When we started our journey, we could not find a lot of resources about running a bakery online or running a bakery from home. So we wanted to create articles to help others with their business even without a storefront. Most start-up businesses are on a limited budget. We get that. We have been there and done that. Luckily, for you, we are all about sharing helpful tips with you to help you in your bakery business even without a storefront.
So let’s talk about the reasons why you need a POS system in your home bakery.
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Introduction to our card processor
For a start-up business and even a growing business without a storefront, we recommend Square. You can sign up here for a free account.
Square is an online point-of-sale (POS) system. You can set up your own system for free with them. The great thing about Square is that they will send you a free card reader. Get your FREE card reader here. We use this for all our events, but Square has additional services to help your company as you grow like their gift card services or their loyalty program.
Another great benefit of Square is that you can create an online store. If you do not have a website or you are not sure where to go to set up an e-commerce store, then we suggest utilizing the online store option with Square. You can go here to sign up for a FREE account.
As I said, we love Square. We love how simple it was to get started, and of course, we loved the fact that it was FREE. It does not matter if you are a small business, a home baker, or a storefront Square is there to help you with your business needs. Get started with your FREE account here.
Now, as a home baker, you may be thinking…”How would I benefit from a POS system?” That is a great question. Here are our top reasons why you need to use a POS system even in a home bakery.
Card Processing
We have mentioned in other blog posts that we feel that not accepting credit and debit cards can hurt your business even without a storefront. Our world is reliant on technology, and the purchasing problem is no different. We have found that we lose more sales when we do not offer credit and debit processing than when we do.
Think about all the times you only had your bank card with you. Now out of those times, think about how many times you would have made an impulsive purchase had you had your debit or bank card. I know it happens to me a lot. So do your business a favor and sign up for credit card processing.
With Square, credit card and debit card processing are straight forward. Square charges 2.6%+ .10 for all cards that are swiped, chip inserted, or processed via a contactless process. (Remember they give you a free card reader. Go here to sign up.)If you enter the card manually or process a card on file, then the fee does increase to 3.5%+.15 fee.
Yes, there are fees associated with a card transaction, but think of it this way. You either get the sale and pay a small fee, or you lose the sale and all money and possible future money from the sale. Don’t leave money on the table by not offering card processing when signing up and obtaining a card reader is so simple.
One benefit of using Square for your POS system and your processing system is that you can use the options to ask for tips. Tip jars are great, but they are easy to miss. When you set-up Square, you can turn on the feature that asks every person if they would like to leave a tip. It is just one extra way to help increase profits.
We use our card reader on both iPhones and Android phones along with our iPad. We do not have issues with it on any of these devices.
Tracking Sales
In our business, we find that sales tracking is really important. It provides us valuable information on our sales. For example, when we go to a vendor event, we process every sales transaction through our free Square POS system. After the shows, we can determine when our busiest times were, and we can see what our most popular product was during the event.
Now how is this information valuable? We use the information in various ways. We start by trying to determine if we felt that this particular event was successful. If we sold most of our products, then we may determine that this event may be worth booking next year. Then each year we can compare our annual data to make sure we maximize our exposure at this event.
Another way we use this information is by determining how popular items were at the event. Square allows you to sort your reports. We use this function to compare the popularity of items. Based on how items did, we can then decide if those items should go to the next event.
We also use this information to help determine how much of a particular item to bring with us to events. For example, we went to an event and sold out of our Fall-bulous cupcakes within a few hours. This lets us know that this item was popular and we should bring more of them to the next event.
This reports that Square provides can not only be compared from one event to the next, but you can compare reports for an event annually. As you collect this data over the year(s), it will help you better manage your products and your waste when attending events.
Taxes
Eh!! Yuck!! The dreaded T-word. That is right, taxes. As business owners event without a storefront, we are required to collect and pay sales tax on products that we sell. This means we must track our sales and determine how much tax to charge at each transaction, and we must calculate the total amount of tax due after all transactions are processed.
Yup!! Nope, let’s be real. We are so busy as business owners. Why would we waste our precious time being bogged down my math and numbers when we have a FREE POS system that we can have to do the dirty work for us. Have you ever heard of the phrase work smarter, not harder? Well, Square is here to help you do just that. Square allows you to enter in the desired tax percentage. Then when you check an individual out in the system, Square will automatically calculate the tax for the transaction.
It’s that simple. No need for you to find it on a chart. No need for you to try to whip out a calculator and do the math. All you have to do is ring the person up and BAM the tax is added, and you carry on with the transaction. But that is not all!!!!
I mean, let’s be real. Saving you time and money by providing you the answer for sales tax is pretty awesome, but Square also will provide you a report to help you calculate all the sales tax due from your business. Take the fear out of paying your sales tax bill by signing up for a FREE account with Square here.
Payments
A POS system is there to help you track your sales, but it also helps you track your payments. When you use a POS system, the system will tell you exactly how much you should have in cash, check, and credit payments. This allows you to balance your drawers and business accounts.
Instead of trying to track everything down on paper and leaving yourself open to human error, use a POS system to do the tracking for you. This allows you to focus on more important things like sales and customer service.
Invoices
Square has an invoice system built into their FREE POS system. You can quickly send invoices to customers, track open invoices, and collect payment on open invoices. It is so nice to have one place to do all your work. You no longer have to hop in all these different systems to track orders and payments for your orders.
Email List
I am not sure if you have heard this Gold tip for your business. If you have, then you will understand how important this feature will be for your business. If you do not know this yet, then let me give you the best advice for your business even without a storefront. START AN EMAIL LIST [LINK].
Now I will not go into the importance of it here. If you really want to know why your email list is so important, then go here to read all about it, but just know that this is really important.
Square allows you to set-up an email registration during your transaction process. That is correct. You can easily set-up a process to quickly allow your customers to opt into your email list.
As you can see, a POS system is not just for storefronts. You can utilize a POS system in many different ways. As a home baker, you would benefit from having this POS system. Stop wasting your time with manual work that can be completed quickly and accurately with a POS system like Square.
If you are ready to take your business to the next level, then go here to sign up to get started with a POS system in your business even without a storefront.
If you found this article helpful, have a question, or want to share your thoughts, then please feel free to comment below. We love to hear from all of you.
We want to congratulate you on your decision to be an entrepreneur and wish you luck on your journey. Don’t forget to check out all of our business advice articles like Price Your Products For A Bakery When You Don’t Have A Storefront [LINK].
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