What is an EPOS (Electronic Point of Sale System)?
An Electronic Point of Sale System (EPOS) refers to a computerized equipment that performs functions of a checkout counter. Some of these functions include payment through credit card or cheque, generation of sales reports, verification of transactions, and coordination of inventory data among others. An EPOS includes a computer, receipt printer, customer display, and barcode scanner. In addition to that, many systems have credit or debit card readers, weight scale, signature capture devices, pin pad device and an integrated card processing system. Many systems are increasing using touch screen technology for a number of reasons. For starters, touch screen technology is easy to use.
Secondly, the use of touch screen technology is convenient due to the fact that the computer is an all in one unit. This goes a long way in saving space. Thirdly these systems can handle numerous programs which include sales, always, returns, gift cards and customer loyalty programs among others. The system also allows other functions which include promotional sales, foreign currency handling and manufacturers coupon validation among others. EPOS systems are increasing become popular with many business in the retail sector as the businesses seek to increase functionality and reduce costs. The Information stored and analysed by the EPOS system is helpful to a number of people managing and monitoring the business and can be used to forecast business growth, stock control and many other things.
Also, this information is helpful to auditors, Customs & Excise among others. An ESPOS system must be able to perform a number of functions. The system must be able to store information about items that are sold in the shop. This information is known as the master data and is stored in the product file. Secondly, the EPOS system should uniquely recognize an item that is presented at the point of sale. This is done by scanning the barcode on the item and retrieving the information from the product file. Thirdly, the system should accumulate the items bought by the customer and total the basket.
Moreover, the system should deal with payment of the goods, produce receipts, store the transactions and avail the transaction records when needed. Fourthly, the system should process the transactions in accordance with the VAT rate and at the time when supplies were made. ESPOS systems use a number of methods to calculate VAT. For starters, an ESPOS system may calculate the VAT amount using the normal accounting method whereby calculation for each item is done at every transaction. The VAT amounts are then aggregated periodically. Secondly, VAT may be calculated using the point of sale retail scheme. In this instance, the VAT for each sale is identified and the sales are aggregated periodically. The VAT amount is then applied to this aggregate so as to get the VAT amount. Other ways through which VAT may be calculated include bespoke retail schemes and apportionment schemes among others.
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