What Is a Handheld POS Terminal

Tired of having to run back and forth to your computer all day whenever you need information? Well, stop running, and save yourself some leg work with a handheld POS terminal.  

Handheld terminals are conveniently portable inventory management devices that can connect right to your company’s POS system. These devices can be used to accomplish tasks such as processing orders, tracking inventory, and retrieving customer data on the fly; other notable features include the ability to adjust prices and apply item discounts wirelessly from anywhere in the store. Indeed, business owners across industries can find benefits from adding handheld terminals to their inventory.  

Still not convinced? Well, here are some reasons why handheld terminals might be right for your growing business. 

HANDHELD TERMINALS IMPROVE CUSTOMER SERVICE  

In industries such as retail, employees are often responsible for managing inventory and for interacting with customers on the floor, which can sometimes be a lot for employees to remember– especially in stores that are constantly receiving new products or frequently changing out their selections. However, with handheld POS terminals, employees can find the answer to any inventory-related questions with just the click of a button, and also have up-to-date information on all of the active deals, discounts, and promotions currently taking place in the store.  

Similarly, restaurants and other service-industry businesses can also improve the quality of their customer service by using handhelds to streamline both payments and inputs while also minimizing customer wait times. In addition to this, by creating an overall faster service, handheld POS systems can also allow employees to attend to more customers at a single time– since ordering then becomes as easy as inputting information straight from table to kitchen. In effect, business owners can expect to see greater revenue and efficiency from using handhelds, as well as higher customer turnover and satisfaction overall.  

HANDHELD TERMINALS HELP TO PREVENT LOSSES 

For businesses with large inventories, keeping track of items can be difficult on a day-to-day basis; for this reason, most businesses tend to conduct either a bi-weekly or monthly inventory inspection, which can leave room for discrepancy. However, with handheld technology, business owners can have employees conduct frequent inventory inspections on either a daily or weekly basis, thanks to barcode scanning, which can then be used to improve record-keeping and promote greater control over inventory management.  

HANDHELD TERMINALS HAVE LOW OVERHEAD  

When comparing the prices of standard POS systems with handhelds, business owners will notice that handheld systems cost far less money upfront than their traditional, stationary counterparts. Another thing that will also become clear from comparing the two is that the handheld model requires far less time for setup, allowing it to begin returning the cost of investment almost instantly and at a much faster rate.  

On top of the initial savings that come from the handheld’s lower starting price, another benefit to consider is that it will be saving you money in loss prevention, thanks to its ability to improve inventory management; add to this, then, to the additional revenue that you’ll be generating from improved customer service, and the handheld POS has already gone from an investment to an asset in half the time as a traditional POS system.  

HANDHELD TERMINALS CAN WORK FROM ANYWHERE  

Another advantage to consider about handheld systems is that they don’t require a physical brick-and-mortar location in order to work. Most handheld systems run on a cloud-based network, meaning collected data is sent to a separate location that’s either owned or stored on behalf of the vendor by a separate party.  

Having a cloud-based system is convenient because it protects data from crashes, network outages, and hackers while making it more accessible to users with approved access from mobile workstations; it also makes handheld terminals perfect for mobile businesses, such as food trucks and pop-up shops, by giving them the ability to access data from anywhere in the world.  

HANDHELD TERMINALS INCREASE UPSELLS AND PROMOTE CUSTOMER LOYALTY  

With handheld POS systems employees can easily look up and record customer information at a moment’s notice, which then can be used to enhance customer service and promote loyalty via word of mouth. According to a report by McKinsey, 20% to 50% of all buying decisions come from WOMM (i.e., word-of-mouth marketing), and WOMM also has a 50% greater chance of leading customers to make a purchase. The same word-of-mouth marketing methods can also be used to encourage on-the-spot signups for loyalty programs, which can be made even more enticing when accompanied by an immediate sign-up benefit such as an in-store discount. 

One of the biggest benefits of having your employees carry around a small handheld computer is that you can prepare them with pre-written scripts that update in real-time; these scripts can be used to inform customers about both deals and events currently taking place in your store, as well as encourage them to sign up for loyalty programs that can be used to boost customer retention.   

LOOKING FOR AN AFFORDABLE HANDHELD THAT FITS YOUR INDUSTRY NEEDS?  

With FTx POS handheld, users can get powerful inventory control right in the palm of their hands. Our feature model is the Unitech PA720, a rugged system coming with an Android OS platform, built with enhanced data-collection capabilities for desktop-level performance. This portable, lightweight POS system is designed with user-friendliness and reliability in mind.  

FTx POS is a multimedia marketing company that specializes in convenience, retail, and service industry promotion; we offer both software and hardware solutions, including traditional, handheld, and cloud-based POS systems for our customers. All of our systems come integrated with a suite of useful and fully customizable tools, including lottery reconciliation, warehouse management, biometric security, and Adpro–a free graphic design software that gives users the power to make and manage their own advertising with hundreds of pre-designed templates. 

For more information about FTx Handheld, FTx POS, or any of our other premium digital solutions, please reach out to one of our team members at GoFTx to schedule a free consultation or demo. FTx POS is prepared to handle all of your digital marketing-related needs; our solutions are designed to help business owners from all industries to be able to grow their profits, and with FTx Handheld, you can start taking your business into your own hands. So, make the call, and save yourself some extra time and legwork with FTx Handheld; we look forward to learning more about your business.