POS Hardware:  

This compact POS solution won’t occupy a lot of your counter space. The General Store can customize your POS package to fit your needs, just select the peripherals you require. The value bundle system we priced comes with a 19–inch LCD flat screen monitor. It also comes with a barcode scanner, a thermal receipt printer, a card reader, a standard keyboard and mouse, and a customer price pole display. They have a variety of other peripherals you can choose from, including omnidirectional scanners and more.

The computer is an AMD 64 bit. If you use this system strictly as a POS, it should be adequate. Conversely, if you’re only going to have one computer to run your retail, this one won’t store a lot of information and programs. However, when we spoke with General Store they said they would honor their full warranty regardless of what computer you used.

POS Software:  

The General Store comes with exceptional POS software that will support up to 99 stations in an LAN environment and you can customize each of the stations. This gives you plenty of room to expand.

The software allows you to modify the transaction process to fit your needs. Simply select or delete the features you would like to incorporate or exclude in your POS interface. Some of these features include print receipt only on demand, track salesperson, activate mailing list capture and trap zip codes. You can also set your own return policies.

This software includes a number of security features like allowing you to adjust the password settings. You can set up your system so that it requires a manager key entry for tasks like canceling transactions, discounts or making a sale tax exempt. Other security features include third–party check guarantee and real–time credit or debit card authorization through third–party software like IDVerify or Go Software.

The Profit Picture is a practical tool that gives you a quick snapshot of your sales, cost of sales and profit for any range of days. This allows you to make quick adjustments to ensure your business is profitable.

Reports formulated with this software can be loaded into Excel for export into other programs.

Functionality/Ease of Use:  

The General Store will customize your system with exactly what you need and then give you a price quote. The sales representatives are helpful and take all aspects of your store into consideration when helping you choose a system.

The software is easy to navigate using tabs and you can exclude any of the features that you don’t need to keep it simple.

Price/Value:  

The package we reviewed is under $3,000 and includes all of the hardware and software to run a small retail shop. The General Store will customize your package to fit your budget and needs.

Training/Support:  

Within the software, an integrated help system is always just a click away. If you need further assistance, you can reach customer support by phone or email. Crichlow Data Sciences also provides an online user guide and other helpful information.

The General Store is an attractive, all–in–one point of sale solution that will streamline the way you do business. You can request a free information packet and even a demo disk to see if this is the right system for your store. With a decent selection of hardware, and a good software solution, the General Store is a good way to get going with your computerized point of sale.