So I’m shopping around for a POS solution for the club, and let me be the first to say there are TRILLIONS of POS solutions out there.  From standlone solutions like the Micros/RES units to PC-based applications, the sheer number of choices is ridiculous.  Our needs, for the moment, are simple:

… 5 workstations, 5 tills, 5 drawers
… central server for data integrity
… speedy UI, be it touch-screen or breakout keypad (no mouse)
… customizable reporting, including several specific anti-fraud requirements
… ability to expand to multiple locations under the same server
… real-time price updating
… key/PIN required for every transaction
… inventory maintenance, forecasting, and ordering
… “honeypot” fraud traps (BAD KITTY!!)

A POS application is a very simple operation, really.  Enter items -> verify items are valid -> stupidity check -> present total -> subtract total from tender -> stupidity check -> adjust inventory -> print receipt -> write to logs.  The challenge lies in making it resistant to tampering.

For example, say I want to steal Red Bull:  If there’s no POS system in place, I can just take the can and nobody gets wise.  Theoretically, we know we should go through x00 cans of Red Bull in a week, but that number is just an average, so there’s room to bend.  Impossible to track.  If a POS *is* in place, I know I can take the can and ring out my next soda as a Red Bull, price adjusted.  The markup on soda is so high, loss is practically insignificant.  Ringing soda as Red Bull washes the inventory so nobody will see the loss on a count, and it’s not a suspicious “zero transaction”.  If I know price adjustments are watched, I take the can and void an earlier Red Bull sale, claiming the customer changed their mind to soda instead.  It happens, and I won’t be stupid enough to do this every night.  I might even get the other bartenders in on it so we all get free Red Bull, and none of us get in trouble.  If I know voids are being watched, I take the can and ring out my next mixed drink that happens to have the same price as a Red Bull, as a Red Bull.  Same trick as above.

I can think of at least a half dozen more ways to get my Red Bull fix that don’t involve paying for it, but I’m not about to post EVERY trick in the book.  I also know how to catch these, too.  7 years of retail management will do that to you.

The biggest contender right now appears to be Cafe Cartel, a web-based application with full touch-screen and local printer/cash drawer support.  We provide all the hardware, and host the webserver on our own local server.  Our licensing fee for five terminals would be $50 per month total.  Failing that, the average cost of a touchscreen POS with printer, cash drawer, software, and online card processing is around $1100 per unit.