Store Management Software: What Should You Look For?

It’s 2019 and unless you have store management software to help manage your retail business, you are losing money, productivity, and efficiency each and every day. Even if you do have store management software, you are not necessarily ahead of the competition yet because almost all your competing retail businesses probably have management software as well. What can give you an edge in a situation like this is investing in a software that offers more to the business than the average run of the mill management tools we see at every retail store.

Before we get to the more specific details of it all, let us discuss some of the more basic advantages that are to be expected from any retail store management software worth paying for in 2019. Do keep in mind that some of these features are standard and are found in any good software provider, but it is how well they are implemented which finally determines how useful they turn out to be in a practical scenario.

Inventory or Stock Management

There is exclusive inventory management software out there, but it is more suited for warehouse management than for use in a store. Even then, every good store management software solution should come with basic inventory or stock management features to help the store manager keep a precise record of the stock at all times.

Faster Bill Procurement

This was actually one of the oldest features as well as one of the primary reasons why store management software was introduced back in the early days. While modern applications have gone far beyond just facilitating faster bill procurement, it still remains a basic functionality expected from store management software, nonetheless.

Accounting Modules

Modern store management applications have more sophisticated modules built in to help with the accounting as well. You will likely still need an accountant to calculate taxes, but you may not have to have to put them on a payroll throughout the year, depending on how well developed that part of the software module is.

Barcode Reading

A very basic but essential feature offered by even decent store management software these days is the ability to scan barcodes. As barcode scanning is what enables accurate inventory management and faster bill procurement in the first place, you should never invest in a software that doesn’t have that feature, irrespective of how cheap it might be! Such stage management software probably doesn’t or shouldn’t even exist today.

Sales Tracking

Every piece of merchandise that you are selling should be recorded in the system, along with the pricing details, and it should simultaneously remove the sold item from your total stock, so that accurate inventory management is possible and you will know well before running out of a particularly popular item.

Improved Customer Service

The store management software is constantly in sync with everything related to the stock in the shop, therefore, if a customer comes up and asks an employee whether or not they have a certain item in store, they will be able to assist the customer immediately just by searching in the system.

What Gives You An Edge Over the Others Then?

As discussed earlier, having such a helpful application to assist store management is in itself a great advantage, but everyone else is using store management software as well, so what should you expect from an upgrade or a first time installation that will give your store an edge over the others?

Well, Foko Retail has a very clear and straightforward answer to exactly that question in their own store management software itself.

As interface is by far the most important aspect of a store management software for employees and managers, Foko Retail has practically revolutionized the interface of their store management software, changing and accelerating everything from employee interactions and communications within and across branches, to inventory management and instant customer service. Everything is faster and more productive automatically when the interface itself is so intuitive.

Instead of taking the route of traditional retail management applications, Foko Retail store management software is essentially a social platform that almost resembles Instagram in both appeal and ease of use.

If you have multiple stores across the country or even the globe, it seamlessly connects the main branch to the rest of the branches, just like people and groups are connected in a social media platform, but with a more professional approach and tons of additional features to facilitate retail management in not just every store individually, but the entire chain collectively as well.

The software enables managers to assign tasks, ask for photos as necessary, take surveys, and provide instructions to the workers on the basis of what they see.

Perhaps even more importantly, Foko Retail’s management software is at the same time a tool for analyzing and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of any one store in particular, or multiple stores in a chain. This is what gives the business owners a serious edge because the more you are able to identify, rectify, and improve upon your store’s shortcomings and strengths, the faster it grows with increased productivity and consequent profits. Do check out their website for more information about the revolutionary approach they have taken towards store management.

There is little doubt about the need to employ a store management software in this day and time, but to know which one would be right for you can be a bit challenging. There are so many options out there and the incessant marketing from every one of them doesn’t make it easier either. However, now that you have a clear idea regarding what to expect from the application, you should be able to look past the marketing and actually find something that suits your business’s needs adequately, without costing too much. As mentioned earlier, pay special attention to how intuitive the interface is because if it looks like a jumbled mess, it will slow down and complicate productivity within the store, rather than improving it.