Point of sale technology has come a long way in the last ten to fifteen years. Before the ultra-simple and sleek, plug-and-play systems that we have available today, there were typically only a couple of big companies that provided POS systems, which were far more expensive and had to be installed by professional technicians.

A new POS system like Clover, on the other hand, costs far less, has a lot more features for small businesses, and can be installed and set up by just about anyone within a couple of hours.

Clover has this down to a science, and a wonderfully simple science, at that. Check out this breakdown of how it works and see how friendly their system is to small businesses.

On Par with Any Leading POS Payment System

There is definitely no deficiency in the payment capability of Clover POS. To ensure that there will never be an instance when a customer is unable to pay, due to an unaccepted payment type, they can use any type of payment.

Accept any credit, debit, or gift cards, as well as checks or cash if needed. Not only that, but the system also supports contactless, chip, and mobile payment types. Clover POS is set up for NFC, so there�s never an issue with those types of payments.

If you interface with customers at the counter, on the floor, or out in the field somewhere else, they will always be able to pay simply and quickly because you can have a counter POS device installed and also one when you�re mobile. Tipping and receipt options are built-in, and those options are accessible to the customer either at the main POS interface, or on your handheld device.

For additional security, you can also allow PIN entry and customer signatures at the time of payment. Last, but not least, when you order the POS system, it comes �payments-ready�, making it quite literally a plug-and-play system.

Even More POS Features

One of the greatest advantages of getting a cutting-edge POS system like this is that you can build the one that you need for your specific business.

You won�t be forced to buy some full standard package that comes with all kinds of hardware and services that you won�t even use, but instead, you simply select the devices that you need and only add the apps you�re going to use. Once you�re up and running, which won�t take long, you can manage every aspect of the system and do it from anywhere.

 
Managing Orders

To manage your orders, just bring up the dashboard on any of your devices. Whatever you decide to offer for your customers, you can set up for in-store, pickup, or deliver orders and monitor them all in real time, as well as review them later at any time.

For restaurants, track all your tables and tabs, manage open and closed orders, split up orders easily, or combine orders as needed.

 
Maintain relationships with your customers

One unique feature that can be extremely useful is the ability to create personalized profiles for customers, so that you can use that information whenever you interact with them to show that they�re important to you. You can add things like birthdays, purchase history, phone numbers, and email addresses.

Set up loyalty and rewards programs, too, to encourage repeat business. You don�t need to be pushy about it of course, but once you have some unique information about each customer, you can send out occasional promotional materials to them, or even just wish them a happy birthday in an email.

 
The same POS can be used for managing staff

Employee shifts and schedules can be organized and viewed via the POS. Administrators can also set up users and permissions for each employee to segregate access and functionality for them as needed.

When you get everybody in the system, admins can then track activity for employees, including things like daily sales, tips, refunds, and other items.

Get Apps & Integrations to Cover All Your Bases

This is the feature that arguably makes Clover the best POS provider because you can run so many different things on one centralized system. There are a great variety of apps you can use with the Clover POS, and here are descriptions of a few of them.

�Feedback�

As feedback from customers is so vital to growing and improving your business, this is a fantastic app to have because it lets you ask for feedback from customers directly at the point of sale. This is a great way to keep negative feedback off the public review sites because they�re instead giving it to you, directly. You can also add any comments they give you as notes that are attached to their order, to make sure none of them get lost or forgotten.

�Shifts�

An essential app for staff management, Shifts adds a time clock feature, so employees can clock in and out right from the POS, which you can check anytime from your dashboard. Also report and track cash tips and print reports for the day�s shift information, sales, tips, etc.

�Rewards�

Rewards is a completely free app that is designed to help you optimize your loyalty and rewards programs. In a very short time, you can create custom loyalty programs that cater to your customers. The feature works through email, text, and the Clover app to make sure your customers get their discounts as soon as they earn them.

So, those are some of the main apps that you�ll probably end up using, but there are also quite a few more available with the Clover POS. Some others include, Register, Happy Hour, Promos, Clover Dining, and Customers.

Track Everything with Comprehensive Reporting

Track every bit of revenue that comes into your business by viewing easy-to-understand reports from your dashboard. Analyze specific metrics (automatically compiled from your POS data) such as busy times of each day of the week, and broader metrics like monthly sales trends.

Do all your tracking and analysis from wherever you are, either using the online dashboard or via the mobile app.

