Farm and Feed stores are relied upon heavily in the communities they serve.  While some serve primarily as supply houses for farmers, others provide a broader range of products and services for the community in which they operate.  This is typically driven by location and the proximity of the feed store to other types of retailers that serve each community.

Both large and small, feed store owners and operators face the same business challenges as big box retailers.  Although some of these challenges may be on a smaller scale, they do exist and each has an impact on the bottom line.  Examples of these challenges are inventory controls, cash management, customer service, payment processing, etc.  Farm and feed stores are turning toward point-of-sale (POS) technologies to assist them in maximizing efficiencies and combating these everyday challenges in the business.

The top 5 benefits that farm and feed store owners/operators enjoy from their POS solutions are:

1.       Inventory Controls – Most feed stores sell thousands of unique products.  Without a POS system, managing the inventory can be a very time-consuming and tedious task.  A POS solution provides the tools for bar coding and scanning at POS, at shipment arrival and at physical inventory time.  This reduces errors in all of these processes allowing the owner or operator to maintain full control at all times.

2.       Speed of Service – Especially during peak periods, moving customers through the store quickly is critical.  Now more than ever, maintaining the existing customer base and providing a great first impression for new visitors are critical objectives for farm and feed store owners.  A well-designed POS solution provides the speed and accuracy to produce 1-3 second transaction times.  Compare this to a cash register or paper system combined with a separate credit card terminal (eliminated by the POS solution).  Multiply the difference by the number of transactions on any given day.  You may find that you are gaining hours each day!

3.       Customer Accounts Receivable – Most feed stores have customers to whom they extend charging privileges.  Although this is a great customer service offering, it can also become a labor intensive process if not automated.  The right feed store POS solution provides internal accounts receivable functionality.  This provides fast and efficient management of all accounts, aging and collection activities.

4.       Cash Controls – Daily reconciliation with a well-designed POS solution is a snap.  With integrated payment processing, it is essentially impossible for an operator to make a mistake on any electronic payment transaction.  Cash transactions still leave room for errors.  However, a POS system minimizes those errors by providing tools in the POS module to eliminate the need for the operator to think and/or perform any math.  Robust reports provide quick and easy reconciliation of every till.  Built-in security features promote accountability of every operator for every transaction.

5.       Accuracy/Efficiency – Farm and Feed POS solutions eliminate pricing errors completely.  They also provide real time information that allows for intelligent analysis that is used to make the purchasing and staffing decisions that have a great impact on the bottom line for the operator.  Eliminate the “guess-work” from the entire operation and make the right decisions based on factual information in the POS data.

Although the list continues, these are 5 of the most beneficial components of a well designed farm and feed store POS solution.  To learn more about things to consider when seeking the right POS system for your farm and feed retail business, download our free checklist today.