For retailers, the need for a reliable method of managing their small business is an essential element to businesses success. Technological advancements have now made running a business much less difficult. These advancements in technology have resulted in the creation of retail software that makes small business management much easier and more efficient.

Retail software can include applications for point-of-sale system software applications for the management of inventory, revenue, finances, customer personal details, staffing, special promotional programs, and more. As well, this type of software allows a business to spend less time on paperwork, accounting, inventory management, sales record keeping, as well as managing such programs as marketing, special advertising programs, loyalty programs, discount programs, and much more. The type of retail software a small business chooses depends on the type of business, size of the business, amount of sales, and the type and amount of inventory.

Retail software contains the following important features:

- Retail software is easy to learn and operate. Most retail software companies will train management and staff on how to use the software, It is also easy to install and maintain, with technical support only a phone call away.

- There is retail software that provides effective inventory management. Businesses will be able to see what items are selling, what items are not selling, and what items need to be reordered. The software will also alert you when you need to reorder a product. Businesses can also keep track of the time of day that certain products are selling and when there is a high volume of customers. This will allow a business to better manage product displays and staffing.

- There is retail software that can be integrated into other software applications. This allows the user to effectively manage a broad range of applications thereby having management of the business in one central location.

- Retail software allows a small business to effectively track sales, provide sales reports, and allows for easy analysis of sales so as to better improve businesses sales management. It can even provide real-time sales and inventory reporting. The software allows for customization of programs such as rewards programs, discounts, special promotionsetc.

- Retail software makes it much easier to maintain vendor information, customer billing and shipping, customer personal information, as well as staff payment and management data.

The traditional days of using a cash register and pen and paper for accounting and inventory are no longer suitable for keeping up with today’s highly competitive business world. The selection of the right type of retail software depends on one’s businesses needs. When choosing retail software it is important to compare prices and features to make sure you choose the right software that meets your business requirements.

The benefits of retail software make it an important and necessary small business investment. Retail software will help increase business efficiency by eliminating time consuming operational tasks. Retail software systems helps businesses increase sales, track customer purchases, track sales and inventory, and improve overall management of the small business. This gives the business owner complete control of operations and greater flexibility when making important management decisions.

The online e-commerce business community is growing at a rapid rate. Everyday more businesses are setting up online retail stores. There are a number of different methods businesses can use to accept online payments. Understanding the ways of accepting online payments can often seem overwhelming, but a little background information can make it much easier. Two important methods of accepting payments are the Merchant Account and a Payment Gateway.

To help you understand the technology, the following explains the differences between a Merchant Account and a Payment Gateway:

Merchant Account

A merchant account, (also referred to as online credit card payment accounts, online credit card processing accounts, credit card transaction accounts, or e-Commerce merchant accounts,) permit businesses to accept credit cards, debit cards, gift cards and other forms of card payments. A business acquires a merchant account from a merchant bank or a merchant service provider. Without a contract, a business cannot directly accept payments by any of the major credit card companies. An e-Commerce merchant account is a service that e-Commerce merchants implement in order to use online credit card processing services. The process of acquiring an e-Commerce merchant account depends on the provider and the type of e-Commerce merchant account. Fees and rates will vary among providers.

The advantage with the merchant account is that it can automate a business. Customers can deposit money into the account on the web 24 hours a day/ 7 days a week.

Payment Gateway

A payment gateway is an e-commerce service that authorizes payments for e-businesses and online retailers. It is connected to a large network of credit card issuing banks. One of the other main functions of credit card processing is encryption. A payment gateway uses SSL 128-bit encoding technology to encrypt and decrypt all the data being sent through it. Without encryption, all the credit card holders information could be stolen.

The general process of how a gateway works is as follows:

1) A customer orders a product or service from a merchants site by clicking on the order button.

2) The customer is then taken to an order form page where they complete an order form and enter their cardholder information and shipping information.

3) The customer clicks the submit button. The data becomes encrypted (SSL 128-bit) by the cardholders web-browser. A key is generated and passed to the merchants payment gateway.

4) The payment gateway decrypts some of the information, and then re-encrypts it and sends it to the merchants acquiring bank.

5) The bank forwards the data to the credit card issuing bank for verification and authorization.

6) The issuing bank sends a type of response code back to merchant bank. The bank then sends it to the payment gateway.

7) The credit card is billed and the funds are transferred to the merchants bank and deposited into the merchants account.

An online business will have to sign up for a payment gateway once they set up a merchant account. They will be provided with a shopping cart system where their customers can pay for any products that the business is selling. The primary difference between the merchant account and the payment gateway is that a merchant account is the license by which businesses are permitted to accept payment by credit cards, and payment gateway is the means of receiving online payments.

Both the payment gateway and the merchant accounts are vital components in setting up an automated business. They play a major role in attracting consumers and maintaining repeat customers. Acquiring a merchant account with a gateway is essential to business success.