Does your music store use a point of sale (POS) system?
Modern POS systems offer a variety of digital tools designed to help entrepreneurs manage an entire business from one place. These music store software solutions make life easier for small business owners by automating tasks that used to be done by hand — like sales transactions and inventory tracking.
Some POS systems are designed with general features for retail businesses, while others are specialized for certain industries. Your business needs both general retail features and features designed just for music stores. But with a variety of POS providers on the market, determining which one is best for your store might feel a little overwhelming.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the most important POS features you need for your music store, and go over the top providers of music store software solutions so you find the best system for your business.
Key Features of a Music POS System
All business owners need to take payments and look at sales data, but many business owners have tasks related to their specific industry. For a music store owner, these might include teaching music lessons or repairing musical instruments. These are the top features you need in a POS system, both general and industry-specific.
Inventory Management
To make the best decisions for your music store, you need to know how many items you have in stock at any given time and how quickly they’re turning over. In the past, business owners needed to do frequent manual counts to know how many items to order to replenish their stock. A digital system automatically tracks and updates this data.
Modern music store software solutions automatically adjust your inventory totals when you make sales or place new orders. Cloud-based systems are connected to the internet and can be accessed from any web-enabled device — meaning you can see your inventory totals from your smartphone or tablet at the touch of a button.
By using sophisticated inventory management software, you can make better inventory decisions, so you can avoid overstock and stockouts and increase sales.
Related Read: Music Store Inventory: 7 Tips To Prevent Overstock
Payment Processing
As a small business owner, you need to facilitate sales transactions quickly and efficiently. This includes accepting a variety of payment methods, including cash, cards, and digital payment methods like Apple Pay and Google Pay. Modern music store software solutions can accept all of these forms of payment. Using a POS system also ensures secure payment processing and minimal errors.
We’ve all had the experience of sitting at the checkout counter while the cashier tries to figure out the problem. The longer it takes to resolve these issues, the more likely a customer is to leave before their purchase can be completed. When the checkout process is fast, convenient, and secure, customers have a great experience and are more likely to return to your music store.
E-Commerce
Effective e-commerce requires having a well-designed and functional website, coordinating shipping operations, and resolving customer service issues as they arise. All of this is made easier with a POS system.
A POS system gives you access to musical instrument suppliers you can coordinate with to offer e-commerce. Music store software solutions also offer website support so you can create and maintain a website your customers want to buy from. Plus, you can keep your inventory counts synchronized as you fulfill online orders, ensuring all of your numbers are accurate.
Related Read: [ANSWERED] Music Shop E-Commerce Website FAQs
Sales Reports and Analytics
Successful businesses pay close attention to data and make decisions accordingly. A solid POS system tracks your data and gives you access to detailed reports. You can create reports for revenue, profit, inventory turnover, and other important metrics.
Knowing which products are selling best and when your peak shopping periods are helps you make better decisions for your music store, leading to higher sales.
User-Friendly Interface
An intuitive system interface makes a POS system easier to use and easier to train your employees on. While any music store software takes practice to master, a user-friendly interface speeds up the training process, increases efficiency, and reduces errors. Find a POS system with simple navigation and high-quality customer support, so you can receive help when you encounter issues in using the system.
Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management (CRM) refers to the process businesses use to build customer loyalty, often based on customer data and personalized messaging. POS systems record data about your customers — including their purchase histories — which allows you to create personalized marketing and promotions.
For example, you can send a customer email messages about their favorite products or send them a discount after they make a purchase. If your data says they’re a dog owner, you can send them emails about your most popular dog food and accessories.
CRM tools included in music store software solutions help you track your interactions with customers, so you can provide better customer service and increase customer loyalty.
Music Lessons Scheduling
Many music stores offer music lessons. It’s a great way to share your knowledge of music while creating an additional revenue stream for your business. However, multiple students, instruments, and maybe even multiple instructors can be challenging to manage.
A music-specific music store software has tools for managing music lessons, including scheduling appointments for students and instructors, and keeping track of students’ progress and lesson plans. Rather than needing to add a separate scheduling system, a music-specific POS system keeps this information in your system for easy access. It also allows you to take payment for these lessons.
Related Read: 3 Best Music Lesson Scheduling Software Providers
Instrument Repair Module
By offering services like instrument repair at your music store, you can make your business a one-stop shop for all of your customers’ music needs. A music-specific POS system offers work order functionality to facilitate these instrument repairs. You can record what kind of instrument it is, details about the repair, and when it was brought in, so you can prioritize repairs correctly.
These systems also allow you to communicate with customers, sending them updates throughout the repair process. Keeping customers informed helps you manage expectations and improve their experience. You can also keep a record of each repair — helping you perform further repairs more quickly.
Related Read: 5 Must-Have Musical Instrument Repair Tools [& Where To Source Them]
6 Top Music Store Software Providers
These are our top six picks for music store software solutions.
Music Shop 360
Music Shop 360 is a POS system designed specifically for music stores, featuring both general retail features and music-specific features.
Features: Music Shop 360 offers payment processing, inventory management, and e-commerce tools. This cloud-based system can be accessed from any web-enabled device, and offers extensive onboarding and continual customer support. It also includes hardware devices for scanning barcodes and taking payments.
Music-specific features include instrument repair work orders, lesson scheduling, and rentals, as well as integrations with popular music programs like Reverb, My Music Staff, and more.
Pricing:
Contact for custom pricing.
Lightspeed
Lightspeed is a general POS solution that’s a good fit for retail, restaurants, and golf courses.
Features: Lightspeed offers a fast, intuitive platform with payment processing, detailed sales reports, and personalized customer support.
Pricing:
Basic: $89 per month
Core: $149 per month
Plus: $289 per month
Shopify
Shopify is a general retail POS solution, specializing in e-commerce.
Features: Shopify offers point of sale and e-commerce features that allow you to sell and ship everywhere. You can sell on external sites, utilize flexible pricing and discounts, and use on any web-enabled device.
Pricing:
Basic: $29 per month
Shopify: $79 per month
Advanced: $299 per month
Plus: $2,300 per month
Square
Square is a general POS solution that works well for restaurants, retail stores, and beauty salons.
Features: Square offers a simple and intuitive interface and allows you to process payments, manage inventory, and conduct e-commerce. It also offers features for staffing, payroll, loyalty programs, gift cards, and banking.
Pricing:
Free Plan
Plus: $29 per month
Premium: Custom pricing
Clover
Clover is a general POS solution that suits restaurants, retail, and service businesses.
Features: Clover allows you to track inventory, manage employees, and offer a customer loyalty program. It also offers a variety of hardware devices for taking payments.
Pricing: Contact for custom pricing.
Korona POS
Korona POS is a general retail POS solution.
Features: Korona POS offers inventory management and integrations for accounting, loyalty, and e-commerce. It also offers powerful reporting and analytics, customer relationship management, and hardware to use with your system.
Pricing:
Core: $59 per month
Retail: $69 per month
You can also add industry-specific module packages for additional fees.
Music Shop 360: The Best Music Store Software Solution
Modern music store software solutions have the features you need to run your business more effectively. From tracking your inventory to creating sales reports to building customer loyalty, these systems are fully equipped to help you improve your operations.
To maximize your retail music business’ potential, you need a POS system designed for your industry. Music Shop 360 is designed with music stores in mind, and contains music-specific features like lesson management, instrument repair work orders, and rental features.
Ready to learn more? Contact us today to schedule a demo!
