Software Implementation of a Cloud / Web Based Point of Sales (POS) System (A Case Study of Federal Polytechnic Nekede Bookshop)

1.1 INTRODUCTION
One of the great recent advances in the world of information technology is the rapid development of communication which has brought world into a global village, we can send mails electronically (e-mail), search for information (WWW), buy goods online (e-commerce), withdraw transfer money (e-banking), schooling online (e-learning), this has affected the society positive to a great extent, as result computerization of sales should not be exempt Application of technology in Sales has been adopted in developed countries for over two decades now, and this has been attributed to the desire of the governments of these countries to improve the efficiency of their goods and services, processes, accountability. Switching from a traditional cash register to a computerized sales system can be difficult - there are many factors to consider and some pitfalls to avoid. However the return on investment and benefits to your business can really make it worth your time and effort. In the most basic sense, a computerized sales system is a glorified cash register. The most basic sales system consists of a computer, a cash drawer, receipt printer, a monitor, and an input device such as a keyboard or scanner. However, in addition to being more efficient than cash registers, sales systems can create detailed reports that can help you make more informed business decisions. Sales systems saves money, provides productivity gains, and can cut down the amount of time you spend away from the primary focus of your business.
1.2 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
One of the great recent advances in the world of information technology is the rapid development of communication which has brought world into a global village, we can send mails electronically (e-mail), search for information (WWW), buy goods online (e-commerce), withdraw transfer money (e-banking), schooling online (e-learning), this has affected the society positive to a great extent, as result computerization of sales should not be exempt Application of technology in Sales has been adopted in developed countries for over two decades now, and this has been attributed to the desire of the governments of these countries to improve the efficiency of their goods and services, processes, accountability. Switching from a traditional cash register to a computerized POS system can be difficult - there are many factors to consider and some pitfalls to avoid. However the return on investment and benefits to your business can really make it worth your time and effort. In the most basic sense, a POS system is a glorified cash register. The most basic POS system consists of a computer, a cash drawer, receipt printer, a monitor, and an input device such as a keyboard or scanner. However, in addition to being more efficient than cash registers, POS systems can create detailed reports that can help you make more informed business decisions. POS systems saves money, provides productivity gains, and can cut down the amount of time you spend away from the primary focus of your business. This POS System Buyer's Guide will walk you through the process of evaluating multiple POS vendors and choosing the right system.
1.3 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Over the years, manual method of generating receipt of payment. This method has its problems. It has been proven to be very ineffective and inefficient. Some of the problems are
I. The job of preparing sales record is tedious causes delay.
II. As a result of the problem above, manual methods have a lot of discrepancies and raise doubts in the voucher.
III. This method encourages fraud figures are easily manipulated and changed.
1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The aim of this project to design and implement a web based Point of Sale System for FPNO bookshop.This has the following objectives
I. To provide full functional reports to management
II. To be able to get a fast and accurate way of auditing records
III. Control those errors made by human beings due to shortcomings.
IV. And also make sure that problem accoutered in recording information is highly minimized.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY
Moving from a cash register machine to a computerized Sales system is very significant to any retail sales of business activities because the return on investment and benefits to your business in the area of stocks processing, accountability and accurate data collation for effective management of the business.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This project covers federal polytechnic bookshop for school of industrial and applied science the design will only cover the sales, stock supplier section, of the bookshop.
1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
Most constraints experienced during the course of writing this project is that of detailed information about their major operations, the personal manager was a little diplomatic in answering my questions in order to reveal information that may indent the company's image, though that did not stop me from writing and researching for detailed information
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
a) Accounts receivable Amounts owed to a business (an asset), usually by customers who purchased goods or services on credit.
b) Additional markdown: An increase of a previous markdown to further lower the selling price.
c) Address Verification Service (AVS) A service that reduces credit card fraud by verifying the cardholder's address information when the physical card isn't available to swipe through an MSR device (e.g., as with telephone orders). AVS processing doesn't affect whether the charge is approved. Instead, AVS indicates whether or not the address provided by the customer matches the address on file with the credit card company so that the merchant can decide whether or not to process the charge.
d) Adjustment An increase or decrease to the quantity indicated in the retail software package. The adjustment ensures that the records in the retail software match the actual physical quantity in inventory.
e) Bar Code: information encoded into a rectangular bar shape, this information can be read by special device.
f) Cash Drawer: a box attached to point of sales system that opens when directed by the software.
g) Daisy Chained: used when one device is connected through another device
h) Data Collection Terminal: a stationary or hand held battery powered terminal with application software use to collect and process data from bar code
i) Drawer fund The amount of money left in a drawer after the drawer has been closed. The drawer fund is typically used to provide startup money (change) for the next business day.
j) Drop-ship Refers to an item that will be shipped directly from your supplier to your customer.
k) Order: A record of a request for goods or services initiated by a customer.
l) Shopping cart: A wheeled cart for purchase of goods in a store or supermarket.