You can’t make a proper martini without a cocktail shaker. You wouldn’t be able to properly enjoy a glass of merlot if you poured it into a Solo cup instead of a proper glass. Without the right tools, getting the desired experience is challenging.
It’s no different with your liquor store point of sale (POS) hardware.
You’ve worked hard to make your store a staple in your community. You’ve put time and care into your offerings, your promotions, and your store’s layout and design. But if you don’t have the right tools to manage inventory and checkout processes, running your store is going to be much harder than it needs to be.
This post covers the essential liquor store POS hardware you need to run your store efficiently and keep your customers happy and coming back for more!
Liquor Store POS Hardware: Do You Need a Full POS System?
Before we dive into the details of the top providers and tools for liquor store POS hardware, let’s begin with a foundational question: Is a full POS system necessary, or can you get by with a traditional cash register? The short answer is, you absolutely need a full POS system to grow your store! But why?
First, a full POS system offers increased efficiency in your checkout processes. With a comprehensive POS setup, your staff can process transactions faster and more accurately, leading to shorter checkout lines and happier, more loyal customers.
A point of sale solution can also help you with your inventory management process. A full POS system allows you to keep track of stock levels, automatically generating purchase orders when items are running low. With a point of sale solution, you can say “goodbye” to manual inventory counts, and reduce your risk of running out of popular items.
Sales reporting capabilities are another significant advantage of a full POS system. Using a centralized system to track sales data can help you gain valuable insights into your store's performance. Detailed reports on top-selling products, slow movers, and peak sales periods enable you to make data-driven decisions to optimize your inventory and marketing strategies.
Finally, customer data tracking is a game-changer for personalized marketing and customer retention. Full POS systems can store customer information, allowing you to create loyalty programs, offer targeted promotions, and improve overall customer engagement. Understanding your customers' preferences and purchase history can lead to increased sales and stronger relationships.
While a full point of sale solution provides your business with a whole host of advantages, you want to make sure you avoid falling into the trap of purchasing a solution with features and hardware you don’t need!
Before investing in a full POS system, carefully evaluate your liquor store's specific requirements to ensure you choose a solution that caters to your business needs and budget. Consider a solution like Bottle POS that allows you to build a custom solution tailor-made to your store’s needs, so you can avoid overspending on unnecessary features while still enjoying the benefits of a fully integrated solution.
1. Touch PC
The first piece of point of sale hardware you need to consider for your liquor store is your terminal. We recommend a touch PC.
The touchscreen interface of your point of sale station is user-friendly and easy to train new staff to use. You can complete transactions and access back office functionality from the same machine, giving you the ability to cash out customers and reference real-time inventory data.
You may also want to explore a terminal with a customer display attached. This display allows customers to view their purchases, prices, and any promotions applied, enhancing transparency and trust during the checkout.
Top Providers
- Bottle POS: Bottle POS offers an all-in-one touchscreen point of sale terminal with an intuitive interface designed to streamline your checkout process and empower your team to easily manage daily tasks.
- Clover: Clover’s Station Mini is a touchscreen point of sale option that is a strong solution for stores with smaller sales volume. It does not come with a cash drawer solution or other integrated hardware.
- POS Nation: POS Nation offers multiple options for touchscreen PCs. You can also use POS Nation to pursue a traditional desktop PC bundled with a separate touchscreen monitor, though that solution is not recommended for most retailers.
2. Barcode Scanner
Managing inventory in a liquor store can be a daunting task, especially with a vast range of products. A barcode scanner comes to your rescue!
You can use a barcode scanner system to read the printed barcodes on liquor products, making inventory management and checkout processes a breeze. By scanning barcodes, your staff can quickly update stock levels, track product movement, and ensure accurate pricing during transactions.
Additionally, you can use barcode scanners in the checkout process to quickly and easily verify customer IDs. This step takes some of the manual effort and risk of human error out of the ID verification process, ensuring you stay compliant with all local liquor sale laws.
Top Providers
- Bottle POS: Bottle POS offers a variety of barcode scanners that integrate with our advanced point of sale and inventory management software. Additionally, you can use our barcode scanners for ID verification processes to streamline your checkout process.
- Zebra Technologies: Zebra offers several barcode scanners from general purpose scanners and hands-free options to rugged scanners designed for challenging or outdoor use.
3. Credit Card Reader
Cash payments dwindle year after year. If you want to run a successful, modern liquor store, you need a credit card reader. The simplest option you can implement in your store is a credit card reader and basic pinpad.
However, if you want to cater to a broader range of customers, you may want to consider implementing a payment terminal that accepts contactless payments and mobile payments like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Contactless and mobile payments provide a seamless checkout experience for your customers, giving them a more positive experience in your store.
Top Providers
- Bottle POS: Bottle POS offers a variety of pinpad options, including wireless pinpads, mobile payment processing and contactless solutions, and more.
- Square: Square offers a variety of card readers that integrate with tablets and mobile devices, and operate as standalone terminals.
- POS Nation: POS Nation offers multiple pinpad solutions, from basic pinpads that only allow for PIN entry to more advanced solutions that offer contactless or mobile payment options.
4. Receipt Printer
Providing customers with a tangible record of their purchases is a standard expectation in retail, and to accomplish that, you’ll need a reliable receipt printer.
A receipt printer that integrates seamlessly with your POS software can generate itemized receipts for every purchase. This solution can help you improve customer satisfaction, increase transparency between you and your customers during the checkout process, and make returns and exchanges simpler.
Top Providers
- Bottle POS: Bottle POS offers several top options for receipt printers that seamlessly integrate with Bottle POS’ point of sale technology to offer simple, reliable printed receipts. No fuss.
- Epson: Epson offers a variety of standalone POS products designed to integrate with your existing point of sale solution. In addition to receipt printers, they offer label printers and kitchen displays for restaurants.
- Star Micronics: You can explore a variety of thermal receipt printers with Star Micronics, including printers designed to print receipts on sticker paper, printer/cash drawer combinations, and more.
5. Cash Drawer
Despite the move toward cashless payments, some customers will still want to pay cash for their purchases. As a result, you need a sturdy and reliable cash drawer to handle these payments efficiently and securely.
A cash drawer is simply a secure metal drawer designed explicitly for cash storage, ensuring that your cash payments and change are organized and safeguarded throughout the day. You need a high-quality cash drawer that complements your POS system, providing the reliability and security your liquor store needs for cash transactions.
Top Providers
- Bottle POS: Bottle POS offers the functionality you need without unnecessary add-ons. If you want a simple, secure cash drawer for your point of sale terminal, we have the solution for you.
- Lightspeed: Lightspeed offers a secure cash drawer that integrates with their supported printers to secure cash payments during transactions.
- Sam4S: Sam4S offers a range of point of sale hardware, including secure cash drawers designed for restaurants and supermarkets.
Bundle Your Liquor Store POS Hardware for Convenience
After investing in the tools listed in this post, you’ll have everything you need to run your liquor store smoothly and efficiently! But piecing this hardware together from different vendors and providers can be overwhelming.
Instead, you could choose to work with a single provider capable of offering you all the hardware you need, plus a robust point of sale software solution.
Bottle POS offers a unique build and price tool, allowing you to mix and match the hardware and software you need for your store, so you get all the features you need and none of the expensive bells and whistles you don’t.
Schedule a software demo of Bottle POS today to see if our all-in-one point of sale system is right for your store!
