Cloud based point of sale (POS) systems are becoming increasingly popular amongst small business owners all over the world, but are they really the best option for your business both financially and with the features they provide?

The answer to that question is a resounding no. Despite a few obvious up-front advantages which are used to get customers in the door, more often than not cloud based POS systems do not provide as much of an advantage as their providers would lead you to believe.

For example with a cloud based POS system you will be able to manage your business on the move, possibly incur lower upfront costs, get instantaneous updates to your POS software, you won’t have to directly deal with ensuring your data is secure, and you’ll even be able to give your employees access to the software outside of work. However in this case the cost simply outweighs the benefits.

As you can see the purple chart represents typical pricing for cloud based tablet POS system and the green represents a CCS hardware based POS solution. With the cloud based tablet system you will incur lower upfront costs because the cost is more spread out over the course of the year; with CCS you will pay more upfront, but substantially less as the year goes on. Ultimately leading to a lower overall first year expense if you chose to use a CCS POS solution instead of a cloud based system. That doesn’t even mention the 3 year warranty on equipment that comes standard with your CCS solution compared to the 1 year warranty you’ll get with most cloud based solutions.

With that pricing information in mind here are a few more cons to using a cloud based POS system in your business.

Monthly Leasing Fees

With a cloud based POS system you will be paying a monthly leasing fee for the duration of time that you are using the system. If you would have went with the CCS option you’d own it by now. No more annual renewal fees. No more feeling trapped.

Be Sure to Budget for Annual Updates

With a cloud based POS system comes automatic annual updates, which in theory sound awesome. That is until you realize that with the latest and greatest version of your software comes unforeseen higher costs. The costs coupled with the fact that you have to update your software at a time that is convenient for your provider, but not necessarily your business can make these updates more trouble than they’re worth.

Internet Dependent?

With a cloud based system if the internet goes down so does your POS system. Now tethering such an integral part of your business to the internet, which can go down, is a risk some companies will make that even more difficult by blaming any issues that they have on the internet your internet service provider.

Now that you have all the facts, it will be that much easier to get your head out of the clouds and switch to a CCS POS solution. Request a quote today.