Shopify POS makes it easy to manage your business. It allows you to sell from any location and accept any payment method. Shopify POS can track your sales, sync your inventory, and provide valuable data to help your business grow in all directions. How can you use Shopify POS for marketplaces and events? Find out in this article what Shopify POS is and how you can use it.
Shopify POS: What is it?
The Shopify POS app is an app that you can use to make yourself known in markets or ephemeral events. Pos stands for Point of Sale. In English, it is referred to as Shopify POS (Point Of Sale). Shopify POS features allow you to take your online store to a physical location. Using Shopify as your point-of-sale platform allows you to sell at local festivals, pop-up events, and other gatherings
You can use it for trades made in the markets or during these ephemeral events. And if as a business owner you’re already used to occasionally selling at fairs, marketplaces, or pop-up stores, then Shopify POS makes it easier for you. The app allows you to find items, manage order processing, make payments, insert credit cards, and print receipts.
Note that Shopify POS is an app that you can download to your iOS or Android device. Here are the devices on which the app works:
- Android
- iPad Pro
- An iPad mini device
- iPad
- iPad Air
- iPhone
Shopify POS: The Benefits of Selling at Marketplaces and Events
The advantages of such a device should be obvious. With Shopify POS, sell your products easily. You can process your orders and regardless of the type of payment, accept them in person. No matter where the sale takes place, your inventory, orders, and customers are automatically updated on your Shopify store. As soon as you download the app, you can start selling and safely accepting cash and credit card payments.
By using Shopify POS on marketplaces and events, you have the opportunity to sell the desired number of products. You have no limit. However, there is a limit to the number of products you can have in your catalog on your device. The number is limited so that the application does not encounter performance issues while running. In addition, you can organize large promotions to reach a large number of customers. You can even come up with small promotional offers to boost sales. Markets or events, constituting ephemeral points of sale, will allow you to enjoy all the benefits of selling in person during the periods of your choice.
In addition, by exhibiting your products in markets and events, you will be able to reach more consumers. While using these points of sale, you can also receive customers on a daily basis and interact with them differently.
Shopify POS: How much does it cost?
No matter what Shopify subscription plan you use for your store, you’ll have access to Shopify POS. Therefore, even with the Lite plan ($9/month), you’ll still have your own POS system. However, to take advantage of the advanced features, such as employee management, hardware integration, you need to subscribe to the Shopify plan or higher for your store.
How does Shopify POS work?
To make you feel comfortable, Shopify POS works with a set of hardware that will come in handy.
Till
Unless you only process cashless payments, you’ll need a secure and reliable cash drawer. A cash drawer that you can control with your POS system is essential to protect your business from cyber fraud or loss that can occur when unauthorized people have access to the cash register. You can purchase compatible cash drawers from many authorized dealers.
Support for iPad
To make it easier, Shopify supports a range of iPad media. You can use it when you’re at the counter or when you were browsing your store. This support is dedicated to payments at the cash register. It includes a case for the iPad and a base. When a customer makes their payment, you can lean the iPad towards them so they can also look at the transaction or enter their email address.
Barcode readers
You have the option to use Bluetooth barcode readers to retrieve discount codes and add products to the cart during checkout. However, this is only possible if you’re using Shopify POS for iPad and you’re using a Shopify plan or higher. If you want to use wireless barcode readers, be aware that they can read barcodes at a certain distance from your iPad (up to 100 meters). These readers can also help you manage inventory with greater ease and accuracy.
Receipt printer
Having a printer is not the most essential. In fact, you can email your receipts to your customers. However, some customers still prefer paper receipts. It is therefore essential to think about having a reliable printer in the configuration of your POS system. You can customize and print receipts showing the URL of your website. You can even there the hours you open, the promotions you make, or even your sales policies.
Payment terminal
To authorize credit and debit card payments, you must use a payment terminal. It will allow you to manually track credit or debit card payments made through external card terminals from third-party payment service providers in the POS app. Note that you have the option to use Shopify POS with your own payment terminal.
In addition, be aware that you can still process sales without all these elements. What you’ll essentially need are: an iPad/iPhone, a Shopify store, the Shopify POS app, and a product for sale. Also, be aware that you can use Shopify’s checkout software with multiple cash registers at the same time. In reality, you have the option to install Shopify POS on multiple devices. In addition, you will not have to pay any additional fees.
