Bookstore Retail POS & Inventory Software

OVERVIEW

No specialty retailers have been affected more by the emergence of online superstores than book and music shops. Book and music store inventories typically contain just a few duplicates of a large number of items. Special orders are common. Many book stores and music shops sell used stock which they buy from customers. Books and magazines are usually identified with a number in the form of a bar code, called the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) respectively. CDs (and albums, cassettes, and 45s produced after the 1970s) have Universal Product Codes (UPCs). Shops are differentiating themselves from Internet retailers by becoming a destination instead of a store; many offer coffee and food items and an expanded selection of non-core items.

Inventory and point of sales (POS) are the key modules for book stores and music shops. Customer relationship management is also important since it is the basis of a customer loyalty program; music and book stores are embracing social media to attract and maintain customers. Ideally, the system should support both traditional stores and online sales, “bricks and clicks” operations. If the store buys product from customers to resell, the POS and accounts payable need to interact for the payments to be processed properly.

Accounts receivable, general ledger, and payroll are all standard. Most book stores use on-premises systems; in fact, paper-based systems are still used by some. However, software as a service (SaaS) systems are available and provide an attractive alternative for book stores and music shops that are upgrading or replacing current systems.

Key Requirements for Books/Music Retailers

Book and music retailers should consider the following functions to meet their unique requirements:

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