People are advancing in every aspect of their lives. Things are going digital and we have seen a drastic shift in the pandemic which pushes every business transaction online similar is the case with the Point of sale. Traditional legacy Point of sale is moving to Cloud-based Point of Sale due to the various benefits and practical approach it has. Restaurant businesses used to store their POS data locally into their on-site PC or server but as business tools are based online, hence there’s been a natural progression towards cloud-based POS systems.

Let’s highlight the major difference between the Legacy POS System and Cloud-based POS.

Legacy POS systems store data on a local database and are also known as traditional or on-premises POS. It is quite easily understood that you cannot access the data remotely. You have to be on the premises and from the same device to access the information.

A Cloud-based Point of Sale is a web-based Point of Sale system. It lets you process all the transactions directly from the web and is usually compatible with much point-of-sale hardware that includes printers, cash registers, etc. Cloud-based point-of-sale systems process all payment transactions and update them online, rather than on your local computer. It eliminates the need for a server or to connect everything with wires.

Cloud-based Point of Sale software is the latest trend in POS software and is increasing in popularity every day. Also, cloud-based point-of-sale systems offer convenience and cost significantly less since vendors can easily access their customer data from virtually anywhere there’s a WiFi connection.

Cloud-based POS systems process, and store sales data online as opposed to locally on your computer or on-premise server.

Cloud-based Point of Sale frontend interface is accessible from various devices that include tablets, smartphones, and touchscreen monitors, whereas the backend can be accessed through any web browser.

The other alternative term used for Cloud-based POS systems is POS Applications (apps) instead of software since they are widely operated on mobile devices. They are also called EPOS (electronic point of sale) to reflect the fact that the software runs on electronic equipment.

Cloud-based POS is a portable device it can be accessed from anywhere and managers get updates on sales in real time. It lowers equipment costs as iPad or mobile phones can be used as the POS interface. The only limitation of cloud POS has the availability of the internet. However, there are POS available in the market that works offline too to minimize potential disruption to your customer service and data can be synced once connected to the internet.

Cloud-based POS is time efficient and instant downloadable app. You require to sign up online or over the phone and download the POS application and you are ready to use it straight away.

As data is saved on the cloud hence you can access data anywhere with a Cloud-based POS. There is no limitation to being in-store to check sales reports, and inventory data.

Cloud-based point-of-sale software usually requires very little upfront investment – instead, you pay a monthly subscription fee. Since updates are automatic and handled by the POS provider, there are no maintenance fees required either.

Cloud-based POS software comes with the added benefit of real-time updates which are usually run off-hours. Not only does this reduce maintenance costs and help ensure that your software is always up to date, it makes your software “future-proof” as your solution will keep improving over time.

POS software automatically stores data in the cloud, your data will be safe in the instances above. At the same time, reliable POS providers will always use reputable cloud hosting service providers such as Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure to host their applications for both security and world-class reliability.

The complexity associated with in-store servers, computer networks, time-consuming setup, and maintenance goes away. Simply download the app. It talks to the “brains” of the system located in the cloud, and the store can start taking orders. Updates are pushed to devices from the cloud.

Cloud-based POS can often be adopted in stages according to need and budget. An existing solution that offers a seamless upgrade to cloud POS may be an option worth considering.

With a cloud-powered POS system, your staff will have swift and quick access to product information, enabling excellent customer satisfaction and quickly making your store enabled.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours, but we feel confident recommending a Cloud-based POS system for the vast majority of businesses. The combination of power, affordability, and convenience that these systems offer makes them hard to beat.

If you’re looking to upgrade an existing business or start a new one on the right foot, a cloud POS system is definitely worth considering and FoodBucket is the number. 1 POS and KDS system that is delivering robust restaurant automation and management system.