Electronic cash registers are essential for maintaining accurate sales records in a number of retail businesses from traditional bricks and mortar shops through to online stores. Electronic cash registers are operated by sales clerks and record daily sales transactions including important financial details such as the total number of sales and the individual products sold.
These sales transaction details can be used to monitor takings and ensure the incomings and outgoings balance and can also be used to manage stock levels. Accurate records are essential for businesses to ensure that stock is being sold at the correct retail price and that a clear audit trail can be provided for all transactions. These records can also be used to quickly identify potential embezzlement and theft on the shop floor.
Cash Register Features
As well as providing important information for the management of sales electronic cash registers also provide a number of other features including:
Locked Cash Drawer
Electronic cash registers have locked cash drawers that only open when a successful sales transaction has been processed. This secure device ensures that cash is stored safely in a public setting such as shop checkout area. If a sales clerk needs to access the cash drawer for non-sales transactions then they can do so with special access keys or by recording a ‘no sale’ or ‘refund’ transaction. This is useful on customer service desks where refunds and returns will need to be processed and also when customers have received the wrong change.
Change Totals
to assist sales clerks with providing a fast, efficient service to customer’s electronic cash registers can provide change totals with each sales transactions. This will help to ensure that everyone receives the right change from their transaction.
Barcode Scanning
the ability to scan barcodes can increase the efficiently of checkouts significantly and will save the sales clerk from having to ring in each product individually. This can also prevent problems of missing or incorrect sales tickets and will ensure each product is sold at the correct retail price, including any relevant discounts.
Credit Card Readers
modern electronic cash registers will also include integrated credit card readers. This will provide fast credit card payments and sales clerks can swipe the card on the main register or insert it into an attached PIN credit card reader. An additional benefit of integrated credit card readers is that instant card authentication can be provided, so businesses can help to prevent credit card fraud at the checkout.
Receipts
Electronic cash registers will provide customers automatically with a receipt which can provide a number of details including the products bought (and quantities), list price, total sales amount, discounts, loyalty points, date/time and also the name of the sale clerk who served them. The cash register will also keep a record of these receipts to be used for audit purposes.
Electronic Scales
Electronic cash registers can include integrated scales, which can be used to quickly and accurately weigh certain products such as groceries. This will speed up the checkout process and ensure sales transactions are carried out accurately for items sold by the weight.
Electronic cash registers and cash counters machine can benefit businesses and customers by providing fast, efficient checkouts, accurate sales transactions and detailed records for audit purposes.
