These tips for QuickBooks Point of Sale 10.0 and higher will make your employees and customers happier.

 You know that accuracy is the most important element of any retail transaction, but speed is right up there, too. The faster you can enter and process the items, the more time you have to exchange pleasantries with your current customer and serve the rest faster. Here are some suggestions for accelerating the sales process and using QuickBooks POS optimally.

• Customize navigational buttons. Right-click on the vertical navigation pane on the left and click Customize buttons. Use the < > arrows to move options between Available Fields and Selected Fields, then click Finish. Displaying buttons for the most often-used functions will save time.
• Use Quick Picks. Do you sell the same items frequently? Stock oddly-shaped merchandise that is hard to tag? Go to File | Preferences | Company and highlight Inventory. Click Add next to Inventory Quick Pick Groups. Name your group and click Save. Open the editing screen for each item that should be included and select your new group name from the drop-down menu next to Quick Pick Group in the left vertical pane. When you process a sale, click the Quick Pick Items button and choose the one you want.

Set up Quick Picks for frequently-sold or hard-to-tag items.

• Shut down the computer running POS every night. This will let the system refresh itself and help avoid error messages.
• Invest in a barcode scanner. The accuracy you’ll ensure and the time you’ll save make it worth the hardware cost. QuickBooks POS can scan numbers from three fields: UPS, Item Numbers, and Alternate Lookups (You must scan the right numbers for labels; let us help you set this up). The program prints barcoded labels that can be attached to items and scanned at the register. You can also create customer ID cards to use in Rewards Programs, for example.
• Reward your best customers. It’s easier and cheaper to retain existing customers than to find new ones. Run the Customer Sales report to identify your best customers and offer them an additional discount or hold a private sale for them. You can choose from pre-defined filters or build your own to find data that share common characteristics.
• Use filters to isolate related groups. QuickBooks Point of Sale offers powerful filtering options. You can select from pre-defined parameters in some data areas or build your own using an exceptionally flexible custom tool. Look in the upper right corner of Customer, Item, Sales History, or Receiving History screens to locate the Search and buttons. When you select other views like the Vendor List, your filter commands will appear in the window’s upper left.

• Use filters to isolate related groups. QuickBooks POS offers powerful filtering options. You can select from pre-defined parameters in some data areas or build your own using an exceptionally flexible custom tool. Look in the upper right corner of Customer, Item, Sales History, or Receiving History screens to locate the Search and buttons. When you select other views like the Vendor List, your filter commands will appear in the window’s upper left.

You can choose from pre-

defined filters or build your

own to find data that share

common characteristics.

You might, for example, find:

• All customers who haven’t purchased in the last three months
• Every sweatshirt in the store is available in size 2XL OR 3XL
• Orders that were received within a date range AND which came from two different vendors.

Receiving Vouchers, which you would be searching for in this last example, are complex. Instructions for creating them can vary depending on multiple factors. Contact us when you get started with these — or if you’re looking for other tips on learning the best ways to use QuickBooks Point of Sale.