Web Based Point of Sales (POS) for Business

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background Of Study

According to López et al (2004), 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 (López et al., 2004). 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. New businesses choose to invest in a POS system before reaching those revenue levels - or before having any appreciable revenue at all. They may want a POS system simply for the reporting features, or they may see it as an investment that can boost efficiency starting on opening day. A POS system is rarely totally unnecessary - most often, the only question is how soon it can pay for itself (López et al., 2004).

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 (Petee, 2005).­

1.2 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

1. Delay in daily or weekly sales record preparation,
2. Manual methods have a lot of discrepancies and raise doubts in the voucher.
3. Figures are easily manipulated and changed in the manual process which results to fraudulent act.

1.3 Aim And Objectives Of Study

The aim of this project to design and implement a web based Point of Sale System for business software that will totally or partially eradicate the problems associated with existing system;

The objectives are as follows;

1. To provide full functional reports to management
2. To be able to get a fast and accurate way of auditing records
3. Control those errors made by human beings due to shortcomings.
4. And also make sure that problem in recording information is highly minimized.

1.4 Significance Of Study

Moving from a cash register machine to a computerized Sales system is very significant to the following;

1. 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.
2. The study will serve as reference material for subsequent researcher in the field or related topics.

1.5 Scope Of The Study

This project covers the sales (deposits and withdrawals), stock supplier, sales records for businesses using Imo State University (IMSU) bookshop as a case study.

1.6 Limitation Of The Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this project work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this institution to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.

1.7 Definition Of Terms

• Accounts receivable Amounts owed to a business (an asset), usually by customers who purchased goods or services on credit.
• Additional markdown: An increase of a previous markdown to further lower the selling price.