By Rachael Pritz
QuickBooks has a large and loyal following of pool and spa businesses that have used its point-of-sale (POS) system for years. The end of QuickBooks POS on October 3, 2023, will likely impact many pool and spa retailers. However, this also provides the perfect opportunity for pool and spa businesses to look for a new, fully integrated, industry-specific software solution that will make the transition from QuickBooks seamless and with more new opportunities to improve business operations. Here are four tips to consider when selecting a replacement for QuickBooks POS.
Tip 1: Choose a specialty POS
There are many POS options and knowing which system to choose can be difficult. Luckily, pool and spa businesses can pick a system which is specifically designed for the pool industry. A generic system, similar to QuickBooks POS, will not provide the user-focused design that comes with easier implementation. Industry-specific business software allows pool and spa businesses to do more with less and scale in ways which was not previously possible. This means business size matters less as automation can give the advantage to smaller brands which are often able to react to new trends faster than their larger rivals. Investing in industry-specific software enables businesses to automate time-consuming, recurring business activities, streamline workflows, and improve the efficiency of business operations.
For pool and spa businesses, these are the advantages of choosing a specialty POS system over a generic one.
- Vendor integrations specific to the industry.
- Eliminates duplicate purchase order entries by ordering from one software.
- Checks inventory availability from vendors right inside the software.
- Water lab sync that shares and stores information.
- Enters customer information in the water lab software and sends it to avoid entering data multiple times.
- Chemical handout forms to assist customers step-by-step in correcting water problems.
- Chemical dosages that are automatically calculated based on a customer’s pool or spa size.
- Creating revolving services for customers that are unique to the industry to service pools and spas.
- Shopping cart that integrates into the existing website for e-commerce selling.
