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Point-of-Sale Technology:
POS or point-of-sale is the term often used in conjunction with hardware
such as the terminal, or checkouts. It is also the software, including
the wireless systems for companies with multiple locations.
POS systems have advanced from the simple mechanical cash registers used
in the beginning of the 20th century. The early registers manufactured
by NCR were hand powered with a crank, while Burroughs was powered by a
lever, both recorded transaction on paper tape, or cash register
receipts. The customer received one copy and the retailer kept another,
usually on a continuous roll, which at the end of the day the teller, or
manager used to transcribe the days transactions into the accounting
system. This left several areas for error to occur. Over the years, the
registers evolved to use electricity, but the matter of transcribing the
day's data stayed pretty much the same. In 1973, the first computer
driven registers were introduced by IBM, NCR and later by Regitel, TRW,
and Datachecker. UPC/EAN barcode readers were also introduced in 1973,
to be used on the POS systems. POS systems were based on PC technology
in 1986 when IBM introduced their 4683. By 2005, retail POS systems have
become some of the most sophisticated and powerful networks.
References - pos
business listings -
company listings
point of sale pages |
Terms for use
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