What Is a POS System and How Does It Work?

A point-of-sale (POS) system is a computerized system or device designed for the collection and storage of transaction data, along with other related information such as inventory and sales. The term is normally applied to systems in which an end customer makes a purchase from a retailer.

This means that the actual cash and credit card transactions are gathered in the form of data by the POS system. The information is then often stored in a help desk ticketing or some other customized application that manages support requests for the retailer, allowing them to keep track of customers and sales, monitor customer accounts, process orders, store financial data including detailed receipts and records.

Most business owners who own small to medium-sized businesses know that managing support requests is an important aspect of running the business. A help desk ticketing system allows you to keep track of customer issues, orders and sales in one central location.

A POS system can be compared to a credit card terminal. The main difference here is that the term "terminal" is used when speaking of a single device, while "system" is used when speaking of a collection of devices that work together to get the job done.

When you swipe your card through a credit card terminal, it's actually communicating with a computer system behind the scenes. A POS system is simply an entire network of these terminals and computers working together in order to manage sales and support requests for a retailer.

A POS system might also be referred to as a cash register system, which is the older, traditional term for the same thing. With cash registers it was normal to have a cashier or salesperson who would use the device in order to ring up each individual sale and record the details manually.

Today, most POS systems have been automated thanks to their integration with a variety of devices and systems. For example, a retailer might use a help desk ticketing system in order to not only register sales and customer support requests, but also automate other routine tasks such as inventory management, delivery notifications and more.