POS and Accounting: The Need For Integration

End user demand for a total point of sale (POS) solution that includes POS transactions, back-office accounting and a tested hardware solution has reached a peak. Still, many resellers are still trying to make a multiple-vendor solution work and are losing sales as a result. The solution? Partnering with vendors who provide complete POS and accounting solutions may be your best bet for closing more sales and increasing profits.

As the point of sale market continues to explode, end users are demanding truly integrated point of sale packages that perform a complete financial function, one that starts at the front end and is completed with back-office accounting. And, their reasoning is sound … Why duplicate work that can easily be done in one step rather than two?

True POS & Accounting Integration
With only a few notable exceptions, point of sale stands alone and does not integrate the back-office accounting package. Sure, the data can be exported, then imported, verified for accuracy and then properly posted to the correct accounts. With an integrated point of sale and back-office solution, much of the work is done the moment the sale is made.

The sale is registered, inventory depleted, min/max levels queried and if necessary, a purchase order generated. Then, upon evening posting, all income and expense accounts are posted without having to have someone oversee data that is imported to be sure it is correct. Integration ensures a seamless one-step process that makes the retailers‘ job much simpler and more cost-efficient.

Integration Allows Instant Data Access
An even more important feature of integrated accounting and point of sale is the ability to have instant access to information about customers - their buying and payment history as well as credit information. A customer should not have to wait to find out his accounts receivable balance. A clerk at the front end should be able to seamlessly accept payment along with the point of sale purchase. Integration helps reduce the amount of information users need to effectively do their job. And it does not sacrifice the integrity of the back-office.

Differentiate Yourself From Competitors
For resellers, this trend offers a unique opportunity to provide comprehensive products that are easily differentiated in a market already flooded with "Me, too" products. In fact, specialization and integration promise to be the next big moves in the point of sale market. Those VARs that start exploring how these dynamic one-step solutions can be applied to their market segment now will be the ones to make the largest profit and growth moves in the future.

For POS resellers, the need for integration between point of sale and accounting is no longer really optional. A complete package designed to provide full POS and accounting functionality is the only way end users can be sure that data is accurate in a timely fashion. What a waste of time for end users to have to constantly export data from their POS system to do up-to-the-minute reports. It is waste of time to pull data, then merge it with order entry data that may be coming from another non-point of sale accounting program. Then, the user must ensure that all the data is merged correctly and entered into the appropriate general ledger accounts.

Hardware Completes The Puzzle
The final step in true one-step point of sale solutions is integration with a hardware solution. The ability for POS software to be configured to work with a variety of different equipment has always left end users stymied and VARs scrambling for a solution that is a guaranteed fit. The partnering of software vendors with hardware vendors to provide a one-step solution has proven to be a boon for resellers. Resellers are able to provide a one-step solution without having to become integrators themselves, yet still earn high margins.

Finally, for VARs, one-step solutions make complete sense: one company to deal with, one technical support system, one learning curve. And the payoff is much higher than trying to integrate numerous products, vendors and support systems. One-step solutions are a win-win situation for everyone - vendor, VAR and end user.

Moving Toward The One-Box Solution
VARs and vendors who are currently adapting a one-step solution now are setting the tone for the future of the POS industry. As high technology as a whole continues to lean to a "one-box" solution, end users demand similar solutions from all of their technology. In that respect, POS will not be spared. It is up to savvy resellers and vendors who don't want to get left behind to team up now and ensure that end users have the solutions they demand.

The future of POS is in total integration of point of sale, accounting and hardware. In a time of rapidly shrinking margins and lightning-fast mergers, the last profit frontier in the POS market is in one-step solutions. Like the PC VARs before them, POS VARs have to make a choice to adapt early or be left behind … The question is simple; which will you choose?

Dave Lakhani is director of sales and public relations for Cougar Mountain Software. Steve Watts is a retail systems account executive. They can be reached at (208) 375-4455. Cougar Mountain provides POS and accounting software and partners with vendors to offer the hardware.