How Your Small Business Can Use Smartphones as a POS

Statista data shows that mobile POS (mPOS) payment market transaction values are projected to reach $12.56 trillion in 2025, and its impact could help to level the playing field between merchants of different sizes.

Utilizing your smartphone as a card reader empowers your business to accept payments wherever your customers may be. This means that you can set your business up to sell your products and services from anywhere, whether in-store, at a popup location, on the curbside, or in clients' homes.

But what are the benefits of adding a mobile POS for your small business? And what processes are involved in helping your mPOS operations to get up and running? Let’s take a deeper look at the evolution of smartphones as point-of-sale terminals and how they can help you to improve your payment efficiency:

How Does mPOS Work?

The brilliance of a smartphone POS is that you’ll only need a mobile device to get started as well as a card reader. You can then download an app that runs on your smartphone and integrates with the cloud to process transactions in real-time to accept payments to your business.

This simplifies the checkout process for customers and they can make payments in the same way as a traditional point-of-sale by simply tapping their card on the smartphone’s reader wherever it’s presented.

Because it’s a cloud-based solution, you can also integrate your smartphone with a tablet POS to offer greater oversight and more effective business management over payments.

The best mPOS systems will utilize the cloud to oversee the security of transactions and essential data can easily be stored and accessed from any interconnected device. This can help small businesses to better manage their transactions, payment data, inventory levels, and access customer insights from any location in the world.

Choosing The Right mPOS

While many different types of businesses can reap the rewards of switching to mobile POS systems, small businesses are especially capable of benefiting due to the increased agility and simplicity the technology provides.

However, there are several considerations that you should keep in mind as a small business owner making the transition to mPOS. These include:

• Assessing your needs: Remember to keep your business and its industry in mind when considering your mPOS. There are different options on the market and some solutions can carry a more specific focus on different business types. If you’re a retail store, for instance, you can look to adding a mPOS with a single countertop functionality. If you’re operating a food truck on the other hand, you may need more agility at the point-of-sale.
• Budgeting: The costs associated with adding a mPOS system to your business can be very diverse. With this in mind, take note of the features that are essential to your needs and which are more desirable.
• Scalability: Is the mPOS you’re considering good enough to suit your business needs both today and in five years? If you’re planning to grow over the years ahead, it makes sense to get a smartphone POS that’s ready to accommodate higher levels of custom.
• Free trials: If you’re a newcomer to the POS market, it’s worth looking for options that provide free trials and product demonstrations. This allows you to actually see what your mPOS is like in practice and how it fits into your operations.

It’s always a good idea to take your time and research your options when it comes to buying your first mPOS system, and there’s no shortage of online reviews and product comparisons available to help shape your decision.

Just remember to stay true to your business needs and budget to get yourself set up with a POS that’s well-positioned to serve you long into the future.

How to Set Yourself Up With a mPOS

Now that you’re aware of the key considerations to make before getting set up with your smartphone POS, let’s look at how to begin using your mPOS for your small business:

All you need to get set up with mPOS is a smartphone. This option is perfect for small businesses that want to accept payments without having to invest in additional hardware.

This process will involve downloading a dedicated app from your chosen mPOS provider and signing up for their services.

You’ll then be able to process payments using the app by entering the payment amount and accepting card, mobile wallet, and other contactless transactions in a similar way to a card reader with near-field communication from the chosen payment method.

You can even add additional card reader devices to your mPOS solution as you scale, helping to accommodate dip and swipe payments as well as contactless by pairing your smartphone to a card ready.

Most mPOS apps will offer reporting features that enable you to track sales, monitor your inventory, and access end-of-day reports so you can keep on top of your operations at all times.

Opening the Door to Versatility

Whatever industry your small business operates in, smartphone POS solutions can help you gain the flexibility needed to cater to customer needs and accommodate a higher volume of sales in a simplified fashion.

Although there are many considerations to keep in mind when it comes to finding the best mPOS to suit your needs and ambitions, the technology can carry a transformative impact in enhancing your operational efficiency no matter where you may be making sales.