Hardware & Software

6 Liquor Store Software Features You Can't Live Without

Oct 03, 2024 • 5 min read

Every day, you hear about how new software is transforming businesses — and you should believe the hype. Software is helping independent businesses modernize the customer experience and gain insights that improve sales and help businesses grow.

While there are various retail management solutions out there, what makes liquor store software unique? Is there an advantage to using liquor store software over a general retail solution?

Let’s find out. In this article, we’ll cover the benefits of using industry-specific software along with the six liquor store software features you can’t live without.

Benefits of Using Software Built for the Liquor Industry

Using a modern point of sale (POS) system is a great idea for your business. Beyond processing payments, a POS solution can help your business:

Optimize daily processes
Boost sales
Improve the customer experience.

…and more.

There are lots of POS systems to choose from and not all of them are built with liquor retailers in mind. What’s the best option for you?

Using comprehensive liquor store software is the right way to go. A liquor store POS system combines everything great about a modern retail POS along with specific features that make running a liquor, beer, or wine shop easier than ever.

With a liquor POS system, liquor store owners will enjoy all the benefits of retail management as well as:

Increased compliance and transparency: Use age verification tools and keep track of sales on every channel.
Integrated high-risk payments: Seamlessly process payments and decrease your risk of chargebacks by using a system with built-in high-risk payment processing.
Advanced inventory management: Track inventory in real time with advanced inventory, including the ability to track unlimited SKUs and bottles/cans within a case.
Robust sales tracking: Gain added visibility into your business operations while keeping tabs on customer demand, popular products, and more using data-driven reports.

Many general retail systems can only give liquor store owners every feature they need through costly add-ons or complex integrations. That’s why we recommend using a POS system that comes with everything you need out of the box.

6 Liquor Store Software Features You Need Today

Every liquor store is unique and everyone’s needs will be a little different. However, whether you run a new business or an established brand with multiple locations, there are certain features you can’t live without.

Here are six liquor store software features to look out for.

1. Real-Time Inventory Tracking and Automated Reorders

Tracking inventory is tough and the more variety you offer the harder it is.

Use liquor store software that offers unlimited SKUs and real-time inventory tracking to get the most out of your system. An accurate, up-to-date view of inventory helps you monitor inventory churn, optimize stock levels, and avoid stockouts.

Better yet, the best systems let you set automatic reorder points, so when a particular item is running low, the system will automatically remind you to put in a purchase order. Combined with streamlined vendor management, avoiding stockouts is a breeze.

2. Auto Ranking

Variety is the spice of life and having lots of options is great for customers — but it can also create a lot of headaches. Knowing which products are most popular is crucial to avoiding stockouts and making better decisions on what to stock in the future.

But that can be easier said than done. Imagine you stock 25 brands of bourbon — which ones are your bestsellers? Sure, you could look at sales reports and crunch the numbers yourself, but it’s a lot of time and effort.

Instead, use liquor store software that supports auto ranking to quickly identify your bestsellers in different product categories. Auto ranking grades items on a scale from A to D, allowing you to quickly see which products are bestsellers and which are overstocked or dead stock.

See the auto ranking feature on Bottle POS in action by watching the video below:

3. Reports and Analytics

Reports aren’t just useful for looking at sales or finding bestsellers; they can give you insights into many aspects of your business operations. Use the reports on your POS system to understand things like:

Peak hours: See when your busiest times of day, days of the week, and seasons are so you can make smarter inventory and staffing decisions.
Demand forecasting: Combine your sales data with other information (e.g., game days, holidays, etc.) to better predict when surges in demand will happen.
Sales reports: See daily, weekly, or monthly sales reports to assess store performance.
Marketing effectiveness: Monitor the effectiveness of specific coupons and promotional strategies so you can home in on the strategies that work.

These are just a few of the ways you can use data to make smarter decisions in your business. If you don’t know how to tackle problems like decreased revenue or smaller average transactions, using reports is a great way to get an unbiased, bird’s-eye view.

4. Customer Loyalty Programs

Earning points is addictive and turning points into discounts is even better. There’s a reason most retailers offer some form of customer loyalty and it’s a liquor store software feature you need to have.

Customize customer loyalty programs to fit your store. The most basic form has customers earn points on every purchase, which accrue and can eventually be used as a discount.

However, don’t be afraid to be creative. Offer double points on certain days, or exclusive membership-only promotions — change things up to keep customers coming back for more.

Pro Tip: Customer loyalty programs aren’t just there to upsell customers, they’re a fantastic tool in your liquor store marketing arsenal. Use the data you collect to create targeted offers. For example, segment your whiskey lovers and wine lovers to send marketing emails that are tailored to their buying habits.

5. Online Sales Integration

Online liquor sales are a fantastic way to extend your reach and encourage customers to make a split-second purchase. If your state allows online sales, then what are you waiting for?

To make things simple, use liquor store software that integrates directly with your online store. This ensures your in-store and online stock levels are up to date, and you can process payments and track sales on the same system.

Last but not least, make sure to use a system with strict age verification tools and shipment standards. When you can’t physically ID in-store, your risk of making an underage sale increases without the right safeguards.

6. Age Verification and ID Scanning Tools

Did you know that some states run undercover stings at liquor stores and restaurants to look for businesses that have become lax on checking IDs?

We get it, checking every customer’s license is a pain — but letting your guard down isn’t worth it. With ID scanning and similar liquor store software features, you don’t have to worry about it.

Many modern liquor store POS systems support ID scanning and other age verification tools to make staying on the right side of the law easy. It’s also better for customers, since scanning or swiping an ID takes a fraction of the time of manual checks.

Get Everything You Need To Run Your Liquor Store With Bottle POS

Running a liquor store can be stressful — but with the right technology, it doesn’t have to be.

Bottle POS was built by a liquor store owner for liquor store owners with software features designed to make your day-to-day life easier. With Bottle POS, you can improve your customer service and profit margins with features like:

Auto ranking and sales reports
Advanced inventory management
Automated reorder notifications
Employee management and performance tracking
High-risk payment processing and contactless payments

… and more.

Schedule a demo with our liquor store experts today to see how Bottle POS can help your liquor business thrive.

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