point of sale software for small business | LithosPOS
A point-of-sale (POS) system is essential to improve day-to-day operations. The system helps in core functions of the business like employee scheduling, customer loyalty programs, and inventory tracking. So, your overall business functions are integrated with the system, and simply manage it.
In this guide we’ll cover:
How does a point of sale software work at a small business
Why do you need to consider a point of sale software for small businesses?
Type of small businesses and suitable point of sale software
Tips for choosing the best Point of sale software for small businesses
Types of point of sale software are commonly used
Frequently asked questions about a point of sale software for small businesses
How does a point of sale software work at a small business?
Point of sale software keeps your business efficient. It tracks sales and accepts payments from customers when a purchase is made. Most of the point of sale software is integrated and includes features that help you streamline your business, such as inventory management, report and analytics, payment integration, and a customer loyalty program.
However, let’s dive deep and learn how point of sale software works in a small business,
To get a clear picture, we can take a real-life scenario.
A customer comes to your instore and asks for one product they want
You are offering multiple payment methods and payment partners. The customer chooses one option and makes a payment
Point of sale tracks and records sales and automates printed or email receipts – customer satisfied.
As I said earlier point of sale software features help to streamline all your business operations.
1. The customer comes to your instore and asks for one product they want: studies show that when you are running out of stock more than 75% of customers rely on your competitor. So you need to make sure of the product availability.
So how will you do that? well, the software tracks every item in your inventory. When an item runs low on stock, you will be notified. Or you can preset a level and the stock will automatically add to the inventory.
2. You are offering multiple payment methods and payment partners Customers choose one option and make payment: “80% of retailers are suggesting contactless payments. It helps them to keep checkout counter clean and safer for employees and customers”.
However, you can enable a premium customer experience with integrated payments. It will boost your checkout process. Offering various payment methods and payment partners based on your country. The customer feels secure and flexible
3. Point of sale tracks and records sales and automates printed or email receipts – customer satisfied: the software records each transaction. You can check the sales data anytime. By automating the receipt option you can save a lot of time. and it will also help enhance the customer experience. If the customer prefers digital receipts you can send them to their email.
4. You are using customer data for your customer retention strategy: every time a purchase is made by the customer it will record in the CRM. based on their buying history it’s easy to find your loyal customers.
Use the data for marketing purposes (email marketing, WhatsApp marketing, SMS marketing, google ads, Facebook ads, etc) by targeting your loyal customers. As you know customer retention cost is cheaper than acquiring a new customer.
The Point sale software for small businesses is integrated and has multiple features. You can see here that everything is connected. So it keeps all the operations efficient.
Pro tip: Rather than investing in multiple software such as inventory management, CRM, loyalty programs, and online delivery, you can get everything under one umbrella. So you don’t need to pay for each software. For a small business, the point of sale software is worth it.
Why do you need to consider a point of sale software for small businesses
The image will give you a better understanding. So, you don’t need to visit another 5 blogs to understand this.
LithosPOS is one of the leading point of sale software with thousands of restaurant and retail customers from 64+ countries. The industry-leading software has 12+ integrated payment partners with multiple payment methods, online ordering and eCommerce integration, inventory management, accounting integration, and many more.
Intending to help and encourage small business owners, LithosPOS is the most affordable point of sale software for small businesses when compared to other software.
LithosPOS Uniqueness
Use the software like any other software on your mobile and pc
Helping small businesses and startups for getting success. Most affordable
Multiple integrated payments based on your country’s
eCommerce integration
Aggregator integration
Inventory management
Report and analytics(real-time, daily, weakly, monthly, and yearly)
Customer loyalty program
Work offline as well as online
Employee management
Manage multi-location business
Works on any devices
Access to reports from anywhere (cloud-based)
24/7 customer support, and more
Simple to use
LithosPOS focuses on user experience. With simple navigation and a better interface, anyone can simply understand the software. The data visualization and analysis are much simpler, you can view and analyze data in one interface. For example, you can see your eCommerce and in-store sales and compare them in one interface.
