POS Application for Retail Management Service

Cross-Device Software

Running the POS software on multiple devices with different screen sizes and operating systems was a major requirement. Our client needed a retail POS system compatible with desktops, mobiles, tablets, and kiosks. Further, the client requirements per device were as follows:

For Desktop:

The application must be installed on the system and also be accessible using a web browser. In addition, it must be working in collaboration with the barcode scanner, cash drawer, and a card reader connected to the computer system.

For Mobiles:

The main purpose of POS application development for mobile devices is to leverage portability and save space at on-premises stores. The POS software must work with a connected card swiper and send the invoice directly to the customer’s mobile number and email.

For Tablets:

The only purpose of including the tablet was to provide a clearer view of the images and product information. All the functionalities of tablet POS will be the same as mobile POS, and they will run on both iOS and Android devices.

For Kiosks:

The kiosk POS system requirement is specifically for retail stores dealing with grocery, beauty products, and apparel. The main features of this retail software development were to enable self-checkout, find the products, process refunds, and check product prices.

Specific Report Generation

Every business needs a report to analyze user behavior, maintain inventory, maintain accounts, and prepare future plans accordingly. Our client demanded a built-in feature that can automatically prepare the following reports in industry-defined formats.

The reports include:

• Sales Report
• Blocked Product Report
• Most Selling Product Report
• Profit and Loss Report
• Total investment and ROI report
• Tax Report
• Successful and Failed Transaction Report

Additionally, all the reports were required to display data in pie charts, tables, and graphs. Also, the retail POS system must allow the sharing of reports directly to authorized email addresses.

ERP and CRM Integration

Numerous large retail businesses use ERP and CRM solutions consisting of modules such as inventory management, market analysis, and much more. Our client needed a POS system that could connect to these ERP systems so that real-time updates could be executed.

The primary challenge for this requirement was to automate it and secure data transactions simultaneously. Also, all the communication established between POS and other systems should be full-duplex for better decision-making at the management’s end.

Online Payment Embedding

Every customer shops with a different mode of payment. Some utilize debit cards, credit cards, net banking, and eWallets, and some still prefer cash or COD. With the help of the retail point of sales system, our client described the following payment targets to achieve:

• Allowing customers to pay through net banking using the specified bank’s gateway.
• Enabling payment through Mastercard, Visa, and RuPay debit and credit cards.
• To leverage customers with UPI, GPay, PhonePe, Amazon Pay, and Paytm wallet payments.
• To enable payment by scanning a QR Code.

All the mentioned payment gateway integration was the major requirement.

Data Syncing and Security

Data syncing was a paramount need for the POS for retail stores. The business owners are operating multiple stores and even websites. Due to this, they wanted a system that could sync all the data to a centralized repository and update it across all locations. Also, another requirement under data syncing was to create a single and store-specific payment transaction list.

Furthermore, data security was also another concern. The client required every possible authentication, access control, and authorization mechanism in place to maintain the data CIA triads (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability).

Customer Behavior Tracking

The user behavior tracking functionality was listed as a core feature of the retail POS system. It will help businesses to query the system and find details about a particular customer or a set of customers. In addition, the requirements under it include:

• Analyzing the customer behavior at a specific store location.
• Assessing the behavior of customers at all locations simultaneously.
• Examining the most sold product per age group, gender, and location.
• Performing in-depth analysis of customer satisfaction and experience across website and on-premises shopping.

Offers and Loyalty Programs

To allow retail businesses to streamline loyalty programs, the feature to create customer ID, associate purchase history, and provide custom offers was the requirement.

Our client needed a system that could create a unique ID for every customer, allowing them to avail loyalty offers from any store, including the website. In addition, another requirement was added to allow staff members to provide discounts per company policies in some exceptional cases.

Moreover, for retail stores in different countries and continents, our client required the POS application to be configured with specific offers. For instance, during Diwali, the POS system shows discounts only in Indian Stores; for La Tomatina, it shows discounts in Spain and, accordingly, for every other location.