POS Software Blog

Multi-Site Merchant Growth and POS Technology

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In the past few months, we have had more customers open their 2^nd location than ever before.  For most small business merchants, the opening of that 2^nd location is a pivotal point in the success of the enterprise.  The advent of the 2nd location typically indicates that the small business owner has had enough success at the 1^st location to both fund and merit the opening of the 2^nd location.  It also suggests that a 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th location are likely to be feasible and could possibly be right around the corner.  Needless to say, adding the 2^nd location to the business is an exciting time for the merchant.

So, does the opening of the 2^nd location mean that profitability is inevitable and the business owner can now relax and enjoy a life on easy street?  It may be a bit premature for that mindset.  The reality is that most times, the merchant is somewhat unprepared for some of the changes that come about due to the opening of the 2^nd location.  Despite all the careful planning and due diligence, the owner suddenly meets unanticipated challenges in trying to maintain the standards and controls that took years to perfect at the 1^st location.  Most of this is due to the simple fact that a person can only be in one place at one time.  Although somewhat oversimplified, this reality is clearly at the root of the problem.

There are several precautionary measures the business owner can take to minimize the effect of this challenge.  One of the more obvious preparation steps is to build the right team of people and have them prepared and committed to filling the void when the owner can no longer be onsite every day.  A less obvious and sometimes overlooked critical factor is to make sure the right technology is in place to take the business to the next step.  Although the POS system in place at the 1st location is satisfactory, is it scalable enough to support the new multi-site enterprise without operational challenges and significant increases in cost?

Some issues to consider are:

1. Will the POS operate in real time so that transactions from all locations are posted to a central database instantly?
2. Will the business owner need to invest time and money into infrastructure (hardware, networking, data center hosting, etc.) to support the new multi-site configuration?
3. Will the cost of the multi-site version of the software significantly impact the bottom line ultimately making the 2^nd location more expensive to open?
4. How much additional training, set up and configuration will be necessary to launch the multi-site version of the POS software?
5. Will the system continue to perform in such a way that customer service quality standards continue to be met?

The primary danger involved with opening that 2^nd location is the owner’s potential loss of control.  The deployment of the proper POS technology helps the business owner maintain the same level of control he or she possessed as a single-site merchant.  It provides the owner with the time necessary to coach the team in place and focus on building the business at the new location.  It provides critical information in real time so the owner and managers can make informed decisions.  It performs as well as it did at the 1^st location so that customer service standards remain high despite the growth of the business.

There is nothing more exciting than the growth of a small business.  Despite former claims of Chevrolet, small business is truly “the Heartbeat of America.”  When a merchant opens its 2^nd location, that small business takes a giant leap toward future growth.  However, all growth comes with growing pains.  It is critical to the success of the small business that these growing pains are minimized while opening the 2^nd location.  The 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th locations come easily in comparison.  POS technology plays a significant role in this process.

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