Buying a cash till system: everything you need
Regardless of which economic sector you operate in, your professional cash till solution should not be without the following devices and functions:
Cash register system
The cash register is the heart of your payment solution, and all peripheral devices are connected to it. For use in retail, the cash till, monitor, customer display and receipt printer are among the most important hardware components. In the restaurant business, for example, dispensing equipment and a kitchen monitor are also necessary. Additionally, the checkout system also includes the respective software for managing checkout processes and documenting all business transactions – either locally, on an external server or over an encrypted connection to the cloud of the checkout system provider.
Input device
A checkout system is only as good as its usability. There are various technical solutions to this end: the standard combination of keyboard and mouse is largely self-explanatory and individually programmable. By comparison, an intuitive touchscreen can noticeably accelerate navigation of the checkout software – payment processes using a barcode scanner are even faster. Which input device you ultimately choose is only dependent upon your preferences.
Card reader
The card reader has a particular importance in modern cash till solutions, because the ability to pay using cards has long been a matter of course for many customers. For this reason, your checkout system should, at the very least, include a fixed card reader that is ready for use immediately with a LAN cable and plug-and-play functionality. In contrast, if your point of sale is somewhere other than the sales counter, or even outside of your shop area, you need a handheld model such as the Concardis Move 5000 or the Mobile Premium card reader. The mark of a true POS cash till system is, primarily, mobile payment terminals that can be used while talking to the customer or flexibly while on the go.
Every Concardis card reader is compatible with all common debit and credit cards, is PCI-certified and, thanks to NFC technology, even works for contactless transactions. And mobile payments are not a problem: thanks to Optipay, your customers can also make payments using their smartphone with Google Pay, Apple Pay or even Alipay – your customers from China will thank you.
Receipt printer
Receipt printers that are integrated into the checkout system or the card reader generate purchase receipts and cash codes for your customers at the press of a button. Dot matrix printers are cheaper in comparison; however, we recommend the significantly faster thermal printers, which are also less susceptible to disruptions.
Additional functions
Using practical additional functions, you can expand the scope of services provided by your integrated cash till solution:
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Dynamic currency conversion (DCC): Show your international customers the purchase price in their respective home currency, thereby saving them from having to do any mental maths.
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Tax-Free: Enable your customers from other countries who have the corresponding eligibility to shop tax-free.
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Tip function: Makes it possible to leave a tip even when paying with card.
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Reservation function: Reserves open amounts (e.g. for hotel rooms or rental cars) on the customer’s credit card.
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Prepaid and voucher solution: This makes it possible to select prepaid balances and voucher codes directly at the payment terminal and to provide them to the customer in the form of a receipt.
With Concardis, you can simply book these functions and activate them overnight – without any additional hardware. Let our experts advise you.