Most affordable
When compared to other point of sale software LithosPOS is the most affordable with so many benefits. LithosPOS aims to provide affordable software to small businesses and startups and help them grow.
Customers are now opting for smart devices or cards to make payments. by 2024, contactless payments are projected to triple from $2T to $6T. You can offer a premium customer experience with integrated payment. You can choose your payment partners based on your country.
It helps restaurant retail businesses to provide a premium customer experience to their customers. It helps to facilitate payment transactions and speed up the checkout process.
eCommerce integration
According to NRF retail sales are projected to reach $5.13-$5.23 trillion, with online sales growing 10-12% in 2023. The online business has high potential in the coming years. and online business becomes a necessary platform that helps you to increase sales and reach customers as well.
You can manage your online business and offline business with LithosPOS. Making reports and automating inventory, managing sales, and customers will be easier. Integrate your e-commerce platforms such as WooCommece, Shopify, and more.
Lithospos is a way for businesses to expand their business. Lithospos helps you accept online and offline orders, manage inventory efficiently, and know the performance of your platform.
If you are a restaurant owner you can expand your online business with various aggregators. For example, you can choose Uber Eats as your aggregator, sell items, and analyze your business.
Inventory management
LithosPOS keeps your inventory profitable. By preventing out-of-stock and maintaining inventory levels you can save a lot of money. The software will notify you when an item running low on stock. It also helps to generate reports and simplify accounting such as tax reports, sales reports, purchase returns, sales returns, and more.
By automating inventory, your inventory will also change based on the orders received from your online and offline platforms. You can automate all the manual tasks, including headaches.
Report and analytics
Access to the business data in real-time and manage it from anywhere in the world. Analyze your business performance such as most selling items, worst selling items, most and worst sales days, online sales, offline sales, employee efficiency, customer report, and more.
Customer loyalty program
LithosPOS point of sale software for small businesses tracks every customer. So you can simply find your loyal customers based on their buying behavior. However, you can use the customer contact details for marketing purposes. For example, send offers through emails, or SMS, and you can also add on a custom customer loyalty app.
Work offline as well as online
The software is cloud-based, but you don’t need to worry about it. If the internet is down you can make sales offline mode. After the internet is restored the data will automatically sync.
Employee management
Finding your top-selling and worst-selling employees and analyzing their performance will be easier. By tracking employees you can identify the cash lack at the end of the shift.
Manage multi-location business
Manage your multi-location business with LithosPOS. Transfer the goods across your businesses, simply analyze and generate inventory, sales, customer, tax, and many other reports.
Works on any device
If you are a small business owner with a limited budget, LithosPOS fits you. The software works with any device. You can simply run it on your existing Android, ios, and Windows devices. So you don’t have to buy any special hardware.
Pro tip:
Most of the POS software providers will tell you to invest in expensive hardwares. However investing in POS software like LithosPOS allows you to use any hardware that you have or you can afford. It is a huge advantage for small and medium businesses.
Access to business from anywhere
To manage your business you don’t need to be in your store location. Using LithosPOS cloud-based point of sale keeps your business efficient wherever you go. Access to the business report – analyze and manage, all you need is an internet connection and LithosPOS.
24/7 customer support
LithosPOS is always there to help you. You can contact customer support anytime you want.
Pro tip:
Small businesses need scalable software. In the future, your business will expand. In such a scenario, cloud-based software that can grow with the business is essential. Constantly changing software providers at every stage of your business growth can be difficult and time-consuming. It is also challenging for employees to learn the software if you consistently change.
However, Invest your money in the right software, not only for today but also for tomorrow.
What type of small business are you? | You need this
Single store business
If you are running a single-store business. Because of the limited budget and manpower, the business needs to invest in cloud POS software. You can reduce manpower by automating business operations. Automate inventory, generate reports, and more.
Pro tip:
You can also invest in a self-service KIOSK to reduce the need for labor. So the customer can checkout themselves.
