POS Systems for Small Business in Kenya: Key Features

All retailers with physical locations need a POS system in Kenya to monitor stocks and keep accurate sales records. However, a supermarket with 10 locations will have different needs from a small Hardware, Liquor store or mini-mart business running a single locality.

When you’re deciding on the best POS system in Kenya for your small business, it’s important to think about which features match your current needs and future goals.

All retailers with physical locations need a POS system in Kenya to monitor stocks and keep accurate sales records.

Why does a small business need a POS system?

Small businesses that want to quickly process orders, track sales, and manage inventory need a point of sale (POS) system.

Although you could accept only cash payments and manually track your sales on a spreadsheet, it would be hard to satisfy customer payment preferences and challenging to accurately manage your inventory.

Accept payments and process orders

Retail POS systems let your small business accept multiple payment methods in-store including Mpesa, Cash, Credit/Debit Cards and more. Depending on the POS software and hardware you choose, you may be able to take and record payment from mobile or tablet devices, as well as traditional checkout counters.

Track sales and manage inventory

The best POS systems automatically track all sales. They also store key product information like:

• Wholesale price
• Retail price
• Gross profit
• Net profit

Your POS system automatically updates inventory and sales data anytime you buy, sell, return, or exchange a product, in-store or online.

What features should a POS system have for small businesses?

• Accept multiple types of payments
• Inventory tracking
• Sales reports
• Staff management

A solid POS system for small businesses lets you process payments securely and comes with software to help you handle administrative tasks more easily.

The kind of business you manage and the types of sales you make will help you determine which features your POS system needs to have. For example, a small business POS system that works well for a brick-and-mortar florist may not work so well for an online beauty retailer running their first physical pop-up shop.

Here are the top four POS system features you should look out for:

Accept multiple types of payments

A Kenya Retailers Association survey showed that more than 50% of payments are now done via Mpesa. As a result of the quick adoption of mobile money, customers now want the option to pay seamlessly via their preferred platform.

Your POS system should make accepting in-person and mobile payments simple.

Inventory tracking

Many POS systems help track and manage in-store inventory, but the majority don’t let retailers track inventory across multiple channels like their online store, physical locations, and storage units.

Successfully tracking and managing inventory can help lower operational costs and ensure you’re not tying too much capital in inventory.

Using POS systems that track your inventory across multiple channels will help you order enough stock to meet customer demand, while preventing frustrating stockouts, expensive overstocks, and inventory shortages.

Sales reports

Look for POS systems that compile sales reports from data collected at both your physical locations and online. That way you get a complete picture of how your business is performing.

Having sales reports is extremely helpful and makes tax season a literal breeze. You can download reports in just a few seconds. Also, it’s a great tool to understand how your business is doing and when you need to pump up the marketing.

Staff management

Your POS system should help you manage your team members as you grow and scale your business. 

Look for management features like permissions and staff roles to make it easier to manage your staff. Using these features you can set boundaries for what actions team members can do without supervisor permission, for example, refunding a customer or applying a discount to a product.

It’s also helpful to have visibility on staff’s performance like their average transaction values, median units per transaction, and daily sales.

At SimbaPOS, our mission is to empower businesses for GROWTH by providing Affordable, Reliable and Easy to Use Point of Sale Systems. Contact us today on 0700 001779 for demo/installation  or send Email