If your wine inventory management system frustrates you, or has been making it difficult to accurately track the inventory in your store, it might be time for an upgrade.
The mere thought of upgrading your point of sale (POS) system might cause you to feel anxious about learning a new system.
You might also be concerned about how disruptive the switch will be to your business.
Those are perfectly reasonable feelings to have. Fortunately, upgrading your wine POS system is much less stressful and disruptive than you might think.
You don't have to shut down your store to install the new system. You don't have to be a technical expert or spend months trying to learn the new functions.
You don't have to waste hours reading through setup manuals and troubleshooting protocols. You don't even have to do it alone. You'll have support every step of the way.
Today, we're going to discuss what's involved in upgrading your wine POS system — we'll talk about the benefits of upgrading, so you can better understand how easy the switch can be.
Before you rush to switch your entire wine inventory management system, it's essential to ask yourself why you want to upgrade in the first place.
Are you trying to save time and labor costs associated with inventory tracking?
Do you want detailed insights into your top-selling products, so you know which products are the most profitable for your store?
Are you looking for a modern system with industry-specific functionality that you can't get with a generic retail POS system?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, it might be the right time to make the switch.
It’s perfectly natural to feel overwhelmed by the thought of upgrading systems. Change can be challenging to implement in any area of your life, especially your business.
Instead of focusing on the difficulties of making the switch — and there aren't many — we'll focus on what you stand to gain from making the upgrade.
Let's break the upgrade process down into small, manageable chunks.
Before deciding on a new system, you must first consider which style of software is best suited to your needs: local or cloud-based.
If you choose local software, it means your data will be stored in-house, which is like keeping it in a safe. You'll only have access to your inventory numbers when you are physically present at the store.
Typically, with local software, you purchase it upfront, so you own it. Initially, this can be more expensive — but once you've paid for it, it's yours.
Local software also doesn't require the internet to make transactions. If your store doesn't have Wi-Fi or if you live in an area with unreliable internet, this could be a good option.
For cloud-based systems, your data is stored online, the same way your emails are. This makes life easy because you can access your inventory numbers remotely.
Cloud-based systems allow you to keep tabs on your business from home or while on vacation. If you have multiple locations, you can also check in on your other stores without driving back and forth.
Because the subscription is monthly, there are fewer upfront costs associated with cloud-based systems. While you don't own the system outright, it will allow you to upgrade without a substantial initial bill.
Another advantage of a cloud-based system is that your data will be safely stored in case your store is ever damaged due to a natural disaster. We hope you're never faced with this scenario, but if you are, your business records will be safe and secure.
Once you've decided between a local or cloud-based POS system, you'll want to understand how a software upgrade will benefit your business.
A significant benefit of modern POS systems, compared to a generic retail POS, is that they have industry-specific functions that make your business more profitable and easier to operate.
For example, tracking and managing thousands of inventory items takes a lot of time and labor.
BottlePOS has auto invoicing which allows you to scan inventory when it arrives at your store and auto-populate it into the system. You no longer have to track and manage each item individually.
Your inventory will be updated before you get through the first line of "99 bottles of beer on the wall."
A modern POS system can also help you increase the profitability of your store with product ranking. With a few taps on the touchscreen, you'll see your inventory ranked with a grade from A-D, best-selling to worst-selling.
Products will be color coded to help you quickly identify which products are your top performers and which aren't.
The best part is that your system will grow with you and become smarter for your store over time by tracking quarterly and annual sales.
Do you know how Spotify recommends artists you might like based on your listening habits? A modern POS system does the same thing, but recommends products to reorder based on previous sales history.
Armed with this information, you'll be able to make smarter and more profitable purchasing decisions for the store.
The next step in upgrading your system is to get everything set up, which is much easier than you might think.
The first thing to understand about upgrading your system is that you don't have to do it alone. It's different than putting together a piece of IKEA furniture with simple instructions and minimal guidance.
Technical support will guide you every step of the way, should you need it. They'll help you determine which metrics are the most important to your business and ensure you know how to access them.
If you need to troubleshoot a problem after your POS system is set up, technical support can help you by walking you through the process over a live call or by taking control of your POS system remotely and fixing the issue.
Long story short, you'll never be left alone struggling to figure out the system.
Technical support is only one aspect that makes switching systems easy. The other is that your modern POS system has an intuitive touchscreen that's easy for new employees to learn, ultimately saving you time when it comes to training.
You can take your time with this decision. Upgrading your POS system can have a dramatic effect on helping you maximize profits and efficiency in your business, so it's worth taking the time to find the right one.
The most calculated approach is to speak to several different POS providers to find one that suits your needs.
If you'd like a list of potential liquor store POS providers, you can find one here.
We encourage you to set up a demo call to speak with a sales representative who can walk you through some of the functionality of each POS system. This will give you a chance to get answers to specific questions related to your store and get a sense of which system feels right.
If you would like to speak with a Bottle POS expert and see a live demonstration of our system, please schedule a demo.