The Positive Effects Of POS-as-a-Service
By The Business Solutions Network
We all know how volatile the world of POS and payment processing can be. For some, change is overwhelming and it becomes a threat. For others, change is an opportunity. A few years ago, Jared Isaacman and the people at Harbortouch saw an opportunity in change and created an industry-shaking model.
In October, I attended Harbortouch’s annual partner conference and saw, first hand, the effects of this model. Whether you love it or hate it, Harbortouch’s model seems to be working for its partners. Over the course of a few days, I interacted with both ISOs (who were relatively new to POS) and VARs (who were old schools vets — many of which came from selling the big names you’d expect). While Harbortouch’s partners would have a lot of positive things to share about the company, they’d all agree that the primary benefit of the model is the recurring revenue that they lock in with each customer.
Hearing this from the old school VARs interested me most. Each and every one told me, without prompting, that prior to selling POS-as-a-Service, they had no real exit strategy. One is a business owner who said, on the old break-fix model, his company was worth next to nothing. Now 70 percent of his sales generate recurring revenue on this model and his business is worth quite a bit. Another owner changed his entire company to reduce expenses and load up on recurring revenue deals. His monthly expenses are now totally covered by his recurring revenue from POS-as-a-Service deals. One VAR used to be a salesman who would bust his butt every year to hit $1 million in sales only to start back at zero at the beginning of the year. Now he has a book of recurring revenue that’s worth something every month, year over year.
At this point, you might think this is a commercial for Harbortouch. It isn’t. Rather, it’s a commercial for changing your business to win as much recurring revenue business as you can. You could partner with Harbortouch or someone else. That’s a decision for you and your company. The point I’m trying to make — and we continue to make — is that the key to your long-term stability and prosperity is getting away from the ups and downs of the traditional model and moving to services.