POS Hardware

When the POS software is chosen, it will be easier to select the hardware components such as Terminal(s), Printer(s), Barcode Scanner(s), etc. We suggest a simple approach to figure out your hardware needs:

Your First Terminal

By configuring your first counter terminal, you will find what components are necessary to do the job.

1- Choose a POS Computer

If you have one then you should check if the software runs smoothly on it. Also the computer should have enough i/o ports to connect to the peripherals that you need.

If you don’t have any computers to start from then it is a good practice to select a specialized POS computer. POS computers are optimized for running POS software and have good connectivity features.

2- Select a Receipt Printer

Depending on the size and the number of receipts to be printed, you will need a proper receipt printer. For example a small fast food kiosk might settle for a small 58mm thermal printer while a big supermarket would need a larger 80mm thermal printer with fast 300mm/sec printing speed.

3- Get a Cash Drawer

A cash drawer securely holds and separates cash notes and coins, cheques and other receipts of payment during the sales period. The cash drawers open by a signal from the computer or printer as well as there are keys to lock and unlock them. The width of the cash drawer and it’s internal spacing are the most looked for features when selecting one.

4- Add a Barcode Scanner

Selling barcoded products increases the accuracy and speed of the checkout counter. To read barcodes from the sides of the product, a barcode scanner will be needed. There are many types of the barcode scanners such as hand-held or desktop, 1D or 2D, Laser or CCD, etc.

5- Put a Customer Display

While a cashier is putting the product prices into the system, a customer display shows a summary of the work in progress. Also at the end, customer finds the total payable amount on the customer display. For the cash payments, the display shows the amount of change to be returned to the customer. Some systems instead, use a full scale monitor that duplicates the exact screen of the cashier.

Expand your system

Larger businesses use multiple terminals and a network of storefront and back-office computer systems.

1- More Terminals

The more customers the more invoices to be processed and hence the need for more checkout terminals. Also to prevent the down-times, a busy store would need a standby terminal to replace a faulty one when needed.

2- Office Station(s) and Printer(s)

To monitor the sales, manage the inventory and perform accounting tasks, business owners use back-office computers and printers. Even some use barcode printers to make customized barcode labels on the products, bundles, shelves, etc.

3- Networking and Servers

When the system consists of a number of computers, interconnecting them becomes a necessity to have collective sales and inventory control. Wired or wireless, network of all computers together gives the owner full control of the terminals, inventory, sales and reports. Remote terminals and locations should be connected through internet.

In networked POS systems, servers could be used to host the software, data and backups which ensures the data security, integrity of the software and the speed of the system.