LithosPOS-kiosk-software
Multilocation chain
To make multi-location businesses profitable you need a proper system. To keep both businesses efficient you need to invest in point of sale software. When you started using the software the inventory process got easy.
For example, if your one store runs out of stock, you can transfer goods from one store to another. The point is it allows you to manage everything in one software.
Combined brick-and-mortar and Online business
If you are a business owner with both online and brick-and-mortar stores, it can be more challenging to manage.
For example,
You sold a product through your eCommerce store
You are manually reducing items in the inventory
And manually calculating the online and offline sales
You are struggling to calculate your sales, profit, loss, and more in your business(online and offline)
Instead of that, you can invest in point of sale software for small businesses
For example,
You made a sale through your e-commerce platform
It automatically reduces that sold item from the inventory
The software automatically generates reports end of the year, month, week, or in real-time
You can simply analyze all your sales data without any manual calculations.
Managing both online and offline is crucial without technology. By integrating all your business operations together, you can manage your entire business from one place with one software.
Tips for choosing the best Point of sale software for small businesses(How to buy)
Your budget: consider your budget before buying software. It will be more expensive when purchasing the hardware. If you choose software that is compatible with any device, it allows you to use the software on your existing or low-cost devices as well.
User-friendly: The software should be very user-friendly. It should be easy to use even by a non-technical person. This will help prevent wasting a lot of time on software training. Every newly joining employee can use the software with ease, with no need for special training.
Your size: Consider where your business is now and at the same time consider your goal. Forecast your business growth and invest in point of sale software that can scale with you.
Your industry: Consider your business industry. If you are a retailer you need retail point of sale software it includes features such as payment integration, eCommerce integration, accounting software integration, CRM, and more
If you are a restaurant owner, you can invest in a restaurant point of sale software that includes payment integration, online ordering, aggregator online ordering, integration, accounting software integration, CRM, and more.
Types of point of sale software are commonly used
Here is the list of commonly used point of sale software for small businesses.
POS Type
Description
Suitable Businesses
Online POS
Operates over the internet and allows businesses to process transactions from different locations. Offers flexibility and accessibility.
E-commerce stores, multi-location retail businesses, service-based businesses with mobile operations
POS system installed on desktop computers, typically used in fixed locations such as retail stores or restaurants.
Boutique stores, high-end retail stores, cafes, and businesses with a focus on aesthetics and customer experience
iPad POS
Built for Apple’s iPad devices, providing a user-friendly and intuitive interface for processing transactions.
Retail businesses, cafes, small and medium-sized businesses, and businesses utilizing Android devices
Android POS
Specifically designed for Android devices, offering compatibility with a wide range of smartphones and tablets running on the Android operating system.
Retail businesses, cafes, small and medium-sized businesses, businesses utilizing Android devices
On-premise POS
Installed locally on the business’s own servers or computers, allowing complete control over the system and data.
Large retail chains, businesses with specific security and compliance requirements
Multichannel POS
It supports multiple sales channels, such as physical stores, online stores, and marketplaces, enabling seamless integration and management.
Retail businesses with an online presence, businesses selling through various channels, businesses aiming for centralized control
Omnichannel POS
POS system that provides a unified and consistent experience across all sales channels, allowing customers to have a seamless shopping experience.
Retail businesses with a strong online and offline presence, businesses prioritizing personalized customer experiences
Frequently asked questions about point of sale software for small businesses
Which point of sale software is the most affordable?
LithosPOS is the leading point of sale software for your small business. The price is low when compared to other software. It has a wide variety of payment integrations, inventory management, eCommerce integrations, aggregator integration, online ordering, report and analytics, customer loyalty programs, and more.
Can I use the phone as a point of sale (POS)?
Yes, you can. You can manage your business using your mobile devices as your POS. All you need is an app and a card reader. The software is compatible with Android, iOS, Windows, and more.
Is the point of sale software expensive?
Investing in cloud-based software is less expensive. You can reduce the high amount of hardware costs by using Android, ios, and Windows devices.
