Practical advice for small shop owners on stock, pricing, selling at the counter, and running a shop that pays for itself.https://storewavepos.com/https://storewavepos.com/blog/web-based-pos-explained/https://storewavepos.com/blog/web-based-pos-explained/Web based, cloud, browser based: the labels get used interchangeably. Here is what each one changes about the till on your counter, and what it does not.Mon, 24 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guidehttps://storewavepos.com/blog/what-a-pos-system-costs/https://storewavepos.com/blog/what-a-pos-system-costs/The monthly software fee is usually the smallest number on the bill. Here is the whole cost, in order of size, with the one that catches people out.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guidehttps://storewavepos.com/blog/how-to-make-regulars-come-back/https://storewavepos.com/blog/how-to-make-regulars-come-back/Winning a new customer costs far more than keeping one. Most small shops already have what they need to bring people back and never use it.Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTcustomersoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/stock-take-without-closing/https://storewavepos.com/blog/stock-take-without-closing/A rolling stock take lets you count everything over a few weeks without shutting the doors or losing a day of sales. Here is how to run one.Wed, 19 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTinventoryoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-vs-cash-register/https://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-vs-cash-register/A cash register is not a worse POS. It is a different tool, and plenty of shops should stay on one. Here is the line where that stops being true.Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guidehttps://storewavepos.com/blog/cloud-pos-vs-traditional-till/https://storewavepos.com/blog/cloud-pos-vs-traditional-till/A cloud POS and a locally installed till fail in different ways. The real choice is where you want the risk to sit, not which one sounds more modern.Fri, 14 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guidehttps://storewavepos.com/blog/free-vs-paid-pos/https://storewavepos.com/blog/free-vs-paid-pos/Free point of sale plans are real, but the limits are rarely the ones you expect. Here is what usually runs out first and when paying is worth it.Wed, 12 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guidehttps://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-for-a-small-grocery/https://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-for-a-small-grocery/Groceries break most till software in the same four places: weight, fast queues, tiny margins and stock that goes off. What to check before you buy.Tue, 11 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guideinventoryhttps://storewavepos.com/blog/set-up-a-pos-in-one-afternoon/https://storewavepos.com/blog/set-up-a-pos-in-one-afternoon/Most of a POS setup is one slow job and a handful of fast ones. Do them in this order and a small shop can be taking real money by closing time.Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTposoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/five-numbers-to-check-weekly/https://storewavepos.com/blog/five-numbers-to-check-weekly/You do not need a finance background to run a shop well. These five numbers take ten minutes a week and tell you almost everything that matters.Wed, 05 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTreportsoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-for-a-hardware-shop/https://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-for-a-hardware-shop/Hardware shops sell by the metre, the kilo and the single screw. Most till software cannot cope with that. Here is what to test before you commit.Sat, 01 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guideinventoryhttps://storewavepos.com/blog/a-returns-policy-that-pays-for-itself/https://storewavepos.com/blog/a-returns-policy-that-pays-for-itself/Returns feel like pure loss, so most shops handle them badly. A written policy and a clean record turn them into repeat customers instead.Wed, 29 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTreturnsoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/sizes-and-colours-without-variants/https://storewavepos.com/blog/sizes-and-colours-without-variants/Variant support is the feature clothing shops assume they need. Often they do not, and the workaround is cleaner than the feature. Sometimes they do.Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTposinventorybuying-guidehttps://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-without-buying-hardware/https://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-without-buying-hardware/You probably already own most of a working till. Here is what a laptop, a phone and a browser can genuinely do, and the two things you still have to buy.Wed, 22 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guidehttps://storewavepos.com/blog/how-to-barcode-products-without-one/https://storewavepos.com/blog/how-to-barcode-products-without-one/Loose goods, bulk bins and handmade stock have no barcode. You can print your own in an afternoon. Here is the way that does not cause problems later.Sat, 18 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTinventoryposoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/your-first-week-with-a-new-pos/https://storewavepos.com/blog/your-first-week-with-a-new-pos/Switching tills goes wrong in the same few ways every time. A week of small, ordered steps beats one big weekend of moving everything at once.Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTposoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-inventory-or-a-spreadsheet/https://storewavepos.com/blog/pos-inventory-or-a-spreadsheet/A spreadsheet can track stock perfectly well. What it cannot do is update itself while you are serving someone. That is the whole difference.Sat, 11 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTinventoryposoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/does-a-web-pos-work-offline/https://storewavepos.com/blog/does-a-web-pos-work-offline/The honest answer depends on what the system caches and what it queues. Here is what the words mean and how to test one against your own connection.Wed, 08 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTposoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/stop-running-out-of-best-sellers/https://storewavepos.com/blog/stop-running-out-of-best-sellers/A stock-out is the one loss that never appears in a sales report. Reorder points turn reordering from a memory exercise into a rule.Wed, 01 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTinventoryoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/running-two-shops-on-one-system/https://storewavepos.com/blog/running-two-shops-on-one-system/Multi store means four different things and most vendors only do two. Work out which ones you need before the second shop opens, not after.Wed, 24 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTposbuying-guideoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/set-a-shelf-price-that-pays/https://storewavepos.com/blog/set-a-shelf-price-that-pays/Most small shops price by copying the shop down the road or adding a round number to cost. Here is a method that survives a bad month.Wed, 17 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMTpricingoperationshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/why-your-till-never-balances/https://storewavepos.com/blog/why-your-till-never-balances/A drawer that is out by a few units most days is not usually theft. Here are the causes in order of likelihood, and how to tell them apart.Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMToperationsreportshttps://storewavepos.com/blog/how-to-start-accepting-card-payments/https://storewavepos.com/blog/how-to-start-accepting-card-payments/The rate you are quoted is rarely the rate you pay. Here is how card pricing actually works and which questions get you a straight answer.Wed, 03 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMToperationsbuying-guide