6 reasons smart solutions for your store make sense now more than ever
Remember the flip phone? It did one thing and one thing only — it gave us mobile communication. Now that we have smartphones, many of us use our mobile phones for everything other than talking. We download apps for music, navigation, and weather — it’s like our smart phones run our personal lives.
So why can’t your store implement similar smart technology as a powerful, easy a nd affordable business tool?
Today most business operators have several single- purpose tools that must be bought separately, l ogged i nto separately, and don’ t speak to each other f or i nformation exchange. With available smart technology solutions, business operators can enjoy the benefits that we as consumers have enjoyed for years on our smartphones. Clover, Canada’s leading s mart t echnology f or business, offers the most affordable and easy to use business management platform available.
Here are six reasons now is the time to implement smart technology in your business.
1. MORE COMMUNICATION, LESS HARDWARE
Today, many retail stores and restaurants use a combination of singlepurpose technologies: a cash register, POS terminals for the countertop, Wifi POS terminals for table service, and cellular POS terminals ( ideally LTE) for curbside or home delivery. Smart technology integrates Wifi and LTE into a single device, while its screen and portal eliminate the need for a stand- alone cash register or food order entry screen. Flexible communication drives real savings for store operators.
2. ONE ACCOUNT, FIVE CHANNELS TO REACH YOUR CUSTOMER
The COVID-19 pandemic has driven home the fact that stores need to have more than one way to sell to customers. Even operators of destination restaurants have quickly come to appreciate the need to have a web presence and offer the option to order ahead. Some businesses need multiple channels: physical store, mail and telephone orders, invoicing, web- store and social media click- to- buy. With smart technology, a business operator can engage all channels with a single merchant account and all channels can integrate with a single inventory system.
3. CONNECTED TO ACCOUNTING
Most businesses need to keep a very close eye on their cash flow. Disconnected systems make reconciling your cash payments at the end of the day both timeconsuming and complex. Smart technology brings all of a business’ cash flows into a single portal while connecting to accounting systems such as Quickbooks and Xero.
4. INTEGRATED EMPLOYEE AND CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT
Store operators need an easy way to manage employee schedules and costs. How powerful would it be to have one system that tracks when employees work, validates their start and finish times, tracks their compensation cost, and reveals how much they sell and to whom? This is a standard feature of the Clover solution. Clover also enables you to email and text receipts, create invoice accounts, and offer gift and loyalty programs, should a customer choose to opt in to them. Smart technology minimizes the mystery of who your customer is, how to reach them during a promotion and how much they spend with you.
5. APPLICATIONS FOR SPECIALIZED BUSINESS NEEDS
As your business changes you may find that you need more specialized tools to better run your business. Perhaps a r estaurant decides to also start a winery, or a business f i nds t hey have more complex shipping or fleet management needs. Your chosen smart technology platform should be able to meet these changing needs. A smart technology platform with a robust app market will work with l eading solution providers to offer a range of specialized needs.
6. ONE SERVICE PROVIDER, SIMPLIFIED PRICING
Store operators often complaint hat they have too many vendors to manage — and that means too many bills, too many accounts, and too many service centre phone numbers, all while the vendors don’t really understand their business. Clover’s smart technology brings it all together into one service experience with affordable, simple pricing.