How long does it take to install a Point of sale software?
You can set up the software within 5 minutes. For example, you can quickly add thousands of items using CSV spreadsheets to inventory management. So, it is really fast and you don’t have to invest your time too much time in point of sale software.
Which is the most popular POS system for restaurants?
LithosPOS is the most popular POS system for restaurants, retailers, and small businesses. We are currently present in over 70 countries and our software is being used by over 6,000 independent businesses and 100+ chain stores. We support 5 languages including English, Spanish, French, Chinese, and Arabic. We have registered our company in the US as Lithospos, Inc. and we already have hardware and payment partners in several countries, including the US.
For a restaurant what type of business functions can be integrated with LithosPOS?
You can integrate your various business functions with LithosPOS. You can simplify your inventory, CRM, employees, payments, and online business. It also helps you to integrate with the front office and back office functions like KOT, kitchen display, customer display, Kiosks, and more. Not your business tasks, you can also simply manage your multi-location business through a centralized dashboard.
How do I set up a POS for my small business?
Get instructions from the POS provider
Set up hardware (computer, printer, scanner) and connect it with POS software
Upload products using Excel(bulk upload)
Give user permission
Configure taxes/payment options
Integrate with other software
Give training to staff
Test thoroughly, then launch and monitor
Identify the ways you can grow your small business and use it
Does LithosPOS integrate with QuickBooks?
Yes, LithosPOS integrates with QuickBooks. It allows you to simplify your accounting operations. And you can also integrate many other software as well.
Best POS with credit card processing option
LithosPOS can seamlessly integrate credit card processing into your point-of-sale system, providing you with a secure and efficient payment solution
There will be 4.41 billion social network users in 2025. can you imagine that half of the worldwide population uses social networks? we can use these networks for business opportunities. from large organizations to local businesses that are using these platforms. Let’s take restaurants as an example, using social media for restaurants helps to build a brand, trust, sales, and also customer loyalty.
“86% of Millennials will try a new restaurant after seeing food-related content online”
Social media has the influential power in users to make decisions. you can interact and encourage them to take action. but before that, you need a strategy. a proper strategy can bring more sales. you cannot increase sales just by posting images on social media. It makes no sense.
We have some tips to share with you about restaurant marketing on Instagram, keep reading…
Instagram for your restaurants
The Instagram app has more than 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. the user spends an average of 29 minutes a day on this platform. it is one of the largest photo and video-sharing social networks.
This platform can be used for business purposes. there are 200 million business profiles on Instagram. it is a great place to find your customers.
Instagram is a great platform for promoting your restaurant. it helps them build brands and trust, reach new customers, build relationships with existing customers, and also increase sales.
Tips for Improving Instagram Restaurant Marketing
Without the right strategy, your Instagram marketing efforts will fail. It all depends on how you influence your customers. Let’s discuss some restaurant marketing on Instagram tips.
1. Complete your bio
Add something special about the restaurant to your Instagram bio. it could be your business achievements, uniqueness, and more. The bio tells all about your restaurant.
restaurant marketing on Instagram | bio tip
Take an example sweetgreen. their bio is more eye-catchy.
Include these in your restaurant Instagram bio
Name and user name
Highlight your brand voice
Include relevant hashtags
Use emojis
call to action
website
WhatsApp link
2. Take advantage of analytics
restaurant marketing on Instagram | analytics tips
On Instagram, there is an insight feature. it will help you analyze your performance, account reach, interactions, and followers based on specific dates. you can also see each post’s performance.
Analyzing your performance will give you better insights. It’s useful to know when and what kind of posts and hashtags are working. analyzing has a vital role in restaurant marketing
3. Regular posting
Consistency is a high priority for your Instagram growth. schedule your daily posts(recommended). it helps you gain brand awareness, customer satisfaction, and also conversions.
4. No compromise in quality
Quality content is always king. use high-quality images and videos. post content like creative food photos, user-generated content, and engaging content.
