Tablets are great. They are portable, easy to use and connect us in ways we couldn’t have imagined 20 years ago. There is an app for almost everything and tablets are more affordable than a laptop or the latest iPhone.
For all the benefits tablets give us, they aren’t the best option when deciding on how to run your cannabis retail store or dispensary—especially when used as your primary Point-of-Sale (POS) system.
POS stations have been around since 1879. That is 140 years of refinement and improvement. Tablets only became viable for everyday use with the release of the iPad in 2010.
As more states and countries legalize medical and recreational cannabis, the market for these products is growing rapidly. Delivery options are limited, meaning virtually all cannabis products must be purchased in a physical store.
Tablets are not designed for retail
Tablets aren’t designed to connect to cash drawers, product scanners or receipt printers. With the right software and drivers, they will work, but reliability and durability are nowhere close to that of a POS system designed for everyday retail use.
Bluetooth connections often fail or disconnect, slowing down transaction time and requiring hand entry of long product codes. USB charging cables go missing or stop working during peak times—forcing budtenders to share tablets to complete transactions. Customers become impatient, and your revenue per hour goes down.
Tablets connect to the internet via Wi-Fi—there are no dedicated Ethernet ports to maintain a strong, secure connection with your back-office inventory management systems or the State Compliance systems. We’ve all felt the pain of dealing with spotty Wi-Fi—Do you want to trust your business operations to run like this?
Choose a Point-of-Sale made for retail
Think back to any of your recent retail shopping experiences outside of cannabis. How many stores did you go into? How many used real POS terminals. The answer is probably “all of them.” There is a reason for this.
Dauntless partners with POS hardware providers like Aures and Partner Tech to provide our clients with robust, reliable and stylish solutions that are designed to withstand heavy retail use. Dedicated power supplies, Ethernet cable connections, and ports for scanners, cash drawers and printers are standard.
Our Point-of-Sale software (Korona) is used by over 7,000 businesses around the world, running over 16,000 individual POS terminals. It has been developed over 25 years to meet the needs of high-volume stores.
With Dauntless, you can choose to buy or lease your POS terminals. A variety of styles and colors are available, so your POS can blend in with the design aesthetic of your cannabis retail store. A customer-facing screen allows for up-sell opportunities, promotions, and customer loyalty programs without additional clutter on the counter. Compliance checks like age verification , sales below cost, and purchase limits have been designed by Dauntless specifically for the cannabis industry.
Connect to the back office
While the POS system manages the front-of-house business, it is imperative that it also tie into the back-office. Inventory and product information, tax rates, and traceability/compliance are all key components for a cannabis retailer. Managers can quickly create promotions, schedule cash drops, or access key transaction reports to ensure their store is running optimally.
Invest for the long term
As you choose the right POS system, think about the long-term growth of your business. Do you want to invest in new hardware every other year as tablets break down or become obsolete? Or do you want a system designed and tested to meet the needs of your booming cannabis business?
Contact Dauntless today to see a demo or get more information.