Intuit Inc. — QuickBooks Point of Sale 8.0

From the September 2009 Review of Point-of-Sale
Systems

QuickBooks
Point of Sale software is part of Intuit’s extensive Industry Solutions
software line. Available in four versions scaled to fit your business needs,
Point of Sale Basic 8.0 is ideally suited for small to mid-sized retail businesses.

EASE OF USE:
The easy-to-use QuickBooks navigator provides quick access to POS transactions,
inventory, purchasing, help and support, and the “quick-find” feature
allows users to key in search terms to quickly find customers, sales and items.
New QuickBooks users will appreciate options such as the hardware setup wizard
that appears automatically after software installation. The setup interview
guides users through entering relevant company information. ‘Understanding
The Basics’ offers a set of brief tutorials that cover simple program
navigation, how to save time when entering information and instructions on importing
data from QuickBooks financial software along with other data sources.
As always, data-entry screens are easily navigated, with icons available to
move from function to function quickly and easily. Lookup options are available
in all appropriate fields, and customers, items and other data can be added
on the fly.

MODULES/SCALABILITY:
QuickBooks Point of Sale version 8 offers complete POS functionality along with
inventory, purchasing, employees, web store and a complete help and support
function. Designed to work as a stand-alone product or in tandem with QuickBooks
financial products, integration between the two offers users better front/back
office capability and increased reporting options, which will be covered later
in this review.

There are currently four versions of the QuickBooks retail POS product available:
Cash Register Plus (if inventory capabilities aren’t needed), Basic, Pro
and Pro Multi-Store. Each offers an increased level of features and options,
making QuickBooks an ideal POS solution for businesses of all sizes.

FEATURES/FUNCTIONALITY:
New sales are begun by clicking on “Make a Sale,” allowing users
to look up, enter or add item codes. Items can be entered by hand or scanned,
obviously a better solution for high-volume stores.

While QuickBooks doesn’t offer the scope of detail offered by higher-end
systems, users can easily enter custom pricing, attach multiple pricing levels
to a single item and track orders and employee sales commissions. QuickBooks
Point of Sale can also handle merchandise discounts, returns and store credits.
It offers decent customer tracking capability to allow retailers to easily target
a specific group of customers based on sales and purchase history. Reward programs
can also be provided to customers.

New features in version 8 include the Web Store option, which syncs with the
POS product to handle online sales, along with real-time inventory tracking
and updates. Up to 20 stores can now be managed from one central location with
the multi-store version (up from 10 in the previous version). QuickBooks now
also works with a PIN Pad with Signature Capture, making credit card processing
and security more efficient. A simple sales interface is now available, as well,
allowing sales entry without the clutter.

INTEGRATION:
QuickBooks Point of Sale products easily integrate with QuickBooks financial
software. The connection wizard helps complete the integration process, so users
will only need to enter customer, product and sales data once, with transactions
imported into the financial software. QuickBooks Point of Sale works with an
extensive array of hardware peripherals including pole displays, receipt printers,
credit card readers, the new signature capture, standard PIN pads and barcode
scanners.

TRACKING/REPORTING:
Detailed information can be easily tracked, such as inventory performance, top
sellers and vital customer demographics (buying history, sales by zip code,
etc.). Store performance data can be rolled into one management report, allowing
for the tracking of top performers and under performers. An extensive variety
of sales and management reports are available, including sales reports such
as Most Common Returns and Date Comparisons, as well as a Payment Reconciliation
report and inventory, purchasing and employee reports. To save time, regular
reports can be stored in the Memorized Reports section for quick access.

RELATIVE VALUE:
QuickBooks Point of Sale 8.0 is an excellent product that contains many significant
upgrades from the previous version. Suitable as a stand-alone product, QuickBooks
Point of Sale really shines when used with the QuickBooks suite of financial
products.

With four versions available, this is a good fit for small to mid-sized retailers
with multiple locations. QuickBooks Point of Sale Pro 8.0 is currently available
for $1,199.95, with other versions priced according to feature availability.

2009 Overall Rating: