01. Offline is not optional
This is the first criterion, and it rules out many candidates. A shop cannot stop because the internet did. The question to ask is not “does it work offline” — everyone answers yes — but “what exactly happens during the outage, and on return”.
A good answer describes the behaviour precisely: sales are stored locally, receipts print, and the upload happens automatically when the network returns, with no loss and no duplicates. A vague answer announces lost takings on a Saturday afternoon.
02. Stock, accurate to the sale
A till that does not reduce stock is only an electronic drawer. The point of dedicated software is that the sale and the stock are one and the same entry.
Across several stores, the question becomes: is stock shared or partitioned? Both are defensible depending on the trade, but it should be chosen rather than endured. Check too how transfers between stores, returns and count variances are handled — those are what create the gap you find at month end.
- Stock reduced at the sale, with no deferred processing.
- Stock shared or per store, as chosen.
- Transfers between outlets traced.
- Returns, credit notes and count variances handled.
03. The till as a responsibility, not only a tool
A point of sale handles cash, and the software has to account for it. Cash sessions, the opening float, the closing count and the recorded variance are not bureaucracy: they are the only way to know, without accusing anyone, where a shortfall appeared.
Check that every movement carries an author and a time, and that closing a session produces a readable statement. Software that cannot say who opened the till and with how much will leave you without an answer the day the question arises.
04. Hardware, before signing
Hardware compatibility is what costs most when discovered too late. Receipt printer, cash drawer, scanner, scale, payment terminal: each has its models and its drivers.
The moment to raise it is scoping, with the exact references of what you already own. In most cases common hardware is reused; it is the exception that is better identified before signing.
- Receipt printer: model and connection.
- Cash drawer: driven by the printer, or separate.
- Scanner and scale: which code formats are read.
- Payment terminal: integrated or standalone.