If you are in the market for a point of sale (POS) system for your liquor store you are probably looking at features that will help you operate more efficiently, such as integrated payment processing and inventory control. It is wise, however, to assess the liquor store POS systems you are considering for features that can help protect your business.
Here are three areas in which a liquor store POS system can help protect your business in ways specific to your industry:
- Age Verification. With the legal drinking age set at 21 in the United States, you need to verify a customer’s age before you begin a transaction. A liquor store POS system can make sure your employees don’t overlook this requirement — and potentially face fines, jail time, and other penalties if an underage customer makes a purchase. Look for a POS system that prompts employees to check the customer’s identification before a sale.
- Tracking and Reporting. A liquor store POS system should support compliance with federal laws and regulations that require tracking, recordkeeping, and reporting. For example, you must account for all alcohol you receive at your store, keeping records of when you received it and where it came from. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau will allow you to keep either a record book or invoices that include this information — something your POS system can track for you.
In addition, you must track your customers and their purchases, reporting if the same customer purchases 20 wine gallons or more of distilled spirits, wine, or beer at the same time. To help you avoid fines and other penalties, your liquor store POS should include top-notch accounting and reporting tools
- Security. Your liquor store POS should have features that help you operate your store securely and minimize loss.
- Access control. Your POS system should give you the ability to assign employees PINs or require that they swipe mag stripe cards to perform transactions. This will enable you to track their activity — including voids, refunds, and exchanges, on which employees could potentially base fraudulent transactions. Your liquor store POS system could also allow you to set permissions so only certain members of your staff can complete those transactions.
- Video surveillance integration. In the event of a security incident, some liquor store POS systems can give you the capability to match the transaction record with video surveillance records from the point of sale at the time the incident occurred. This information can support law enforcement officials in criminal investigations.
- Payment security. Your liquor store POS system should comply with Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards and Payment Application Data Security Standards to ensure card data is protected from theft by cybercriminals. In addition, if payment processing is integrated, your system should be capable of accepting EMV chip cards to protect you from liability if a fraudulent card is used.
- Network security. Your POS system should include robust network security measures that protect it from threats from the network, keeps patches up to date, and monitors third-party applications that are integrated with the system.
- Internet backup. In the event of an Internet outage, the POS system should allow you to continue to operate securely.
By selecting a liquor store POS system with features that address regulatory compliance, loss prevention, and security, the investment you are about to make will not only provide a tool that helps your store operate more efficiently, but also will help protect your business and your brand.