Trader ePOS or Trader: which is right for you?

Retail and point-of-sale software comes in many shapes and sizes. Find out which is right for your company.

Retail and point-of-sale software has evolved rapidly over the past decade. No longer only affordable for big business, today’s builders’ merchants and hardware stores often make use of retail and point-of-sale software. However, not every suit of ePOS software is appropriate for every retailer. While many basic processes are unchanged between retailers, merchants often require a different set of software functions to manage credit and issue quotations. Additionally, software developers tend to issue different software packages not just in terms of their features, but also the number of users. This means that smaller companies can pay for a cheaper software package with most or all of the features of a more expensive version, simply because they require fewer user accounts.

Integrity offers two main Trader software packages: Trader ePOS and Trader. Additionally, there are a number of modules that can be added to these software packages when required. Which of the two software packages is right for your company?

Users

This is perhaps the simplest way of determining whether Trader or Trader ePOS is suitable for your business. Trader ePOS is entry-level software that allows up to three user accounts – ideal for a small business that only uses one or two checkouts (or wish to test out the software on a trial basis in one shop/area of the shop). The full version of Trader can cater for up to 50 users. As such, all medium to large retailers will be better suited to Trader rather than Trader ePOS.

Sites

If you operate over more than one site, you will need the full version of Trader. This will allow you to monitor stock levels across all sites from a single location, which significantly improves stock control. By being able to carry out many management processes from your head office or HQ, you can cut costs and save time. Trader ePOS doesn’t have multisite functionality.

Features

Although Trader ePOS is our entry level software package, it still comes with an impressive list of features, including stock control, point-of-sale processes, purchase order processing, promotions control, email integration, email marketing, wireless handheld scanning and a sales ledger. We don’t believe that small businesses should have to pay a premium for these important software features.

However, with Trader we offer a few extra features that larger businesses will find particularly useful: general ledgers, purchase ledgers and supplier invoice matching. The time saved by using these features is often insignificant for small businesses, but becomes much greater for larger, multi-site companies.

Trader or Trader ePOS?

Once you’ve joined the Trader family, you can easily upgrade and downgrade your software as your requirements change. In practice, most merchants require Trader rather than Trader ePOS, but if you’re just starting out as a builders’ merchant or want to gradually implement software into your business, Trader ePOS is likely to be the right solution for you.

If you’re still unsure which software solution is right for you, give us a call and we’ll discuss your options in greater detail.