Despite the widespread use of retail billing software, delays at checkout counters is still a common scene. As customers grow restless and ask the sales staff for explanations, the helpless staff is often ready with a standard answer – “We have a Technical Issue”. While this vague answer lets the sales staff off the hook, it does nothing to improve the customer experience, and an otherwise pleasant shopping experience is later remembered with annoyance. Unfortunately, a negative memory like that can result in poor customer retention.
For a business owner who has invested in a retail billing solution, such a situation is understandably upsetting. After all, a retail billing system is supposed to improve business performance, not upset customers through delays at billing counters. Fortunately, there is a lot that you as a business owner can do to avoid situations like this. More often than not these issues are avoidable with the right system design, comprehensive functionality, and proper setup and training, all of which lead to accurate and timely billing. In other words, it all boils down to the retail billing features you should insist on in your solution and the setup and training that follows once you have made your choice.
Here are some practical tips to ensure a smooth and pleasant checkout experience for your customers.
Know What Features of Retail Billing to Prioritize
Intuitive User Experience
As your sales clerk must perform a variety of steps to complete the checkout process, with variations from customer to customer such as changing payment methods, redeeming customer loyalty points or vouchers, applying discounts, verifying product information, etc, it is important that the retail billing software is designed with user experience in mind. Here are some features that indicate an intuitive user experience:
- The software lets users perform a wide variety of functions with a minimal number of clicks and traversals from one screen to another
- The software provides standard Hotkeys that can be used across the application
- The software supports quick login and logout
The retail billing software supports touch-sensitive screens - The software is designed with UI design principles in mind, such as using the right color combinations for easy differentiation
Software and Hardware Integrations
To give your customers a smooth and speedy checkout experience, you should make sure your billing system is integrated with other important data capture and recording systems. Most retail owners look for retail billing software with barcode support. Having a software that supports barcodes is important, but don’t stop there. Depending on your industry and customer profile, you might want to consider other functionalities, such as whether the system supports card payments or mobile wallet payments or perhaps you would benefit from integration with weighing scales. In any case, a software with open architecture will give you the flexibility to integrate with any other hardware device or software solution as and when the need arises. Use this list to verify whether your software supports the functionality you need.
- The software integrates seamlessly with data capture and recording devices
- The software is integrated with other software or hardware solutions that are essential to your business, such as barcode readers, weighing scales, credit card readers, etc.
- The software has open architecture which allows for integration with any third party software
Application Configurability
As every business is unique, a one-size-fits-all approach will only get in the way of its smooth functioning. Look for software that is configurable to ensure your retail billing system functions just the way you want it. Configurable solutions give you flexibility in multiple areas, such as whether you want to use a touch screen or keyboard, what kind of controls to give your sales reps, whether a supervisor’s presence is needed to unlock certain functionalities, etc.
Hybrid Cloud Architecture
While businesses are eager to get cloud-based retail billing solutions to enjoy the affordability, accessibility, enhanced security, and scalability associated with cloud-based solutions, it could also lead to delays at the checkout counter when the internet goes down. You can enjoy the best of both worlds when you opt for a solution with hybrid cloud architecture.
Setting Up the Retail Billing System
Once you have made your choice of retail billing solution, your job is half-done, but it is by no means over. Setting up the retail billing system is the crucial next step, and it is important to get it right to ensure a positive customer experience. Here is a checklist that you can use to ensure you have taken care of the essential aspects of setting up your system.
- Go through the system settings and make sure the right defaults are set according to your business needs and processes.
- Ensure the Product Master is accurate and up to date, with
- The latest pricing information
- Updates every time the business is running promotions or discounts
- Updated stock information to avoid ghost stocks and stock outages
- Correctly defined SKUs
- Unique [bar]codes
- Ensure the customer master is kept accurate and up to date with loyalty numbers and the correct contact information
- Ensure hardware devices are configured as per the recommendation o the vendor
- Ensure you have fast network bandwidth
Impart Training for Efficient Use of Your Retail Billing Software
Finally, no matter how well you complete the previous steps, ultimately it is your employees that will be handling checkouts and interacting with the billing system on a daily basis. Impart training to the sales reps to ensure they use the retail billing software efficiently, making use of all its handy features. These are the areas you should cover in the training:
- Ensure the sales reps are aware of and familiar with the software features and functionality
- Ensure the sales reps gain mastery of the most frequently used functionalities