3 Things Your Pharmacy POS System Should Do

4 years ago, I bought a new car. It had all the bells and whistles and the all-important (at the time) moon roof. I was pretty happy with it. At least for a bit. Then, about three years ago, I discovered that infant car seats do not fit comfortably in the back seat of my sporty little compact car, and that my toddlers hate having the windows open when we drive. Guess what never gets used? 

When you’re choosing a POS system for your pharmacy, the choice should be made based on the benefits, both present and future, that the system can offer. Although it’s tempting to rely on what’s the most convenient in the moment, doing so can lead to long term frustrations.  

It’s likely that more than one pharmacy POS system can check most of the boxes on your list of requirements and probably provide a few more features that you weren’t even thinking you needed.  Even so, as you go to make your final decision, you may find yourself wondering if you’re on the right track. Will this POS system meet your needs, and more importantly, help you meet your goals?  Not a bad question to ask. 

Here are three things that your point-of-sale system should do for you. 

Offer Interfaces – Interfaces between your POS provider and other systems you use in your pharmacy are some of the most important features you can have at your disposal. They make all the difference in the efficiency and profitability of your pharmacy. Pharmacy system interfaces (RMS has quite a few) mean you have the flexibility to make the changes that best serve your pharmacy without having to start from scratch at the point-of-sale. Integrations with multiple credit card processing companies mean that you can pick the company that offers you the best service and rates, especially when every dollar counts.  Other interfaces, like the one RMS offers with Ortho Molecular, provide you with opportunities to better serve your patients and at the same time, boost profits.  

Grow with your Pharmacy – Your pharmacy is bound to change and grow over the years and it’s important to invest in a POS system that can change and grow right along with it.  It should be easy to increase lanes and add functionality. You should even be able to add more stores and link them together in a multi-store setup.  

Create Opportunities – If your pharmacy POS system is only responding to your current needs, there’s a problem. The technology available to you should help you to find new opportunities to increase profit and become more efficient. You may not be looking for a way to implement curbside delivery or change up your customer loyalty program, but working with a technology partner that can offer you the capabilities to explore new directions in your pharmacy business might open doors that you didn’t even know were there. 

We’ve all made a decision at one point or another that we wish we’d made differently. The repercussions from those decisions can go from slightly annoying (like not having enough room in the back seat for both car seats and the dog), to being completely detrimental to our success.  So take the time to make sure your pharmacy POS system does everything you need it to, and everything that it should do.