Visit Classic Foods UK where they are using user-generated content. it builds their credibility and trust.
5. Test test test
Post different types of content and find out what works and what does not. also, test various time posts and it will help you find the most engaging time.
For example, you can post a delicious food photo or video with a call to action at lunchtime(12 pm to 1 pm). there is a possibility of getting a conversion.
because 12 pm to 1 pm is mostly starving time. users are more likely to convert when they see your post.
Keep testing and find opportunities.
6. Collaborating with food bloggers
Collaborating with food bloggers is a great way to maximize your reach on Instagram. influencer marketing is highly recommended. not only for brand awareness but also to help build trust. many are using this tactic in their restaurant marketing on Instagram.
restaurant marketing on Instagram | Collaborating with food bloggers tip
Labbaik_pune shared a reel collaborating with marathifoodblogger. this helps them get more engagement and sales.
7. Use the Facebook ad library for competitor analysis
restaurant marketing on Instagram | Facebook ad library tip
Running Instagram ads helps you get more reach and conversions. for getting better ROI you need a proper strategy. building a winning strategy is very simple. find your industry-leading competitors and study them.
Use the Facebook ad library, you can find all your competitor ads from there. analyze what kind of ads they are running, their call to action, offerings, landing pages, etc.
Find long-running active ads. that will be their most effective ad. build a strategy that beats your competitors.
8. Use more Instagram Reels
The Instagram reel is more effective at reaching out and engaging. It has 22% more engagement compared to a normal video. make more reels, that are engaging and informational.
restaurant marketing on Instagram | reels tip
Crafians on Instagram share so many types of reels. They are properly utilizing it. They’re getting thousands of views from reels. take them as an example.
Some Instagram Reel ideas for your restaurant
Follow your employees and show their work-life and efforts
Show your online ordering platforms. how to use it and new updates
Promote special offers
Introduce and describe all your menu items
9. Use stories
restaurant marketing on Instagram | stories tip
Instagram stories are highly powerful. use various polls to engage your followers. give them two options and let them choose. understand their behavior and preferences and create content based on that.
Here is an example of using stories as you can see in the above picture. Subway asks a question and their followers can select their answers.
10. Let them speak
Let your customer speak. studies show that content like the user speaks is more powerful. it has more engagement and reaches. ask them their thoughts and experiences based on a specific subject.
For example, ask your followers to comment, “What is the most delicious meal you have ever eaten?”
This is a great way to bring more engagement to your page. It helps to build a strong relationship with followers.
11. Tag them for your post
Loyalty is everything. customer interaction helps to build strong loyalty. capture memorable experiences with your customers on camera. upload it on Instagram and tag your customers.
It will also help to connect with customers from outside of business as well. this will build a strong relationship with your customers.
12. Followed by celebrities
People always like recommendations. not only from friends and family but also from celebrities and influencers. Celebrities and influencers help build trust in businesses. on Instagram you can collaborate with them.
But more than that, you can ask them to follow your page. when a user reaches your page they feel something they trust and will likely convert.
restaurant marketing on Instagram | Followed by celebrity tips
For example, Hard Rock Cafe has a paid partnership with Lionel Messi. He also follows them. It enhances the brand identity of Hard Rock Cafe.
13. Use Facebook ad lookalike audience
Facebook lookalike audience for restaurant marketing on Instagram
You can run Instagram ads using the Facebook ads manager. Lookalike audiences are a golden feature of Facebook ads. You can create similar audiences for your existing customers and run ads targeting them.
Collect customer data such as names, mobile numbers, and emails. Upload it to Facebook Ads and run targeted ads. You can also create a Lookalike audience from that customer list.
It also enables you to run low-cost ads and reach the right targeted audience.
Conclusion
Nowadays, it is very important to use Instagram for restaurant marketing. It helps to build a brand, conversion, and also customer retention. reaching customers with Instagram has no limits and you can always stay in touch with them. Instagram has become the number one part of your online presence.