Clover POS is one of the most user-friendly, fully-featured, and competitive systems available today. If you do decide to order one of these systems, you will certainly not be disappointed because you can essentially accept any kind of payment instantly, from the counter in your store, or anywhere else when you�re mobile.

Not only does the system have every feature that your small business needs, but the devices also look beautiful and function possibly the best of any similar system out there.

While some days it feels like bad news outweighs the good, an unexpected silver lining of COVID-19 has been a wave of business ingenuity and customer support.

As restaurants adapt to online ordering, delivery and takeout, customers are jumping on board to order meals and purchase gift cards. Beautiful displays of human goodness are happening everywhere. Don�t take our word for it; just ask the owners of North Side Pub & Grill.

We want to do our part � to be of service in this evolving moment. That�s why DUBTEL and Heartland are making online ordering available for free, regardless of your current POS or processing solution, for the next 90 days. There�s no obligation to continue beyond that point.

Do you own your own retail business? Have you decided that you now need to take the next step and hire your first employee? The next thing you need to know is what positions to fill first. Before you advertise openings at your store, you need to first understand who to hire for and when. In this article, we�ve organized which positions to hire first and what their skill level should be.

Retail Positions and their descriptions:

There is not a single fixed hierarchy that fits all retail businesses but there is a general order that all retail stores can adopt to get successful retail operations.

1. Sales Associate:

In business, your first priority needs to be revenue and hiring a sales associate is an ideal position when your business is expanding. The sales associate makes sure that the customers know that someone is available if they need any assistance. He is also responsible for making sure that the store is clean, organized and items are being restocked.

Skills:

• Effectively communicates with customers
• Ability to learn quickly
• Pays attention to detail
• Organizational skills and is a team player

 

2. Cashier:

For businesses that are expecting an influx of customers, a cashier is an important position. The position of a cashier can add great value to your business. For a busy store, cashier can help expedite the process of purchasing. They are the ones that process orders, assist customers with returns and exchanges, promoting new offers, etc. They are the first ones to greet the customers once they enter.

Skills:

• Good customer service skills
• Prior experience with cash handling and point-of-sales system management
• Problem-solving skills
• Mathematical and financial knowledge

 

3. Customer Service Rep:

This position might sound as if it is a different name for a sales associate but it has other distinct duties. This person interacts with customers over phone calls and emails. They are responsible for answering all customer queries and problems. They deal with customers according to the companies policies to satisfy them and performs necessary damage control to retain a customer.

Skills:

• Good dealing with people
• Efficiency in problem-solving
• Possess great enthusiasm and energy
• Have basic computer skills
• Knowledge of point-of-sales management system
• Knowledge of CRM (Customer Relational Management) Tool

 

4. Visual Merchandiser:

If you want to have one of those stores with eye-catching floor to ceiling displays. Then, you need to have a visual merchandiser. They are responsible for setting up attractive displays that grab the attention of customers. They are the ones who display the best products in a strategic way to highlight them. They should possess the relevant knowledge on how to prompt sales in different parts of the shop.

Skills:

• Prior experience in this position
• Impressive skills in floor displays
• Creative thinker
• Handling multiple assignments at one time
• Able to handle physical work

 

5. Buyer:

This job has the duty of selecting which products need to be put in stores and deciding how the products should be priced. The buyer is instrumental in building relationships with vendors, manufacturers and other companies to get the best products for your business.

Skills:

• Expert in negotiations
• Experience in working with vendors
• Experience in tracking purchase order and maintaining records
• Can conduct research, evaluate and analyze the quality and prices of products

 

6. Store Manager:

A store manager has different responsibilities according to the needs of the business. This retail position does what a retail store owner would do. He/She is responsible for managing the store, employees and performing other day-to-day tasks. The store manager deals with budgeting, store requirements, company policies, and procedures. You should employ someone trustworthy in this position as he/she is taking the work off your plate and handling it for you.

Skills:

• Team leading abilities and skills
• Problem-solving and communication skills
• Ability to achieve business goals
• Excellent understanding of sales, promotions, merchandising and retail markets

 

7. Inventory Control Specialist:

This job title is responsible for preventing and tracking any losses and inventory. They are responsible for implementing procedures to control costs, maintaining the flow of inventory. Creating reports for demand and delivery of products is also another role.

Cincinnati is an interesting city with a diverse and a resilient population. The outgoing nature of the people in Cincinnati is reflected in the shopping scene that it delivers. It is based on these factors that Cincinnati is considered as one of the best cities for retail across the U.S, if not the best.