Also note that even if you have multiple outlets, you can use Shopify POS. You have the option to add multiple locations to your Shopify admin. However, the number of locations you can have at most depends on the Shopify subscription plan you’ve purchased.
Shopify POS: How to use it for marketplaces and events?
Here’s how you can use Shopify POS.
Download the Shopify POS app
The first thing you need to do before using Shopify POS is to install the app. If you already have a Shopify account, all you need to do is sign in. Once that’s done, the app automatically syncs with your Shopify online store. So, from a single dashboard, you can manage your entire business.
If you don’t have a Shopify account yet, you can sign up and enjoy a 14-day free trial. As part of the health crisis that the world has experienced, Shopify had offered a 90-day free trial. This is no longer valid at present. However, with the 14-day free trial, you can try the platform before choosing a monthly subscription.
Your free trial is valid as soon as you register. So this gives you time to set up your store. Plus, when you choose a paid plan afterward, you’re not going to lose all the work you had to do on the shop during the trial. However, even if you have the option to proceed with setting up your store during the 14-day free trial, you still need to sign up for a monthly plan before you start selling.
When it comes to Shopify POS, even if you don’t want to sell anything online, you’ll still need to sign up on Shopify. In fact, it acts as a dashboard for your Shopify POS system. It’s from your Shopify admin that you can manage your customer information, your Shopify account, and the inventory of your products. You can access your interface using any browser.
Add and organize your products
If you don’t have any products in your store yet, you’ll need to add some. From the Shopify admin or your Shopify POS app, you can add products to sell in your store. To easily view your products on your POS device, please add images. In addition, you have the option to create new products from the Products screen in Shopify POS. If you want to arrange your products in categories, you will only have to create a collection.
Configure POS availability
If you have created new products from your POS app, they will already be available for the POS.
Store your products
In case your store has many locations, the stock as far as each location is concerned will appear on the details page of each product.
Set up taxes for your products
By using Shopify POS, you add taxes based on your physical location. To do this, in your Shopify admin, set the location of your store. Then, depending on the physical location, set the taxes. Finally, assign the location to a device (iPad) that you use to complete transactions. Add a location so that taxes are automatically calculated at the checkout stage.
Accept payments
Those who use Shopify POS for iPad or iPhone can accept all payment methods. On the other hand, if it’s on Android, they can accept both cash and credit payments. When a customer comes to your point of sale, they bring the products they want to buy at the checkout. Whoever proceeds with the sale, scans the barcodes of the products. This adds all items to the order, calculates sales tax and provides the total amount due. The customer pays in cash or by credit card (or debit card). The transaction thus ends at its level.
Accept cash payments
To accept a cash payment, here’s how to do it. From your device screen, go to the Admin section. Then, go to Select payment and click on “Cash”. The actual amount of the order is entered by default.
Accept credit card payments
You can accept credit card payments with a certified magnetic stripe card reader. To do this, go to the Cart section of the Shopify POS screen and click Charge. In case your card reader doesn’t work, follow the instructions on the Shopify POS screen to sign in. You can also manually enter credit card information. Simply swipe the customer’s credit card. The customer accepts payment by signing or entering their PIN. This is of course depending on the type of card and the card reader you are using.
Note that if your store is based in the United States and you’re using Shopify Payments, you can accept credit card payments without the customer signing. Next, choose whether you want to issue a receipt to the customer, and then click Done to finish.
Accept gift cards
Before you can accept gift cards for transactions through Shopify POS, you must first enable the feature in the Payments section of the Shopify Admin. If you have not already done so, please do so in order to accept this type of payment.
Track stock
When selling, it is important that you do not run out of stock. However, that doesn’t mean you have to pack a lot of items that might overload your location. Either way, at some point, you need to stop adding items to the stock that you plan to take to the market or event. In addition, the size of the audience expected for the event will determine the amount of items you will take with you.
Be sure to make a list of everything you’re going to bring. Shopify POS allows you to track both your inventory and sales. By tracking your stock, you can more easily prepare any necessary orders from your suppliers to refuel.
In short
Participating in offline events, allows you to build new relationships with your customers, and make more sales. Shopify POS allows you to switch from online to offline mode by selling at marketplaces and events. Using the app allows you to create a shopping cart for each of your customers, accept multiple payments, all from your iPhone, iPad or Android device. You can use it with any Shopify plan. Plus, no matter where the sale takes place, your orders, inventory, and customers are automatically updated on your Shopify store. Plus, reviews about Shopify POS are generally positive, so you don’t have to worry.
