds of distractions may lead to negative experiences that will turn people off permanently. If you add rude or unknowledgeable staff to the mix, you may soon find most of your customers taking their business elsewhere.

To solve these issues across all your points of sale, it’s crucial to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and take note of all aspects of their experience. Their physical environment, the overall waiting times, and the quality of their interactions with your employees and payment processes need to be continuously assessed and improved. Quality customer service should be standard for all customers. While adhering to that rule can be challengong, you have to at least make sure that the level of service you offer enables rather than prevents you from meeting your business goals.

Destress Your POS with Maya’s Online and Offline Payment Solutions

The Maya Terminal and Terminal Lite have been designed specifically to offer Philippine-based small businesses and their customers a smooth and thoroughly modern payment experience. Create a Maya Business Manager account today to start enjoying Maya’s online and in-store POS solutions.

Creating a Maya Business Manager account gives you access to exclusive deals like the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle. Maya 1-2-3 Grow entitles you to an amazing 1% merchant discount rate (MDR) on all QR Ph transactions completed with Maya POS solutions—that’s PHP 14,600 in savings for every PHP 1 million in QR Ph sales made during the promo’s three-month period. 

It gets even better. After signing on, you can set your Maya Business Deposit account as your settlement account to enjoy free fund transfers via InstaPay and PesoNET, as well as a generous 2.5% p.a. interest on your account. This translates to PHP 25,000 in earnings on a PHP 1 million deposit. You’ll also be qualified for a Maya Flexi Loan offer of up to PHP 2 million after just three months. Create a Maya Business Manager account today to update your POS system and move your business further with the Maya 1-2-3 Grow bundle.