According to a report from the Downtime Cincinnati Inc. in 2015, Over-the-Rhine, the Central Business District and Pendleton alone generated a whopping $522 million in development investments, adding over 1,000 new residential units and 600 jobs. Similarly, several reports indicate the growth of urban restaurant and services. With the increase in the number of residents the retail market is most certainly attracting people and money. Moreover, the availability of a space for retail is another plus for potential investors who are looking to expand their retail business.

The city has been blooming with huge companies like Amazon taking interest in the region. Amazon is investing into a 3 million-square-foot air hub. The air hub located in Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, will tremendously boost the retail market. The hub will support over 100 Prime Air Cargo planes and lower the prime shopping from 2 days to just a single day. Besides its boost in the retail market and specifically for the market of Cincinnati, Air Hub will provide employment opportunities to over 2000 people.

One of the biggest names in retail, Procter & Gamble, has decided to launch a business incubator in Cincinnati that would support new and fresh ideologies that will make room for innovation and creativity. Similarly, a former senior executive at Kroger, has set his sails towards Cincinnati by leading a tech startup in the area that will promote businesses with the help of technologies such as artificial intelligence.

Whether you are looking for home furnishing, culinary delights, clothing or accessories, you are sure to find them in one of the many shopping areas that the city of Cincinnati has to offer. It is due to its vast availability of commodities and the ease of discovering these that the city made it to the Forbes list for best bargain shopping.

Let�s have a glance of all the shopping malls that the city has to offer and shockingly these are all known for their specific specialties.

Findlay Market

One of the oldest and the best places to shop in Cincinnati is the Findlay Market. The public market in Ohio has been in operation ever since 1955. Located in Over-the-Rhine neighborhood the Findlay Market is also known as the colorful market, due to the dynamic colors of the buildings. The market is a must-see for visitors due to its historic significance and a great place to shop groceries for the locals.

The Findlay market is open round the year except for Mondays. Approximately, 40 full-time businesses operate year-round, whereas, 100 more vendors operate on weekends or on a part-time basis. The market offers a wide variety of food ranging from raw foods to several specialties in prepared foods. The market welcomes new merchants and startups, but mostly is comprised of businesses that are being run from generations.

To further promote innovation and diversity, the Findlay market has opened an incubation center that offers mentorship, education and more importantly a short-term lease to early-stage food businesses. The Findlay launch program will focus on women, minorities and immigrant-owner businesses to promote equality in the retail market in general and din the Findlay market in particular.

Kenwood Towne Centre

The diversity in the market can be evaluated by comparing the Findlay Market and the Kenwood Towne Centre, alone. Where the Findlay market delivers a historic touch, the Kenwood Towne Center on the other side is a modern market anchored by Dillard�s, Nordstorm and Macy�s, which are major departmental stores.

The mall caters shoppers with several top-notch shops and over 60 exclusive retailers that are unique to the city. There�s a wide variety of clothing and accessories shops, on top of that, world renowned retails including and not limited to Apple, Michael Kors, Kate Spade New York, Atleta, LEGO and Microsoft are also a significant part of the Kenwood Towne Centre Mall. Food delicacies include the Cheesecake Factory and Maggiano�s Little Italy.

Jungle Jim�s International Market

Being one of the originals of Cincinnati, the Jungle Jim�s International Market started as a roadside fruit stand has grown into two stores, each covering an area of 605 acres in size with 180,000 different products originated from 70 different countries.

The Jungle Jim�s unique characteristic is the way visitors are greeted, in Fairfield, visitors are welcomed by a pond with a life-size animal in a pond. Props all around the mall and fire trucks in the hot sauce department give away that feel-at-home feeling. The Mall is also home to a cooking school and a tasting bar that allows visitors to sample beverages before they buy.

Rookwood Commons & Pavilion

Rookwood Commons & Pavilion is a shopping destination located in the suburb of Norwood, it is 10 minutes� drive from downtown Cincinnati. Rookwood�s comprises of over 70 restaurants and stores with the most popular chains around the world. The Jospeh-Beth bookseller is an exception to the list, which hosts many events and book signings.

Old Navy, Banana Republic, Ann Taylor, Talbot�s and Victoria Secret are some of the clothing stores that the mall has to offer. The Spice & Tea Exchange, Whole Foods and Sur la Table are three of the most visited cooking and food specialties. Furnishing stores include Pier 1 imports, HomeGood and Bed Bath & Beyond. Rookwood has an outdoor outfitter and Rally House, where apparels and costume are available to satisfy the needs for sport lovers looking to cheer for Cincinnati sports teams.